Transcript: PODCAST INTERVIEW: Kevin Howell of Davidson River Outfitters
Transcript
Intro:
[0:04] Hey folks it's Marvin Cash the host of the Articulate Fly. On this episode I'm joined by fly fishing guru Kevin Howell.
Kevin shares his experiences growing up in fishing in Western North Carolina, the backstory of Davidson River Outfitters, and all the details for DRO's 30th anniversary celebration.
I think you're really gonna enjoy this one. But before we get to the interview just a couple of housekeeping items.
If you like the podcast, please tell a friend and please subscribe and leave us a rating and review in the podcatcher of your choice. It really helps us out.
And a shout out to this episode's sponsor.
Our friends at Southern Culture on the Fly recently dropped their spring issue.
You can check it out and all of the other skullduggery at www.southerncultureonthefly.com.
Rumor has it, there's even new merch. Head on over there today, now, onto our interview.
Marvin:
[1:00] Well, Kevin, welcome to the Articulate Fly.
Kevin :
[1:04] Thanks, Marvin. Appreciate you having me on.
Marvin:
[1:06] Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it, and we have a tradition on the Articulate Fly. We always like to ask our guests to share their earliest fishing memory.
Kevin :
[1:14] Just fishing memory, boy. I would say I was probably three, four years old and remember catching bluegill with my father out of a neighborhood farm pond on a fly.
Marvin:
[1:31] Yeah, and it's funny too, right? Because you come from a pretty famous fly fishing family. Did you always fly fish or is that something that you sort of had to come to a little bit later on in your fishing career?
Kevin :
[1:43] I do come from a pretty good lineage of fly fishing background there, but my father also was a huge bass angler, which a lot of people don't know, and won the United Bass Fisherman Classic back in 1976.
And so I grew up equally fly fishing rod in one hand and casting and spinning gear and bass fishing in the other hand.
So, uh, uh, we would bass fish all the way through until, uh, end of April, first of May, and then we started trout fishing and that went until deer season. And then deer season went to go to back to the bass fishing.
So I grew up.
Marvin:
[2:25] Did you have to sprinkle in any Turkey hunting in the spring?
Kevin :
[2:29] No, fortunately I never got into that because my wife says I need just one more hobby to really, you know, not be around the house.
Marvin:
[2:37] Yeah, my experience is that that could, I think, ruin you more than even saltwater fishing could.
Kevin :
[2:44] Probably, and that's ruined me enough, so we'll leave the turkey up to the experts.
Marvin:
[2:49] And so I think the interesting thing is, you know, you and I are kind of of a similar vintage and I was really kind of curious, you know, what was it like growing up in a fly fishing and fishing family in the 70s and the 80s and there was no internet and everyone hadn't gone nuts over a river run through it. So tell us a little bit about that.
Kevin :
[3:06] Yeah, you know, I grew up in a time when the green grakes were still prevalent on the Davidson and other area streams.
And, you know, I can remember going to fish the green gray catch on the Davidson and there'd be four anglers, five anglers there and I was related to three of them.
So, you know, you'd see three or four other guys, you know, all evening and now if there's a a halfway decent hatch of any kind, you have to take your own rock to stand on.
So, um, it was, it was unique to grow up in a time when, when, you know, it was literally very few people in the sport, but then at the same time, we didn't have the technology and the, um, you know, I remember wet waiting as a kid in the seventies and eighties when, um, You know, you'd start wet waiting And then March or April and freezing absolutely to death.
And now I'm kind of like, well, I've got those waiters. So yeah.
Marvin:
[4:05] But back when a wet waiting probably meant wearing a pair of cutoff jeans and a pair of Chuck Taylors, right.
Kevin :
[4:11] Uh, that, or, uh, my father and uncle buy old Vietnam era combat boots and grind the soles off and glue felt to them to have traction. So, yeah.
Marvin:
[4:24] And so I know your, your dad and your uncle had a shop. But did you was that part of your growing up too, or did that kind of come later?
Kevin :
[4:31] Sure, yeah, they they had Dwight and Don's custom tackle and and I asked him why they never had a storefront, and they did for a little while in my father's basement, they would they would.
So a lot of time material and stuff, but they they quickly got rid of that because they said it tied them down and they had to be there and have hours instead of being on the streams and, you know, filling orders or whatever when when they could or wanted to and, and fish when they wanted to.
So, um, I grew up, you know, tying flies for them. By the time I was 13, I was tying commercially.
