Fishing guides open for business, but restrictions rankle charter captains
The partial lifting of business closure orders announced Monday was seen as good news for Pennsylvania fishing guides and charter boat operators. But a restriction limiting guides to two clients per trip impacts some services more than others.
To slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the closing of most businesses in Pennsylvania on March 19. The new restrictions, which began Friday, will have the least impact on stream-fishing guides.
“Walk-in fishing guiding is permitted as long as you are able to minimize personal contact and abide by social distancing and masking guidelines, including maintaining 6 feet between individuals,” according to the new orders.
Rob Reeder of Wilkins, a fly fishing guide and cofounder of Days on the Water fishing instruction, said his fly fishing classes organized through the Community College of Allegheny County were canceled when the school was shut down. His guiding service, which puts clients on brown, rainbow and brook trout, moved some scheduled trips from May to June.
“Other than that, this hasn’t really affected me,” he said. “If it comes down to it, I’m following everything the governor recommends. I’ll wear a mask and make the client wear a mask. We’ll travel separately and it will be easy to stay 6 feet apart. All of my clients learn how to tie the knots before the trips.”
The new restrictions do not distinguish between charter fishing operators with big boats and those
Outdoors
with smaller crafts, but the rules favor those accommodating smaller fishing parties.
“Guiding from a boat may be done if you limit clients to two or less and are able to abide by social distancing and masking guidelines, including maintaining 6 feet between individuals at all times,” stated the explanation of orders. “Charter boat guiding for more than two clients remains prohibited.”
Jeff Knapp, a fishing guide and outdoors writer from Kittanning, Armstrong County, operates Keystone Connection Guide Service. Generally, his clients fish for smallmouth bass and walleye from a 20-foot jet boat launched on the Middle Allegheny River, Keystone Lake in Armstrong County or Kahle Lake in Venango County.
“I almost always fish with one or two clients anyway, so keeping space between us isn’t a problem,” he said. “I probably canceled 10 trips that were already on the books when the restriction started. Those trips I’m not going to be able to replace.”
Steve Small of Aliquippa in Beaver County, president of the Erie Pennsylvania Charter Boat Association, said his phone has been “ringing off the hook” as anglers call to book lake trout and walleye trips with his Small Program Charters. But his 31-foot Tiara yacht will remain moored in Erie’s Presque Isle Bay.
“This lifting of restrictions is helping, but for us charter captains it’s a joke,” he said. “[The state] only wants two passengers on a boat. That’s probably about right — 6 feet apart for guys with 18-foot boats. But if you have a bigger boat that holds more people, the math doesn’t work. How can we charge $700-$800 per trip with just two clients?”
Mr. Small said motoring to and from waters off North East, where the lake trout are beginning to spawn, and trolling for half a day uses $200-$250 in motor fuel. Many operators belonging to the Charter Boat Association can’t break even with just two clients, he said. He thinks the size of charter fishing parties should be relative to the size of the vessel.
The governor’s office couldn’t be reached for comment.
“We’d be safe if four or five clients could stay socially distant, wear masks and wipe everything down, same as if we were a sandwich shop,” said Mr. Small. “I’m assuming things will be back to normal by June. If they’re not, we’re going to have big problems.”