Dave Landahl
Published September 25, 2008

	Kids are the future of fishing - are we doing enough?

With all of the turmoil in our country regarding war, our economic woes, and who to vote in as our next leader, who gives a rats patooty about fishing? Well, call me a simpleton, but I still do. I think it's one of the cornerstones of who we are as a people and where we came from.

When this country was born, our forefathers all hunted, fished, gathered foods and or farmed to some extent. It was part of the necessities of life to be able to provide for yourself and your family. Over the centuries, times have obviously changed, but the love of chasing fish and fooling them into biting onto our hook endured. Over the last decade, however, the passion seems to be fizzling.

The overall numbers of license sales has dropped dramatically since the historic peaks in the late 1980's and early 1990's. All of that statistical information is available from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, so I'm not going to throw around the numbers here, but suffice it to say, we've lost millions of anglers. With the economy in the static condition it's in, I dare say we won't be adding any anglers to the mix anytime soon.

We don't recruit folks into the sport anymore. Also, many of the folks who are at the top of the heap in the fishing and sport boating industries aren't participants. Instead, they are simply CEO and VP types who work for a corporation; there is no heart and soul for the sport at the top. The days of Al and Ron Lindner running In-Fisherman are long gone. Okay, FLW Outdoors is run by anglers, but none of the other major tournament organizations currently in operation are.

Instead of this industry promoting affordable products, pushing for beginners to just get out and fish anyway they can, especially affordable ways like wading or in a kayak or canoe, this industry is obsessed with pushing $50,000 boat packages "just like the pros" and getting new gear every year. You know your brand new $300 rod and $300 reel. Not that all of us fall for this scheme, but it sure isn't an inviting prospect for anyone who may have the slightest bit of interest in our sport to be bombarded on outdoor television with this apparent need to invest monster bucks to get started.

I could get deals on any gear and get super-cheap deals, if not freebies, for promoting on my radio show or in an article or here on the OFM sites, but I don't. I buy my own stuff. Here is the reality, I head out and wade in the Fox River in Illinois. I put on a leaky pair of waders, I use reels that I slap together every year or maybe by a new $60 model that's on sale. I have rods that have been with me from my tournament fishing days when I lived on the West Coast.

To be fair, I have owned and operated some of the finest boats built, but my point is that we don't need to have them to fish and have fun and love our sport. The beginners certainly don't need these things. A couple of hundred bucks and an angler can be good to go for basic fishing gear for quite a long time. A few hundred dollars extra gets them into a canoe they can use for years and years, maybe that's why the various marine manufacturers groups don't promote them very much, you don't need to replace them every year because frankly they don't mechanically break down.

Heck, if you really wanted to be cheap about it, a new angler could shore fish with a $50 rod and reel combo. Get a bag of plastic worms and you are good to go. Then, you can slowly build your fishing arsenal over time.

It's also our fault when we allow our tax money to go and fund various quasi-governmental agencies to promote sport fishing. I can't tell you how many millions of dollars have been wasted over the years with no positive results to show for it.

I used to work for one of these companies and I still truly believe in their mission statement. But the reality is the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has spent around 100 million tax dollars over the last 10 years to increase participation in sport boating and fishing and yet the decline continues. Imagine what that money could have done if it was funneled to local organizations who work hands-on to educate people about fishing and how anglers are at the forefront of conservation.

The bottom-line here is that we all need to step up and start taking the responsibility of the future of our sport into our own hands. Maybe through the work of new groups like AIM (Anglers Insight Marketing) or existing groups like FLW Outdoors, the Professional Anglers Association (PAA) and others we can come up with ways to bring folks back to the sport that is so truly American and frankly so truly human. Times are tough, but getting involved in fishing should never be.


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