Fishing Won 2020

There is not much that can say won 2020 other than some crazy virus. I say fishing won 2020. Since people could not go out and do anything that involved a crowd, many people found that fishing is a great way to get out and be safe. Us regulars on the water thought this was great. The amazing thing is that approximately 20% more people engaged in fishing in the US compared to 2019 (according to fishing license sales). This is a huge increase that the sport of fishing has never seen in a single year.

The Good

Since I am a bass angler, I know mostly how good the “fishing phenomenon of 2020” has been on freshwater participation. New angler recruitment has been very good. Numbers are one thing, but I have also heard from many people firsthand about stories of new anglers learning to fish. From my understanding, there are a bunch of new saltwater anglers as well. Having more anglers fishing in any waters is great for our beloved sport.

Fishing related sales were great in 2020 so long as there was enough product to sell. I heard a few companies having supply chain issues that caused sales to be flat. Overall, fishing related companies had great sales in 2020. Tackle shops, bait makers, boat builders, motor companies, and more were up across the board. These increases in sales will give these companies the revenue to create more innovation in lures, boats, engines, and much more. The benefits of increased sales in 2020 will be felt in the fishing industry for years to come.

The Bad

There are many real negative effects of the global pandemic of 2020. This is not my focus of the bad of 2020. I am just focused on the negative effects of having more anglers and increased fishing demand. As I explain these bad parts, let us take a second to say a prayer to all the people out there that lost their lives or have had real negative impacts on their lives because of what all that has happened in 2020.

As far as fishing goes, I can already hear the phrase, “somebody is going to be on my hole.” With more and more anglers on the water, it is bound to happen. Some waters became crowded with anglers but that is a relative term. Other anglers on the water can give you a chance to make a new friend that shares a common passion if that is how you look at it. In other words, don’t let your favorite fishing spot not being so private ruin your fishing fun.

The Future

More people fishing means more people sharing the same passion that you and I already have in our life. It will give us a better connection to more people when you simply utter the words, “I fish.” We will have more and more people reply with, “I fish too.” With all the distractions in our lives from negative influences like social media, politics, fake news, and so on, the more important it is for us as a whole to partake in an activity that keeps us socially distanced but allows us to connect. There is no doubt, more fishing and more anglers is the real winner in 2020.