The Vitality of Fishing Clubs - Where will ISA be in 10 Years? 20 years? 50 years?

[Dan Draz]

The Background

This week I received a wakeup call about the existence of fishing organizations. I've been a member of a very strong West Coast fishing organization with a strong conservation bend (ring a bell with anyone?) for 25 years now. The organization has 10 chapters - the one I belonged to was in the largest metropolitan area with the biggest population base and demographic of people who have money and can afford to fish, fish destinations, buy boats, and buy tackle. Should be vibrant - all good, right? Think again. I just received a notice that this  chapter was shuttering operations and would no longer be in existence. 

The Contributing Factors

There were a number of prevalent reasons but the main two had to do with declining membership and the age of the members. The inability to bring in younger members, infuse the group with new blood and and "revitalize" the organization eventually catches up with all organizations (fishing or otherwise). And absent a continual influx of new members eventually organizations just meet their eventual demise.

I started looking at pictures from their other area chapter meetings. Same age demographic. 10 chapters are now in the same eventual demise cycle.

Let me bring this a bit closer to home. The other day, I started looking at some pictures of local Chicago area fishing groups from their meetings. Suffice it to say there wasn't a person in the room under 60 years old. The number might actually have been closer to 70  but let's go with 60 for discussion sake. Given the same set of circumstances and inability to bring in a younger demographic - these organizations will, in the not too distant future, meet their eventual demise as well.

Part of the challenge in getting younger members into fishing organizations is that younger people have to be out fishing. We know that getting kids into the outdoors is not what it used to be pre Internet given all the distractions associated with the electronic age. Secondly, if you think about why people join fishing organizations there are two prevalent reasons: 1) Associate with like minded people and 2) learn new techniques. Well, given YouTube (the prevalence of online fishing instructional videos) and the ability to join like minded groups online, #'s 1 & 2 might not be as big a draw for some people as it used to be 50 years ago before the online revolution.

Call to Action

Let's get real for a minute. This was a real wakeup call. It's a sign of the times. ISA is an uber cool organization and I'd like to see it be sustainable and survive year over year. But for that to occur, given what I saw this week, there has to be a continual influx of new (and younger) members.

• We need to get more young people into the outdoors and away from electronic distractions 
• We need to get more young people into the sport of fishing
• We need to make conservation a priority for younger demographics
• We need to give them a place (like ISA) to belong - where all that ties together

 

I'll intentionally have an 18 and a 25 year old with me at the Blowout next month. I'm taking them and their friends fishing, we're doing fishing related travel trips, sharing techniques and conservation information to help a younger demographic learn the sport, catch fish and treat the outdoors with respect. And a handful of times a year I've been giving away tackle to the younger demographic to get them interested in the sport.  

We ALL need to do something... otherwise, the writing is on the wall for quite a few fishing (long time) orgs as I saw this week. What's your plan?

[WILLIAM C.]

Well said Dan, I have observed the same things. Even at the outdoor shows there are very few adults accompanied

by children or their wives. Over the years I have taken everyone of my 12 grandchildren fishing at least once. Only

one ever became passionate about fishing and the outdoors. They all enjoyed the experience of catching fish and

being in the boat with grandpa but it never became their thing. At least I tried. Some will say they have to many other 

choices, that is true. But my grandson that loves fishing has always been involved in sports and when he comes home from 

college the first thing he wants to do is go fishing. Take a kid fishing or just outdoors and see what happens.

[Terry Dodge]

They’re out there. They care and I can tell you, just off the top of my head, that The ISA has added in upwards of 10 new members in the last year at or below the age of 35.  I think conducting some type of seminar to local high school fishing teams showing them what the ISA is about, what we do, the fish we catch, and the care we give in handling them and the care we give to our waterways. I would think many of them young lads would be interested in being active members. I’m pretty sure I can guarantee that their mouths will hit the floor when they see the kind of fish, not just smallmouth, that our rivers have to offer. It’ll probably be awhile before any of them can afford a bass boat. There’s somewhat of a dead area there, in between graduation and buying your own bass boat, maybe that’s something we should try to pounce on?

