Corona Chronicles

Unless you live under a rock or have already been in self quarantine for some reason, you’re probably aware of what’s happening around the world at this very moment. Coronavirus or COVID-19 has taken the world by storm and is ALMOST in every part of the globe. Some people are in lock down mode while others are still going about life as if everything is completely normal. I’m not here to judge, tell you what to do or stand on a pedestal and preach, but I will give you my two cents should you care to read on.

At first, I thought this was all mass hysteria and the pot was being stirred to hard by the media. More people die every day from a bee sting than this virus. Well that’s how it started, now that confirmed cases are rising and more and more people are being affected by this in some form or fashion, my outlook has shifted.

I’ve had to cancel charters, refund deposits and try and figure out how I’m going to pay bills. Just about every captain I know has seen some sort of effects from this. I know people who have been laid off from their jobs, friends who are figuring out what homeschooling their children is really like, I even know of one friend who actually has the damn virus, and trust me when I say, his report is not fun to hear about. In the beginning I was debating on making the same old posts as other guides, the comments about “social distancing 18 feet apart on a skiff” or “there’s no Coronavirus in the marsh”, something witty along those lines. But in all reality, how could I abide by the suggestions by doctors to quarantine and limit social interactions by encouraging those from outside of my area to travel and come down to coastal North Carolina to fish? Cities, towns and other areas have declared a state of emergency asking non-residents to NOT come to a certain area, why would I go against these recommendations and ask for people to break those rules? Well, the answer is… I can’t. Morally I cannot justify taking someone out fishing knowing that they are coming from an area with more cases of this virus than we have in this community.

I can guarantee that some of you don’t agree with me on this, maybe some of you think I’m part of the problem by writing this and creating more hype around the issue. But personally, I’m comfortable with my decision. I know that I’m losing my ass financially, heck some of my clients may even contact another guide and go with them and I lose that client for future dates. I’m taking that risk and rolling the dice to do my part in this time of confusion. I hope that if any clients who have cancelled or I have cancelled on come across this a read this post, that you’ll understand and come fishing with me in the future when all of this settles down.

In the meantime, I will be helping my family prepare their businesses for what may come. There’s plenty of side projects to keep me busy and occupied, the honey-do list has just gotten a bit longer and I’m ok with that. I ask all of you to keep in mind the small business owner, the local vendors and the self employed entrepreneurs who will undoubtedly be strained by the situation. Buy local, shop local and support your community. There won’t be any bail outs for your hometown tackle shop, or the yoga studio down the street or the farmer that sells eggs and produce at the local market.

We’re all in this together, so please, do your part. Be considerate of where you go and what you do. Things will get back to normal and we can go fishing again in the future. In the meantime, sit your tail at home and clean out the garage like your wife has asked you to do for the last two years.