FLY-FISHING IN NORTH CAROLINA'S
WATERS WITH WOODY PLATT
Woody has been fishing since he was a kid. In sixth grade, he learned how to cast a fly rod, and from there was obsessed. He fished a pristine Davidson River before it had gained a reputation as one of the best rivers in the entire country and spent endless hours on its banks and in its pockets.
He began to teach his friends the art of fly fishing in the cradle of the Pisgah National Forest. That passion led Woody to become one the first fly fishing guides on his home waters by age 18. Nearly 3 decades later, Woody still guides fly fishing trips in the mountains of Western NC with the same passion and excitement.
"I still love sharing the experience of fly fishing! You learn to be in tune with the way a river moves and flows, where the water stacks up and slows down, how the fish orient themselves in the water."
Woody endorses and is sponsored by Hardy fly rods and reels and alongside partner Warren Givens, has launched Rigged + Ready, which offers a new line of fully loaded fly-fishing bags. Rigged + Ready features Hardy, Filson, Greys and Brodin Nets. Learn more about Rigged + Ready here
THE FUTURE IS DOWNSTREAM
Western North Carolina celebrates a unique and tight-knit fly fishing community, with an immense impact as an outdoor recreational economic driver. As the popularity of recreational fishing in these waterways grows, as more guide and gear companies are born in the region, and as generations of families and more diverse communities become involved, we must work together in conservation and stream restoration efforts to ensure clean headwaters and healthy fish populations, particularly our native Appalachian Brook Trout species, which are an indicator for all other river life.
A MADE X MTNS production by videographer, Robb Leahy. Additional Footage by John Dupre and Joel Sandovos. Additional media provided by Trout Unlimited, Matt Kulp, David Wise, Rigged and Ready, Storyblocks, and Ian & Charity Rutter. Interviewers are Amy Allison and Joanna Brown.
Special thanks to: Trout Unlimited - Land O' Sky, Trout Unlimited - Pisgah, Orvis, Fish Cherokee, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Headwaters Outfitters, Rigged and Ready, Outdoor Business Alliance of WNC, Brown Folks Fishing, Minority Outdoor Alliance.
Life on the River
Hardy's 150th Celebration
Conservation & Giving Back
If we want to pass on this magic to our children — the soundscape of rivers, jewels of light in flowing water, the cold clear pools that harbor trout — what can we do? Woody reached out to Kieran Roe with Conserving Carolina to inquire about restoration.
No restoration could happen without the support of the neighbors across the river, Carl and Lois Ganner, who joined the project. A wide cast of partners came together, including Conserving Carolina, NRCS, USFWS, Wolf Creek Engineering, Transylvania County Soil and Water Conservation District, Conservation Advisors of North Carolina, North State Environmental, Resource Institute, NC Land and Water Fund, NC Department of Justice, and NC Division of Water Resources.
Rachel's Barn
Rachel's is a fly-fishing destination and event barn along the banks of the East Fork River providing some of the best fly fishing in Western North Carolina.