Um, so a lot of shops around the area and everything. So it was quite the experience to grow up and, you know, be producing flies at that age and, and seeing them go into other stores and see your flies there that you'd produced.
Marvin:
[5:22] Yeah, that's, that's pretty neat. And I know your dad and your uncle were really important mentors to you, but, you know, who are some of the other folks that have mentored you on your fly fishing journey and what have they taught you.
Kevin :
[5:33] Boy, that list is long. One thing about fly fishing is when you quit learning, I think you're done fly fishing. There's always somebody or someone to teach you stuff.
I'm really good friends with Bob Clouser, have gotten to be over the years.
Bob taught me a lot about tying simplistic designs and, and using materials that make you, make the flies have a little more life in them, you know, a little more swimmy or just a little more lifelike, but you know, keeping them simple at the same time where you could tie them quickly and replace them and if some client lost them, it wasn't the end of the world and you could go on and you know, Leffy taught me a lot about casting and that kind of stuff.
So they were both great mentors but you know even my clients just being, it better or worse or, or, uh, you know, you learn.
[6:53] Little tips and techniques from them too. So really, you know, Bob clouds are lefty, huge mentors for me, but really everybody I've come in contact with down the, down the line of my fishing career has really helped influence me to where I am today.
Marvin:
[7:09] Yeah, that's neat. It's funny too, cause you know, there's the, um, the fish TV, uh, internet television service And they have like all of those like 1980s and 1990s VHS tapes that Bob and Lefty did together.
It's kind of cool to watch those.
Kevin :
[7:24] It is. And old school. And, you know, it's a lot of people say, oh, well, that's old. It doesn't work. And I'm here to tell you as a guy, it works just as good today as it did back then.
Marvin:
[7:35] So, yeah, it's neat to see me. I remember watching the one relatively recently, just as literally, I think, an hour and a half on just the Clouser Minnow.
And I mean just to listen to him talk about the proportions and how he likes to fish it and the variations was just super cool.
Kevin :
[7:52] Yeah, and, and, uh, you know, the proportions and where the eyes go influences how it falls, which will influence how the fish will hit it.
If they'll hit it or won't hit it. So yeah, a lot to be said for, you know, learning from those guys that spent so much time on the water.
And, you know, that's going back to what you asked a minute ago about, you know, being there before the technology is, you know, in the seventies and eighties, you, it was trial and error.
You tried it. If it worked, you, you improved and worked and tweaked on it.
And, you know, now a lot of stuff you can get online and fine and whatever, and people aren't having like that trial and error. Discovery.
Marvin:
[8:31] Yeah, I think it's interesting, right? Because, I mean, you know, there there wasn't any YouTube.
And to your point, you had to figure it out. And a lot of times it was really hard to get materials.
And I mean, I can remember as a kid, you know, getting getting like newsletters that people literally like ran off a bajillion copies and like put a sticker with your name on it and send it, put in the mail to you. Yeah.
Kevin :
[8:52] And, you know, we were buying materials from, from a wholesale feather, feather companies and, you know, there wasn't a fly tying company down the street.
So when you bought black saddle feathers, you bought a pound of them.
Let me tell you a pound of black saddle feathers goes a long way.
Marvin:
[9:08] Yeah. Not to mention that's even after you throw away half of them, right?
That's right. So, you know, as you mentioned, you've been really fortunate to travel all over the world to fish, and I was kind of curious if you had one particular place or one particular trip that kind of stood out more than any others.
Kevin :
[9:31] You know, for me, there's two places. I do a lot of stuff in the Canadian Shield for smallmouth bass, and that area up there, I just love it.
It's remote. Um, you know, it's one place my cell phone doesn't work, but it would get me back to those, those times. You know, when I grew up, you know, trial and error discovery, and you can't find it all on the internet and all that.
Um, so I really, really enjoy my time up there and I go up every year and spend, you know, one to two weeks up there, small mouth fishing, and then, um, my other favorite place, Argentina definitely has a spot in my heart where, Um, you know, lots of nice brown trout and rainbow trout fishing's good.
And again, not a lot of pressure and people, um, just a place I really enjoyed being. Yeah.
Marvin:
[10:23] It's funny you say that. Cause I know you, I don't, I imagine you still work with the guys at Andy's drifters, which I guess is now set.
And, um, I can remember going to Argentina with them probably in 2006 or seven and running into Gustavo this past year on the fly fishing show circuit and catching up, which was really neat.
