There’s an old saying among seasoned fly fishers around Brevard: “Pretty flies catch fishermen; ugly flies catch fish.”
But for the fraternity of fly tyers that gather Tuesday nights at the Brevard Brewing Company to tie flies, enjoy local craft beer and talk all things fly fishing, it’s a mix of both handsome flies and what some might call downright ugly bugs that rules the evening.
Fishermen (and fisherwomen) have pulled up chairs and tightened their hook vises to tables over a cold one at the Main Street brewery for five years. All manner of feathers, real and faux fur, thin copper wire, minuscule barbless hooks, non-water polluting tungsten beads and anything else needed to assemble the smallish flies is strewn, but neatly so, around each participant.
The aim of the informal 6 p.m. sessions hosted by Headwaters Outfitters of Rosman is to let tyers kibitz, share techniques and tips, and surmise what local trout are biting (which is typically a menu of trout-favorites: sinking nymphs, top water dry flies and streamers masquerading as live bait). If a pattern works, it’s tied to the business end of tippet. If it doesn’t land fish, well, it’s tucked away in a fly box to try another time.
Fishy Attraction
The backstory is Brevard is near, if not at the center of, top shelf trout fishing. The Davidson River has earned world-wide repute as one of America’s Top 100 Trout Streams, according to the fishery conservation group Trout Unlimited. Forbes magazine lists North Carolina as one on its Top 10 Flyfishing States. Then there’s the high quality yet under-the-radar French Broad River and its highly productive tributaries. Not to mention scores of other streams.
Indeed, the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority reports more than 500 miles of trout fishing water within an hour’s drive of the city. Many good, fishable stretches of water are even closer within 15 – 20 minutes.
So it comes as no surprise fly fishing is big business locally and throughout western North Carolina. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) found in 2014 nearly “149,000 trout anglers fished approximately 1.6 million days and generated an estimated $383 million boost in direct spending on items such as fishing equipment, food, gas and lodging, and secondary spending by fly-fishing outfitters and other businesses associated with trout angling and their employees.” That spending supported nearly 3,600 jobs. And this was eight years ago.
So, serious fly tossers flock to the area either to visit or to live, and they bring their fly tying skills with them. According to a 2019 WRC survey of anglers, 50 percent use artificial flies in their quest for trout.
A Charming Spot
Part of Brevard’s charm is it’s a pretty friendly town. That passersby nod to each other on the street, and often call one another by name, is the norm. Same with Tuesdays. Even some non-tying customers took a moment to check out the brew-and-tie event going on in their midst.
That’s no surprise to Brevard Brewing founder and owner Kyle Williams. As with the friendly walkers on Main Street, he wants the brewery’s atmosphere “to be laid back and ‘come as you are’.” Although Williams is not a fly fisher, he said fly tyers “fit the model. The whole vibe of this place is non-pretentious.” He encourages community use of his taproom at no charge. Yet the taproom won’t close for events. Even the occasional impromptu wedding reception is open to public view. “I’m not doing this for me. Yeah, they spend money on beer but it’s a place just to hang out,” he said.
It’s remained so in the 10 years since Williams first opened his beer spigots on Main Street. A brewer in Asheville, he scouted potential host cities in western North Carolina to hang his own shingle. Then he stopped here.
“Brevard didn’t have a brewery, so I thought ‘this place needs one’. When I found this (location) I knew that was it,” he said.
“Business has grown steadily from a mere 300 barrels his first year to more than 1,900 in 2021 – nearly 1,200 gallons per week – marking the brewery’s biggest year ever.
Anglers On The Water
It’s the idea of flies as a time-honored way to land trout that brought experienced tyers Walter Wilson, Jeff Bedard and Mark Williams together one night at the brewery.
In turn, their finished products will sink or float their way to trout. No fly caster worth her or his salt can deny the self satisfaction knowing: “that trout just took something I made.”
So if flies-beer-conversation get people into the sport and into the water in the nearby mountains, more power to all concerned. And sure, tyers routinely sink several hundred dollars into this hobby, often far more than they might spend on flies at a guide shop. But that misses the point of a self-made bait.
None of which is lost on Brevard’s Wilson who ties “because it’s a whole lot more fun to catch a fish on a fly I’ve tied.” He likes the idea he can tie a fly to match the insect hatch.
“I’ve spent more money on fly tying materials than I would’ve spent on bugs,” he said.
Wilson is no fair weather fly aficionado. Before moving to Brevard six years ago, he dutifully made the 185 mile one way drive to Brevard Brewing every Tuesday night from his home in Augusta, Georgia.
“I just enjoy the guys,” he said. “And plus, I was learning to tie flies. They don’t have to be pretty. They can be ugly and still catch fish.”
Wilson’s largest on a fly of his own creation: a chunky 20-inch brown trout. (In keeping with the finest fishing tradition, he won’t disclose the exact location of his catch, other than to say it was on the Davidson between the state fish hatchery and Avery Creek.)
He’s not alone in long-haul interest in the Tuesday night fly fests. Bedard, who still lives in South Carolina, also faithfully commits to Tuesday night attendance. The self-described avid fly fisherman said, “I love to fly fish, and I love to tie flies. For me to drive an hour is not a big deal. And I love the beer here.”
Continuing What He Started
Although Williams is relatively new to fly tying (note: the sessions welcome all skill sets, novice to expert) his move two years ago from Wisconsin to Brevard was, in part, to let him renew a passion for fly fishing that first surfaced in his teenage years.
Williams admits he’s “better at tying flies than catching fish,” yet he’s out on the Davidson, Avery Creek or East Fork of the French Broad at least once per week to give trout a chance to sample his hand-made wares. He said he ties a lot of ‘hopper-droppers’ (a top fly that floats, with a nymph that sinks on the end of his tippet). This dual approach gives finicky fish their choice of meal.
While it might seem the collective skills of the Tuesday tyers are fish-worthy, it belies another truism known to veteran fly fishers who love what they do and why: it’s not the fly that catches the fish, it’s the fish that hooks the angler. And sipping a local craft beer as you practice your avocation isn’t such a bad thing, either.
Brett Meany is a professional guide at Headwaters Outfitters who oversees the Tuesday night gatherings.
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