In the new situation of ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, recreational fishing will become an important direction for the development of the Yangtze River fishery. In order to understand the current status of sport angling in the main stream of the Yangtze River, 872 anglers were interviewed from 2017 to 2018. The results showed that anglers of the Yangtze River mainstream were mainly middle-aged and elderly people. The main types of fishing tackle were hand rod and sea rod, accounting for more than 80% of the total fishing tackle. The anglers of the upper Yangtze river and the Three Gorges reservoir area, accounting for more than 50%, invested in fishing gear less than 500 yuan per annum. However, the anglers of more than 50%, in middle and lower Yangtze River, invested in fishing gear more than 1000 yuan per annum. The number of anglers in the upper Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Reservoir area, the middle Yangtze River and the lower Yangtze River were estimated to be 2 344, 4 764, 4 600 and 6 649, respectively. In addition, the annual fishing volume was respectively estimated to be 45.0 tons, 294.7 tons, 171.1 tons and 478.7 tons. The proportion of annual fishing amount in the current stock of fish resources was 8.6%, 2.0%, 1.8% and 3.6%, respectively. This indicates that fishing has a relatively large impact on fishery resources in the Upper Yangtze River, which need urgent attention attention. In order to guide the healthy and sustainable development of the fishing industry, it is suggested to delimit the no-fishing area and no-fishing period, establish a white-list system of fishing tackle and fishing method in natural waters, establish a scientific management system, further explore the traditional fishery cultural resources, and establish the fishing fishery brand.