The number of people fishing across the U.S. went up in 2018, including more women and more minorities than ever before, according to a comprehensive report on angling in America.
The "2019 Special Report on Fishing," a joint effort of the Outdoor Foundation and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, polled more than 20,000 people across the U.S, to determine their angling habits. The results estimate that 49.4 million people fished in the U.S. in 2018, the most recent year full data is available for, up 7% over the past three years.
But the percentage of all U.S. residents who fish continues to go down because the number of new anglers is not keeping pace with the increase in overall population. About 16.4% of all Americans age 6 and older fished in 2018 _ about one out of every six people _ down from 16.5% in 2017 and 18.7% in 2007.
