Fishing license sales jump 20% with covid-19 outdoor recreation boom

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has already sold about 150,000 more fishing licenses this year than it did all of last year.

“We certainly think that the pandemic situation has had an impact, as more people sought outdoor recreational activities, and either discovered or rediscovered a passion for fishing,” said Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission spokesman Mike Parker.

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, minority chair of the state Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, echoed Parker.

“People have been starving to find a place to go and be mindful of other people like rafting and fishing,” Brewster said. “During the pandemic, in the last six and seven months, our natural resources were one of things for the public to fall back on.”

Nearly 915,000 fishing licenses have been purchased so far this year, up from about 763,000 in 2019, a 20% increase, Parker said. Sales of year-round resident licenses are up 34% and year-round senior licenses are up 23%.

Sales of one-day licenses offered for $1 on Labor Day were up 36% for residents and 24% for tourists.

Even before the pandemic, sales got off to a fast start because of the mild winter, which allowed people to fish and boat year-round in most parts of the state, Parker said.

Some changes this trout season also helped boost interest as the commission doubled the number of trophy-sized trout stocked in state waterways and increased the number of golden rainbow trout by about 40%.

“We had momentum going into the season, and then it all stopped. The season was in jeopardy,” Parker said, noting when pandemic restrictions were first put in place the commission was about two weeks into its trout-stocking operations.

“When it was determined that fishing, an outdoor activity, could continue under the stay-at-home order, we immediately shifted our focus from promoting trout season and license sales to exclusively promoting social distancing while fishing,” Parker said.

The commission modified trout season by opening unexpectedly on a weekday.

“That helped keep crowds to a minimum in many places which usually experience high volumes of anglers standing shoulder-to-shoulder on opening day,” he said.

Afterward, fishing continued to offer a socially distanced outdoor activity that only gained in popularity as the year went on.