Most years you’d say Captain Lukas Brickweg leads a pretty good life. During the summer you’ll find Brickweg in Ketchikan Alaska running salmon and halibut charters for Baranot Fishing Excursions (https://exclusivealaska.com/). The rest of the year he frequents the beaches of east central Florida, taking clients on surf fishing charters (https://cocoabeachsurffishingcharters.com/).
Then comes 2020 and COVID-19. Like a lot of other folks, the pandemic slammed Brickweg hard. In March, beaches closed and tourism ground to a halt, killing Brickweg’s prime spring break charter season. It only got worse from there. A bulk of Brickweg’s annual earnings comes during the summers in Alaska thanks to a plethora of cruise ship patrons looking to sample Alaska’s legendary fishing. This bounty disappeared when the entire 2020 Alaska cruise season was canceled.
For many fishing guides, business and money is seasonal, subject to fish migrations, periods of favorable weather, popular travel times for tourist and other factors. An unfortunate event at the wrong time can wipe out much of a year’s worth of income, something guides have had to deal with before. “I started my professional fishing guide service in 2004”, says Captain Angie Douthit, a bass fishing guide on Lake Okeechobee and Bienville Plantation (https://www.southfloridabassfishing.com/). “I dealt with the 2005 very active hurricane season which impacted my entire fishing season in 2006. Then the economy crash of 2009, another entire season lost! Now, 2020 is a 3/4 lost of income due to COVID-19.”
The timing of the pandemic was particularly damaging to Florida guides who rely heavily on a busy spring tourism season. I asked around and here is what guides had to say about the impact of COVID-19 on their business.
Captain Mike Savedow (https://edgewaterriverguide.com/)
“My guide business has been down dramatically as my client base is about 75% visitors and tourists. My long time regulars as well as prospective new clients are staying home, not taking trips to Central Florida.”
Captain Tony Summers (https://www.floridafishguide.com/)
“With all 38 trips I had scheduled cancelling and the abrupt stop of phone calls, it’s been a rough few months.”
Captain Mark Wyckoff (http://cprbasscharters.com)
“COVID-19 has been a pretty trying time with this being the busy time of the year for charters with families visiting the Sunshine State.”
Captain Glyn Austin (https://goingcoastalcharters.com/)
“April was almost a complete shutdown for us and May started very slow. April is normally our busiest month of the year. Most of my customers travel for spring break and they quit coming down.”
What have the charter captains been doing with all their down time? The same thing a lot of folks are doing. “I’m mainly catching up on my very long around the house to do list , also keeping my boat and tackle ready to fish as always,” says Savedow. “During this health crisis, I have been spending more time with my Fiance’ on our 150-acre south Georgia farm,” adds Douthit.
Guides have also been fun fishing with family and friends with their unexpected free time. “ I have been spending a little more time saltwater fishing in Steinhatchee,” says Douthit. “Having more then usual free time to venture out and explore new waters and the coast, has been nice,” notes Summers.
A lot of guides have side gigs. Austin and Summers have made a little money during their down time doing boat maintenance and repairs for clients. Wyckoff’s side gig is a full time job that got busier with the pandemic. “I am a Full time Firefighter EMT here for a small department in Central Florida,” says Wyckoff. “That has been pretty steady with calls, and training for work keeps me busy.”
Brickweg has used the COVID-19 downtime to serve his community. “I have a beneficial skill to be able to provide food from the sea,” says Brickweg. “I’ve taken responsibility for that role in initiating programs in Florida and Alaska to donate time, equipment and resources to feeding families in the community. Getting local families outside for a fun family experience helps ease the mental and economic burden of this unprecedented situation.”
As the pandemic restrictions relax, bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses are opening back up. Many folks are returning to work. Fishing guides are also returning to their charters business, but for many, much of their income for the year is already lost. If you have the means, consider booking a local fishing guide, perhaps one of the ones in this article or the ones who write fishing reports for this magazine. If you are not interested in fishing during the hot Florida summer, you can buy a gift certificate and take the trip when the weather is more comfortable.
Rest assured, guides are doing their best to make their charters as safe as possible. “We are sanitizing our boats and gear after every outing even more thoroughly than before,” notes Captain Jim Ross (https://finelinefishingcharters.com/). Some guides, like Ross, are taking the safety of their clients even further by spraying rods, reels and other touch points with COVID killing sanitizers, like Star Brite Performacide, before every trip.
So if you’ve been thinking fishing with a central Florida pro, now is a great time to hire a local charter captain. They are motivated and ready to help you have a great time on the water, and they could sure use your business.
