Some bedtime reading….

This is some research published today based on a very recent survey of angling participation… it’s a survey I took part in myself.

If you would like to skim the full (70 page!!!!) report go to: http://www.anglingresearch.org.uk/sites/anglingresearch.org.uk/files/Research_Task_1_Angling_Participation.pdf

Here’s a snapshot of some of the findings….

Respondents were predominantly male (n=1,943 of 1,992, or 97.5%);
Respondents had a mean age of 48.9 years (n=1,991). The minimum age was 12 years and
maximum age was 103 years;
Approximately two-thirds of the respondents were married (n=1,298 of 1,980, or 65.6%) and a
similar proportion had no dependent children (n=1,239/1,963, or 63.1%);
A little over 50% of respondents (n=990 or 1,965, or 50.4%) were employed full time, with a
further 20.2% (n=397) retired; and
The mean annual household income was £51,137, while the mode and median values were
£30,000 and £34,000 per annum respectively.

In terms of the form of angling that respondents were most interested in, 59.4% said Coarse
Angling – includes carp (n=1,422), 25.6% said Game Angling (n=612) and 15.0% said Sea Angling (n=358);
On an angling skill level scale comprising Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert and Post-
Expert levels, exactly 50% of respondents described themselves as Advanced (n=1,202 of
2403);
The mean number of days per year that respondents went angling was 58 days. The mode
number of days was 30 and the median number of days was 43;
The majority respondents said they spent most of their time angling in England (n=2,015 of
2,403, or 83.9%); and
In terms of location most frequently fished, respondents nominated a highly diverse range of
places spread across England and Scotland, although Reading (England) received the most
references (n=20 of 1,716, or 1.1%).

Fishing For How Long?
Less than 20 years (2%)
20-29 years (7%)
30-39 years (15%)
40-49 years (24%)
50-59 years (29%)
More than 59 years (23%)

Angling Media
Buying/reading angling books and magazines (82.8%)
Watching angling-related television and films (75.5%)
Reading and/or contributing to angling blogs, internet discussion boards and websites (58.8%)