I am still to this day absolutely impressed with the high quality fisherman in the ISA. None better that I know of. Not only the fishing part but then we have some pretty damn talented fly tiers and fly fisher also. Some of who are almost famous. Ha!
I know a few of the younger new members came over from my Smallmouth Hunter Mobile App and Site. They’re great guys and I am looking forward to getting out this early Spring for some Yellow Sign posting, river clean up and, of course, some smallmouth fishing with these guys. It’s gonna be a fun year. I can feel it!

[Colindanenfish]

Sometimes  I wish there was more people in this group or alliance in this case. Am 32 years old just had a birthday ( Tuesday-  31st of January) I've tried to tell people about these two groups  am a part of. One being  ISA .  I feel  both men and women ,  people are hesitant about  being  in a group or organization and wonder more about cause and effect or consequences of what could happen  negatively.  Perhaps people are just  to wrapped up in there routine  and dont use there heads or want to go out and do things tougher.  It seem the pandemic has turned our word upside-down.  People today are more narrow  minded and less open to certain  activities.  I am not a speaking  about everyone here. But it seems from my point of view  that people  either don't think about it or they think to much or read in to it way to much.   It is sad to think  in my opinion  that groups or  organizations  can't for whatever the reason  get new people in here.  

[Kev-mo]

So many thoughts....which lead to more thoughts. It's like a merry go round minus some of the merry..

Anyway,  talked with a young man (mid 20's?) yesterday. He fished as a kid and is starting to get back into fishing. I let him know about the club, he looked us up and noted we had a facebook page. I talked us up a little but didn't want to com on too strong or anything like that. 

Talked with a former ISA member yesterday and he mentioned mentioning the club to a younger man he ran into on the water. 

[Dan Draz]

I wrote this post because given the events of last week I started thinking about the situation that organized (fishing) groups face these days not only to bring in new members but to survive and thrive which is imperative to the future of their mission. 

The realization of the situation is the first step and that definitely hit home for me last week.

So, I decided to throw this topic out there and try to not only generate some open dialog about it but increase the awareness of the challenges we're all facing. To avoid the inevitable, we need to try and drive interest in ISA from diverse age groups so that it remains vital year over year. 

Any ideas are good ideas and no one's judging anyone for the thoughts, ideas or suggestions they share. Whether it's 1:1 conversations via phone, e-mail, IM, or chatting with someone while standing in the water or in a tackle store, grass roots efforts or organized initiatives, it's all pointing in the right direction. Doesn't have to be high pressure or annoying, just nudge people in the right direction and eventually they'll want to come see what this very cool organization is all about! Then, they're "hooked" (pun intended)! 

Remember: It all starts with 1!

[Paul Trybul]

Those are all good points, questions, and things we have discussed over the years in our leadership meetings. The need for a youth movement goes beyond the membership as we would love and embrace an infusion of a younger generation stepping up and becoming leaders in the ISA as well.  The ISA has been very involved in the Sgt Tommy events over the years, helping introduce kids to fishing and the outdoors. Hopefully all that hard work pays off and some of those kids get passionate about fishing and involved in the ISA.  

The younger generation has a lot more outlets and can gain a lot of information off the internet. I sincerely feel I've learned way more about smallmouth fishing by being involved in the ISA than everything I've learned on the internet or TV.  People are guarded about what they share online now. There is no substitute to the information that gets shared when you meet up with other like minded anglers in person. I hope the younger generation doesn't lose sight of that. I've accumulated a ton of knowledge over the years, and I don't want to take all that to grave with me. I hope there's a younger generation to mentor.

 

 

[rich mc]

  youth fishing has picked up since the high schools started the tournaments   some ideas are have a few isa anglers talk to the local high school team start with lures and location but end with conservation.   and keep in contact with the coaches to let them know about any conservation projects., blowout and early show which i hope come back .  let them know about the zoom sessions as well.  we should try a beginner fly casting on the water event  craig did this when he was our first fly director.  organize a short local trip with local kids. i have plenty near me and a grandson to spread the word. any local pond will do.    perhaps we can start or sponsor a casting contest both youth and adult, dan basore knows alot about casting competition.

