A decade of consumer research shows differences in some aspects of male and female fishing habits, so much so that each year companies release new lines of fishing gear made in female sizes and shapes.
In its annual "Women in the Outdoors" survey, Florida-based polling group Southwick Associates reinforces past claims that American men and women fish in different ways.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service studies in 2001, 2006 and 2011 showed the percentage of female anglers has held steady at about 26 percent, but the proportional responses to Southwick's questions are insightful.
"Women are a huge part of the outdoor market and even influence spending decisions by others in their households," said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, in a statement released with his latest survey results. "Smart companies need to reach out to the female segment."
Although there are some Mars-and-Venus, cat-and-dog differences in the way the sexes fish, other areas of research show virtually no sex differential.
When asked what types of freshwater fishing they participate in, 95.5 percent of women and 96.5 percent of men responded, "Fishing with rod and reel." But the answer to that question was "fly fishing" among 14.1 percent of women and 32.3 percent of men.
Women said they were more likely to fish from a canoe (15 percent to 6 percent), and more likely to get their fishing information from a newspaper (20 percent to 14 percent). About 70 percent of women and 80 percent of men purchased fishing equipment in 2015.
The Southwick report found differences in preferred fishing methods: artificial baits (women 72 percent, men 86 percent), live bait (women 59 percent, men 52 percent), flies (women 13 percent, men 20 percent).
The greatest differential -- a full 20 percent -- was in response to a question about freshwater species targeted at least once in 2015. Forty-four percent of women targeted largemouth or spotted bass while 64 percent of men went for the same common species. Among women, 22 percent targeted trout, versus 32 percent of men.
Sports on 06/28/2016