Kevin :
[10:40] Yeah, yeah, I was a partner with the Gustavo for many years and they had the opportunity to grow and move on to set, which was wonderful and they've done that and I still go down and spend my time down there with them and other friends, you know, that I've made down there over the years, so.
Marvin:
[11:01] Yeah, yeah, I'm not probably, probably will never Dorado fish, but the trout fishing is pretty good.
Kevin :
[11:07] Oh, the trout fishing is phenomenal.
People ask what it's like and you can't explain it.
Marvin:
[11:14] Yeah, it's kind of like talking about the dove hunting down there where it's like, well, how many birds do you shoot? And it's like, well, how much do you want to pay for shotgun shells is really the question.
Kevin :
[11:22] Exactly.
Marvin:
[11:25] So, Kevin, when did you realize that you wanted to make your living in fishing?
Kevin :
[11:31] Um, you know, I was probably, I don't know, 10, 12 years old and, you know, you'd get the, get outdoor life and you'd see all those guys, Ted Williams and all those guys that were fishing and, you know, they're professional guides or professional fishermen.
And, you know, you'd see, um, uh, you know, other shows like Flip shows like Flip Palate, Walker's Kay Chronicles, you know, when we grew up and all that, and I knew from that age on, I'm like, man, I want to figure out how I can fish for a living because that's what I love doing.
And so, yeah, I fished as much as I could, you know, went off, got an engineering degree and designed some houses and stuff for a little while and taught some architecture classes and decided that, you know, I was a lot happier when I was fishing. So I went back to fishing.
Marvin:
[12:27] There you go. So when did you start guiding?
Kevin :
[12:31] I got it a little bit from my father and uncle in the late 80s, early 90s. And then in 96, I started guiding full time for Davidson River Outfitters.
Marvin:
[12:43] Very neat. And so what was the guide community like back then and kind of like the late 80s and into the 90s?
Kevin :
[12:49] So when I first started guiding in the western 23 counties in North Carolina that have trout, there were 40 licensed hunting and fishing guides, And some of those were hunting and some were fishing, but, but there were 40 licensed guides when I, the first year when I was, um, guiding and stuff.
And now we don't, I don't know exactly what the number is, but we estimate that there's like a 500 or something in these Western 23 counties.
So. Yeah. Um, yeah. So what was it?
Marvin:
[13:20] Yeah. So what was it like?
I mean, so like legitimately you could probably, uh, go have beers with, you know, a third to half of the guides in Western North Carolina when you started out, you know, what was it like to be able to kind of get together with kind of the, you know, kind of the original guys really? Sure.
Kevin :
[13:39] Yeah. You know, there, there was, uh, myself and, uh, and Mack Brown, Roger Lowe.
Um, we were really some of the, the first ones over here, Walker Parrott.
And, you know, we, like you said, we could call each other and say, Hey man, you want to meet for lunch or dinner or a beer or whatever in the off season.
And, you know, we'd all sit around and talk about what was good and what was bad.
And, you know, we were seeing trends on a certain river, you know, we'd all kind of help each other out.
And, you know, now I know, I know a lot of the guides in the state, but I don't know, I wouldn't claim to know half of them. Yeah.
I didn't know, you know, probably a hundred, 150, but still, I've not even asked what we're talking about.
Marvin:
[14:27] Yeah. You know, other than numbers, you know, how have you seen the guide game evolve over the years?
Kevin :
[14:35] Um, you know, I really have seen a change in the guide game to the guides were all about teaching and, and the experience and making people are helping people understand, you know, why fish did what they did or, or why you should fish here, why you shouldn't fish here.
You know understanding hatches and all the nuances of it and today it seems it's just, you know hey I want to go catch fish it doesn't matter how I don't care what I learn about it and and so I've seen that change in the guides of they don't teach and they don't educate as much as they used to and and you know they're more about more about just putting fish on a internet for somebody to admire or whatever.
So I'd say that's been one of the biggest changes, um, which I hate.
Cause I really think, you know, everybody getting into it needs to understand some of the basics and, and I'm not sure that, you know, that's all being taught to them.
Marvin:
[15:40] Yeah. It's interesting, right? Cause I think, you know, it's pretty consistent.
I've kind of always followed that recreational boating and fishing foundation study and pretty consistently, probably somewhere between, you know, 45 and 50% of the people that fly fish a year only fish one to three days.
So it makes it kind of hard.
