The second half of April has surprisingly flown by with our efforts to keep busy doing household maintenance and deep cleaning, managing our mowing and tree trimming business, keeping up with the rental business as Brandy is working from home and running half day fishing trips for friends, family and a few new customers. One perk of being a fishing guide and having a wife who’s a realtor is that I can run her clients as a value-add to her business while running my clients as well. I have never underesti-mated the importance of adding outdoor entertainment services like boating and fishing and hunting when it comes to taking care of clients no matter what business I have been in. I seem to have always fished or hunted customers throughout the past 30 years no matter the line of business whether it was banking, insurance, state government, the promotional products industry or real estate. One common denominator in all of these lines of work and almost any that you can think of is a love by all for the out-doors.
This week my fishing trips have been a combination of about all we do down here on the middle Texas coast. I have had folks in the boat with bait; in the boat with lures; wading trips with lures; wading trips with live bait; sight casting outings focusing solely on stalking redfish; and just plain ole boat rides with a dolphin watch as an added bonus. I have slowed down the pace a bit and not been so stringent on departure times and that has been very popular. Yeah we want to get out there and have the best chance on catching fish but that is not a steadfast rule that you have to follow. There’s no shame in leaving the dock after the sun is well awake in the sky and some of the clumsy impatient anglers are long gone from the dock. I have passed some of those guys along the way anyway usually coming back to the dock because someone forgot a license or they are stuck on a sand bar or they have simply rushed to get to a spot that makes absolutely no sense. “Let them get the heck out of the way, take a deep breath and ease away from the dock assured you didn’t forget things” is what I’m have been thinking to myself- things such as the bait, the rods or the sunscreen for goodness sakes!
The month of May is upon us and that is a transition time for me historically. The time has come to switch from live shrimp to croaker on my bait trips. I am normally booked every day in May, June and almost all of July and August so starting out this May with only a few bookings late in the month is scary. Being an all inclusive venue the lodge cannot open until the county gives them the all clear so their hands are tied until that time. However I find no matter how bad the economy has gotten with the pandemic and loss of business, I’m more relaxed these days and more appreciative of the customers I do have which has translated into more enjoyable outings, less stress of thinking how I need to get to my spots first since there is less bay pressure, and overall a better experience for the guest. My prom-ise to those fishing with me over the immediate future from a safety standpoint is to continue the disin-fecting procedures on my boat after each trip and while we are not wearing masks we are doing our best to separate as much as possible. That said we are open for business with lots of dates available to re-start your passion and join me for a day of appreciation of our natural resources aboard a comfortable boat in a relaxed atmosphere.
Capt Stephen Boriskie
Bay Flats Lodge, Seadrift, Texas,
