Stream Blazers of the Southern Appalachians - Museum on the Fly

Legendary Southern Appalachian fly fishermen, influential reel makers, rod makers, guides, fly tyers, fly creators, artists, authors, conservationists, and cold water resource leaders.

Below are excerpts from each Stream Blazer’s storyboard on exhibit at the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians in Bryson City, North Carolina.
Click “More...” or on an image for additional information.
Shortcuts (last initial): C H L M N P R S T W Y

Silas Walker ‘Cy’ Blanton, Sr.

North Carolina, 1904-1976

Buck Creek Fishing Club
Charter Member Armstrong Fly Casters
Fishing Buddy of Cato Holler
Father, kin and friends started the Buck Creek Fishing Club in the 1890s & leased fishing rights and built a club house on Little Reedy Branch

Phil H. Bracewell, Sr.

North Carolina, 1918-2001

South Toe River – Hickory, North Carolina
Founding Director of Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited North Carolina
Founding Trustee of NC Nature Conservancy
One of the eight founding fathers of the initial TU chapters in North Carolina

Joe Brooks

Maryland, 1901-1972

Susquehanna River – Port Deposit, Maryland
Accomplishments on salt, fresh and cold waters earned Joe Brooks the title of “the world’s best and greatest angler”
Ascension from writing a small outdoor newspaper column in Towson, Maryland, in 1945 to his role as fishing editor for Outdoor Life magazine
Popularized the Muddler Minnow

William Denman “Denny” Burries

North Carolina, 1929-2014

Basin Creek, Garden Creek – Charlotte, North Carolina
After his service in the Navy, was employed by Texaco in Charlotte area
He joined and both he and his wife, Phyllis, became very active in the Rocky River Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Championed the Cap’s Handicapped-Access Pond project on Boone Fork Creek

"Uncle Mark" Cathey

North Carolina, 1871-1944

Deep Creek – Bryson City, North Carolina
The first great dry-fly legend in his area and a wizard of the bamboo rod
Modestly remarked “I’ve been accused of being the best fisherman in the Smokies”
Sometimes guided anglers who visited the famous Hazel Creek Club
Was not particular about fly choice though he preferred a size 10 or 12 Gray Hackle Yellow
Most memorable was his style: The Dancing Fly

Bennie Joe Craig

North Carolina, 1931-2005

Allens Creek – Waynesville, North Carolina
A “Master Fly Tyer” of the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Man of faith who served as a deacon for many years
Firm believer in honoring Sunday as a day of rest and he never fished on the Lord’s day
Fished in his free time while serving in the Army in Germany. Wrote his parents asking them to send his fly tying and fly fishing gear

Beverly “Bev” Dew Hairfield, Jr.

North Carolina, 1952-1999

Catawba River – Morganton, North Carolina
Learned to fly fish as a teenager during numerous fly fishing trips to western states and on the private waters of Grandmother Country Club in Linville
Fished with his father, Dr. Beverly D. Hairfield, Sr., a charter member of the first North Carolina Trout Unlimited Chapter
Well-known local musician who loved to “entertain” his fellow members of Table Rock TU
An active supporter of protecting the Catawba River and a vocal proponent of the development of the Morganton Greenway
Beverly D Hairfield, Jr. Scholarship established at Western Carolina University in his honor

Bernice Allene DeHart Hall

North Carolina, 1918-1995

“True Mistress of the Vise”
Half of an innovative fly tying couple (see Fred Hall) credited with originating a number of fly patterns
Banner fly production in the 1950s and 1960s with weekly shipments going out to individual anglers and fly shops all over the country

Fred Jamison Hall

North Carolina, 1913-1983

“The Business Savvy Fly Tyer”
A veteran of World War II, spent most of his working life as an employee of Carolina Wood Turning Company, Swain County’s largest employer at that time
Pawned his shotgun for $50, purchased tying supplies and tied in his spare time
Eventually, because of physical problems, devoted full attention to the tying vise as he was barely known to be an angler
Generally credited with having originated the Thunderhead and the Adams Variant
With his wife (see Allene), turned out scores of flies every day for many, many years

Cato Holler

North Carolina, 1903-2001

Armstrong Creek – Marion, North Carolina
Well known for his fly the “Infallible” and for his early advocacy of stream management
Founder of Armstrong Fly Casters
He and close friend Walker Blanton were founders of the Lake Tahoma Club

Don Ray Howell

North Carolina, 1943-1998

Davidson River – Brevard, North Carolina
Learned to fish from his father Don Daughtery Howell and his older brother Dwight G. Howell (see below)
Taught Business at Brevard High School from 1967 until retirement in 1996
Started Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle business along with his brother in 1970 specializing in handcrafted rods and custom tied flies
Founding member of Pisgah Chapter Trout Unlimited and North Carolina Council of Trout Unlimited

