Executive Summary
This study was conducted for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to gather information on Washington anglers’ participation in various types of fishing and their opinions on fishing-related issues in the state. The study entailed a probability-based random multi-modal survey of Washington anglers.
Methodology
The WDFW and Responsive Management designed the questionnaires (one for telephone surveying and one for online surveying) cooperatively, based in part on the previous surveys that had been conducted. The version of the survey developed for telephone was coded for integration with Responsive Management’s computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. The online version of the survey was coded in an online platform by Responsive Management. Responsive Management conducted pre-tests of the questionnaires to ensure proper wording, flow, and logic in the survey.
The sample of licensed anglers was obtained from the WDFW. Note that the sample was used only for this survey and was deleted from Responsive Management’s database management system at the conclusion of the survey; Responsive Management does not maintain angler (or hunter) license lists for surveys. The sample was representative of licensed anglers as a whole in the state, and a screener question required that they had fished somewhere in Washington during the previous license year.
The survey was conducted by telephone and online. The method of contact depended on the information available for the angler in the database. Note that the online survey was closed, meaning it was available only to respondents who were specifically selected for the survey. The survey could not be accessed through a general internet search. The survey was conducted in April 2023. Responsive Management obtained 2,500 completed questionnaires.
The analysis of data was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management. The results were weighted by age, gender, and license type to fully represent Washington licensed anglers who fished in the previous year.
Species Fished and Species Preferred
By far, rainbow trout is the most-fished species: 70% had fished for it in the previous year. This is distantly followed by bass and salmon—fished by slightly more than a third of anglers. The graph on the next page shows the full list.