[Ryan S]

As a relatively new member and 31 year old (and current high school teacher), I see a few things that may be misconceptions and possible solutions:

#1- I think plenty of young people are engaged in fishing- particularly bass fishing and fly fishing. We need to meet them in there world instead of expecting them to visit ours. So I don't think young people fishing is the issue. I think they engage with groups differently these days. They are still in the outdoors..

#2- I think this forum is incredibly active and full of members  who are willing to share information and knowledge. It's one of the reasons I have stayed active online even if I don't make it to in person events because I live in this city. Geographic barrier. This should be a huge draw. How can we get younger people to join this active group?

#3- I would love to see ISA increase their social media presence (for good or bad its a part of young people's lives who have grown up with it.) Social media is older than a student in high school today. They haven't grown up in a world without it. Personally, I find the fishing community on instagram to be huge (bass fishing, fly tying, etc.).  Its where I find most of my fly patterns. I don't think ISA has an instagram account? Additionally, as a high school teacher I can vouch that nearly no high school student uses facebook or instagram. It's all about tik tok.

#4- I see very few if no women on these forums. Maybe I'm wrong here though. 

[Terry Dodge]

Hey, I do the ISA Facebook page! Ha! Yeah that FB isn’t all that much. Our YouTube station is looking nice but that’s about it for my abilities in the social meadow world. I know those other platforms are much more popular but I just don’t have any interest in learning Ckik-Clak,  or Golden Grams, at this point in my life.    You an English teacher by chance? 😬

[Ryan S]

1 hour ago, Terry Dodge said:

Hey, I do the ISA Facebook page! Ha! Yeah that FB isn’t all that much. Our YouTube station is looking nice but that’s about it for my abilities in the social meadow world. I know those other platforms are much more popular but I just don’t have any interest in learning Ckik-Clak,  or Golden Grams, at this point in my life.    You an English teacher by chance? 😬

Keep those youtube fly tying videos coming terry! those are great and far beyond my editing skills! can I start an ISA instagram account?!

and heck nahh I'm not an English teacher! Grammar is much too boring for me! Keep trying on that one.

[John R. Flannery]

I agree with alot of the comments already made. Two clubs I have been a member of disbanded for the reasons already mentioned. I see quite a few young anglers shore fishing and stream fishing, especially during the summer. I'm guessing that they are on their school's fishing teams, because they often have multiple casting rods, tackle backpacks and the right lures for largemouth fishing in a deep south reservoir. I watched a couple of them  casting a 10" trout swimbait at Silver Lake in Warrenville, probably spooking every fish in a 20 foot radius with every cast with the depth charge like splash every time the lure hit the water. They seemed like nice kids, but did not notice the three largemouth I caught on a Ned Rig fished slow down the weedline, while they were carpet bombing the other side of the weedline sending panicked fish in my direction.  Same thing on the Riverwalk in the summer-casting rods, heavy line and power fishing lures, no match for the eelgrass and algae. All kidding aside, i think these kids are an opportunity for the ISA- make contact with the coaches, offer speakers on local fishing, Midwest Finesse techniques, and that sort of thing. I'm guessing those coaches would welcome developing a relationship with the ISA. One of the clubs I was in got quite a few guests at meetings by creating business cards with club information to pass out to other anglers they encounter on the water. I probably would pass out at least 20 a season to other fishermen I encounter. I would always try to make sure they got introduced as a guest if they showed up at a  meeting. I have been in some clubs that are kind of cliquey too. Sometimes beginners might show up, but get intimidated by the level that the other guys are at, maybe not interested in fly fishing but just wanting to learn to fish rivers, since we have so many in Illinois. A good topic to think about.

