Does fly fishing have a problem in engaging and introducing the younger generation to the sport?
And why does it lag behind other outdoor activities?
First of all, let’s look at some data. The charts below are from Google Trends.
They measure activity over the past five years, showing web search and YouTube search trends for the following topics worldwide:
Fly Fishing – Snowboarding – Skateboarding – Surfing – BMX.
I chose these topics because they are minor outdoor activities that mainly appeal to younger generations. This is important for addressing the question: Why Fly Fishing Lags Behind? But we’ll delve into that later.
The graphs reveal that Fly Fishing is the least searched topic out of these five, both in web search and YouTube search.
So how is this possible when Fly Fishing offers so much? Let’s make another comparison.
In the following graphs, I’ve replaced Fly Fishing with Fishing, and it’s evident that Fishing outperforms the rest.
However, it’s not entirely fair to compare Skateboarding to Fishing.
Let’s make the other topics more comparable. Now we have
Fishing – Hunting – Hiking – Running – Cycling.
This yields interesting results. On web search, Fishing is only overtaken by Running, and on YouTube search, it outperforms the rest, with Hunting as the runner-up.
Exploring the two graphs in more detail, it’s clear that the term “Fishing” in web search has remained relatively stable over the last five years, showing a good average distribution.
On the other hand, YouTube search demonstrates an increase in interest starting around July 2021.
This rise could be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many outdoor activities saw a surge in popularity. However, July 2021 seems a bit late in the pandemic timeline. Regardless of the increase, Fishing has been a consistently popular topic over the past five years.
Considering this, it’s reasonable to assume that Fishing is among the most popular outdoor activities globally.
This brings us back to the question: Why Fly Fishing Lags Behind?
We’ve established that Fishing is popular in the outdoor space, although age demographic data isn’t available on Google Trends. It’s no secret, though, that Fishing as a recreational sport is most popular among the following generations:
- Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
- Generation X (1965-1979)
- Millennials/Generation Y (1980-1995)
This leaves us with
- Generation Z (1995-2010)
- Generation Alpha (2010-2024).
These generations are often referred to as digital generations, having grown up with YouTube, video games, social media, smartphones, and other technology.
So what if we compare Fishing to some popular Video Games.
The graphs show that Fishing is as popular, if not more popular than, some of these games.
However, exact age distribution across these topics remains unknown.
An assumption would be that most traffic related to video games comes from Generation Z and Alpha with occasional participation from Millennials seeking a break from their daily routine.
This brings us back to the initial comparison:
Fly Fishing – Snowboarding – Skateboarding – Surfing – BMX.
As stated at the beginning of this rather lengthy blog post, it’s fair to assume,
excluding Fly Fishing, that the other topics primarily appeal to younger generations.
So, why is Fly Fishing not on the radar for younger generations?
Could it be that younger generations spend most of their time in front of computers?
While video gaming is undoubtedly popular, data also indicates that Skateboarding still holds appeal.
Few Baby Boomers, Gen X, or Gen Y individuals engage in Skateboarding.
This shows that the interest in outdoor activities persists among younger generations.
Considering all this data, it’s safe to say that outdoor activities are immensely popular globally, potentially more than ever.
The foundation for Fly Fishing’s growth and increased popularity certainly exists.
The question is how to get there.
Without offending anyone, fly fishing still carries the stigma of being an activity for wealthy individuals standing in pristine trout streams or fishing for exotic saltwater species in locations most people can’t afford. However, the past decade has seen efforts to make fly fishing more appealing and accessible.
Many excellent films have been uploaded to YouTube, showcasing that experiencing great fishing doesn’t always mean journeying to the ends of the Earth.
Nevertheless, scrolling through the ‘Fly Fishing the World’ Playlist demonstrates that several films aren’t getting the views they deserve.
Even though the style of the films is modern, action-packed, and very well made—much like Snowboarding or Skateboarding, which perform very well with a younger audience.
For me, this indicates that younger people haven’t fully embraced the fly fishing bug.
I could talk for hours about why fly fishing has so many things to offer, and why all generations should jump on board now, if you are not already on
But if I should try to control myself and not turn this post into a Ph.D, then remember:
Fly fishing is not just about catching a fish; that is the ultimate goal, the icing on the cake. However, the cake itself is the experience—the planning of a great adventure,
the destinations fly fishing takes us to, the tranquility with nature and the surroundings.
And, on a very practical level, it’s the purpose that gets us out of the house and into the embrace of nature.
As a content creator in the fly fishing and outdoor realm, this is a topic close to my heart. I’d love to contribute to making fly fishing more accessible or simply just more visible.
Up until now, I have met many people who don’t know what fly fishing is—I mean, everybody knows what skateboarding is!
If anyone ever manages to reach the end of this blog post, and has good ideas on how to engage or inform younger individuals about fly fishing, please leave a comment below or send an email.