Spring is having a hard time this year deciding whether it wants to show up. Winter doesn’t seem to want to relinquish its grip. It’s the age-old Vermont battle of the seasons. A typical day right now sort of goes like this: Winter is at 6am. Spring starts at 10. Summer will be from 12 to 2. Fall starts around 4:30.
Mother Nature’s recent mood swings and snowy tantrums haven’t seemed to deter Vermonters though. We’ve seen an unprecedented surge in fishing participation this spring, with nearly 6,000 more licenses sold through April 20 then what was sold by the same date in 2019.
This isn’t exactly a surprise. It’s well-known the main reason people drift away from fishing is a lack of time. Our lives get busy. School, work and family commitments, kid’s activities … there’s a long list.
But with the current COVID-19 shutdown, Vermonters have found themselves with a lot of unexpected time on their hands, and they’ve come flooding back to fishing. It’s the perfect outlet for these times – a proven, and inexpensive stress-reliever.
My hope is all these lapsed anglers who’ve decided to pick up their rods again this spring after a long absence will realize what they’ve been missing, and remember all the reasons why they loved it so much in the first place. Enjoying our great outdoors, spending quality time with family, catching a fresh meal, all the while helping to fund important fisheries conservation and management work through their license purchases.
Fishing is the ultimate social distancing activity, as Fish & Wildlife staff member Megan Duni shows here fishing the Mad River.If you’re reading this and haven’t gotten out fishing yet this year, don’t worry. The best is yet to come. May is just around the corner, and it’s my favorite month to fish. Stream conditions will improve as the waters finally warm up, pre-spawn bass fishing will be on fire, panfish will start swarming the back bays, marshes and shorelines, walleye will be running, post-spawn pike will be prowling... the opportunities will be endless.
Just remember when you’re fishing, practice good social distancing. For more information visit the department’s COVID-19 and outdoor recreation webpage.
Stay Safe, and Fish On!
—Shawn Good, Fisheries Biologist shawn.good@vermont.gov
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