David Sherfinski, The Examiner
2008-08-12 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

Dan Ward has worked at Fletcher’s Cove boathouse in Georgetown since 1969. He keeps a fishing report blog on fletcherscove.com that dates back to 2005, when Guest Services Inc. took over ownership of the mom-and-pop business.

How did you get started?

I started working here as a seventh-grader. Fletcher’s Cove was the only boathouse in D.C. I liked to fish, and of course when you start hanging out, you want to stay on. Those were pretty relaxed terms of employment — you were basically paid in cash when you first started.

How’s business going right now?

It varies. We’re crushed with business on the weekends — rowboats, kayaks, canoes and bicycles. Kayakers are particularly popular now, and fishing is popular in the spring. We used to have fishermen come from before sunrise and stay until dusk. We’re for earlier risers — 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

What do you like about working there?

I’m a full-time employee — I work on boats and prepare projects. My spiritual center is here at the boathouse. In practice, it’s still a family-owned business. There’s still a Fletcher at Fletcher’s boathouse — Ray Fletcher. He’s fourth-generation. It goes back into the 1850s.

How’s the fishing over there?

The fishing here in the spring can be phenomenally good. Most of the good fishing tackle stores are out in the suburbs. Fletcher’s Cove is the only fishing boathouse in D.C. It’s a tough place to find — you can whip by here at 40 or 50 miles per hour in the morning and not realize it’s there.