Kayak fishing is experiencing tremendous growth these days.

A recent report from the Outdoor Foundation, "Outdoor Recreation Participation Report, Topline 2013", has reported the number of kayak anglers in the United States for the years 2010-2012. In 2012 there were 1.409 million kayak anglers, up from 1.201 million in 2011. In 2010 there were 1.044 million. These numbers demonstrate the growth of the sport, both in rate and total size.

With a 16% average yearly growth, kayak fishing is growing faster than all other kayaking segments including recreational (10%), sea/touring (12%), and white water (13%). It's total size at 1.409 million makes is about as large a sport as boardsailing/windsurfing (1.593M), stand up paddling (1.541M), and non-traditional / offroad triathalon (1.442M).  Really, we're about as big as stand up paddling ?!?

It is also interesting to note some statistics with respect to the overall fishing and boating markets. A recent report by Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation and the Outdoor Foundation, "Special Report on Fishing and Boating 2013", reports that a kayak was used in 3.6% of total fishing trips in 2012, up from 2.6% in 2011.  There are 21.2 million Americans that own a boat, of that 20.7% own a kayak or canoe.  That's up from 12.1% in 2011.  The average number of boating days in a kayak or canoe is 11.2, up from 6.4 days in 2011.

Kayak fishing is indeed experiencing tremendous growth these days.