North Carolina’s Premier Fly Fishing Guide School
The fly fishing guide school is an all-encompassing week of preparing you to land a job guiding fly fishing and improving your personal skills. The fly fishing guide school class is limited to 8-12 people. We also have one of the largest directories for job placement of where you wish to work which is provided for you at graduation from the class with top lodges and outfitters around the world.
Meet our instructors on the drop-down menu or click on the highlighted blue link. We have ensured that customers will have the highest level of instructional standards to any guide school all over North America!
I have put together my dream team of skillful professional colleagues to provide the highest quality folks possible! I think you will be hard-pressed to find any Guide School in North America with 5 Casting Masters (FFI), 3 (ACA) whitewater rowing instructors, 3 Fly Fishing Team USA Members, 4 Fly Fishing Team USA Coaches, 1 Field and Stream Angler of the year, 4 book and national magazine authors, and 2 Hall of Fame Inductees into the Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Museum.
Fly fishing is a prideful sport! I am just humbly stating the facts so you know the high level of professionalism!
Location
The location of Bryson City, NC (Trout Capital) has the only fly fishing guide school in the east. We have the longest seasons in the country due to the milder winters here in Western NC. The atmosphere revolves around an educational setting and definitely will peg your fun meter daily! The location will be in the beautiful location of the Smoky Mountains in the town of Bryson City, NC.
Wages landing your first job as a fly fishing guide working for an outfitter or lodge typically ranges between $2,400-$3,000 per month but amounts may be much higher if you remain an independent guide on your home water. Many take this up for the experience of being outdoors in a beautiful location improving their skills. For others, it may be their pursuit for a lifestyle change.
You will have access to a massive library (over 300 fly fishing books and DVD’s) from my personal mentors for researching your topics of interest in the evenings. A vast supply (over 100) high-end fly rods with different actions are all available to try out while attending. Also, there are multiple tapers of different fly lines at your disposal.
We also introduce you to the advantages of learning to use the double handed rods for Switch and Spey casting. All materials for fly tying are also provided to learn the techniques for developing your own confidence flies.
Qualifications
The internet is full of impostors, often claiming to be something they are not. Practically every internet search claims to have the best and most knowledgeable anglers. I personally guarantee every participant will be fully satisfied with the topics covered and learning opportunities available from the fly fishing guide school.
The biggest asset you will come away with is the skills necessary to launch your career working in the wilderness instructing others about this magical sport. The highlight of the class revolves around learning to crack the code quicker on each and every visit to the stream.
This revolves around the triad of strategies, tactics, and mechanics (casting and line control). This triad is emphasized heavily throughout the week and holds the key to all species of fish you may pursue.
Each of our instructors has a top-notch resume with the latest credentials for their discipline of expertise. This ensures you have the highest quality in the nation! The instructors for the school average over 240 years total experience in the field! That is some serious credentials for teaching all aspects of the sport for the guide schools.
You will also be certified during the week with CPR and First Aid from a certified American Red Cross instructor which will be great to have met this requirement before landing your job guiding. The camaraderie in the evening is based on presentations and actual play time on the river for digesting and applying what you have learned.
There is a celebration for graduation on the final evening of the class. It is an all-inclusive week of sharing and learning from the best folks around our region of the country in their field of expertise.
Fly Fishing Guide School Dates for 2017
The school dates for the 2017 season includes the 2nd Saturday of March, April, May, October, and November. The price for the week is $3,200 and includes all accommodations. Deposits in full at time of reservation and are not refundable for the class once signed up. Vets may qualify for the 911 GI Bill as we plan on being VA Accredited during the next month. Do not miss out on this opportunity to land your dream job guiding fly fishing trips!
Call (828-736-1469) or email: [email protected] for more information. We will have a sheet we email to you for finding out some background information.
Guiding for a living has many benefits if you love working with people from varying walks of life. It offers you the opportunity for you to hone your own skills simply by being on the water daily to learn your fishery. Spend time in the wilderness honing your skills with the income to support your passion! This all-encompassing week offers all food and lodging and top-level instruction. Included you will also get a fly casting handbook for assisting you in casting diagnostics. The topics that we cover during the week include:
Topics Covered
- People skills to remain a positive cheerleader in all circumstances!
- Learning to recognize how much coaching to offer for the day.
- Learning to read water for boating routes and locating fishing lies.
- Oar frame rafts and/or drift boat skills for guided float trips.
- Guiding wade trips.
- Line control and rod angles for various tactics.
- Learn when and how to fish nymphs, wets, dry flies, and streamers.
- Basic taxonomy of the major insect hatches for America.
- Fly Tying.
- Single and double handed fly casting instruction from Master Fly Casters through the IFFF.
- Fly casting diagnostics (teaching fly casting).
- First aid and CPR certification.
- Learn stream craft for adjusting quick as feeding behavior changes on the stream.
- Rod angles and line control for adjusting depth and speed.
- Learn proper hook sets and fish playing skills.
- Knots and rigging (fresh and salt water).
- Learn to be an effective communicator and reading when the client is saturated with enough information.
- Safety and legal considerations.
- Basic photography skills for your clients.
- Organizing your customer database and why that is important to your success.
- Implementation of social media for your online presence.
- Cover letters, references, and how to secure that first incredible summer job as a fly fishing guide.
- Insurance and permits requirements.
- Learn where to further your personal knowledge of casting credentials for your journey.