"Look at both license sales, tackle sales, bait sales, and ANY report on water usage in any state...all are 'up'.
Buddy, I don't know about tackle sales, bait sales or "report on water usage," but you are absolutely wrong about fishing license sales being "up." That's not true nationally, and that's not true in my state.

Where did you get your figures? Have you read the annual survey by the US Fish and Wildlife Service?