Outdoor Journal

Tie your fly and build your rod: Imagine you’re standing in one of Western North Carolina’s trout-filled rivers. Fish dance in the clear waters, you’re casting a Hare’s Ear Nymph you tied, and your rod is a silky smooth graphite number you built.

Nope, that’s not like visions of sugarplums dancing in your head. It can really happen, after taking classes at Davidson River Outfitters this January and February—when there’s not much else to do, anyway.

Most of the fly-tying and rod-building classes will be taught by owner Kevin Howell. A contributor to his father, Don Howell’s, book, Tying & Fishing Southern Appalachian Trout Flies, Kevin won the Rumble in the Rhododendron fly-fishing tournament in Cherokee in October—beating members of the U.S. and N.C. fly-fishing teams.

Fly-tying for beginners is each Wednesday in January, from 6 to 9 p.m. Students will learn to tie such flies as the Woolly Bugger. Advanced fly-tying classes are 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays in February. The advanced classes will cover such flies as the Stimulator.

Rod building classes will be 6 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday in January. The classes will cover materials selection, wrapping guides and epoxy coating. Students should bring a roll of 1-inch masking tape, a quarter-inch round chainsaw file and sharp fine-point scissors and rod components (which can be ordered through Davidson River Outfitters).

Enrollment is limited, but includes a 10 percent discount on tying and rod-building materials. The course fee for each four-class session is $69.95 per person.

For additional information or to enroll, contact Davidson River Outfitters at 877-4181 or www.davidsonflyfishing.com.

Send your outdoors news to outdoors@mountainx.com.

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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