The amount of time devoted to recreation is the same among all anglers, with active, lapsed, and former anglers each averaging slightly more than 3 hours per workday and 6.5 hours per weekend day. This slice of time can be devoted to any combination of activities, indoors or outdoors. So how do they choose to spend that time?
Reasons for choosing specific indoor and outdoor recreational activities are essentially the same for all people. Each of us seeks fun, relaxation and quality time with family and friends. People fish for the same reasons. Any activity that offers these benefits competes with sportfishing.
When asked what were the most common outdoor and indoor activities they had participated in over the past two years (see the accompanying tables) active anglers cited fishing. Lapsed anglers didn’t show a strong preference, but rather enjoyed a wide variety of pursuits. Some former anglers stopped engaging in outdoor activities altogether, most likely due to health or age concerns, while many enjoyed hunting and other outdoor hobbies. Relaxing by watching
television was the leading indoor activity cited by all groups and presents the greatest competition for recreational sportfishing since it’s the most convenient
diversion available. Despite this popularity, active anglers reported spending over two hours outdoors for every single hour engaged in indoor activities. It’s clear from the range of activities they’ve participated in that all groups of anglers prefer outdoor to indoor activities. Fishing delivers the fun and relaxation of the outdoors, but when it fails to deliver those benefits as much as other pursuits, anglers will engage in other outdoor activities