Dwight Goodman Howell

North Carolina, 1937-1992

Linville and Davidson River – Brevard, North Carolina
Brother, fishing buddy and business partner with Don Ray Howell (see above)
Started tying with a Herter’s vise and scissors when he was 10 years old
Later became nationally known fly tier and was known for the beauty and durability of his flies
Taught Business Education and Placement at both Rosman and Brevard High Schools until retirement in 1989
Started Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle business along with his brother in 1970 specializing in handcrafted rods and custom tied flies
Founding member of Pisgah Chapter Trout Unlimited and North Carolina Council of Trout Unlimited

Tom Landreth

Georgia, 1932-2007

Tallulah River, Rabun Fork and Chattooga River – Rabun Gap, Georgia
Accomplished artist and outdoorsman
Recorded his impressions of the world of southern trout and southern fly fishing in many of his watercolors. For instance, “Honey Hole” is set on the Tallulah River, “Evening Hatch” on the Chattooga and “Trout Waters” on Rabun Fork
Described himself as something of a traditionalist when it comes to fishing

Joe Frank Manley

Tennessee, 1904-1995

Forge Creek and Little River – Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Pitched for the University of Georgia on Scholarship
First person in his family to achieve a college education
Hired in 1933 as the first, and only, Chief Forester for Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Gained significant knowledge of the streams both within and outside the Park boundaries

Joe Miller Messinger, Sr.

West Virginia, 1892-1966

North Branch and Susquehanna River – Morgantown, West Virginia
Known as the creator of the Irresistible Dry Fly
Known by virtually every fly tyer who ties deer hair bass bugs
After the war he remodeled his old Hudson automobile – into a tying facility
Bucktail Frog has very likely received more attention and acclaim over the years than any other deer hair lure ever created

Ray Mortensen

South Carolina, 1927-1998

Chatooga and Davidson Rivers
Namesake of the National Trout Unlimited Ray Mortensen Award, the highest given to a Trout Unlimited member
Father organized Trout Unlimited in the Clemson area, which within a few years was awarded the National "Silver Trout" Award by Trout Unlimited
Was serveing on the Trout Unlimited National Board of Directors at the time of his death from cancer

William Murray

Virginia, 1890-1960

North Fork Shenandoah River – Red Banks, Virginia
Along with various state and federal agencies as well as other private individuals, was instrumental in spreading the smallmouth bass throughout Virginia

Thaddeus Norris, Jr.

Virginia, 1811-1878

Culpepper, Virginia
Early-American split bamboo rod-maker and fly fishing author
Known for his highly regarded and influential American Angler’s Book
Was pragmatic about the best flies to tie and fish on American waters that require different approaches, yet he respected British contributions to the sport

Ernest Peckinpaugh

Tennessee, 1885-1947

Owner, E. H. Peckinpaugh Company, founded in 1920 in Chattanooga to manufacture the first commercially tied fishing lures
By 1940 the E.H. Peckinpaugh catalog listed sixty different bugs and flies with hundreds of color combinations
Known for Peck’s Poppers

Tommy Reese

North Carolina, 1924-2009

South Toe River – Hickory, North Carolina
Board Chairman of Hickory Printing Group, Inc., the company started by his parents in 1917
Served his country in WWII in the United States Army
Nationally recognized conservationist
Recipient of many national awards including the William D. Schaeffer Environmental Award and National Trout Conservationist of the Year
Avid trout fly fisherman and a founding father of Trout Unlimited in North Carolina

Newland Saunders

North Carolina, 1922-2010

Lost Cove and Dugger Creek – Lenoir, North Carolina
Newland or “Zip” was well-known for his “Sheep Fly”
After the war, he and family moved back to Lenoir and began working at Lenoir Hosiery Mill where he earned the nickname “Zip,” because everything he did was “zip-zip-zip”
One of his greatest passions was fly fishing

Stanley Tuttle

North Carolina, 1941-2015

Buffalo Creek, Joes Fork and Linville River – Patterson, North Carolina
Began fly fishing and tying flies in 1960
Early mentors were Tony Woods, “Cap” Wiese (below) and Newland Saunders (above)
Favorite fly rod was a Fenwick 7 ½-foot which was built for Stanley by Tony Woods
His largest trout caught was a 26 ½ inch brown trout caught in the New River, North Carolina

George ‘Cap’ Weise

North Carolina, 1901-1981

Wilson Creek – Collettsville, North Carolina
Sometimes called the Mark Cathey of Grandfather Mountain
Headmaster of Patterson School in Lenoir
Well known for his marathon days on Wilson Creek
Instrumental in the founding of the North Carolina Chapter of Trout Unlimited and served as the first president

Frank Young

North Carolina, 1925-2005

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Bryson City, North Carolina
Probably no Tar Heel fly fisherman has fished more and caught more trout than Frank Young
A son of the Smokies, Young lived in close proximity to some of our finest trout water and sampled its bounties for many decades
Had a special fondness for remote waters in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but Frank was equally at home on the boisterous Nantahala River
A deeply religious man, he said there is no way of being closer to God than on a trout stream