Oh, the weeping, wailing and general handwringing about the aging of traditional outdoors sports and organized clubs. At times, I expect an Old Testament David in sackcloth and ashes, result of his dalliance with Bathsheba, to materialize.
Chris Popp came up with a better idea: Accept reality. The median age of members of fishing clubs, also true of hunting and birding organizations, grows older.
I am closing in on 30 years doing the outdoors column for the Sun-Times. In the early years in my 40s, if I spoke at a club I would be among the youngest quarter in attendance. At 67, I am still in the youngest half most times.
That brings me to a discussion with Popp about the aging of club membership a couple years ago at the Schaumburg show. Popp, same age as me, is retired from sales and marketing. He’s starting his fourth year as president of Arlington Anglers, a general fishing club that is growing. Arlington Anglers, one of the oldest area fishing clubs, originated in the Arlington Heights Park District in the 1970s.
Popp is a serious fisherman, my kind of fisherman.
“I am like to fish for everything: catfish or carp or bass or walleye, all new techniques,” he said Wednesday. “I have something for everything. That is where the swap meets come in. I have all the top carp gear. I have three kayaks; little stuff for panfish. My favorite fish is smallmouth [bass]. I’m also a member of the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance. I have seven fly rods and more flies than I know what to do with. I am truly a multi-species fisherman. I have 70-80 rods of every technique.
“Jack of all trades, master of none, that’s me.”
Ah, swap meets, Popp passes that litmus test of serious anglers.
“I love swap meets,” he said. “I come back from one with a bag of —- and have to put it next to the bag of —– I bought last week.”
Those are his bona fides.
“I started thinking about new people coming in,” he said. “We have some younger guys in the club, including the speaker coordinator. We have some in their 30s and 40s.”
They are welcomed. But the reality is, as Popp put it, “with a mortgage, a family and kids” they have a tough time juggling free time.
“Our speaker coordinator coaches his kid’s basketball team,” he said.
Family commitment for guys (most fishing clubs are mostly guys) in their 30s to 50s is paramount.
“Is this really our target audience,” Popp said. “I don’t think it is. But we accept them gladly. You look at fishing clubs, you look at guys who built their career and are now winding down. . . . The majority are 60 to 75. That makes sense. They don’t have kids at home. They have some time. In most cases, they have money. Three, they are looking for something to do and maybe rekindle an old passion [of fishing].
“You get a 70-year-old, they still have five to 10 years; a 60-year-old, 20 years. . . . Right now there are a whole bunch of people looking for something to do.”
He went so far as to consult with a behavioral scientist, a friend of his daughter, and wrote an article about it.
“Problem with 60- and 75-year-olds, they have been the go-to person, the boss, the expert,” Popp said. “They are used to people coming to them. But now they have to reach out because they don’t know what they are doing. They struggle.”
Popp works at making visitors and new members fit in. I’ve watched this in person.
“We have about seven people around a table,” he said. “I see a person alone. I move them to another table and introduce them to the others. Idea is that I am trying to create a camaraderie. I am happy where we are at now, though I think we may grow a little, but we are at a good number.”
The club was around 80-85 members when he started as president. Now it is 115. In 2011, it was as low as 45.
But Popp also said, “I’ve seen pictures from 1992 and it seemed like a lot of people.”
What is the right number?
“The treasurer keeps asking how many will be successful,” Popp said. “It’s not the numbers. I judge success by those that come back every year. That means they are satisfied.”
Arlington Anglers meet the third Tuesday monthly at the Poplar Creek Bowl in Hoffman Estates. Details are at arlingtonanglers.com.
