Home water? I live in Bryson City, North Carolina located in the Smoky Mountains. The Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park make up 90% of my county. It is an outdoor mecca for all types of outdoor recreation. We have small freestone streams such as Hazel Creek, Forney Creek, Deep Creek, Oconaluftee, Cataloochee Creek to larger river systems and tailwaters like the Nantahala and Tuckasegee Rivers.
What 2-3 lines do you use the most and why? For small stream fly fishing, I prefer the Amplitude WF-3-F Trout taper fly line. The coatings are simply the best ever and last a very long time. I enjoy the longer head lengths for the long range fly fishing if needed. They excel at the short roll casting distances as well. I teach advanced fly casting schools here in Bryson City often throughout the year and the Mastery Expert Distance fly lines are the worldwide standard for aspiring instructors. It has been my favorite instructional fly line since its inception for the Fly Fishing Guide School (https://flyfishingguideschool.com), coaching fly casting at fly fishing shows, conclaves, and other fly casting gatherings. A typical morning with new fly fisher’s also put the Mastery Expert Distance lines through the paces! I teach at Mac Brown Fly Fish (http://macbrownflyfish.com) over 250 days annually. I enjoy the 120′ length for teaching using a #7 weight fly line. The 72.4′ length of the head makes it a very versatile fly line for having control at the fishing distances for teaching aerial mends, casts that make use of transverse waves, curves, piles, etc… and the added bonus that the bright orange colors make it highly visible. The longer relatively level head also assist in retarding turnover for greater distance. I enjoy throwing multiple wet flies and streamers on lakes and large rivers. The Amplitude with AST Plus Trout Taper in a #7 weight is among the best fly lines I have ever used to accomplish this with ease. The 73′ foot head makes great distances a breeze for long distance roll casts, greased line methods, or aerial fly casts. The textured fly line plus AST makes greater distance cast with less effort. It is the finest distance line for fishing I have ever used.
Where would you most like to fish? I have been blessed to fish exotic places all over the globe and they all offer special memories. Fly fishing and fly casting is about solving problems and the beauty to this day is there is always a set of problems which arise. It is what drives me as an angler. I get asked about my favorite places at shows and conclaves throughout the year and my answer tends to remain the same in that I enjoy working the system on whatever river I am fortunate to be on at that given time. I think everyone has that special water dear to their heart just like in the book “The Curtis Creek Manifesto”. It is those early streams that we learn many valuable lessons from and carry forward to other popular or those off the beaten path waters and look for similarities. There is still a whole world of new species of fish I would like to explore more of in the near future.
Two Truths and a Lie. I enjoy spending time with my family outdoors throughout the year kayaking, trail running, backpacking, mountain biking, skiing, and fly fishing. I have enjoyed playing mandolin, guitar, piano, and all types of music since I was a small kid. It has been a blast teaching music and fly fishing to both of my boys Connor (12) and Duncan (9) since they were old enough to walk. I was in British Columbia over Christmas 2018 and yes, bigfoot lives! We saw him several times north of the Kootenai drainage
