The short film resonates without words: a father and a young girl share a boat dock, a first catch and a personal best. Played out in less than two minutes through a pastel palette of Pixar-like vignettes, the animated short story strikes a chord. Childhood toys become mixtapes. Graduations and weddings come and go. Dad becomes grandpa — and all along, a family forges a link through a sticker-covered tackle box.
The film’s premiere date of June 5 was squarely aimed at Father’s Day, but weeks afterward, the video is reaching new audiences thanks to the Second Catch campaign from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation. It’s an extension of RBFF’s Find Your Best Self on the Water campaign. Available for anyone to share on YouTube, the video is gaining steam as an inspiration to keep girls involved in fishing.
“Awesome and inspiring,” one commenter says. Another adds: “Powerful stuff!” A parent writes: “I see my middle kiddo in this so much.” A young girl comments: “I would love to take my dad fishing.”
Industry engagement experts at the RBFF are encouraged by the video’s traction. Parents from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf Coast and the Mid-Atlantic have all chimed in with a rekindled inspiration for fishing with their daughters — momentum that can result in a ripple effect to produce more than lines in the water.
“Research tells us women who fish have significantly greater grit, confidence and self-esteem than women who don’t. But it also shows that girls stop fishing at an 11% higher rate than boys and often feel excluded from fishing and boating trips,” says Rachel Piacenza, RBFF’s senior director of consumer marketing and communications. “Second Catch encourages girls and women to get back on the water to continue building their confidence through adolescence and beyond.”
Research reveals that the crucial drop-out age for female anglers is 12. The reasons they churn out more than boys vary. Societal expectations play a role. So, too, might well-meaning fathers who simply assume their daughters no longer want to go.
“Many girls feel that they are excluded from fishing and boating trips, which are sometimes treated as activities for the boys,” Piacenza says. “But research shows that one in four girls say fishing improves their mood, brings them peace, and helps them manage their mental health and long-term stress.”
According to 2022 data collected by the global marketing and research firm Ipsos, fishing has other benefits for women and girls, as well. One in five women who fish feel like they can do anything they want to do. Almost half of women who fish say that fishing teaches them patience and helps develop their confidence. And women who fish report greater perseverance and more resilience to setbacks than those who do not.
“The idea was to encourage dads to reinvite their daughters out on the water,” Piacenza says. “The video shows a heartwarming journey, and it’s one that we feel resonates with many fathers and daughters. In the sea of life events that all seem to converge at once during that switch from childhood to becoming a teenager, fishing sometimes gets lost. Our research showed that, often, that’s more of a miscommunication than an intention, so we’re hoping to revitalize that connection between dads and daughters.”
Following a groundswell of millions of new participants during the global pandemic, the number of anglers on the water is at a 16-year high in the United States. According to the latest Special Report on Fishing commissioned by the RBFF and the Outdoor Foundation, U.S. fishing participation stands at a record 19% of the total population. That figure encompasses 57.7 million anglers. Saltwater angling and fly-fishing are experiencing growth spurts, and freshwater fishing is holding steady.
But churn — the number of anglers walking away or aging out of the sport — is at 23%. That presents a retention puzzle that encouraging girls to keep fishing may help remedy. At more than 21 million strong, women represent one of the fastest-growing segments in fishing today.
“In the past several years, we have seen more and more women dive into the world of fishing,” says Bassmaster magazine managing editor Mandy Pascal. “Whether that be excelling at the high school, collegiate and kayak level or simply recreational fishing, the number of women interested in getting out on the water and wetting a hook is definitely on the rise.”
This year, Pascal’s team launched BassmastHER, a platform solely for women anglers. It is designed to create a support system and safe space in the fishing industry for women who want to become more confident on the water.
Since 2022, the ranks of women anglers rose more than 7%. According to RBFF president and CEO Dave Chanda, encouraging them to plant roots in the angling community has value that reverberates throughout the entire industry. “Fishing and boating participation is everyone’s business, from state agencies to fishing and boating manufacturers to retailers and more,” Chanda says. “We’re pleased to share this inspiring, research-driven campaign, and our goal is for stakeholders to activate it on the local level.”
To do so, the RBFF has made Second Catch assets accessible to industry organizations free of charge. Those co-brandable assets, ready-made for sharing, include videos, social media items, still images and suggested email copy. All are available for download via the Resource Hub at TakeMeFishing.org.
Chanda says he hopes the messaging from Take Me Fishing will supplement more positive, girl-focused messaging from other stakeholders, including manufacturers and state agencies.
The Second Catch buildup to Father’s Day resulted in an estimated 145 million impressions. In addition to social media, the video could be seen on local television news and in legacy publications. The video’s messaging is evergreen, and the combined reach of stakeholders has the ability to continue amplifying support for father/daughter fishing trips year-round. State agencies and manufacturers can leverage social media accounts and email lists to help spread the positive message further.
Stakeholders aren’t in it alone, either. While the RBFF hopes stakeholders will use the Second Catch toolkit to share the message on a regional and local level through B2B collaborations, Take Me Fishing is continuing to leverage content partnerships with mainstream brands on the consumer side, such as Teen Vogue.
The goal? To deliver positive messaging that reaffirms girls’ love of the water, benefits mental health and rekindles a connection with dad
This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue.
