According to the annual study done by the Outdoors Industry Association, the number of active fly fishers aged 6-17 in the U.S. dropped from 1,440,000 in 2006 to 711,000 in 2007. Meanwhile the numbers for 18- to 24-year- olds dropped from 789,000 to 695,000 and the count for participants of all ages went from 6,121,000 to 5,576,000. Many outdoor activity categories saw similar drops in participation.
Some good news: outdoor activities were still more popular than indoor activities for men between the ages of 25 to 65. What's behind the decline in youth involvement? According to younger respondents, they don't have the time for outdoor activities. "Do Not Have the Time" and "Too Much Schoolwork" (even more than "Video Games") were the top two reasons after "Not Interested."
Download the full report here.
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