3.0 Recreational Value of Pike Angling

3.1 THE PIKE ANGLER

The practices of the Irish Pike Angler have changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Just two decades ago there were very few dedicated pike anglers. Most killed most or all the pike they caught.

In the mid to late eighties the number of pike anglers grew steadily and conservation became the name of the game. Almost all pike anglers now return all the pike they catch Irish pike anglers can be divided into several categories. Firstly there are the many thousand who fish only for pike. Secondly there are the anglers who fish for pike during the winter months and trout during the summer. Thirdly there the anglers who fish for pike and who also fish for various other species all year long.
Pike anglers do not seek much from the State. They just want a good head of pike to fish for, reasonable access to waters and little else.

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3.2 PIKE ANGLING CLUBS

With the rapid rise in popularly of pike angling in the mid eighties pike only angling clubs began to appear. To represent these clubs the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs was formed in 1988.

The Federation started with 12 affiliated Clubs and through encouragement scores more clubs joined over the years since. We would now estimate that there are around 150 clubs in the country where member's fish for pike on an organised basis. A list of clubs that are or have recently been affiliated to I.F.P.A.C. is included in appendix.

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3.3 PIKE ANGLER NUMBERS

It is very difficult to calculate the number of anglers who fish for pike.

The Marine Institute booklet "A national survey of water based leisure activities" provided the following table of estimated numbers of Irish anglers.

From the above you will note the huge increase in coarse (incl. pike) anglers over the 9 years period. We believe that the number of pike anglers would have increased substantially since 1996. The population of coarse anglers can be sub-divided between pike anglers and other coarse anglers.

Brendan Whelan's "An economic evaluation of Irish Angling" may help in this regard. It breaks down anglers into numerous subdivisions. From this it can be calculated that in 1987 some 54% of the 34,300 coarse anglers engaged in pike angling.
We would estimate that the 66,200 "Coarse Anglers" in 1996 would now have increased to at least 70,000. If the same ratio is applied it would indicate there would now be some 38,000 Irish anglers who fish for pike.

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