Guess, "this increase in fishing numbers", Buddy, need to get together and have lunch, with the folks below!?

According to a new study released by the National Academy of Sciences, participation in outdoor activities has declined by 18 to 25 percent in the past 25 years, something researchers link to the appearance of video games in the daily diet of younger generations. They also cite "overfishing and pollution issues decreasing access to fish populations." "The decline, found in both the United States and Japan, appears to have begun in the 1980s and 1990s, the period of rapid growth of video games, they said. For example, fishing peaked in 1981 and had declined 25 percent by 2005, the researchers found. Visits to national parks peaked in 1987 and dropped 23 percent by 2006, while hiking on the Appalachian Trial peaked in 2000 and was down 18 percent by 2005.
US Fish & Wildlife Releases 5-year Results from Fishing and Hunting Survey

Although some details of the latest version of the US Fish & Wildlife Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation were made available in July, the complete report -- which includes details on the number of anglers and their activities, their expenditures and demographic data -- was just released last week.
Among the more interesting information in the report, which is likely the least-biased measures of fly fishing participation in the U.S.:
-- 3,012,000 anglers over the age of 16 fly fished in 2006, participating for an average of about 10 days per person
-- "Although the number of all anglers declined 12%, their expenditures for fishing equipment (rods, reels, etc.) and fishing trips increased 5% and 7%, respectively. There were drops in expenditures for auxiliary equipment (special clothing, tents, etc.) and special equipment (big ticket items such as boats) by -14% and -12%, respectively." (Quoted from the USFWS Web site.)
-- 67 percent of all anglers (including non-fly-fishers) engaged in some form of catch-and-release fishing, while 20% always released their fish