I think it is all how you start them. I didn't get into fishing until I was 16. My dad was a big tournament angler but when he took me out as a kid we would go bluegill fishing. I remember being so bored. I was 5, with a lot of energy. Watching a bobber for 4 hours was not my idea of fun. I wanted to run, jump, scream. I just needed to move.
I kept all of this in mind when I took my girlfriend out for her first time fishing, 2 1/2 years into our relationship. We went swimming and stuff when we first got there because she enjoys tanning and all that girly stuff. When we finally went fishing I set her up with a spinning rod and a wacky-rigged senko. She out fished me. The week after that we went again. This time I set her up with a spinning combo and a t-rigged brush hog. I explained to her that she was going to have to work a little bit harder for the fish this time and it was going to take more patience. She did just that, she didn't out fish me but she sure kept up with me.
Three weeks later she had her all-year fishing license and completed her hunter ed course. Again, don't underestimate the importance of how you introduce the sport.
TC