| What's ahead in 2010 |
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| Monday, 28 December 2009 00:00 |
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Will the economy slow-down hurt hunting, fishing and camping in the New Year? State wildlife hunting and fishing departments depend on the sale of hunting and fishing licenses to stay in business. These sales have been falling since the early 70’s. One simple reason is that many of today’s kids spend their time indoors playing with computers, cell phones and video games instead of hunting and fishing. This week, a survey reported that 50 per cent of all marriages in the U. S. end in divorce. Single mothers simply can’t take the kids to the woods. The future of the outdoors is not very bright the way things are going now. Also outdoorsmen 55 years and older are quitting or cutting down on outdoor activities because of health and / or money worries. All of the outdoor magazines are offering money saving tips each month. In the January 2010 issue of BASSMASSTERS magazine, there are tips on downsizing boats and motors. There is a full feature on less expensive bass rigs. A new bass tournament with boat motors 150 h.p. or less is seriously being considered. Today, kids don’t have the passion about the outdoors that we old geezers had. Heck, that’s all we had to do when we were young. These kids have so many choices to fill up their time today. Hunting, camping and fishing are things they like but they’re way down on their list of choices. Many live in a home with no Dad or anyone to teach them. America is a consumer society and, during hard times, free time and outdoor times are some of the first things to go. When the gas prices exploded a couple of years ago, I know a lot of local anglers with big boats and motors who just had to park them. In the next few weeks, I will share some ideas on affordable ways to fish and enjoy the outdoors. The good news is that my new Bass Pro Shop Spring Fishing Catalog just arrived. My best wishes are for everyone to have a HAPPY NEW YEAR. L. FRY |