[Terry Dodge]

We do have this link to our promotional enewsletter that can be saved to your Reading List or a File on your phone and then Shared streamside with other anglers. 
Or try this QR Code
 

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-latest-news-for-you.html?soid=1101955433105&aid=gwJmTVpYDjA

[Ben K.]

I would have to echo Ryan, the best way to drive engagement overall would be the hot social media apps. I also think that Tik tok is the devil… so maybe an instagram account would be a good start.  

I’ve always been impressed by this club, its run well, there’s a multitude of events for socialization and conservation. I’ve met plenty of really enjoyable people who are also damn fine fishermen. Are we really slipping? Is membership trending that negatively? 

I’m interested to hear and would be happy to help more going forward. Maybe we could start with a series of engagement driven videos for instagram. 
 

[Terry Dodge]

No worries. From my records I would say that membership has gone up 30 to 40 people over the last year. Which I’m pretty happy with.
I have followed many Smallmouth Alliance fishing groups over the past few years along with other fishing groups. I would say that about 95.99% of the ones that fold are because they fell into the situation whereas one person was responsible for everything and when that one person decides to move on and there’s no one there to carry on then the club folds. I believe that is what happened with Indiana Smallmouth Alliance and Ohio Smallmouth Alliance. Their Illinois Smallmouth Alliance has carried on because of our team of ISA Offers that we have had over the years and still today. 
Over the last 3 years we have been challenged with the pandemic scare, and the retirement of Scott, who did so so much for the ISA.  It takes a team to move forward and as long as we keep a leadership team in place the future looks bright.

[Ben K.]

Thanks Terry, I’ll sleep better tonight. 

[Mike Clifford]

An interesting conversation. For those not aware, I started an ISA "Youth Program" around 19 years ago at Monee Reservoir. It was not long after that I was asked to help create the Sgt. Tommy's Kids organization and the ISA will be operating the Kids Casting field for the 17th consecutive time this year. In between all of that, we hosted the casting field and fishing pond for several years at Northern Illinois Hunting and Fishing Days. At the Illinois State Fair, we had a kids casting station for a few years. Scout-a-rama was a couple years of running the fishing pond. All of this was in addition to several macroinvertebrate samplings and river clean-ups I hosted, all geared toward youth education. An interesting thing to note is that these events ran the gamut of Northern, Central and Southern Illinois. We were all over the map with these efforts. 

As for the outdoor shows, we agonized over these for years due to the difficulty of getting volunteers to make them happen. (See the forum post just below this topic by William C). When the getting was good and we had very motivated members in the booth, we could easily sign 100 or more new members in a good week at Rosemont. That doesn't happen by standing there just handing out brochures. It involved a concerted effort to get them signed up. My go-to method seemed to almost always involve discussions about conservation most days. Other times, it was with a map of Illinois spread out on the table and discussing where they like to fish. Had to play it by ear on any given day. I'm not sure if those days are even possible any longer. It takes some serious dedication to get crazy numbers. We did it.

I agree that the younger crowd are not on Facebook and Instagram. At all. It's mostly Snapchat as far as I can tell. 

I've said for years that Lake Michigan is an untapped resource for the club, and we briefly had a cup of coffee with that, but it never really evolved into anything. For a time we had club officers doing seminars at shows, but those guys got older and burned out/faded away.  

Many people told me at the shows and the Blowout that they almost never attended meetings or outings, but stayed on year after year just to help donate to our conservation efforts and to get the awesome newsletter in their mailbox. That is literally all they wanted from the ISA. That kind of "above and beyond" service can't possibly be sustained when the old fade away and few step into the roles they occupied for years. Decades. The obvious result is less value to the members. Which correlates to less member retention. 

I can say it now because I'm no longer the Conservation Director or a club leader in any capacity. I only had one vote. What really discouraged me was that we found ways to give away club funds for a grant program that was poorly designed by a social club not set up for such a complicated endeavor. I poured my heart into it despite my misgivings from the start, because I was a team player. We all were. In hindsight, I wish we had thrown more pizza parties and social events for our members on the club dime and less massive outlays for sometimes questionable returns. That may not be a popular opinion, and that's OK.

