This got me thinking about fly fishing: Where are the minorities in fly fishing? (I even did a google search, and not much turns up.)
I’m hesitant to use the word minority as it has become a charged word. In thinking about the word, it stands to reason that anyone who does not fit into the majority classification (whatever the classification is) is a minority. This is situational. There are political and religious minorities. A bunch of bait fisherman with one fly fisherman in the group? The fly fisherman is the minority.
When I was working on my Bachelors at the university, I was earning a degree in Elementary Education. I think there were two men out of about 70 students. So I was a minority there.
I would imagine that everybody has been some type of minority at some point in their life. But what I’m talking about in this post are racial minorities.
I have also been a racial minority. Most noticeable are some of my early school pictures. As a child I lived in the San Diego area and the classes I was in were predominantly Hispanic. We later moved to Santa Ana in the Los Angeles area where the classes I was in were predominantly black. Then we moved to Guam where the students were Asian/Pacific Islander.
So how about fly fishing—what is meant by “minority”? Well, let’s look at the “majority”: white and male. At least, that’s what I see. Or am I missing something? It is good to see a surge in female fly anglers, but I’m sure the ratio of males to females is still pretty substantial.
How about racially, how come we don’t see more racially diversified pictures in fishing magazines? Where are all the “minority” fly fishing bloggers? Is it just fly fishing, or is it all types of angling? How often do you run into a “minority” when actually out fishing?
We could say it’s not their thing. But that begs the question, why isn’t it their thing? Go back 30 years and look at golf. I’m sure it was said at the time, “It isn’t their thing.” But was it the golfing culture that made it that way?
Is it the fly fishing culture that makes it less appealing for minorities to feel welcome? If so, how and why? Do we need to worry about it? If so, what can be done to rectify it?
There are many other questions that could be posed and I don’t have many answers. But it is something we probably need to take a look at.
Great post, Scott. As for fishing, plenty of black people fish; however, for us, in general, fishing is not a sport, but a way to get food. You’ll rarely see us doing catch and release. It’s more of catch and cook!
If you look around some of the lakes and ponds, you’ll see plenty of black anglers using either a standard rod/reel combination or a cane pole and fishing for ‘whatever bites’.
When I was younger and lived in Ohio, we would fish nearly every weekend, sometimes on Lake Erie, but mostly on the local lakes, and our freezer was well stocked with a variety of pan fish (Bluegill, Crappie, Catfish, Perch, and White Bass).
I never even had trout until I became an adult. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I was 35 or so when I took my kids to a trout farm. We caught, brought them back home, and grilled them. Tasty!
My wife and I have a much larger income than I could have ever imagined as a kid, so our kids can experience many different things that I never got to experience as a child, such as trout fishing. My wife’s family was pretty well off, so she got to experience a number of different things.
As for fly fishing, I even own a cheap Wal-mart fly rod and have used it to catch a couple of bluegill.
I wanted to know what was so special about fly fishing, so I tried it.
I think that if I was not so into photography that I might spend a bit of my time learning how to fly fish for real.
Eventually, as income levels start to move up, more things will tend to naturally open up.
Paul,
I really appreciate you taking the time to stop and comment. I’ve seen plenty of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. (“minorities”) fishing the “regular” fishing (us fly fishers tend to be a bit elitist
), but it’s the fly fishing that I haven’t noticed. When you tried fly fsihing, or have been out fishing, have you noticed many non-whites fly fishing?
I guess the thing I’m thinking about is the commercial/media aspect of it: TV, DVDs, magazines, blogs, etc.–anywhere where there is a “face” to fly fishing, I don’t see many minorities. Maybe I’m imagining it and just haven’t thought much about it and I’m entirely wrong. I’ll start being more aware and see what kinds of results I get.
Here, look through this online fly fishing mag: This Is Fly and see how many of the anglers (not guides or others, actual anglers) you can count who are not white males. Or try Fly Fisherman mag (you don’t get a full magazine, but you can click all over their site and see how many “minorities” there are. Anyhow, you get the idea.
Again, thanks for contributing. And, any time you want to get more serious about fly fishing, let me know. One of the great things about fishing is that it can get you into some incredible photo ops too!
Scott: I think that your observations are dead on. I’ve never seen a black person, Mexican, Asian, or any other minority with a fly rod. I think that you made an important statement about the “face” of fly fishing or photography, for that matter.
Perhaps we internalize what we see and don’t associate that activity as something that we, as a minority, might be interested in, or have access to.
BTW, do you tie your own flies?
