New Report Series Profiles America's Anglers
by Janet Tennyson
The American Sportfishing Association is rolling out the first installment in its Today's Angler Series, a group of new web reports providing current and comprehensive angler statistics. This Angler Profile report provides detailed data on demographics, species preferences, and spending habits of America's anglers.
To complete the series, reports on The Avid Angler and Top Catches will be released later this year. Highlights of all three reports will be available on the American Sportfishing Association's Web site, under "Fishing Statistics," where Angler Profile is already posted.
"Angler Profile is just one step in an ongoing effort to improve our fishing statistics program, an important resource for our industry members and sportfishing partners," said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. "The Today's Angler Series will give us a better understanding of our customers, help with sales and marketing, and show the important contributions of fishing to our society."
Information from the new report includes:
- The average age of angler is between 42-46 years old; however, anglers from Northern Plain states tend to be significantly older.
- Saltwater anglers tend to be more generalists, unlike freshwater anglers, for whom bass is by far the most popular species.
- Southeastern anglers spend the most money on fishing tackle. Western anglers spend the fewest days on the water but rank second in their spending habits.
- Saltwater fishing is growing the fastest in popularity. Saltwater anglers also spend roughly 20 percent more on fishing tackle and trips than freshwater anglers.
The Today's Angler Series takes advantage of a mass of unpublished data from nationwide surveys of outdoor recreationists originally conducted for the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, published last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The American Sportfishing Association is the leading recreational fishing trade association, uniting 500 members of the sportfishing and boating industries, state fish and wildlife agencies, federal land and water management agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups, and outdoor journalists. The American Sportfishing Association initiates and supports efforts to advance healthy fisheries, fishing opportunities, and a profitable sportfishing industry.