You are only going to get out of a club what you are willing to put in. 5 or 6 people can do this.....for a while. But we all know that isn't sustainable. 

Speaking of youth, I found a video of some of the things I spoke of above. Those were the days. 😏

 

 

[Chris Popp]

I guess I have to be a bit of a contrarian on this topic. I do agree that fishing in general needs to grow as a sport and that, in the long run, younger people have to fill the ranks. A decent blip due to the pandemic has aided that. But when we talk about money to buy tackle, boats, and go on destination fishing trips, most in their 20s, 30s and 40s don't have a lot of that. And a lot of them have even less time with jobs, kids' activities, and other responsibilities.

I am a member of a local multi species club that is growing. We have several younger members, almost none of them with the time to be more than casual contributors. I find the age sweet spot to be 55 up to 75. These are the people that have money, time, and looking for things to do. Most are retired and looking to learn more about fishing, meet new people and get involved in club activities.  And they do. We get plenty of volunteers. Of course the effective length of productive membership reduces with advanced age.

I don't think the key to growth is necessarily limited to getting more young people, although that could help down the line.  What is important is engagement, communication, education, entertainment, camaraderie, relationship building, and a variety of activities that members of different skill levels can partake in. If a club isn't working to advance all these elements, yes, it will eventually waste away. But providing value to those looking for it, and with the time and money to pursue it, can be an effective way to keep a club vibrant and viable.

[rich mc]

boy chris , you look like a 30 yr old in that photo. are you one of the younger isa members.  lol

[Mike Clifford]

Interesting observation, Chris. I took my 3 kids fishing often when they were growing up. Now in their late 20's, I think it is likely they have not held a fishing rod in maybe a decade. What I also learned from many years of hosting kids fishing events is that it is extremely difficult to convince parents to take their kids fishing. 

Maybe you are right, and there is a period of time where recreational fishing is put on the back burner as they themselves are concentrated on earning a living and taking the kids to baseball, football and cheer practice. Obviously, it is no longer a matter of fishing to put food on the table, and we are being told that it is a bad idea to eat anything from local waters regardless. 

I recently found that we can see on the IDNR website our entire history of buying a fishing license going back to at least 2006. Dates and location purchased. Interestingly, there were a few years during that time that I may have not fished at all, or only once or twice. But I still bought a license every year. Maybe out of habit or with the hope I would put it to use.

Lots to ponder here. 🤔

 

[Eric]

The hard question is -- what's your "product" and why would people want to pay for it?

You're competing with oodles of FREE online information.

[Mike Clifford]

32 minutes ago, Eric said:

The hard question is -- what's your "product" and why would people want to pay for it?

You're competing with oodles of FREE online information.

Exactly. In our booth, I used to present the "product" as joining like-minded anglers on various waterways all over the state throughout the season for a nominal annual membership fee versus paying a guide hundreds of dollars to fish one location on one day.  That strategy seemed to work well, coupled with some other techniques that I was using at the time. 

[Dan Draz]

So, really what Eric's putting out there with the "what's your product" question is "what's ISA's brand?"

There are going to be marketing folks in this group who will certainly do far more justice to this question than I will... but in pondering that question, a couple things immediately come to mind when I describe ISA to people I'm speaking with and I put it into three buckets:

1) Targeted Information: ISA's a group of dedicated smallmouth anglers, with specialized skills, who promote the species/sport and in doing so willingly share (reliable and actionable) information with others interested in the same activity. While we don't knowingly divulge spots, I've yet to run into anyone who won't have an honest conversation with me about techniques, baits, etc. (that flat out work) which has made me better a better river/stream smallmouth angler. 

While there are alot of boards out there where people are "allegedly sharing reliable" information, how credible is the information really? I was on one the other day and saw a post from Scott Ferguson. My first reaction was WORD!! I know that information is reliable and straight up.

