The US fly fishing equipment market was worth over 850 million dollars last year. Those are the findings of a survey conducted by recreational fishing market research specialist, Southwick Associates, on behalf of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA).

The figures were released on Tuesday during a presentation at the IFTD show, which is being run in conjunction with ICAST.

As no big box stores responded to the survey, Southwick said that the amount spent on fishing equipment could be much higher.

It also revealed that at least 4.5 million fly anglers went fishing last year and that the number of fishermen in the sector overall could be as many as ten million. The Rockies was the most lucrative region in the US for fishing equipment sales, followed by the West, with the North West at the bottom of the list.

Surprisingly, most of the sales reported by respondents to the survey came from outfitting and guiding services (15%), following by flies (around 12%), apparel and rods (9%). Of the top selling brands in the fly rods sector, SAGE accounted for approximately 49%, followed by Orvis (31%), Redington (31%) and Temple Fork Outfitters (28%). The reels market was headed by Waterworks Lamson and Orvis. RIO Products nudged ahead of Scientific Anglers when it came to fly lines, followed by Airflo, Orvis and Cortland. Umpqua Feather Merchants was rated as the best selling fly brand by retailers in the survey, ahead of Solitude Flies and Montana Fly.

Source: www.angling-international.com.