FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — After weeks of being sheltered at home many people are excited for the opportunity to go somewhere–and fishing guides in West Virginia are excited they are one of the first destinations as the stay at home restrictions from the pandemic start to be relaxed in West Virginia.
“There’s been a whole lot more raman noodles and grilled cheese sandwiches than t-bone steaks in the Nibert household, I’ll guarantee you,” laughed guide Larry Nibert, owner of the West Virginia Experience in Fayetteville.
Nibert, like many, had to suspend commercial operations when the Governor’s Stay at Home order was given. The order couldn’t have come at worse time, smack dab in the middle of the best fishing days of the year. Since then, Nibert and others have been hoping to see some light at the end of the tunnel. The light comes Friday as Governor Jim Justice this week cleared the way for commercial fishing outfitters to resume operations.
“The bookings are still there, most people have simply pushed their trip back,”Nibert explained. “Typically by this point in the spring I will have put as many as 80 trips on the water somewhere in southern West Virginia, but that’s not the case this year. ”
Sammy Pugh, owner of New River Trophy Outfitters in Sandstone echoed Nibert’s sentiment. It’s been a less than spectacular spring fishing season.
“We had a lot of trips on the books and we had a lot of them cancel, but luckily we got some of them back. But it’s been a slow spring for sure. It was good news to hear it was going to be open again,” he said.
Even as the operations restart, changes in protocol have been made. Outfitters are paying a whole lot more attention to sanitizing equipment and their rafts and showing care to distance customers and staff from one another.
“We’re trying to get folks to bring their own gear and keep it to themselves. If they do use our gear, we clean everything with Lysol and bleach and clean the boats after every trip,” said Pugh.
Health experts on Governor Jim Justice’s Corona Virus Task Force concluded fishing trips would be within acceptable guidelines of social distancing with a limit of a guide and no more than two anglers per boat. The restart of the whitewater rafting industry is another story however. Fears of eight to ten people in a single raft and large numbers of customers packed into shuttle buses to and from the river have kept the Governor from restarting the rafting industry.
“I really want to see this industry back open, but right now, it’s just not safe,” said Governor Justice.
Rafting companies are making preparations to reopen when they get the green light. They too have created protocols for sanitizing equipment and working to keep people as distant as possible.
Some of those larger rafting companies have fishing operations will be able to run those trips starting Friday. Both Nibert and Pugh have trips scheduled and are itching to put clients on the water–and on fish.
“Luckily we’re booked up pretty solid this weekend,” Pugh said. “It’s got people excited and I guess they’re wanting to get outside. It’s the perfect way to get away from all the mess, go fishing!”