Kevin :
[15:58] Yeah, it does make it hard. And, and, you know, we see that all the time and people will come in the shop and, and they fish for, you know, two days, three days, four days, maybe even a week while they're here and then we'll see them a year later and they're like, yep, I hadn't fished since I saw you last year.
And, and it makes it harder for them, you know, for the casting and everything, but it also, you know, slows down, you know, some of the learning process.
You can't teach them to cast if they don't go home and practice it a little bit or something like that. So it makes it interesting for sure.
Marvin:
[16:34] Yeah, it's interesting too, right? Cause you know, back to kind of what we were talking about, about kind of the way we learned about sports and things, you know, I think now younger generations like to have more different experiences than as opposed to having one or two things they do a lot.
Kevin :
[16:49] Sure. Yes. Yeah. I would agree. You know, and a lot of people want a lot of people because of cell phones or whatever, also want instant gratification.
And, um, as you and I know from growing up, you know, boy, some days you struggled to catch a fish and, and that's not instant gratification at all.
Marvin:
[17:10] Oh yeah. Or you tell your mom you're bored and she puts a broom in your hand.
I'll take care of it, too.
Kevin :
[17:15] Exactly.
Marvin:
[17:17] Yeah. So with certain of these trends that you were seeing, Kevin, was that what made you want to start the North Carolina Guide and Outfitters Association?
Kevin :
[17:27] Sure, you know, what we were seeing and again, it comes back to those of us that, talk to each other and everything. We were seeing guides that were unsafe, rowing people down the river, like, you know, you're like, oh wow, look, they're going to crash and dump that person out in the wood and, you know, you'd see other stuff going on.
We're like, we just need to kind of get some professionalism back in this and be sure that the guides all have first aid and CPR and, you know that kind of stuff so we really wanted to make it just a more professional group of individuals and the other thing is when you tell somebody that you're a fishing guy down at the insurance commission and hey I want to get insurance then they put you on a crab boat in the Bering Sea because you said fishing and you know we're not nearly that dangerous of an occupation.
So, if we can unite and be a little more professional, then we can get better insurance rates and stuff for the guides across the state.
And then we want to also educate, get back to some of that education, and we want to offer that to clients and stuff throughout the state.
Marvin:
[18:45] Yeah, and it's interesting too, because folks may not understand this, but like out west, guiding is heavily regulated, right? Whether it's a, yeah, outfit or guide system, but I think basically North Carolina, you just have to have $35, right?
Kevin :
[18:58] Well, if you're a resident of North Carolina, it's a $16 guide license, and there's no prerequisites to first aid, CPR, anything, and for that $16, I'm a licensed hunt fish guide, so I can take firearms and guide somebody hunting just as easily as I can take somebody and hand them a rod and, and go fishing.
And, um, so we're, we're trying to get that separated where you're either a hunting guide or a fishing guide, and that'll, you know, like you said, we're not trying to over-regulate or get rid of anybody.
We're just trying to make it a little more professional, a little more respectable, uh, community of people that are, that are watching out for resources and each other. Yeah.
Marvin:
[19:44] It's interesting. Cause I mean, I've been fortunate to fish a lot of places out West and I've I've never thought that the way that they regulated outfitters and guides was obtrusive.
It was really kind of the stuff you're talking about. Like, you know, somebody knows where you're fishing, if we're recording days to kind of manage fishing pressure that's happening. And there's some insurance and a little bit of safety, right?
Kevin :
[20:05] Right, exactly. And, and, you know, we're, we're seeing more and more pressure here.
So, you know, as a, as an angler, if I'm not a guide, if I take myself that and I asked myself well gee I want to go fish the Davis in the day and I roll in there and there's 35 guides up there, well, that kind of, you know, really.
It makes a burden on me to go find fish and do that kind of stuff.
So, um, we're kind of thinking the same thing, like you said, of, you know, how many guides should be on this river with clients this day and, um, trying to get some of that so that the anglers have more opportunities or equal opportunities. If they're not being guided.
Marvin:
[20:49] Yeah. And I guess, you know, people that haven't fished out West ought to feel lucky because, you know, either we'll figure that out for ourselves or they're going to, somebody's going to tell us. Cause I mean, you know, literally like in Montana, it's like, this is how many days, you get to float this river, right?
Kevin :
[21:02] Exactly. And that's where we were at as guides is we're like, look, we would much rather come in here and, and regulate and control ourselves instead of somebody setting in a cubicle from work on a, now this is the way you're going to do it.
