Yellowknife (Feb 01/06) - Grandpa still likes to fish, but the kids would rather go kayaking or rock climbing - that's what NWT fishing lodge owners are telling government tourism officials.

The government intends to survey fishing lodges and anglers over the next few months to find out whether reports of an aging and dwindling client base are true, and what can be done to bring people back.

Ragnar Wesstrom, owner of Trout Rock Lodge about 20 km northwest of Yellowknife on Great Slave Lake, said he expects his best season ever this summer, but it's mainly repeat business, and mostly American clients who are coming back.

"Most of our repeat groups are guys in their 70s," said Wesstrom.

"We don't get any new blood. We don't get the young, rich www.com guys. They don't seem to like this fishing thing. They go hiking and paragliding and kayaking."

Trout Rock gets big play in the international angling scene. It's known for the gigantic pike that swim the waters nearby, and is frequently on TV sports fishing shows.

But if it wasn't for the Japanese aurora visitors in winter, Wesstrom said he would be out of business.

"If we were just counting on fishing, forget it," said Wesstrom.

"We would've been dead a long time ago."

Richard Zieba, an economic planner with Industry, Tourism, and Investment, said fishing lodges are still big business in the NWT. Visitors to the 41 licensed fishing lodges and camps bring in about $7 million to $11 million annually to the NWT economy.

But there is decreasing interest nationally in spending the big bucks to go to a fishing lodge - a five-day trip typically goes for more than $2,000 - and in fishing period, Zieba said.

According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2000 recreational fishing survey, anglers spent $400 million less on fishing than they did in 1990, when sales totalled $2.8 billion nationally.

"The golden age" of the wilderness lodge trip was about 20 or 30 years ago, said Zieba.

"There's been a decline in sports fishing generally in North America as a result of changing patterns in recreation," said Zieba.

"There's less people fishing than there used to be in proportion to population."

A national sports fishing survey is being planned for this year. The territorial government's survey will focus on lodge owners and their cliental.

It will include recommendations on how lodges, tourism groups and the government can better market the lodges to the newer, fickle tastes of adventure-seeking visitors.

"We don't have good stats from the lodges," said Zieba.

"We want to take a look at historical numbers to confirm what lodge owners are telling us anecdotally."

Mike Freeland, owner of Blachford Lake Lodge, said he anticipated a downward trend in sports fishing about 15 years ago.

His lodge picks up the slack by offering a wide range of other travel packages - some of them far removed from the traditional, testosterone-pumped idea of a fishing lodge. "We host a number of meetings, conferences and workshops," said Freeland.

"We continue to do special interest weekends like yoga, ladies' spa, and couples' weekends.

"The women's spa weekend always books up because we get many repeat women who keep coming back."