The Fly Fishing Guide School is based in Bryson City, North Carolina — right in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains and some of the finest trout water in the eastern United States. The instructors gathered here represent something genuinely rare: a collective of world-class anglers, certified casting professionals, and experienced river guides who also happen to love teaching.
Combined, our instructor team brings 450+ years of real-world experience in rowing, fly casting instruction, and professional guiding. That is not a marketing number — it is the natural result of assembling people who have spent their lives on the water and dedicated themselves to sharing what they know.
Among our instructors you will find 4 FFI Master Certified Casting Instructors — including the FFI Southeastern Council's Casting Instructor Certification Program Coordinator, several Board of Governors members, and multiple regional Instructor of the Year and Mentor of the Year nominees. Multiple certified whitewater rowing instructors, one of whom invented techniques the industry teaches and brings 60+ years on moving water. Four Fly Fishing Team USA Coaches and three Team USA competitors with World Championship experience. A Field & Stream Angler of the Year. Published book and national magazine authors. The first woman ever to earn FFI Master Certification — an IGFA world record holder who has taught professional guides for decades. Two inductees into the Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. We will simply let those credentials speak for themselves.
What the credentials do not capture is the enthusiasm. Every instructor here genuinely loves to teach — and genuinely loves to have fun doing it. That combination, experience paired with passion, is what makes time at the school so productive and so memorable.
The goal has always been straightforward: build the strongest possible foundation for lifelong learners and for those who want to guide as a career, so that every graduate leaves prepared to pursue guiding opportunities at world-class destinations anywhere on the globe. The Fly Fishing Guide School is the premier guide training facility in the nation — and the waters surrounding Bryson City back that claim. When you look at where the top competition anglers and world champions in fly fishing come from, Western North Carolina appears at the top of that list. There is a reason for that. The fishery is world-class, the instruction is world-class, and the people teaching here have competed, coached, and won at the highest levels the sport offers.