Paul (sorry I forgot to “approve” your comment but responded to it anyway–could’ve been confusing),
I got thinking even more during the day today (my anniversary today and the wife and I went on a five hour motorcycle ride and couple hour horseback ride–lots of thinking time) about fishing at least. There are other people besides the actual angler: guides, fly shop owners, contestants (there is a growing group of competitive anglers in both catching fish and casting), vendors, conservation organizations, etc. “Minorities” in those groups? About the same ratio as the anglers. I’d imagine you’d find the same thing with photography and software developers, that there are a lot of peripheral people as well. And I’d imagine you’d find the same “minority” issue there.
“Perhaps we internalize what we see and don’t associate that activity as something that we, as a minority, might be interested in, or have access to.” Yeah, I like that, along with Troutbirder’s geography (I’d say maybe more culture) and what you have are people who just really don’t think of it as something they do, or want to do.
Some of my thinking today revolved around things that minorities do that non-minorities don’t do because I want to know what my reaction is when I’m on the other end. I couldn’t think of any. I can think of gender things, like maybe knitting or other needle work. I don’t do those things and I have no desire to. Why?
I don’t know. Because I was raised thinking they are “girly” things? Maybe. This goes along with your question as to whether I tie my own flies. The answer is yes. Tying flies is not too much different than some “women’s” handwork, so why do I tie flies but not knit? Well, I only tie flies because I get exactly the fly I want. I really don’t enjoy tying flies like a lot of other anglers do–I do it because I know how and it saves me a couple of pennies. But I only tie when I’m absolutely pressed to it (my fly box gets pretty sparse before I put the nose to the grindstone and start too tie, then it is a bare minimum of flies).
I think it geography. Minorities are generally urban. Urban rivers see bait fisherman. Troutstreams are almost always in pristine places in remote or wilderness areas or at least rural areas. For city people there are also usually more expensive to get to… another limiting factor.
TB,
Thanks for stopping by!
I can buy into that, to some degree. I think you’re right that more “minorities” are urban. But there are a lot of non-minority fly anglers who live in urban settings too. Also, there is a big upswing in “brownlining” (not a derogatory term, but rather fishing in water that is more “brown” in nature, i.e., dirty, that often hold carp). These brownliners most often fish in urban settings. I think “expense” may be partly an issue, then we get into the whole socioeconomic factor, which could be an issue.
The only observation I think I can add comes via the TV set. Golf traditionally catered to white males, but I suspect the sport saw an influx of both racial minorities and women after icons such as Tiger and Annika hit the stage. Widespread media attention and photogenic qualities probably made it happen.
Can it happen in fly fishing? Not sure, as the coverage (read: money) just isn’t there to prime the introductions.
Do I think your choice of college study, with a 30-1 female/male ratio, was brilliant? Yes I do!
MG,
Yeah, I was thinking golf (read “Tiger”) too. And tennis, with the Williams sisters. I don’t know if Arthur Ashe had the same impact on blacks that the Williams sisters might be having.
Coverage is definitely an issue with fly fishing since there is very limited exposure. But it wouldn’t hurt the magazines, retailers, etc.–anyone who uses modes–to make more inclusive choices.
Oh, yeah, the ratio was killer, and I was no dummy! Nuff said
I forgot about the Williams sisters. Again, skilled and beautiful makes the grade with the media.
I observe plenty of non-traditional anglers gear fishing in both urban and rural areas. I don’t think locale plays much influence on angling use by these groups, that typically come from traditional fishing cultures back in their homeland.
I agree that “minority” fly anglers are not as visible in the public eye. Whether or not it is due to socioeconomic status, I can’t say as I don’t have any data supporting the claim. What I do know is that the face of fly fishing is changing, and for the better. I feel fly fishing is becoming more accessible to the general public.
BTW, if you’re looking for a “minority” website, look no further than my own: roughfisher.com.
Hi Rough!
“…the face of fly fishing is changing, and for the better. I feel fly fishing is becoming more accessible to the general public.”
I think you’re right. I think the change is slow, but it’s coming. As you brownliners continue getting more recognition, I think it helps cut down some barriers.
Cliff used the phrase, “wilderness based,” in referring to fly fishing. I think maybe this has given traditional fly fishing some of that mystique which adds to the perception of “status” sport. Those who traditionally received most press about their fly fishing typically had to go somewhere other than where they lived to fish, because fly fishing was traditionally (at least here in the US) for trout. By early/mid twentieth century, most trout were gone from urban settings. This meant traveling to find them.
And, again, a lot of those writing about fly fishing belonged to angling clubs. But that was the public face of fishing–that didn’t mean a bunch of poor people from the back country weren’t fly fishing.
