On rare occasion I actually reread my past work, and am reminded what sounded so good in concept often ends in some rant at anyone with the audacity to change fishing in the slightest.

It’s the nature of Oldness to insist the sport is perfect, and the nature of Boldness to point fingers and call us antiquated old pricks …

Neither side is in the right humor to realize both thoughts have merit, as age and youth are the “Crips” and “Bloods” of the sporting fraternity – destined to war over the choice “corners” of our beloved pastime forever.

As I always assumed infirmity and Alzheimer’s mercifully kept us old guys in the minority, making my occasional outburst on the injustice of the Thousand Dollar Fly Rod, the rise of the Metrosexual, nymph fishing versus “high-sticking”, and the dominance of the military-industrial complex of fly tying jobbers … just the blathering’s of a doddering oldster…

… but I was wrong, instead – I find myself in rarified company, Top Gun –  the Best of the Best, the Fedayeen of Angling … the four-percent of anglers who bought a fishing license in each of the last ten years.

Out of the pool of roughly 33 million people who fish each year, only four percent of the licensed anglers purchase a fishing license every year (10 out of 10 years). The largest proportion of anglers — 49 percent — purchases a license only one out of 10 years. Almost as many — 47 percent —purchase a license in more than one year but lapse in between purchases.

It seems the statistics and pollsters of Madison Avenue have been turned on their head. Southwind Associates released a report on angling and hunting, that claims half of us don’t buy a fishing license and those that do are “fair weather fishermen” buying them for a single trip, and the reason our numbers are constant from year to year is the “churn” rate, the “other half” buys them when we don’t …

Annual churn rates are lowest, about 39 percent, among the 55-64 age group and are highest, about 55 percent, among anglers 18-24 years of age.

… which gives me some nose-thumbing privileges over the bearded shock troops of Youth …

Younger anglers face a number of factors that compete for their time including family life, school, work, and other recreational pursuits. Older anglers who might have more free time as work obligations lessen can face health issues that limit their ability to fish.

While health issues might prevent us from fishing, as we sun ourselves on the park bench we’ll redouble our decibel levels claiming  everything you’ve done to the sport is morally wrong.

… while we make sport of your limp wrist and tailing loop.