Fishy Business at ICAST 2024

With 14,000 friends.

Jul 21, 2024

Good afternoon,

For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.

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A Whirlwind ICAST 2024

After a six-year hiatus, I returned to ICAST in Orlando, Florida, this past week. This 67th annual trade show coincided with the RNC Convention in Milwaukee, WI - hence, why I was not in attendance at the latter.

ICAST is hosted annually by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA). ASA’s mission - which spans over 90 years - is simple: “Our mission is to look out for the interests of the sportfishing industry and the entire recreational fishing community. They engage in advocacy on behalf of angler recreational opportunities and access.

This media trip was a welcome reprieve to the furnace-like weather here in the DC Metro Area. Yes, Florida in mid-July was much cooler and wetter than Northern Virginia.

14,000 folks from 75 countries descended to the Orange County Convention Center. I saw many long-lost friends, met some social media contacts, and connected with some great new people. I didn’t get to see everyone I had planned on seeing, but I did catch some interesting events and products at the show.

I had the great fortune of attending the On the Water Demo Day, New Product Showcase unveiling (see all the winners here), ASA’s State of the Industry Breakfast, Angling Women’s Meet-up, and A Women’s Engagement Breakfast hosted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.

But it’s the people you meet that truly make the event special. Trade shows are all about forging and nurturing relationships - business or otherwise. To be frank: attending one show won’t suffice. It takes a couple years to wet your feet in the industry. It’s perfectly normal, as that was the case for me. And due of this strategy, I’m in a good position with an extensive network of contacts and trusted friends today. It also helps that I’m immersed in conservation and am a lifelong angler too. Proximity to the activity is an advantage for staying power in the fishing industry. Ha!

This show, I was able to demo more products than before. I took a great liking to the BOTE Boards peddle kayak, Douglas Fly Fishing spey rod, Minn Kota motors, and Turtlebox Audio. And I was surprised to see a sunglasses company - BAJIO Sunglasses - have a makeshift tattoo parlor and barbershop.

In addition to interviews and products, public policy was top of mind too. I interviewed several people who talked at length about the obtuse Atlantic vessel speed rule - which won’t be finalized until after the election. The laughable one-day Atlantic snapper season was also mentioned. At TRCP’s Conservation Summit, policies involving offshore wind development and sharks were center stage. The moderator of the event said the fishing industry must inevitably brace for them - I strong disagree, given the Nantucket disaster and offshore industry floundering even with government subsidies - but the panelists exercised more caution about OWS and warned about the trade offs to access and opportunities. (Even NOAA agrees.) Florida Amendment 2 to enshrine a right to hunt and fish into the state’s constitution was a hot topic at the trade show, as well.

Some neat statistics I got this week from the 2024 Special Report on Fishing (RBFF & Outdoor Foundation) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife:

Last year, 57.7 million Americans ages 6 and over did some semblance of recreational fishing. (RBFF and the Outdoor Foundation)
There are now 21.3 million women who fish. Women make up “37 percent of total anglers, 40 percent of first-time participants, and 45 percent of those considering fishing.” They also have a $1.63B economic footprint.

Per the most available data, the 2024 apportionment for the Sport Fish Restoration Act (aka Dingell-Johnson Amendment) totals nearly $382 million for conservation (USFWS).

Being a female angler, I just love how much the sport has grown with women - without any virtue signaling - throughout the years. I’ve made some lifelong friends because of this sport. The men are pretty welcoming of us, and it’s nice to fish with female friends when I can.