From Angler Survey:
Despite the modern draw of video games and organized sports, the attraction of the wild outdoors and all it has to offer remains as powerful as ever as evidenced by the number of anglers who shared the water with a son, daughter or other child in the past year. Whether spending the day in the comfort of a boat or clutching a rod along a shady bank, fishing remains a popular activity for all ages with up to 66 percent of active anglers reporting they took a child fishing in the past 12 months, according to a recent poll by AnglerSurvey.com.
Angling is a great way to enjoy quality one-on-one time with a young person, but it’s also an excellent group activity, too. When asked how many children each angler had taken fishing in the past 12 months, 20 percent said they had taken a single child, while 21 percent took at least two. Nearly 10 percent of anglers reported taking three children fishing, six percent took four and an impressive 10 percent took five or more kids fishing in the past year. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed said they had not taken any children fishing.
“Taking a kid fishing is one of life’s more rewarding efforts. Not only is it good for the child and family, it generates a future generation committed to conserving fish and the outdoors,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com. “We encourage all anglers and the fishing community to get involved in youth fishing efforts and programs such as the RBFF’s Take Me Fishing campaign and others.”
Indeed, it looks like an activity that many angling families do enjoy together as 78 percent of those who reported taking a kid fishing said those children were in some way related to them. Forty-four percent were a son or daughter, 17 percent were a grandchild and 17 percent were a niece, nephew or other relative. Twenty-two percent said the child or children they took fishing were not related to them with five percent of those taking them fishing as part of an organized Scouting, church or similar activity.
To help continually improve, protect and advance hunting, shooting and other outdoor recreation, all sportsmen and sportswomen are encouraged to participate in the bi-monthly surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and/or AnglerSurvey.com. Every other month, participants who complete the surveys are entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift certificates to the sporting goods retailer of their choice.
About AnglerSurvey.com, HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com: Launched in 2006, AnglerSurvey.com, HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com help the outdoor equipment industry, government fisheries and wildlife officials and conservation organizations track consumer activities and expenditure trends. Survey results are scientifically analyzed to reflect the attitudes and habits of anglers and hunters across the United States. Follow them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/huntersurvey and http://facebook.com/anglersurvey or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AnglerSurvey and https://twitter.com/#!/HunterSurvey.
About Southwick Associates: Southwick Associates is a market research and economics firm specializing in the hunting, shooting, sportfishing, and outdoor recreation markets. Founded in 1989, Southwick Associates is renowned for delivering comprehensive insights and statistics assisting business and strategic decisions across the entire outdoor industry; from government agencies, industry associations and non-profit organizations, to affiliated businesses and manufacturers. Aside from custom market research, and economic impact studies, Southwick also provides syndicated participation, media consumption, and equipment purchase tracking studies utilizing their three proprietary sportsmen panels. Visit www.southwickassociates.com for more information.
