I didn't see the article, but it seems to me that average annual income may be interesting, but isn't necessarily relevant. If I were a manufacturer or retailer in the fly fishing industry, I'd be more interested in how much money is spent annually on the various categories of fly fishing related items, trends in this spending over time, etc.

That being said, I can't help thinking back to one night some years ago on the Beaverkill when a husband and wife showed up to fly fish in their chauffeur driven Mercedes limo. After they had assembled their fishing gear, donned their waders, and walked down to the river, the wife yelled to me where I was fishing on the opposite bank.

"What is the average depth of the water here?" she asked.

"It's probably about 3 feet deep out in front of you" I answered.

"Thanks" she said. Then she promptly stepped off the bank and into a hole behind a big rock that was at least 4 or 5 feet deep. She tumbled into the water, head over heels, and dropped one of her big fly boxes that she had apparently been holding open, in her hand. She was okay, although dripping wet from head to toe, and promptly righted herself. However, I could see dozens of her flys floating down the river.

So much for giving out "average" information!

John