New Mexico closed some lakes in the North right at the beginning of all this. I think it was initially due to thin ice conditions but I kind of remember seeing some corona concerns mentioned due to congregations of people... don't really know current status

But obviously we can all agree that each situation is different and should be handled differently

The Alaska Governor has repeatedly said that he does not want to evoke a full lockdown because he expects people to go on trails, walks, fish, etc with family so everyone can be mentally/physically stimulated as long as people are maintaining the appropriate separation. He said that nothing is off the table if people can't follow rules...so we'll probably be on lockdown in a week

I think the press release that was copied and pasted by the OP says its all:

We've had reports of crowded boat ramps and busy fishing on some rivers, which runs counter to the governor's direction to stay home and practice social distancing"

In addition, many salmon and steelhead fisheries require regular monitoring under the Endangered Species Act, which includes conducting angler interviews at access sites surrounding state waters. The face-to-face nature of these interviews puts people at potential risk for the virus. Without such monitoring, these recreational fisheries must close to ensure ESA protections.

Its no different than stopping church gatherings, closing eateries, bars, etc. Its an attempt to stop large gatherings. Yes, fishing on your own boat is safe. But with the warming weather, there is also a lot of pleasure boating that starts to happen this time of year. You've all seen it/done it - tie boats together, booze, play, tube, etc.

No one is going to get paid to sit at the dock/ramp and screen each boat for fishing vs outdoor rec - so everything gets shut down. Just like no one is screening at bars and asking - Sir, will you be sitting alone slamming shots, or at a table conversing with others?

There are gaps in all of this, no doubt. A lot of "essential" business being allowed to operate. Grocery stores, while limiting numbers, are still allowing folks inside. They probably shouldn't be, but I imagine going to full time curbside/delivery is not something they are prepared to do.

I think at this point, the medical community mostly fears the govt - both state and national - getting complacent and waiving all this off in 2 weeks. That would spell disaster, and likely another crash of our economy, by the way of full medical system failure.

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However, the people that want to gather are going to gather. Whether it's at a ramp, on the lake or someone's backyard.

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Totally agree. And this is the exact reason for the draconian actions.

China* (if we are to believe the data) was able to control this because they shut it all down. And a clinched fist government can do that. Obey, or disappear. Pretty crappy way to live, but works out nicely during a pandemic.

American ego, and our freedoms, will get in the way of recovery if folks don't stop treating this like its just an extended flu season. Ask this guy:

https://texags.com/forums/84/topics/3102444

Everyone is going to have to give up some freedoms for a while, if we want them back faster. I don't like writing that. Its uncomfortable. But I want life back to normal as quickly as possible. And the more places we have like NY and New O, the longer this lasts. Especially if those places end up being more rural with less medical support in place. I can see small communities being wiped clean of their older residents and others, should someone travel in from the outside, spread it, and the locals have a false sense of protection via distance from the cities.

It just all sucks, and everyone needs to stay the F home. This is the outdoorsman's chance to continue doing positive things for our country. Take a lead, stay home. Clean your reels. Change out line. Do something else.

This simply is the time to pound the "we don't need rules for everything" drum.

That applies in society where norms are established, like your examples.

We have no norms for this. We have no procedures. No one was prepared. The US is making it up as we go along because we simply weren't ready. Sure we probably have some guidelines at certain levels, but those will no doubt get revisited when this calms.

So it requires making rules for everything, in all situations, to help reiterate the magnitude of this. Its all temporary (we think, hopefully, the virus will flatten) - so why not do everything possible to stop the spread? Even if that means making unenforceable rules. People will break them, that's fine. But many will adhere. And thats what matters.

PFG said:

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However, the people that want to gather are going to gather. Whether it's at a ramp, on the lake or someone's backyard.

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Totally agree. And this is the exact reason for the draconian actions.

China* (if we are to believe the data) was able to control this because they shut it all down. And a clinched fist government can do that. Obey, or disappear. Pretty crappy way to live, but works out nicely during a pandemic.

American ego, and our freedoms, will get in the way of recovery if folks don't stop treating this like its just an extended flu season. Ask this guy:

https://texags.com/forums/84/topics/3102444

Everyone is going to have to give up some freedoms for a while, if we want them back faster. I don't like writing that. Its uncomfortable. But I want life back to normal as quickly as possible. And the more places we have like NY and New O, the longer this lasts. Especially if those places end up being more rural with less medical support in place. I can see small communities being wiped clean of their older residents and others, should someone travel in from the outside, spread it, and the locals have a false sense of protection via distance from the cities.

It just all sucks, and everyone needs to stay the F home. This is the outdoorsman's chance to continue doing positive things for our country. Take a lead, stay home. Clean your reels. Change out line. Do something else.

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This is my concern. My family is taking this very seriously in Juneau, AK. We aren't interacting with anyone until this levels out. My wife and I have been home working for 2 weeks now since the kids have gotten out of school. Our hospital system in AK is marginal at best and does not have near the capacity to deal with an influx of patients who may overrun it. Typically more complex cases get flown to Seattle but that is not an option with this.

