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This year’s ICAST show saw a surge in attendance, and a wave of new and growing events geared towards engaging women in fishing.

In 2021, 19.4 million females age 6+ went fishing, making up 37% of all participants. However, 6.8 million lapsed out of the sport. There’s a large churn rate for females in fishing, and RBFF sees an opportunity to significantly increase fishing participation overall by better retaining female anglers.

RBFF/Shimano Women’s Networking Event

With an event held on Tuesday, July 12 before ICAST officially started, RBFF and Shimano partnered to:

• Host a welcoming space for women who work in the industry to network and
• Provide information on RBFF’s #WomenMakingWaves campaign and workshop existing challenges and potential solutions around supporting and empowering women in fishing.

Nearly 100 women and men - anglers, entrepreneurs and executives – attended the event, which also featured a presentation from Camber Outdoors CEO Tiffany Smith.

View photos | View presentations

Women in Fishing Meet Up

RBFF also attended a Women in Fishing Meet Up hosted by Native Watercraft, Angling Women and The Woman Angler and Adventurer where 80 women spent the evening connecting, networking and sharing retention ideas.

The free event provided food and beverage, giveaways and provided attendees after the event a tip sheet of retention ideas for keeping women engaged in fishing. A Facebook group titled Angling Women in Action was also set up after the show to continue the conversation.

RBFF is working on a new campaign for 2023 to better engage and retain women in fishing and boating. Stay tuned for more information this fall.