Here are some interesting facts about fishing from theUSA.
- More than one out of every six Americans 16 years old or older fish. In 1996, 27 percent of the U.S. male population and nine percent of females went fishing.
- In 1998 fishing ranked as the fifth-most popular participation sport in the nation. It ranks ahead of bicycling, bowling, golf, tennis and skiing
- Fishing is the second-most popular water-related outdoor sport. Swimming is first
- Freshwater fishing ranks as the tenth-most popular participation sport among women
- Around 33.7 percent of all anglers are female
- The average angler nationwide spends approximately $1,072 in pursuit of his or her favorite pastime.
- Thirty-three percent of anglers say they fish to relax
- Twenty-five percent of anglers like to fish in order to spend time with family and friends
- Black bass is the most sought-after freshwater species
- Ninety-two percent of freshwater anglers fished in their home state
- Twenty-one percent of freshwater anglers fished out of state
- Eighty-six percent of freshwater anglers fish ponds, lakes and reservoirs
- Twenty-one percent of anglers have incomes of $50,000 to $75,000
- Twenty-four percent of all anglers had one to three years of college and 27 percent had at least four years of college
- Freshwater fishing expenditures topped $26.8 billion in 1996
- Total economic output generated by freshwater fishing exceeded $76.9 billion in 1996
- Freshwater fishing accounts for 854,512 full-time jobs
- Sport fishing generated more than $1.9 million in state sales taxes in 1996
- Anglers contributed more than $644 million to conservation and management of the nation’s fisheries.