Your “minority” seems to be fast becoming the majority though. Us blueliners are going to get run out of our own sport
Scott, I appreciate your feedback and agree with your insight, however, I would to clear a few things. Not every brownliner fishes in ugly, urban settings. Perhaps we may be another “minority” group, but many of my cohorts are fishing for carp and native roughfish species on the same coldwater streams hosting salmonids. We choose to fish for roughfish not because of degraded water quality, destruction of habitat, or lack of proximity from a wilderness area, but because we enjoy the challenge. Many of us still pursue the occasional salmonid, but prefer the tug of a roughfish. Roughfish live in beautiful places too.
Furthermore, the allusion to myself as a “minority” was not in reference to me being a brownliner, but rather a proud Native Hawaiian. I hope to see a few more different colored faces on the cover of those fishing rags or on the internet, because I know they’re are out there. They’re probably just busy fishing while I’m sitting here typing this.
Cheers!
Rough, Thanks for the Hawaiian clarification. I do realize that brownliners fish in all types of water, I just didn’t know in what regards you were referring to yourself as a minority, so assumed it was the “roughfish” aspect.
I see lots of parallels between FF, Recreational Cycling, and Snow Skiing. All are gear intensive, somewhat wilderness based, and participation is viewed as a status symbol. They’re all also white as rice. I can’t explain why they’re so white though.
I can point out that we have some local exceptions that guide-
http://www.guidesoftexas.com/Site/Contact.html
http://www.alvindedeaux.com/
http://faroutfishingtrips.com/blog/?p=91
Cliff,
Thanks for chipping in. I really appreciate the links–it’s good to see some diversity. I think there is something to the $$ aspect here, but I’m not entirely sold yet. I think of my own introduction to fly fishing. My family was definitely lower middle income/upper low income (we lived in a mobile home until I was 11, then on a military base, then in a rented house–my parents moved into their own first house when I was 15). I never really even knew what fly fishing was. I had a spinnng/bait rig that I fished with some buddies.
When I was 23 and in college I met a guy. He was just learning to fly fish. I mentioned it to my dad and he said he had a fly rod I could use (who would have thought). So for me, it wasn’t a status symbol. (Although you’re right, FF does seem to have that stigma–fodder for another post.) I was just using the tools that were available.
“I can’t explain why they’re so white though.” That’s the perplexing thing. Sure, we can find the exceptions here and there, but the degree to which the sport *seems* to be white, is pretty high.
A couple of things occur to me about this. One pretty simple assessment would say that demography, geography and socio-economic status mitigate against minorities getting into fly fishing. Taking one particular minority as an example the census tells me that the population of the white majority runs at somewhere around 221 million and that of black Americans at 41 million. Does that mean we should expect 19% of the press coverage to contain pictures of black Americans fly fishing? There is more. The median income for whites is around 46K and for black Americans 30K. Fly fishing is not a cheap sport. I recently bought my daughter her first outfit. $18 for a really quite competent rod, reel and line made by a well known and sound manufacturer. It was a spinning rig of course. I wonder where $18 worth of fly kit would get me. What proportion of the black American population, whose median income is already lower than the majority population would choose to spend money on fly kit rather than something else. And then there are all the issues of demography and geography. 80% of the population is urban. Even supposing that the split between urban and rural living is even between the two groups it leaves very few of the minority out in the sticks, perhaps particularly so out in the sticks in trout country. This map (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_2000_black_percent.gif) for example, doesn’t exactly show the majority of the black population living close to trout trout waters, particularly not the kind if wild trout country the media likes to depict. And the split is unlikely to be even. The percent of black Americans in the city is arguably much higher than the 80% generalisation and conversely the percent of whites lower. In the face of such basic data the expectation that there should be more minorities in fly fishing would seem something of a non sequitur (though I know you are just posing the question here). Fly fishing doesn’t even come onto the radar of many minority groups.
The second thought(s) comes from the questions you pose at the end of your piece. If the playing field were more even would fly fishing (as opposed to warm water fishing) have a “golf club” attitude to the appearance of minority groups on the river bank. I think not in general, aside from a few stuffy institutions perhaps. And I suspect that would not be because it is fly fishing but because that sort if institution contains the kind of person who would be recalcitrant in any similar field. So one might ask should the playing field be leveled? Should minorities be more represented in the sport? If so, given the demographic evidence, why? The Environmental Agency in the UK acknowledges that “few people in our five major ethnic minority categories know much about or are interested in angling.” The agency goes on to report that “yet, events aimed at or involving ethnic groups have been popular.” They use this as a reason for starting programmes for ethnic minorities. But it strikes me this is based on a false premise. These groups are deliriously happy that someone, anyone, takes a real interest in them at all. It could be fishing but equally it could be kite flying, horse riding or pancake tossing. For seven or eight years I worked at the coal face of this issue as a sport development officer for ethnic minorities in inner city London. What was clear was that however well intentioned the project, and whatever ephemeral reward it gave as a show and tell exercise it was doomed if there was not continued involvement from the providers after the initial demonstration. What is needed more is a collective outing of thumbs from the usual orifices to speed up social policies helping to bridge the 16K median income gap. That allow ethnic minorities the choice to live in places which are not demarcated by economics or historical migration geographies (get down you hard left socialist you). Leveling such a fundamental field would undoubtedly see more ethnic minorities in fly fishing simply through osmosis. It does not need hand wringing from the majority in attempt to put a “poster boy” ethnic minority on the cover of Fly Fisherman for a month so we can all go around clapping ourselves on our broad white backs to show what good folk we are. Having said that I might be completely wrong about the last bit. At the back of my mind a bell rings to say that an ethnic minority poster boy (girl) is exactly what is needed. Not that many ethnic groups are likely to pick up a copy of Fly Fisherman it has to be said.
