You’re a herd animal, and if you lose your fishing pals you’ll give up the sport entirely.
Can’t say I blame you much as most of my fishing is solo, it takes a special dementia to walk 3-4 miles back to the car in the dark, or wade risky water without anyone knowing your whereabouts.
Nebraska has published some of their plans for retention and recruitment of their hunters and anglers, and the above is just one of their findings.
If you’re enamored of fishing for more than one species, you’ll remain an angler longer and generate additional fees for the state’s coffers.
I say, “Welcome to the Brownline” – as it wouldn’t surprise me to see emphasis on trophy warm water fisheries; migratory fish are in decline worldwide, there’s no more pristine water for fancy trout “farms”, and warm water fish are hardy, plentiful, and close to home.
Makes you wonder what would happen if they applied the traditional “single barbless catch and release only” restriction to a Largemouth fishery – and whether you’d allow your kids near the water’s edge …
If hunting and fishing are to increase in popularity,
public support is critical. Education and marketing
programs that portray the hunter and angler as the law
abiding citizens they are have not been effective. One
study by Responsive Management in 2003 suggested
the majority of our public still feels that most hunters
knowingly violate hunting laws and over one third of
Americans feel that “a lot” of anglers consciously violate
fishing laws.
… you’re also a poacher, which isn’t much of a sin considering the number of Jack Rabbits and Deer taken during “Steel Belted Radial” season.
All the states are struggling with the same phenomenon, the gradual gentrification of society and the slow erosion of the outdoor skill set, mostly because the outdoors is vanishing as well.
Findings like this will be watched carefully by the other 49 states, and it shouldn’t surprise us to see some commonality in their approach – especially if any are successful.
I wonder how much of the decline in hunting and fishing can be attributed to the elimination of the draft. At one time, nearly every eighteen year old male in the country was shipped off to some god-forsaken camp and taught basic survival skills, including how to load a pack, build a fire, pitch a tent, handle a weapon, and find food. Men were taught that mastering such skills was essential for their survival. Those that did survive felt obligated to teach their sons what they had been taught, thinking they’d eventually have to go through the same thing.
I think once the draft was abolished, a greater number of parents started to focus more on “How can we help Little Johnny get into a good college.” Being a crack shot or an expert fly fisherman rarely goes far with those in the admissions office.
Just a theory.
That’s an interesting point.
The statistics of the Nebraska survey noted that of the anglers with children, if the kids fished 6% of the dad’s stopped fishing. If the kids didn’t fish, 37% of Dads gave up the sport.
Their take was to make fishing appeal to the entire family… I just hope that doesn’t imply the “theme park experience” – versus some other strategy.
The story is more interesting locally. Yesterday, a radio interview with Dept. of Fish & Game officials revealed that only 2% of California’s population hunt or fish at all.
The other 98% hunt … for parking …
I think the biggest demise of young fishermen is due to all of the broken homes. Sure urbanization and electronics play a big part in keeping kids indoors, but divorce is a killer of “family time”. You just don’t see the single moms out on the water with their kids. MN DNR has tried to connect with single parents and their kids and held clinics to get them involved again with fishing. Paired with their FiN program (Fishing in the Neighborhood), they are trying to tackle the urban dilemma. It’s a small step, but it’s in the right direction.
As far as angling ethics go, I believe those stats because every time I’m on the water, I see some form of abuse and rule bending by young and old alike. I don’t think outdoor education is to blame, but rather the “me first” attitude that was introduced by the boomers to their children.
You Piltdown Purists have been looking at the right answer all along ! Back up 4 spaces and read “THEME PARKS.” Theme parks – WAY TO GO ! Let the single moms take their precious snowflakes to the blue plastic trout pool at the Expo for the real trout experience ! “Build it and they will come…” etc. Once hooked, the little tots might absorb cleaner habits, healthier lifestyles and a Disneyland crowd-control brand of sportsmanship that is much better suited to this new century than the kind practiced by you present day louts.
An unsavory yet compelling solution. Mom will buy into the sterile Theme Park attraction without reserve – assuming any catch is flash frozen and served in saran wrap.
Yuck.
All of the parents I know have their kids enrolled in some sort of organized sports program (baseball, soccer, etc.), but I know of only two fathers who take their sons fishing. One of the kids hates it; the other could take it or leave it. I’ve invited some of my nephews to join me on trips – the answer is always “No thanks. I tried it once, and it was boring.” I doubt that any sort of state-run marketing or advertising program will be able to change that.
So it’s up to us to redefine the angling experience into more palatable fare, then offer our consulting services to the 50 states at outrageous rates?
I’m good with that.
As the “action” has to compete with video games and the 40 second attention span – we could plunk the tyke into three feet of water (populated by piranha)and ask him questions about physics and world history..
For each correct answer he gets a T-Bone steak that he can toss to the far end of the pool to keep the fish off him.
Each wrong answer allows us to release 20 more “meat engines” into his end of the pond.
OK.. so we give him a Buck Knife to start …
Hasn’t someone already tried that? I want to say “Fear Factor,” but it might have been “Survivor.”
You think mama will let Junior in that pool with a real knife? Oh no. And what about the piranha’s feelings? You can’t be hurting a poor defenseless fish that can feel pain.
My solution, Puck fETA, kill everything in the tank, and have sushi for breakfast.
For good measure, you could throw a hippo into the mix and see what happens.