My wife works for Heath and Social Services and I've been privy to some speakerphone conference calls with the Chief Medical Officer and EMS Officer (her boss). If things go south here there is a lot of reason to worry. I can hear the desperation in their voices on her conference calls. Extremely scary stuff.

txags92 said:

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cledus6150 said:

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Did I say they were not taking precautions, no I did not. Did I say they where taking a caviler attitude towards it, no I did not. You are drawing assumptions, they are taking all precautions that are needed from a severe year of the flu. PPE shortcomings are nation wide not just your wife's place of business, all first responders are dealing with it.

Yes front line, as both have handled multiple individuals who tested positive thats about as front lines as you can get. Also I never recommended to anyone to not take it seriously nor claimed that they where experts in the field, though previously my mother was the director of infectious disease at the hospital. I just provided what there opinion was of the situation.

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I suspect PFG's wife handles the pressure of her job much better than PFG does. He is probably the excitable one in their relationship.

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beaker handles stress better than alphabet boy.

PFG said:

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I wouldn't be surprised if this is being done to save lives

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Here. I helped you.

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I was fishing here just a few days ago. My family was the only one at the lake. Most people are staying home anyway. They should have left it open as there is plenty of space to implement "social distancing."

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. If things go south here, there is very much reason to worry. I can hear it in the desperation in their voices on calls.

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This plays out in our home as well. Daily. It's high stress, and only adds to the frustration of seeing/hearing folks act like nothing is happening.

The ol "but more die in car accidents"' line, which has already been quoted once in this thread, is getting old.

Remind me when was the last time car accidents filled out hospitals past capacity and endangered the lives of those not involved. That's the other scary part - not being able to provide med care to the non-Covid patients Bc there are no supplies or beds or doctors.

PFG said:

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Let me know when you have someone close to you that dies from this. Someone not old, not in poor health, not ignoring the symptoms. Hooked up to a vent. And die 10 days later.

Let me know when you have a spouse working in the Med field, risking own life to fight the spread.

Until then, roll your eyes and pretend it's just a bad cold and an overblown media story.

I'll be here to bump this when Texas catches up, smartens up, and closes down outdoor rec.

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There is a 100x greater risk of going to the grocery store and getting than there is either wade fishing by yourself or with family or in a boat for that matter. I highly doubt the average joe is going fishing with a complete stranger....it's either family or close friends who if they are sick aren't going in the first place...common sense still plays a factor in these decisions. I drive through subdivisions every day with my AC business and see flocks of people out and about...again a much greater chance of spreading something than fishing...to each his own.

Yes of course.

Closing down waters in Texas is not aimed at the Plugger chunking plastics on the red fish flats.

What Wash did was aimed at fishing activity that brought people in close contact.

If Texas did it- this would be aimed directly at the rec boats full of folks that congregate in crowds. And other fishing activities that crowd folks together. Ex: white bass runs.

The loss of rec for the Pluggers, loaners, etc is the unintended side effect.

Geez, reads like the Politics board... I called A Friend that lives in the nanny state of Washington. They closed their fishing, Glad I live in Texas!

We fish at a local pond on family land that is fenced. When my son and I went out there yesterday, we got in the truck from our house, drove straight there, opened the gate, and went in. We fished mostly about 150 yards apart at opposite ends of the tank. We hammered the bass.

If you are going to tell me that those cows were bothered by us, or that we ran a risk of contaminating anything, you are absolutely full of ***** It's more dangerous to go fill up with gas, or even worse, grab a loaf of bread at HEB.

So making a blanket statement about fishing and whether or not it is dangerous, as far as spreading this crap goes, is beyond absurd. We sit at home all week. Being around that pond, are no more or less dangerous than walking out to my smoker in the backyard.

And for the record, my wife works in the medical field also. None of us see any risk in fishing in isolation. If we took out our boat, on the coast, we would also be fishing with the same 2 or 3 people we live with every day. So no worries there either, but some folks seem to think any type of activity beyond sitting on your ass at home, is gonna spread it.

You have to use your damn brain and apply a little common sense.....not something I expect from Washington state citizens as they do all kinds of stupid crap......

Aggieangler93 said:

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We fish at a local pond on family land that is fenced. When my son and I went out there yesterday, we got in the truck from our house, drove straight there, opened the gate, and went in. We fished mostly about 150 yards apart at opposite ends of the tank. We hammered the bass.

If you are going to tell me that those cows were bothered by us, or that we ran a risk of contaminating anything, you are absolutely full of ***** It's more dangerous to go fill up with gas, or even worse, grab a loaf of bread at HEB.

So making a blanket statement about fishing and whether or not it is dangerous, as far as spreading this crap goes, is beyond absurd. We sit at home all week. Being around that pond, are no more or less dangerous than walking out to my smoker in the backyard.

