Producers of this summer's most talked about monster movie are keeping Godzilla under wraps. Maybe female, possibly swimming with fish and getting hooked by an angler. It's all hush-hush until the movie's out May 20.

But big. Godzilla will definitely be big. And it ``will bring sport fishing into a light not seen before,'' says Anita Frazier of Sony, the movie's producer.

Even before the monster is out of the bag, however, it can stand as a metaphor for sport fishing. Recreational angling happens to be that big. Maybe bigger. And, like any monster rising from the deep, sport fishing is getting a serious look. If it were a single company, it would be in the top five of the Fortune 500. According to the American Sportfishing Association, it is a $108 billion-a-year industry that marketers are turning into one of the hottest marketplaces in the USA.

Unlike Godzilla's appearance, fishing's secret is out. And mass marketers from General Motors to General Mills are solidly hooked on the brand loyalty and spending power demonstrated by hard-core anglers, as well as just plain fans of the pro fishing circuits.

This is not pie in the sky. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 35.2 million recreational anglers spent $37.8 billion directly on fishing trips and gear in 1996. That's up from $27.6 billion in 1991. Add in taxes, salaries and other economic ripples and it becomes a $108 billion-a-year industry.

Close to 11 million of those anglers are youngsters -- about three quarters of them male -- 15 and younger, an especially attractive group for marketers.

And seeing as how all 35.2 million anglers probably eat breakfast, putting this year's Wal-Mart FLW Tour angler of the year on 2 million Wheaties boxes next fall seems perfectly logical.

But it's also a breakthrough. General Mills' decision to put a pro fishing champ on a nationally distributed Wheaties box ahead of even a high-profile, role model pro golfer like Tiger Woods sends a powerful message to mass marketers already intrigued with fishing's numbers.

Making those numbers light up even brighter are the sport's demographics.

In its 1996 survey of recreational anglers, the Fish and Wildlife Service found that fully half of those 16 and older who fish have annual household income of more than $40,000, and slightly more than half have gone to college.

``A dyed-in-the-wool fisherman feels the same way about fishing as I do about golf,'' says marketing consultant Allen McCusker. ``They'll buy anything that's breakthrough, so long as it doesn't break the bank.''

And many have pretty big banks to break. The government says that among Americans making $100,000 or more a year, one in five goes fishing.

Advertisers pay attention

Big, well-heeled and heretofore ignored. That's one way to describe the sport-fishing community and three reasons for major advertisers to pay attention. Big-name companies from Northwest Airlines to Land O' Lakes are writing checks of $250,000 and more just to be identified as event sponsors.

``We were never short of believers among the fishing public,'' says Irwin Jacobs, chairman and founder of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. ``Now we have Wheaties saying, `This is really something.' ''

Wal-Mart already voiced that opinion in early 1997, when it signed on as title sponsor of Jacobs' pro bass tour. Jacobs personally rewards winners with suitcases full of cash amounting to $3.65 million this year.

Not to be outdone, Kmart hooked up with the other top pro tour, run by B.A.S.S. Inc. The alliance is ``part of the Kmart renaissance,'' says Jim Potter, manager of sporting goods for the chain.

To his department, ``B.A.S.S. is like our association with Martha Stewart.''

The people at B.A.S.S. are not prone to understatement. Chevrolet, Delco and Wrangler have signed on as tournament sponsors ``because we move the needle,'' says Ken Woodard, vice president of sales for B.A.S.S. ``We're the bell cow for the whole outdoors community.''

Wholesome image sells

More and more, the bell is ringing for so-called nontraditional sponsors, companies other than boat, motor and tackle makers.

But B.A.S.S. isn't the only cow in the meadow. Jacobs, the flamboyant Minneapolis businessman once known on Wall Street as ``Irv the Liquidator,'' has teamed his clout in corporate boardrooms with fishing's appeal to create a one-two punch in the sponsorship game.

General Mills, which announced its Wheaties promotion earlier this year, joins a list of nontraditional sponsors that runs from Coca-Cola to Fuji film, Citgo gasoline and Land O' Lakes butter. For them, fishing is clean and new and wholesome. ``Fishing fits with today's family orientation,'' says Barton Reed of General Mills.

Extraordinary brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is a big part of the equation, too. Experts such as Lesa Ukman, editor of the Sponsorship Report, put tournament fishing in the same league with NASCAR, which she calls ``the smartest sanctioning body out there.''

NASCAR claims its fans are 72% more likely to buy a sponsor's product than that of a competitor. For the NFL, they say, the rate is only 36%.

``Extremely brand loyal,'' is how Stephen Horgan, managing director of Coca-Cola USA, describes the fishing crowd. ``And being a tournament sponsor is one way to relate to that consumer.''

Citgo sees cross-promotional opportunities so vast it has shelved its usual regional promotion tied to a PGA event in Hartford, Conn., this year in favor of one built around the Wal-Mart FLW bass tournament slated there in June. Teamed with other tournament sponsors (Coke, Chevy trucks and Wal-Mart), Citgo will be giving away a truck, soft drinks and merchandise coupons redeemable at Wal-Mart.

Says Ed Mattie, Citgo promotions manager, ``These people spend a tremendous amount of money on our product, and they are extremely loyal to sponsors of their sport. So we're reaching out.''

And Fuji Photo Film USA? ``In many respects,'' says Tom Shay, director of communications, ``it's a no-brainer for us. You've got to have a picture when you catch a fish.''

Monster movie spinoffs

Godzilla's connection with angling, it turns out, is more than just metaphor. Snippets of the previews show what appears to be the monster being hooked by an old man with a fishing rod. And the movie's obvious appeal to boys prompted South Bend Sporting Goods to make the first movie licensing deal in its 92-year history.

South Bend, one of the nation's top five tackle makers, already markets heavily to kids with its own menagerie of tackle logos from Sunny Day Bear to Lucky Lion.

``We're not trying to replace Lucky Lion with Godzilla,'' assures South Bend spokesman Randy Lempke. ``This should be incremental business for us.''

What Lempke means is that when nearly a million Godzilla rods, reels and tackle boxes hit store shelves May 20 as the movie opens, South Bend is hoping to reel in customers it might not have otherwise reached. Though it won't say how much it spent for the license, industry experts figure Godzilla gets 15% of the gross retail sales.

And if the Sportfishing Association's studies are to be believed, the movie could create 1 million new anglers. ``Eighty-five percent of all adult freshwater anglers started before age 12,'' says Vishwanie Maharaj, director of economics for the association.

``That doesn't mean they can't get hooked later on,'' Maharaj says. But obviously, hooked young means hooked for good, which for marketers is everyone's fantasy monster fish on the line.