<p><strong>L</strong>ife on the road has been good to Bill McDonald, a man who values a good fish story.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Greenwood resident and other competitive fishermen like him have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the cancellation of some events and rescheduling of others.</p><p>McDonald, who fishes the Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Tour, estimates that he ordinarily travels between 200 and 220 days out of the year. That includes McDonald’s involvement in everything from bass tournaments, appearances to appease his sponsors, seminars and more.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>He usually puts between 35,000 and 40,000 miles on his truck annually. But not this year.</p><p>“It’s definitely affected things,” McDonald said. “We’ve had events canceled, and it’s been a major inconvenience. Everything is a mess right now. I think we’re going to have a new normal, but it’s going to take time to adapt. It’s ever-changing.”</p><p>Almost like the direction of the bass he makes a living pursuing.</p><p>Bryce Kalen, who lives in Greenwood and fishes the FLW Hoosier circuit, is happy to be taking part in tournaments again after an unprecedented hiatus. However, the 27-year-old has noticed changes such as competitors being asked to wear a mask in more crowded settings, like when the fish caught are being weighed.</p><p>Moreover, pre-tournament meetings that historically have been conducted in person are now Zoom meetings on a computer laptop or cell phone.</p><p>The pandemic’s impact on the fishing industry was especially significant in the spring.</p><p>“The time of the year when I like to shine and typically catch my fish, that time is gone,” said Kalen, who likes to test his skills at Lake Monroe, Geist Reservoir or on the Ohio River. “Typically, without COVID, everyone has a 9-to-5, but it pushed everyone to the lake. As a tournament angler, it just makes the fishing harder.</p><p>“There were times there were 45 boats on the water. There were a lot of people fishing in March and April.”</p><p>Indianapolis resident Matt McCoy, a competitive bass fisherman since 2002, also takes part in FLW Hoosier tournaments. He was preparing to go against other anglers in the 37th annual T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina at the end of April, when that event was rescheduled to November.</p><p>“Our nine-month season basically became a six-month season. Now there’s some kind of tournament every weekend,” McCoy said. “The good thing is I’ve been married 25 years in August and my wife, Natalie, had fished with me maybe three or four times before this.</p><p>“She’s fished with me seven times during the pandemic. I’ve enjoyed it. We’ve had a good time.”</p><p>Veteran FLW Tour angler Greg Bohannan has been a mainstay on the FLW Tour for 13 years. He lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has been to competitions throughout the United States trying to reel in fish in every type of surrounding and weather condition imaginable.</p><p>Despite his travels, Bohannan, 48, hasn’t seen anything adversely impact his sport the way the COVID-19 pandemic has.</p><p>“We had three events to start the season. One in January, one in February and one in March. Our event at Lake Martin in Alabama, we barely got that in,” Bohannan said. “I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this.</p><p>“Most of the corporations here shut down, so the one thing it did was get people out fishing. If there’s any silver lining to this, I think it created more family togetherness.”</p>
