Bass still the most sought after

AnglerSurvey, a monthly consumer monitoring service, recently released its report on the species most sought by anglers in 2008. The statistics below report the freshwater and saltwater species targeted most often by anglers between January and December.

Note the rankings report the species targeted more often, which is not the same as anglers’ preferred species or the species most commonly caught. For example, a Texas angler’s favorite fish may be freshwater trout, but that angler may not pursue trout based on the distance to the nearest trout fishery. He may instead target bass on most trips – which is reported in the numbers below – but catches more panfish over the course of the year based on those species' high numbers.

The survey statistics show largemouth bass continues to be the most targeted freshwater species across the U.S., followed by panfish, smallmouth bass and trout, respectively. Among saltwater anglers, spotted seatrout was the most sought fish, being targeted by Gulf and Atlantic anglers. Red drum, flounder and striped bass were next. Note that anglers often target more than one species per trip, with flounder and red drum frequently targeted in the same trip as spotted seatrout.

Freshwater statistics were based on more than 11,000 surveys completed last year, and saltwater numbers came from more than 4,500 surveys, also completed in 2008.

Freshwater

Largemouth or spotted bass: 59.30%
Panfish (crappie, perch, sunfish, bluegill/bream): 36.80%
Smallmouth bass: 25.30%
Trout: 20.10%
Catfish: 17.40%
Walleye: 14.30%
Any freshwater fish that bites: 13.50%
Perch: 9.40%
Striped bass (freshwater) or hybrid bass: 8.70%
Pickerel, pike or muskie: 8.30%
Carp: 4.60%
White bass and sunshine bass: 4.50%
Steelhead: 3.20%
Salmon: 3.10%
Saugeye: 2.10%
Other fish not on this list: 2.00%

Saltwater

Spotted seatrout or weakfish: 29.50%
Redfish, red drum, channel bass: 29.20%
Flounder: 27.00%
Striped bass: 24.50%
Any saltwater fish that bites: 23.90%
Bluefish: 21.70%
Other fish not on this list: 18.90%
Grouper, snapper, sea bass: 15.00%
Mackerel: 11.40%
Snook: 9.80%
Shark: 8.10%
Dolphin: 6.90%
Tuna: 6.70%
Rockfish (Pacific coast only): 5.70%
Calico bass: 5.20%
Tarpon: 5.10%
Yellowtail: 5.00%
Bonito: 3.90%
Tautog (blackfish): 3.70%
Billfish: 3.50%
Salmon: 2.90%
Bonefish: 1.20%
Permit: 1.00%