This season of COVID has been a boon to KC-area outdoors businesses and aficionados

When social events started canceling this spring due to the coronavirus, Kirby Ham feared the worst.

Ham, a popular Kansas City-area DJ, makes his living playing to big crowds. But COVID-19, the highly contagious virus still sweeping across the nation, also thrives on crowds.

And the virus won.

“I am usually busy with wedding receptions, graduation parties, pool parties, Fourth of July celebrations, you name it,” said Ham, who lives in Olathe. “But it all disappeared.”

Good thing for Ham that he has a second job — as a fishing guide.

He has had a front-row seat for one of the most memorable fishing seasons in years. When everything from sports to concerts to restaurants shut down, people turned to the outdoors as never before.

Ham, known as “Crappie Kirby” to many, is among those who have ridden that wave.

“I’ve been guiding for 10 years now, but this is by far my best season ever,” he said. “There has just been a tremendous interest in fishing.

“Even people who haven’t fished before are wanting to get out, and they’re finding out how fun it can be. I’ve been guiding four to five days a week but I could be taking people out every day if I wanted to.

“That’s how crazy it has been.”

Reservoirs full of boats, busy bait and tackle shops, boat dealers selling almost everything on their lots, soaring fishing-license sales — that’s how 2020, the year of COVID-19, will be remembered by fishermen.

“The beautiful silver lining to all of this is that we’re seeing a lot of people discover or reconnect with the outdoors,” said Sara Parker Pauley, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. “When all else was taken away, nature offered options for safe recreation.”

As an incentive to get residents outdoors, the Department of Conservation allowed people to fish without buying a license from March 27 through April 15. Since then, licenses have been required, but sales are still up from what they were a year ago.

The same is true in Kansas. As of late August, sales of resident fishing licenses were up 37,000 from a year ago at that point. And now hunting seasons are underway or approaching, too.

“For a while in early spring, it was like Black Friday every day in our store,” said Gary Robinson, manager of the fishing, hunting and camping departments at the Olathe Bass Pro Shop. “In the 20 years I’ve worked for Bass Pro Shops, I’ve never seen so many first-time fishermen come in.

“We had a lot of families want to know how to get started. At times, we completely sold out of some of the basics, like rod-and-reel combos, weights and hooks. “

Other tackle shops saw the same trend.

“We are seeing license trends translate into sales,” said Mike Leonard of the American Sportfishing Association. “At pretty much any fishing tackle store, from big-box stores to independent, you will see empty shelves.

“Some of that is demand, some is supply.”

Indeed, manufacturers have struggled to keep up with the increased demand that was to some degree unexpected. Some factories were temporarily shut down because of the virus in the spring, and now that they are open, they are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

The same is true in the boating industry, where business is booming.

Joe Falco, longtime owner of Sportsman’s Outfitter & Marine in Belton, can’t remember a time when the demand for fishing boats has been so high.

“As soon as we’re getting a boat in, we’re selling it,” Falco said. “The only problem is, we’re having trouble getting inventory.

“The boat manufacturers can’t make boats fast enough. Everyone wants them.”

That’s a good problem to have, Falco said. He is excited about the surge of interest in the outdoors.

“You go to some of these lakes during the week, and you’ll see weekend crowds,” he said. “People are just wanting to get out.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.