SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — For most people who are casting a line into a pond or lake, social distancing isn't a hard rule to follow.
Many fish alone, or with plenty of distance between others to avoid crossing lines. Ask Mike Walker, the owner of Bennett's Pay Lake in Bullitt County, and he'll tell you fishing is the perfect hobby during the novel coronavirus pandemic, when contact within six feet of another person is not ideal.
"Most fishermen out here, they don't like to fish close together anyway," Walker said. "They stay apart."
Bennett's, along with many other pay lakes and ponds in the area, are enforcing social distancing rules all day every day. A sign on the pay window at Bennett's reads, "Fisherman Remember: We must stay 6 feet apart from each other!"
A sign on the pay window at Bennett's reads, "Fisherman Remember: We must stay 6 feet apart from each other!"
Walker said he drives around both his large pond and his small one to make sure everyone on the banks is practicing social distancing. He's also encouraging his customers to use a large bottle of hand sanitizer that sits on a table near the entrance.
"We're trying to do the right thing," he said.
Walker and his wife co-own Bennett's Pay Lake, which has been in the family for nearly 20 years. Help is limited, however, so a neighbor and a few other family members keep the place clean and stock the ponds with farm-grown catfish every weekend.
For the co-owners, the COVID-19 outbreak has brought uncertainty and fear.
"Oh yeah," Walker said. "We didn't know what was going to happen."
But news traveled fast to the popular pay lake tucked away on a country road in rural Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Fishing could continue as long as proper guidelines are followed. Keeping 6 feet of distance between others is the key, Walker said.
Uncertainty still hangs over pay lake owners and parks, but, for the time being, fishing is providing a feeling of normalcy while our country is in abnormal waters.
"At least they can get out and get a little fresh air," Walker said.
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