However, I've heard from credible sources that a number of the people on non ISA boards, who are promoting their angling expertise, are as much about spreading fishing "disinformation" as they are in providing real, accurate, and useful information. I.e. I'm catching all my fish on a hard to find, purple, polka dot, 7 inch, Bulgarian rip baits with a chartreuse trailer when it was actually a green tube.

My point? Until information is deemed to be credible you have to take most things you get on boards, and in life, with a "grain of salt" because the source hasn't been determined to be "reliable." I won't go so far to say that that's never happened in an ISA forum, or that no ISA member has ever gone so far as to spread purposeful lure or technique disinformation, but that's not been my experience.    

I don't have time for those kinds of games!

Everyone I've ever reached out to at ISA with a question has been straight up and transparent. And I can count on the fact that the information put out by ISA publications, in person get togethers, floats, newsletters, etc is from credible sources who are providing credible information to others in furtherance of the sport and helping them enjoy the sport. That information, in turn helps me be a better smallmouth angler, increases my chances of being successful on the water and adds to the enjoyment of the experience when I get out.  

2) Active Conservation: Promoting stream development, stream restoration, pollution mitigation/remediation and species awareness to protect waterway resources, habitat and the smallmouth species for anglers in IL and future generations to enjoy. Conservation is baked into ISA's DNA. In today's environment that speaks to organizational character. If it's true that "you are who you associate with" (and it is) then this speaks volumes for the character of ISA members and the organization's mission statement.

3) Organized Angling Camaraderie: How many times do anglers on random boards (lacking a common cause) ACTUALLY get together in person in furtherance of that cause? Not very often I have to believe.

So, when it comes to differentiating our brand from others, I believe we have a lot to offer that others clearly do not and all this is worth more than the $20 membership! Organizationally, we provide a lot of value from where I sit!

 

[Paul Trybul]

On 2/15/2023 at 9:24 AM, Eric said:

The hard question is -- what's your "product" and why would people want to pay for it?

You're competing with oodles of FREE online information.

I don't see the ISA as an organization trying to peddle a product(information) for money.  We are a collaborative organization of like minded anglers.  Dan shared a lot of my thoughts.  Its a place where conservation minded catch and release smallmouth anglers can get together, share their thoughts, educate and actively participate in fishing and conservation activities.  That is the value in the ISA. The money you spend for dues and at the blowout mostly goes to activities and conservation efforts. Things like river clean ups, social events, C&R sign printing & postings, water willow plantings, river rock, etc.  The only real spin or advantage on information is that its local to our rivers and its from credible sources. I also feel the interaction on our forums is done in a respectful way. Sure we've had some dust ups and feather rufflings over the years, The ISA forum has been one of the cleanest and most respectable ones I've seen online or through other social media platforms.  

The value of the ISA will always be in its membership and the social activities and conservation efforts.  Over the years we've built a reputation where other organizations can reach out to the ISA for help. That could be man power for the DNR to help with river shocking and sampling, donations for stream improvements projects, or help with getting signatures for petitions to change river access laws.

[Bterrill]

Hi guys, great conversation. I'm trying to get Indiana Smallmouth Alliance up and going again after years of just going fishing.

It seems a bunch of our rivers and creeks are getting picked over by river otters and cast netters. So I thought I might do something, despite the fact I can just drive in the other direction. When it was perceived "illegals" people got riled up. Turns out, the cast netters were legally using 40' cast nets across the stream and eating everything from minnow to carp. And weren't illegals but legal Burmese immigrants. Obviously, commercial fishing or for bait rules are needed changed.  I immediately thought of your sign program posted in several languages. But it takes getting angry at people who don't know better?

But it brought the alarm bells ringing. A good reason to bring back those good times. I just don't know how to compete for people's attention like Eric said.

Mike's points resonate about bring a horse to water with his own kids an example.

With so much information for free, what IS the value? There are plenty of grip and grin champions on Instagram. New fishermen turning away from the lakes to kayaks and smallmouth.

Great points all.