Too Many or Too Few Fisherman?

In the Strictly Fishing Forum there is a thread going on about keeping big fish. One of the topics that came up was a difference of opinion on whether there are too many or too few fisherman. I thought rather than hijack that thread I'd start a new one. I will chime in and get it started. I believe that it is factual that the number of people who are purchasing fishing license's are down all over the country. Why that is can be debated also. That said I believe that fisherman, as well as hunters that do purchase license's are much more dedicated and spend much more time on the water and in the woods and fields. Today's outdoor sportsman are more knowlegable, better equiped, and spend much more time refining their skills which results in higher success. This in fact does put a strain on the available resources in both the fishing and hunting sports. This brings me to MY OWN CONCLUSION that we sportsman present a good and intelligent image to the general public so that what we lose in voting power as a practicing group will be made up by those who do not hunt or fish but see us in a favorable light. These are just some thoughts of mine. What do you guys and gals think? Let's try to keep it civil and maybe productive. Thanks.

[Wade B AKA: Ruger2506]

Very well articulated.

I don't think todays anglers have more skill, probably the opposite, we fish with more tools making it easier and we stock lakes so that their are more fish to catch...lots of fisheries these days remind me of hunting in high-fenced areas, you just stock fish in lakes they cannot get out of and you will be able to catch more fish...same idea...sj

[Chad]

Of course anglers are more educated. 20 years ago we did not have the internet or cell phones, GPS, or cameras. Today information can be shared with lots of folks in one click. That fact alone has dramatically changed the learning curve for most every angler.
Couple that with a 300 hp Merc on a 621 Ranger that can do 60+ (compared to a 150 on a 19’boat) and we can fish places we never dreamed of fishing before on the same day.
Then throw in 1’ contour maps that show every nook and cranny.
There may not be as many anglers as years ago but we sure do spend a lot more $$ to catch fish

[brentfrank]

Right on Chad.

[Planocat]

IMHO we need more people fishing, not less. Every year the number of licenses declines and that means being taken less seriously by the politicians as a political force.

In Texas, as in many other states, the politicians raid the funds that are supposedly set aside for outdoor recreational activities and put them in the general fund to shore up programs you and I would never support. And we stand by helpless to do anything about it.

Heck, we even have a Democrat running for governor who has never been issued a license to hunt or fish......... could care less about the outdoors sports but he sure is into gay rights and illegal aliens.

Unfortunately, every year there are more sportsmen leaving this earth with less and less replacing them. It basically leads to the fewer of us there are, the more abused with fees we will become. Maybe we should require illegal aliens to purchase a license to hunt and fish to shore up our numbers..... they're not required to do anything else legally!

[fireboat]

Some people are more educated some are "stupid as ever". You see them at the ramp, they move in on people that are catching fish and at the fish cleaning station they are cleaning trash fish while others have nice limits of walleye. Having better equipment and knowing how to use it doesn't make someone a better fisherman nor does having an expensive sports car make someone a better driver or a $2000 shotgun make someone a better hunter. I get your point but I've seen shore fisherman out fish boat fisherman many times. I still see fishermen throwing their trash overboard while others go out of their way to pick it up. There are a lot of honest, ethical sportsmen in the field but the bad apples are still out there making everyone else look bad.

[Morton]

Well said Fireboat.

Ethical fisherpeople, IMO, fit into the 90/10 rule just as well as the fish do.
I agree with your observations whole heartedly.
I am not sure how to educate people to become what we would like to see them be.

In the learning and growth process I believe that until a fisherman becomes serious and regularly succesful they have a lesser concern for the resource ... hopefully ignorance explains some of it.

Then again, there are always the fish hogs that spoil this theory ... thankfully they are few in number.

Morton

[Clamp-It]

Originally Posted by Starcraft Fish & Ski

In the Strictly Fishing Forum there is a thread going on about keeping big fish. One of the topics that came up was a difference of opinion on whether there are too many or too few fisherman. I thought rather than hijack that thread I'd start a new one. I will chime in and get it started. I believe that it is factual that the number of people who are purchasing fishing license's are down all over the country. Why that is can be debated also. That said I believe that fisherman, as well as hunters that do purchase license's are much more dedicated and spend much more time on the water and in the woods and fields. Today's outdoor sportsman are more knowlegable, better equiped, and spend much more time refining their skills which results in higher success. This in fact does put a strain on the available resources in both the fishing and hunting sports. This brings me to MY OWN CONCLUSION that we sportsman present a good and intelligent image to the general public so that what we lose in voting power as a practicing group will be made up by those who do not hunt or fish but see us in a favorable light. These are just some thoughts of mine. What do you guys and gals think? Let's try to keep it civil and maybe productive. Thanks.

I'm thinking that as the human population grows and the natural resources are slowly declining ie: fishable waters, wouldn't it stand to reason that the fewer new fishing advocates the better (?) it will be for those that do fish?

[Clamp-It]

Originally Posted by fireboat

Some people are more educated some are "stupid as ever". You see them at the ramp, they move in on people that are catching fish and at the fish cleaning station they are cleaning trash fish while others have nice limits of walleye. Having better equipment and knowing how to use it doesn't make someone a better fisherman nor does having an expensive sports car make someone a better driver or a $2000 shotgun make someone a better hunter. I get your point but I've seen shore fisherman out fish boat fisherman many times. I still see fishermen throwing their trash overboard while others go out of their way to pick it up. There are a lot of honest, ethical sportsmen in the field but the bad apples are still out there making everyone else look bad.

Ain't it the truth!
People are people and those "types" are purty much everywhere.
Darn thing is they're even allowed to multiply.