Info-link: U.S. Freshwater Fishing Boat Market Snapshot

Freshwater Fishing Boats are higher content aluminum or fiberglass boats purpose built for fishing, primarily on inland lakes and rivers. This category does not include jon boats which are low content. Freshwater fishing boats represent approximately 20% of all registered powerboats in the US.

Here’s a quick summary:

• There are currently about 2 million freshwater fishing boats registered in the U.S., almost half of which were purchased new or pre-owned during the past 5 years.
• The average freshwater fishing boat is 19 years old and roughly 37,000 of them are being retired from the fleet each year.
• Last year, 75% of all freshwater fishing boats were purchased pre-owned (25% New).
• 25% of the people that purchased freshwater fishing boats in 2019 were first-time-boat buyers and 34% of them own another boat (including PWC)
• Freshwater fishing boat buyers tend to be well established. 76% of them are over 40 years-old; almost all own their home; and they have usually lived there for a while.