OPENING CAST
What an ugly virus that has impacted all aspects of our society. Fishing and especially crappie fishing has had both positive and negative COVID impacts.
On the positive side, here are a few of the notable ones:
- Record numbers of new anglers purchased fishing licenses in every state
- Fisherman time-on-the-water soared above weekend averages
- Tackle sales reached record highs
- Boat sales of all types soared
- The outdoors created an escape from the mean virus
So, one would think this would not have any negatives based on this, right? No, unfortunately.
- Ramps and associated parking lots were overloaded every day of the week
- The fish, especially crappie, were pressured. The fish are becoming more elusive. Their behaviors are changing
- With record high tackle demands and delayed pipeline deliveries from both stateside and offshore manufacturing, many products are not readily available to restock our tackle boxes. Many Conex boxes are still sitting offshore awaiting offloading and transportation
- Boat and truck manufactures cannot meet the new demands. At one point, one major boat company had a backlog of 29,000 boats. It could take 9-12 months to get your dream boat. As to trucks, I recently was told I would need to plan on ordering one and it would take 5-6 months to get it
- Many fishermen found major competition for their favorite fishing spots and the quiet of the outdoors on some major lakes and rivers
In my opinion, fishing is a great outlet to relieve all the stresses created by the ugly virus. We now have generations of new fishermen, women and children who hopefully will continue to enjoy our beautiful lakes and rivers. And by all current indications, we might be experiencing the final “spike” in COVID cases. I hope that is true, and that this wave of interest in fishing will outlive me.
God Bless and Good Fishing,
Dan Dannenmueller, Publisher
