What Fishermen Look for in a Fishing Experience

Personal interviews were conducted with 100 fishennen to determine the relative importance of eight selected factors that influence the success of a typical l-day fishing trip. Elements of the natural environment water quality, natural beauty, and privacy while fishing were consistently rated as the most important factors influencing fishing enjoyment. Size and number of fish caught, weather conditions, and ease of access to fishing waters were rated of moderate importance. Facilities available were rated as of low importance. Few differences were found between factor rankings for stream and for lake fishing experiences. Shifts in the importance of factors across different groups of fishermen were also investigated. Results of the study indicate that the concept of fishery management should be broadened to incorporate environmental management7 if quality fishing experiences are to be provided. FISHING EXPERIENCE * Moeller and Engelken 1253 hours per acre, along with an unknown but obviously balancing natural death rate and recruitment, iis combination will produce a fishable population of smallmouth bass for an indefinite period. The hybrid crappies now representing hybrids of F2 generations have added interest to the angling in East Pond, without contributing greatly to the yield. There is no evidence that the lake chubsuckers have become overly abundant, and no attempt has been made to make an estimate of this segment of the population. Fishing has been jokingly defined as a jerk at one end of the line waiting for a jerk at the other end. This may be an acceptable definition for the nonfisherman, but those of us who like to fish know that fishing involves much more the enjoyment of the outdoors, the companionship of friends, and, if we are lucky, a sizzling pan of freshly caught fish. Most anglers are quick to admit that their interest is not solely in the fish they catch but in fishing itself (Ley 1967). A survey of over 4,000 Ohio fishermen showed that more than half obtained as much enjoyment from a fishing trip if they caught no fish as they did if they caught fish (Addis and Erickson 1969). Other studies have shown that at least two-thirds of the nation's fishermen catch less than one-third of all the fish caught and that half of these fishermen catch no fish ( Sport Fishing Institute l964). LITERATURE CITED BENNETT, G. W. l9S4. Largemouth bass in Ridge Lake, Coles County, Illinois. Illinois Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 26( art. 2 ) :217-276. , AND W. F. CHILDERS. 1957. The smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieui, in srannwater ponds. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 21 ( 4 ): 414X24. , AND . 1966. The lake chubsucker as a forage species. Progr. FishCulturist 28 ( 2 ): 89-92. BUCK, D. H., AND C. F. THOITS, III. 1970. DYnamics of one-species populations of fishes in ponds subjected to cropping and additional stocking. Illinois Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 30(art. 2) :69-165. Received for publication March 13, 1972. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.103 on Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:08:04 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Table 1. Comporison of fishermen in the present study group with a random sample of licensed fishermen in six northeastern stotes. PRESENT IN SIX NE CHARACTERISTICS STUDY STATESa Average age (years) 40 40 Fishing experience (years) 26 24 Male ( percent ) 90 87 Married ( percent ) 79 87 Rural background (percent) 68 56 White collar job (percent) 46 45 a Data from Bevins et al. ( 1968 ). 1254 Journal of WilEUffe Management, Vol. 36, No. 4, October 1972 and are managed to provide maximum exposure to natural surroundings. Respondents were questioned about their past fishing experiences and socioeconomic backgrounds. Fishermen were also asked to evaluate, on the basis of their own past experiences, the relative influellce that eight selected factors had on their enjoyment of a typical 1-day fishing trip. The factors were selected to describe aspects of the fishing experience -most of which can be controlled or influenced by resource managers. These factors are ease of access to water, facilities available, natural beauty of the area, privacy while fishing, llumber of fish caught, size of fish caughtv water quality, and weather conditiorls. Fishermen were given two cards that randomly listed the eight environmental factors one card was for lake fishing, an(l one was for stream fishing. They were asked to indicate, by a check luark along a three-point scale, the relative irnportance of each factor influencing their enjoyment of a typical l-day fishing trip. Data were first analyzed by calculatirlg an average importance score for each of the eight environmental factors. Weighted factor scores were determined as follows: a factor was scored 3 if it was rated very important; 2, if important; and 1) if llot irnportant. Although this artificial systena does not provide a precise interval measurement, it is useful in describing the general overall ranking patterns among the factors. To determine how factor ratings shifted across different fisherman groups7 respondents were separated into categories based on s;s background characteristics: age, past fishing experience, willingness to pay to fish) leisure time available, educational level7 and background residerlce. Average factor ratings were calculated for each group of fishermen. The chi-square test was used to determine whether statistical It would be incorrect to the long run, the size and suggest that, in number of fish caught are not important to fishing enjoyment. In many instances, however, other factors significantly influence fishing enjoyment The purpose of this study was to provide some basic insights into the relative importance of factors that influence the overall enjoyment of a fishing trip. Shifts in the relative importance of various factors across different groups of fishermen were also investigated. The study was undertaken to provide fishery and resource managers with basic information about how the quality of a fishing experience may be improved. METHODS Personal interviews were conducted with 100 licensed fishermen during the summers of 1969 and 1970. Respondents were selected from among fishermen who took part in a limnological and fisheries research program conducted at the Heiberg Memorial Forest Fishing Ponds, managed by the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York. The objective of the Heiberg research project was to determine the effects of fishing pressure on growth, survival) and feeding habits of stocked fish in controlled access ponds. The ponds are in a wooded area This content downloaded from 207.46.13.103 on Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:08:04 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms FISHING EXPERIENCE * Moeller and Engelken 12S5 differences existed between the distributions of scores given to a particular factor by the different groups. THE STUDY GROUP Fishermen interviewed in this study were not selected at random from a population of license holders. A comparison of characteristics of the study group with characteristics of fishermen in other studies will help to evaluate the representativeness of the study group. The characteristics of anglers in six northeastern states were described in a regional mail survey of 6,S89 randomly selected licensed fishermen (Bevins et al. 1968). Characteristics of fishermen interviewed in our study compare favorably with characteristics of fishermen in this large sample survey (Table 1). Seventy percent of those surveyed had never previously fished the Heiberg ponds, and 82 percent had fished for more than S years prior to this survey. Also, the fishermen included in our study did most of their fishing in places other than the Heiberg ponds. RESULTS Overall Factor Ratings To determine whether any differences in factor ratings occurred between lake fishing or stream fishing, fishermen who fished in both lakes and streams were asked to rank the eight factors separately for each kind of fishing experience. Although the absolute rank value assigned to the two kinds of fishing experiences varied, the relative overall ranking of the eight factors was essentially the same. Because no major differences were found in the relative ranking of environmental factors for lakes and streams, the weights were combined to form a mean ranking >