Eccles,
Thanks for adding a bit of data to the fray. I like the map (also from Wikipedia) that shows the white percentage, that way everything else is “minority”–which really highlights making the case for geography as a factor.
You mention some programs in the UK that try to include everyone, but have a problem sustaining the desire once the scaffold of the program is removed. Is this the type of program (PDF file) you’re talking about?
Eccles, you said, “What is needed more is a collective outing of thumbs from the usual orifices to speed up social policies helping to bridge the 16K median income gap.” This is probably a very important aspect, and something that’s actually more important, in the long run, than why minorities aren’t fly fishing.
But I still can’t let the question go. Ok, thinking off the top of my head for a second, how about this as a different question: What makes people take up fly fishing instead of spinner/bait fishing–how do they get into it in the first place? If we knew that, could we then come to some conclusions about why more minorities aren’t fly fishing?
A very interesting piece of research (actually focus groups, not “real” research) I came across was this: Women’s, Hispanics’, and African-Americans’ Participation in, and Attitudes toward, Boating and Fishing. It isn’t fly fishing per se, but I think the same conclusions could be extrapolated from it.
The preface to the conclusions said this:
One of the 19 conclusions from this focus group research was this:
Some demographics from Fly Fisherman magazine:
Fly Fisherman magazine is the leading magazine in editorial quality, circulation, and advertising pages. Demographics:
You certainly aren’t going to get many of those in that $30k bracket thumbing through Fly Fisherman mags.
Some interesting statistics here: Prey Tell
A couple of other potentially interesting research links:
Here is the final report for “Factors Related to Hunting and Fishing Participation in the United States.” There is also the report on “Factors Related to Hunting and Fishing Participation Among The Nation’s Youth.”
Yea that map is a good negative image of the one I linked to.
Yes and no to that kind of programme. In fact when I sent the comment as an email to you I had already cut out a long diatribe about exactly this sort of thing. It is relevant but also takes us into a debate on whether fly fishing itself needs/should advertise or attempt to recruit a wider participation base. I am skeptical.
I’m sure there are a multitude of reasons why people get into fly fishing but I’m not sure that the proximate reasoning does anything more than demonstrate that the ultimate causes are based on economics, geography and history. As an example reasons might be you got into it because a family member fly fished, or that you saw it often and liked the look of it or started as a spin fisherman and “progressed” to fly fishing. But all of these depend on those ultimate factors and the conclusion as to why more minorities aren’t fly fishing stems from this.
Well those paragraphs from the focus groups sound exactly like the obfuscation I would expect. The report itself has some interesting points. Money, geography and a lack of role models (so the poster boy/girl would be a good idea!). But it comes across that when they are talking about fishing none are thinking about fly fishing. Bait and sea angling are the reference points, fly fishing is nowhere.
Fantastic stats from FF mag. Sort of proves the point really. No wonder I never buy it.
Toodle pip.
I don’t know why I haven’t clinked in on the essays and musings more often. Killer stuff Stalker. You have breached a sensitive topic and brought to light some great issues. I think you might be able to compare the minority debate on fly fishing with fly fishing native streams vs. fly fishing tailwater rivers. I wonder how many of the $166,200 group prefer native streams vs. tailwater rivers. I am thinking most of those guys are hitting “THE RIVERS”. Some how I don’t “connect” to the tailwater rivers like I “connect” to the native streams. I wonder if it is my socioeconomic background. I doubt I have a chance to personally experience the 166K group’s perspective on life. It may be a similar experience for minorities. Maybe they just don’t “connect” to the whole aspect of the fly fishing experience. Maybe it is more fulfilling to have the spinning rod and reel or the hook and line set-up. Most of the world rides bicycles, plays real “football” and does ballroom dance rather than
play American football, basketball or baseball. Some of us American whites don’t “connect” to anything other than the big three. In that light, maybe us whiteys on the fly should be viewed as the MINORITIES.