Bob I see more anglers on the local waters I fish near me, granted all of
them are electric only or limited HP lakes. I don't fish tournaments, I
fish because I enjoy it, I've had friendly competitions with buddies on
biggest and most caught and I'm currently fishing 6 days a week, sometimes
only for 1-2 hours. maybe the boys with the big boats are fishing close to
home with the price of gas being what it is.

Later this week I'm taking my nephew on a smallmouth trip on the upper
Alleghany near Emlenton, PA I bought him combo and some tackle the last 2
years for Xmas and Birthdays, this will be his first "big trip" I'll let
you know if I get a fisherman for life.





"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
With all the other people on the water its hard to believe there may
actually be fewer anglers out there, but some sources claim its true. I
had read something about this a couple years ago and started a similar
thread, but it really didn't go anywhere.

North American Fisherman's latest magazine has an article reporting some
stats that might be of interest.

33.5 million licensed anglers over the age of 16 in 1991.
29.5 million licensed anglers over the age of 16 in 2006.

They list their source as the, "National Survey of Fishing Hunting and
Wildlife-Related Recreation."

When I was a kid I was told we had about 245 million people in this
country. I think the last census number I saw was 275 million. This means
that net decrease in clout to protect our sport is even worse than the
numbers listed in the survey.

When it comes to legislative issues a loss of anglers means a loss clout.

As fewer waters are open to fishing or some of the better renown see
greater concentrations of anglers we may find it hard to believe that
there really are fewer licensed anglers on it our waters, but it appears
to be true.

As hard as it may be to share a little especially with strangers or
passing acquaintances, we owe it to our children and our grand children to
keep waters open, regulations reasonable, and, numbers strong.

One angler who is a regular on my fishing forums always has a, "Shhhh!!!
Keep folks off our river. Don't tell anybody about good fishing. I want
it to myself. Fewer people on the river means better fishing." To some
extant I agree, but there is of course the long term negative impact of
fewer people to protect fishing for future generations. This is what I
had to say to him last time he went on one of his rants.

"Heck, lets just vilify fishing. Start false stories about the
atrocities performed on the water by fishermen, and make even expressing
an interest in fishing a social stigma.
Then we will have even fewer people fishing, those will be afraid to
say anything to anybody about it, and of course we can all slap ourselves
on the back when BR and BLM helps us perpetuate the move to reduce anglers
on the water by closing more areas to fishing. HEY! You might get your
pike minnows back, but sadly you wouldn't be allowed to fish for them.
When our children can no longer have the freedom to enjoy the outdoors
because of stigmata, closed fishing areas, and apathy of other outdoorsmen
after massive government closures, horrific regulation, and the abuse of
the outdoors themselves by other anglers we might all be able to get
together and drink a toast to the demise of fishing in America. All two of
us who are left. You bring the bucket, and I'll smuggle in a line and some
goldfish from the pet store."

I was obviously exaggerating and being sarcastic, but there is a small
seed of truth to it as well.

I started Yuma Bass Man as a way to brag a little, and then it became a
way to share a little basic knowledge just the way this group does. Yuma
Pro Am is a bass fishing club that helps bring a few more people into
tournament angling, but I'm not sure it gets a lot of new people into
fishing in general. I suppose it does help to retain some. Each one of
us can certainly do a little to share the joy of fishing, and those of us
who are members of clubs can certainly do a little more if we can convince
our clubs that fishing is worth protecting, not just enjoying it for
ourselves and immediate friends and family. Casting clinics, take a kid
fishing days, pro/kid events. These are the things clubs can do. We as
individuals can just take somebody fishing.