Gerald Ratner famously bought down the family jewellery empire with a single phrase where he unfavourably compared the life expectancy and value of their bestselling earrings to a Marks & Spencer prawn sandwich. He has lived with the consequences ever since.
And, to a certain extent so have we fly fishers thanks to the JR Hartley Yellow Pages advert that cemented the stereotype for our sport as a slightly eccentric, tweed clad old buffer. Most adverts sink beneath the waves after a short while, but JR Hartley lives on 39 years later, regularly voted one of the most memorable adverts of all time. Grrrrr...
Brad Pitt, Bob Mortimer & Paul Whitehouse
In the intervening years fly fishing has had at least two renaissances with the opportunity to bury our stereotype most notably the Brad Pitt film A River Runs Through It in the 1990’s and more recently the BBC series Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing. Have either worked?
River made fly fishing ‘cool’ with the awesome casting of a youthful Pitt, spectacular Montana scenery and a storyline that showed fishing as being as much about companionship and being there as the fishing itself. A whole new generation of twentysomethings took to the water, with guiding becoming a profession for people straight out of college. It must be said this mostly applies to the US, where you’ll be pretty well spent as a guide by your 50’s, dispensing advice from behind the relative comfort a fly store counter thereafter. Whereas, in the UK, you will be more likely starting out on your guiding career such is the difference in economics of the industry in each respective country.
As for Gone Fishing which, in truth, does range across the angling disciplines, it hasn’t done much to dispel many of the Hartley stereotypes. Both Whitehouse and Mortimer are in their sixties and as to eccentricity it would be a long argument in a bar as to which of the pair is the more eccentric, as they are both undoubtedly eccentric. However, what they have done, is open the window to show those who don’t fish why there is more to fishing than fishing itself.
Is fly fishing a niche activity?
My sense, though I don’t have any empirical data to support this beyond being in the business, is that fly fishing remains a niche activity which impinges on very few beyond those who do it. The fact is there are not very many of us – less than one fifth of the one million who annually buy a fishing licence are regular fly fishers. There are more, without wishing to diminish it any way, table tennis players than fly fishers. Do you worry about the image of table tennis or how its aficionados dress or go about their sport? Probably not. I suspect much the same apples to the 65 million others in the UK who would not know a fly rod from a stick of rock.
In common with most participation sports angling, fly fishing included, is on the decline, as concluded by the research in the wake of the 2012 London Olympics which was hoped to boost participation for all sports. There was a little upward bump in the immediate aftermath of 2012 but for the most part, though the interest in sport is increasing by way of spectating, the actual taking part is at best flatlining excepting a few notables such as leisure cycling, golf and angling which all experienced a Covid surge. However heartening that might be in the short term the overall picture is of a generational decline of boots on the bank.
The causes of decline
Arresting this decline is a topic much wrestled with by everyone in the industry. The causes are clear: fewer family role models to encourage participation at a young age. A nervousness to allow children free range outdoors, especially beside water. Less access to the countryside and more urbanised living. Time poor parents. The cost of participation. Angling is no longer considered societally ‘normal’ as it becomes an increasingly niche activity. If that’s a slightly fuzzy concept to grasp let me give you an example: from the 1940’s the Daily Mirror featured Mr Crabtree goes Fishing which was a hugely popular informational cartoon strip, each new edition eagerly awaited by schoolboys in largely working class homes. For decades it was staple of a newspaper that had a circulation of over 5m and a readership that included one fifth of the entire population.
But today things are very different, Mr Crabtree consigned to history long ago. It is lazy to blame all this on devices and the internet age as this change has been a long time coming which makes it all the harder to resolve. Our difficulty is that we are in a classic downward spiral as fewer people fish with each passing year because, as all the research will conclude, the most likely way in which anyone becomes an angler is through encouragement from a father, brother or grandfather. The percentage of anglers fishing today who started in their twenties or older in only about 15%. You’ve got catch ‘em young!
Sorry if I sound a bit sexist in this summation but, whether we like it or not, 95% of anglers are men. From a business perspective it is not wise to ignore half the population but sometimes you have to be realistic and play to your strengths. When I go to my local sports club, I will see yoga classes that are 95% women. Do I think this is wrong or bad? No. Just so long as there are no barriers to entry, which I don’t believe there are for either fishing or yoga, that is the choices we prefer to make.
What can you do about it?
So, what should we do to encourage more people to fish? Well, firstly we should be relaxed about how many people fish. Yes, we love our sport but not everyone will share our passion. That’s the way the world works so let’s not beat ourselves up about it. If we are a small but merry band of brothers and sisters of the angle, so be it. But all that said, we’ve got a lot to shout about so here is my four-point plan to raise the public profile of fly fishing, and for that matter, all fishing:
1. Abolish the fishing licence
Let’s face it this is nothing more than a tax on angling and a highly regressive one at that, hitting those who can least afford it most. No wonder participation rates are falling, and we have the absurd situation where the Environment Agency spend more on administering, collecting, policing and prosecuting in the cause of the licence than they do on promoting fishing.
2. Role models
We probably cannot revive Mr Crabtree but there is a place in social media for a modern day version. Who does it, who it is or how it comes about I’m not exactly sure but for now it is up to each and every one of us, as fly fishers, to spread the word and inculcate the next generation.
3. Fishing for Schools
The great work done by Charles Jardine and the Countryside Alliance with Fishing for Schools, along with similar efforts such as National Fishing Month, are the most direct route to planting the seed of fishing that will blossom in later life for those who take part at an early age.
4. Make everyone love their river
In my most dystopian moods I do ask what is the point as, year-on-year, our rivers become more degraded and polluted. But I’m an optimist. I don’t believe society will sit by forever as our countryside, rivers included, is progressively trashed by the onward march of urbanisation. We have, or will have, the answers. We can treat sewage, so the water returns to rivers pure. Agriculture does not have to be the force that destroys the very land it relies on to exist. We can reengineer the landscape to protect our rivers.
As anglers we don’t just have a vested interest in healthy rivers. We’ve had a front row seat in their decline, so we are better placed than most to offer an informed commentary on what is happening. So really it is up to us to do our bit individually. Bend the ear of the stranger next to you on the train if you see them staring at a river. Join one of the many organisations that work on behalf on rivers. Call radio phone ins. Text or tweet current affair shows. Lobby your MP. Highlight local issues to the local council. These are just my quick takes; I imagine you can think of a myriad of other ways to spread the word.
The point is in aggregate we really can make a difference if not for us but at least to ensure rivers will continue to be enjoyed by the generations that follow us.
Simon Cooper is a guest blog writer for Sportfish and the views in this article are entirely his own. He is managing director of Fishing Breaks, a leading chalkstream fishing service. He is author of Life of a Chalkstream and The Otters’ Tale. Follow his fortnightly blog on saving our rivers at www.fishingbreaks.co.uk