Yeah. He may not be a system, you know? Yeah.
Marvin:
[21:21] But I also think too, it's great because I think it's hard where, um, you know, obviously, you know, you can go through a shop like yours or some of the other ones in the area but you know for the most part you know guide trips are generally cost about the same so it's really hard for the consumer to kind of figure out who they should go fish with.
Kevin :
[21:39] Right, right. And, you know, we want to, we want to provide a resource for those customers that, you know, you can look this person up and see that they're licensed by the, by the guides association and have all their first aid and CPR and that kind of stuff or, you know, maybe this person doesn't.
And we see a lot of guys that drift in, you know, hand out business cards and all I'm a guide and they don't have any insurance or, you paying any forest service fees and see a lot of people don't realize that as a guide when we got in Pisgah or Nantahala or whatever national forest that a percentage of our trip gets paid directly to the park to maintain the the trails and the fishery or the streamside restoration or whatever so you know off every trip we're paying a portion of that and you get somebody who comes in who isn't paying that, but they're still abusing the resource, then that's when we're like, all right, look, we need to all help the resource. That's how we make our living.
Marvin:
[22:42] Yeah, absolutely. And so how are you, I mean, do people kind of sign up and pay a fee? How are you kind of delivering services to your members?
Kevin :
[22:50] Yeah, so we're really, like you said, we're just getting started.
And, you know, our big thing right now is I'm working, trying to get some legislation through to get the hunt fish guide separated to a hunting guide or a fishing guide and and we'll be having another big meeting in September of all the guides across Western North Carolina that want to participate and and so they can either email me directly or email Jessica Whitmire at Headwaters or the Tuck Fly shop.
Most of the fly shops will have Matt Kanner at Brookings.
We're all part of it and can get them in touch, keep them in touch for when the next meeting is going to be.
Marvin:
[23:36] Got it. And what I'll do is I'll drop that in the show notes so people can can find you and send you an email and not miss out.
Kevin :
[23:44] Okay, I appreciate that.
Marvin:
[23:45] You bet. And so, you know, most people know you as the owner of Davidson River Outfitters, but you haven't always owned the shop. You want to kind of share with our listeners how you came to be the owner?
Kevin :
[23:56] Sure, so you know like we were talking earlier I grew up in a fishing family and knew it was something I wanted to do and I was working as an engineer and stuff and my father was battling colon cancer for a second time and I was helping him run his custom a lot of time in business and doing engineering work and.
[24:22] I had the opportunity, the guy who owned the shop, Larry Hall, came to my father and said, ''Hey, do you want to manage it?'' He said, ''No.'' He said, ''I'm going to this battle with cancer and I don't know from day to day if, how good I'm going to feel.'' I went to Larry and I said, ''Look, I'm willing to manage it for you if you'll let me set my schedules.
On the days I think dad's going to feel good, I can go fishing with him.
When I'm done, I'll sit in the back, you know, the responsibilities of the shop, I'll sit in the back and tie, tie flies to help him out.
And he's like, that'll be fine. And so, um, that's how I got started there in 95 and 96.
And, um, the shop at that point in time was open three days a week, um, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And we slowly started to expand, you know, with me managing it.
And I was doing most of the guiding, had one other fellow helping me.
And, and, um, we did all of like 50 guide trips in 96 and, uh, this year we'll do about 3000.
So we've had a little bit of growth there, but, um, uh, you know, I came to, came to it that way and then when my father passed away and in 98 and Larry's mother was really sick, uh, Larry came to me and want to know if I wanted to purchase the shop.
So I purchased it in 98. I've been there ever since.
Marvin:
[25:51] Yeah. And is it always been on that same corner? I mean, I know it's been a while since you built the new location on that corner heading into Pisgah, but has it always been there?
Kevin :
[26:01] No, we were across the street on the Hendersonville Highway side of the intersection for the first four or five years and then we came into the little plaza where we're at now.
We were there on the opposite corner where the little carpet store is at now.
We had seven foot ceilings and nine foot fly rods, so that was an interesting predicament.
We ended up cutting holes in the ceiling where the rods could stick up through the ceiling to allow the nine foot rods in there.
And so we did that. And then we were over beside the barbecue restaurant for a handful of years. And then, like you said, had the opportunity to move right now and expand and plan on being there for a while.