And for the record, my wife works in the medical field also. None of us see any risk in fishing in isolation. If we took out our boat, on the coast, we would also be fishing with the same 2 or 3 people we live with every day. So no worries there either, but some folks seem to think any type of activity beyond sitting on your ass at home, is gonna spread it.

You have to use your damn brain and apply a little common sense.....not something I expect from Washington state citizens as they do all kinds of stupid crap......

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To be fair, fishing private ponds is not regulated, and I don't think there's any way they could keep you from fishing in a pond on private land as long as you had permission to be there.

Port A closed the beach to fishing and all bank fishing there is prohibited. Did they have like 1 million people fishing on the beach 1 foot apart from each other? I could see closing piers, etc. Somehow, I think it still said you could jog on the beach. That's stupid if you ask me. If it's so dangerous for one, close the damn beach for all.

I'm not in favor of any closing public places that are wide open like this.

I'll continue to fish. I have basically stopped doing anything else outside of the boundary of my property for this Kung flu!

What about hunting? Ill be headed to the lease this weekend to do a little axis chasing and thunder chicken scouting. Will I be putting anybody at risk then? CDC says gatherings of 10 or less are ok, but my wife and I will be there alone.

Good post sir.

Sir. I respect your opinion. I am in the Marine Industry and very familiar with recreational boating and fishing in those northern areas. It is still very cold up there. Most recreational boating in that region will not kick off till June or July. There is good river fishing but most folks are a good distance apart. Like 20 feet or more when it is very crowded.
Walleye fishing is just getting good on some of the lakes and that is done with mostly boats that are trolling or anchored.....Many times with solo anglers and etiquette is to stay at least 100 ft away from another boat.
Seems to me that fishing would be far and away a really safe outdoor activity as compared to many others as far as spreading Covid 19. Just sayin.

They could weld you in your house like they did folks in China I guess

Yes

Gunny456 said:

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Most of the Wildlife and Fisheries agencies in most states are no longer run by folks who hunt and fish, rather they are becoming more and more controlled by so called liberal "conservationist" who don't necessarily put sport hunting or fishing as top priority any longer in their programs and projects.

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I wholeheartedly disagree with this above. If you knew any of the biologist that worked for those agencies, you wouldn't have that opinion.

I 100% agree with this below:

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Folks need some type of release and recreation as this thing moves forward or we will begin to have much worse problems than people going fishing. People can't be expected to spend a month or two locked up in their houses and apartments and never getting to see sunshine or breath some fresh air.
As long as people are adhering to the "social distancing" guidelines, what will be more apt to spread the disease......going to HEB and standing with another 100 people in a small parking lot at 7:00 am to get TP or being in a bass boat by yourself 20 miles up the Devils River at Amistad?

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They opened the ramps back up at Amistad yesterday afternoon. I guess they heard enough complaints from people about how stupid it was to close the lake. Good on them for opening it back up.

I need to jump in while I can because I may never find another thread again where PFG and I are in 100% agreement. I would also add that the Steelhead in the PNW could probably use the break for a season. It will be an interesting science experiment to see how closure impacts the steelhead run next year. I know anglers in LA who swear that the closure of water after the Horizon oil spill had an amazingly positive impact on fisheries in LA.

Gunny456 said:

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Yep it sucks. Amistad is 65,000 acres not including the miles of the Pecos and Rio Grande. I'm sure it would be really crowded. They will keep us from fishing on it but how many gill nets will the Mexicans still be using while it is off limits to us?
These people don't have a clue on how anyone fishes anyway. Most of the Wildlife and Fisheries agencies in most states are no longer run by folks who hunt and fish, rather they are becoming more and more controlled by so called liberal "conservationist" who don't necessarily put sport hunting or fishing as top priority any longer in their programs and projects.
Folks need some type of release and recreation as this thing moves forward or we will begin to have much worse problems than people going fishing. People can't be expected to spend a month or two locked up in their houses and apartments and never getting to see sunshine or breath some fresh air.
As long as people are adhering to the "social distancing" guidelines, what will be more apt to spread the disease......going to HEB and standing with another 100 people in a small parking lot at 7:00 am to get TP or being in a bass boat by yourself 20 miles up the Devils River at Amistad?

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My recollection is that it would be very easy to practice social distancing at Amistad even on the public boat ramp. This reminds me. I watched "The river and the wall" a couple of weeks ago and they filmed it like they paddled canoes from the inlet of the Rio Grande all the way to the dam. My guess is that they hooked them up to a motorboat and towed them most of that way. Either that or they got a hell of a workout because it looked pretty choppy on the lake.

rootube said:

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I need to jump in while I can because I may never find another thread again where PFG and I are in 100% agreement. I would also add that the Steelhead in the PNW could probably use the break for a season. It will be an interesting science experiment to see how closure impacts the steelhead run next year. I know anglers in LA who swear that the closure of water after the Horizon oil spill had an amazingly positive impact on fisheries in LA.

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Only if they can somehow manage to get the sea lions to stop fishing as well. Especially in the Columbia River basin.