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On November 5 and 6, 2021, the Atlanta Program of PHWFF held its second overnight fly fishing outing of the year.  A nine-person group of participants and volunteers from the Atlanta Program met in Brevard, NC to fish the Davidson River. 

“The weather was perfect, the water levels were just right, and the leaf color was stunning!” Atlanta Program Lead Chip Cavin exclaimed.

The Davidson River holds an abundance of trout, and every angler has the opportunity to catch browns, rainbows, and brookies when they are on it.

The veteran participants got a chance to fish not only the public sections of the river, but spent all day on November 6 fly-fishing private sections.

Participants had opportunities to utilize multiple fly-fishing techniques and rigs on their rods including dry-flies, dry/droppers, nymphing with indicators, euro-nymphing, and stripping streamers, all with great success.

Some of the trout were very large and participants learned some of the lessons of fighting large fish….needless to say, the large fish did win their fair share of the battles as they often do. But that is fly fishing!

Atlanta program lead chip cavin

Some of the highlights included participants learning a new fly-fishing technique and gaining confidence with a new method. Some of the participants even caught their personal best trout, and of course, the lively banter and fish stories during dinner.

“New friendships were made and existing friendships deepened,” Cavin said.

From left to right: Chip Cavin, Scott Wells, Gary Herber, Chris Harris, Willie Copeland, Harold Ray, Tom Wright, Gene Barrington, and Alex Ward

During the event, while standing together in the river surrounded by beauty, or during a BBQ lunch, conversations would often turn to those in the Atlanta Program that were not there, including those that had originally planned to attend the event but were unable to make it due to circumstances out of their control. 

“We knew we were blessed to be fishing in a special place with friends, and we look forward to sharing a similar experience with other participants in the near future,” Cavin said.

The Atlanta Program would like to thank Kevin Howell and his staff at Davidson River Outfitters for their generous hospitality. 

“We felt welcomed from the minute we arrived and throughout the event,” Cavin said. “Our guides from DRO, Landon and Chris, were friendly, knowledgeable, and both very “fishy dudes”.  These two guides worked throughout the event to put our participants in the best positions with the right techniques and fly selections for success on their home waters.”

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