Marvin:
[26:50] Yeah. Well, in the, I guess the quote new space is super neat because you kind of built it out obviously the way you want it. It's got nice educational space and I highly recommend the brewery and the barbecues not too bad either. So, yeah, exactly.
So for folks that aren't familiar, why don't you kind of tell us, because you do a lot at the shop, other than just kind of, you know, the kind of what people think about a fly shop, you want to kind of share with folks all the stuff you do from travel to guide trips and in and out of the Pisgah and all that kind of stuff? Sure.
Kevin :
[27:22] So, you know, first we run a huge guide operation, have 12 guides working out of there, and we run that 24-7, well not 24-7, but we run it seven days a week and year-round.
Summertime we transition a little more to smallmouth bass to give the trout a break in the heat of the summer and do trout all year or you know the other part of the year or majority of the year.
And we got half-day wade trips, full-day wade trips on public or private water.
We got float trips for trout or for smallmouth bass or muskie.
So we have all those species covered and then on an educational front we do a lot of what we call 101 and 201 classes which are just hey I've never held a fly rod before I want to learn so we do a lot of those and then we do a lot of specialized classes.
One thing about my staff is I have a very diverse staff that has a guy who, Jeb Hall, who's an exceptional spay caster and an exceptional fly tying instructor.
We have a Tenkara expert, we have uro-nymphing experts, we have I have myself, who's a certified casting instructor.
[28:51] So, we do all the educational stuff we can. I even teach rod building classes in the wintertime.
So, we have that going as well. And I got my start in the industry tying flies and building rods.
So, we have what I hope to be is one of the largest fly tying departments in the southeast here, where you can find any type of material that you need.
And then when you tie flies and And then we run all the fly tying classes and different types of classes for that. And then in addition to that, we do a lot of destination worldwide travel.
We do trips to Montana, Bahamas, Argentina, Mexico.
I'm opening stuff up in Brazil. I'm going down to a new fishery this year in January.
We'll have that up for 2024. It'll be a new option. And, um, so yeah, I do a lot of, a lot of travel stuff as well.
Marvin:
[29:49] Uh, yeah, it's neat too. And it's amazing. Cause I didn't realize till I started talking to some of the guys in the shop that I guess, given how mild our climate is, I mean, these guys, they got a ton of days a year, like, I mean, they've got probably twice as many days as a lot of guys in Montana and places like that. Yeah.
Kevin :
[30:07] So, you know, Argentina, Montana, Alaska, those guys have 120 to 180 day season and that's it, you know, you're done.
And with our climate here, most of my guides average 200, um, days a year on the water to 225, 250.
Um, we found if you do more than about 225 or 250, you just get a little too surly to be around, so we, we really try and limit it to 200 or 225 days a year.
Marvin:
[30:38] Yeah. And I think too, you know, for folks that haven't fished it, I think, you your private water is really great and I think one of the things I really like about it Kevin is it's not like some of the other places where people have private water where you know the fish are all pelleted up I mean these are fish that are still pretty technical and hard to catch.
Kevin :
[30:59] Sure, they're Davidson fish and we manage it for access and we do stock it you know once or twice as needed to replace whatever we feel may have been lost or killed by mishandling or otters or beavers or predation, whatever, you know, whatever caused it.
And, um, but we like to have it in a natural setting as possible and, and not have everybody out there throwing, you know, cork pellet flies at them and that kind of stuff.
Marvin:
[31:30] So we won't make fun of any of our friends in North Georgia.
Kevin :
[31:32] No.
Marvin:
[31:36] So, you know, I think a lot of people kind of in our part of the world are familiar with the Davidson, they're familiar with the Mills, but there are just a ton of places to fish around your shop. want to share some of the other places folks may not know about?
Kevin :
[31:51] Sure, you know, all the upper stretches, the North Fork, East Fork, West Fork, all have great trout fishing opportunities.
Places like Courthouse Creek, West Fork of the Pigeon River, Drainage, the Big East Fork of the Pigeon, just across the mountain there on 276 from us, another great fishery, Lone Glass Creek, and all the tributaries of the Davidson, And, um, all those are, are exceptional fisheries.
Marvin:
[32:23] Yeah. And it's great too, because, you know, it's funny, it's a little bit of an extra drive for me.
So I usually like to, when I come fish around Brevard, I usually tried to come for two days and you've got a Hampton Inn just across the street.
And then you got a bunch of, uh, hotels up in Fletcher and, you know, I don't know, I always tell people to go up there and, uh, they owe it to themselves.
