MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – One out of every six U.S. residents ages 16 and older fishes an average of 18 days per year, spending more than $1,000 in the process according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And it’s not just a sport for the guys.
Fishing is popular among women – 32 percent of anglers are female. The National Sporting Goods Association says there are more women who fish than who play basketball, volleyball, softball, golf or tennis. And fishing, more than any other sport, is family oriented. Sixty-five percent of non-anglers and 88 percent of anglers say they would go fishing or fish more often if asked by a child according to the Future of Fishing project conducted by Responsive Management of Harrisonburg, Va.
Hooked on Walleye
In the United States alone, 4 million people, or 13 percent of freshwater anglers ages 16 and older, spend an average of 13 days per year fishing for walleye. Walleye, in fact, is the most sought after species of fish by U.S. anglers fishing in the Great Lakes according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Walleye also are a major commercial and sport fish in the Ontario and Prairie provinces of Canada. According to the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, walleye are the species for which Ontario anglers most often fish.
Here is how the 18 states sending anglers to the Wal-Mart RCL Championship stack up in terms of key fishing measures:
State…..% of pop that fish…..Days spent fishing…..Expenditures
Colorado..17% (484,000)……….7.9 million…………$634.4 million
Idaho…….17% (153,000)……….3.7 million…………$280.0 million
Illinois…..15% (1.3 million)……26.7 million………..$1.6 billion
Indiana….14% (625,000)……….16.4 million………..$799.3 million
Iowa……..14% (306,000)……….8.7 million…………$339.0 million
Kansas….11% (220,000)……….7.1 million…………180.0 million
Michigan..12% (876,000)……….27.6 million………..$1.5 billion
Minn…….18% (639,000)……….21.2 million………..$1.8 billion
Montana…12% (79,000)………..1.9 million…………$243.5 million
Nebraska..12% (152,000)……….3.3 million…………$235.8 million
New York..8% (1.1 million)…….27.6 million………..$1.3 billion
N. Dakota.14% (67,000)………..1.8 million…………$83.4 million
Ohio……10% (827,000)……….19.4 million………..$836.2 million
Oregon….14% (344,000)……….8.3 million…………$622.8 million
S. Dakota.17% (94,000)………..2.5 million…………$206.4 million
Wash……18% (759,000)……….12.8 million………..$704.4 million
Wisconsin.14% (554,000)……….14.5 million………..$1.1 billion
Wyoming…19% (69,000)………..1.4 million…………$174.6 million
(Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)