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Post by yihunt on Apr 12, 2009 12:04:42 GMT -4
Anglers motivated by sport of trout fishing Buzz up!By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR Sunday, April 12, 2009 Multimedia
Having trout available to catch is important to Pennsylvania's fishermen.
Having trout to keep is not.
That's one of the biggest evolutions in the state's trout fishing scene over the last two decades.
Two surveys done nearly 20 years apart prove that. One was a survey of trout anglers done in 1991 by the University of Pittsburgh. The other was a survey of trout anglers done last year by Responsive Management, a Virginia-based research firm.
The Pitt survey found that keeping a limit of hatchery trout was important to 67 percent of anglers in 1991. Sixty-one percent said it was important to keep a limit of wild trout.
Attitudes have since changed.
The Responsive Management survey — which did not break down trout as stocked versus wild — found that while about three in four anglers said it's important they catch fish, only 44 percent said it was important to take home a limit.
What's more, 61 percent of anglers said they most often release the trout they catch, while just 12 percent mostly keep the trout they catch. Eighty-eight percent release their trout at least half of the time.
So, if it's not to catch fish to eat, why do trout fishermen go out?
According to Responsive Management, the main motivations cited for trout fishing were relaxation (38 percent), sport (28 percent), to be with family and friends (21 percent), to be close to nature (6 percent), to catch fresh fish to eat (3 percent), to catch a lot of fish (2 percent), and to catch large fish (less than 1 percent).
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