At least have one or two beers at Sierra Nevada too.
Kevin :
[32:46] Yeah. Sierra Nevada. And then of course we got Oscar blues brewery right in town and, and like you said, Acousta brewing, um, earlier.
And we now have a place called Pollock right across from the shop there.
It has some really nice, uh, rental cabins and, you know, you can come get you a cabin for a long weekend or whatever, and they right there on the river and fish and enjoy.
Marvin:
[33:08] Yeah. And so the super neat thing is on June 10th, you guys are going to be celebrating your 30th anniversary. What do you have planned for folks, Kevin?
Kevin :
[33:18] That's right, so 30 years in the fly fishing industry, so we're we got a huge day planned.
We have staff coming in from Grundon's with their new waiters from corporate.
Grundon's will be here as well as their sales representatives talk about their waders and what makes them different and new to the market.
And what their goals are with those. And then we have a spade casting with Jeb.
We have free class in that. We have our free Tim McCarra class.
And then Rob Lilley's going to do a free Euro nymphing class in the afternoon.
[33:54] I'll be doing some fly tying along with Bob Clouser.
We'll be there for a couple hours doing some fly tying demos and that kind of stuff. And then our our big event is we're having a freaky fly tying contest.
And everybody's like, well, what is a freaky fly tying contest?
And it's all in fun.
We're going to supply some strange, weird, exotic materials and see what kind of flies get produced out of them.
And, you know, whoever wins will win a big, a big prize pack supplied by Semperfly.
And then we got some hackles from a hairline and other places.
So a lot of fly time material will be given away to those participants in that, uh, freaky fly tying contest.
So, um, that's going to be out there. We've got free lunch, free beer, um, food, drink, all that good stuff. And, uh, Leslie Holmes will be there doing casting from G Loomis.
Um, so yeah, it's going to be a huge day, June the 10th. So swing on by and, and enjoy the day with us.
Marvin:
[35:07] Yeah. And so, and what time does it start?
Kevin :
[35:11] Uh, so we're going to open our normal eight o'clock time, but most of the other stuff will get started at nine.
Marvin:
[35:16] Gotcha. And so if people want to do the classes, I know they're free, but do they need to sign up in advance or do they just show up, none of the classes.
Kevin :
[35:24] They just need to show up. They can go to our website, Davidson fly fishing.com.
And we've got a schedule of when everything is, uh, the only thing that you need to sign up for is the fly tying contest because we have, um, like eight vices to use at a time.
So we're going to rotate people through in groups of eight. So we just need them to sign up so we can orchestrate how many groups of eight we need to move through there.
Marvin:
[35:46] Got you. Gotcha. And obviously I do folks need to bring boots and waders, uh, if they're going to do like a spay casting class, are those going to be mostly demos that they can watch from the bank?
Kevin :
[35:56] Um, you know, it never hurts though, man. And, uh, the other thing I'll say is throw them in, you'll have them there that and then hey when we're done, fly up in the forest and go fishing for a couple hours.
Marvin:
[36:05] Well, there you go. Is there anything else, Kevin, you want to share with our listeners before he'll let you go this evening?
Kevin :
[36:15] Um, no, just, uh, just enjoy your time on the water and, you know, if anybody ever has any questions, um, feel free to email me, call me, I'm, I've been here a long time and more than willing to help and share my knowledge, so. Yeah, absolutely.
Marvin:
[36:28] And speaking of that, what's the best way for folks to kind of learn more about the shop and follow all of your fishing adventures on and off the water?
Kevin :
[36:35] Davidsonflyfishing.com is our website and we've got a blog there as well as all of our website, e-store, that kind of stuff.
And then we have, you can find us on Instagram, Davidson River Outfitters, Instagram, Facebook, all that good stuff on all the social media platforms.
Marvin:
[36:57] Well, there you go. And I'll drop all that stuff in the show notes too.
Kevin :
[37:01] Thank you.
Marvin:
[37:01] You betcha. And Kevin, I really appreciate you spending some time with me this evening, and hopefully I'll be able to make it your way on June 10th.
Kevin :
[37:10] All right. Look forward to seeing you, Marvin. Take care.
Marvin:
[37:12] You too.
Intro:
[37:13] Well, folks, I hope you enjoyed that as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.
Again, if you like the podcast, please tell a friend and please subscribe and leave us a rating and review in the podcatcher of your choice.
Tight lines, everybody.