Measured Outcomes from the Pennsylvania Family Fishing Program, 2011-2014

The Family Fishing Program (FFP) targets lapsed anglers and non-fishing adults with youth in their family group. It is designed to reach people at various stages within the ‘natural path’ model recommended by recruitment and retention researchers .  The program provides an initial exposure for non-anglers, and an opportunity for lapsed or occasional anglers to re-learn or practice skills.  The family/social group approach enables mentoring experiences, as well as furthering efforts to retain adult anglers. In this program, the definition of a family is any grouping of adults and children, connected socially, but not necessarily biologically. An evaluation was conducted using data gathered from participants in programs conducted 2011-2014, to determine if the program was achieving intended outcomes. The evaluation consisted to two parts, pre- and post-program telephone interviews, and data mining of the Pennsylvania Automated License Database (PALS) to determine license-purchasing patterns of participants age 16 and older.   While the results of the telephone surveys provided valuable information on program outcomes, of more interest was the purchasing history of program participants prior to attending and after.