Hook, Line & Drinker Festival gathers volunteers for Scotts Creek Cleanup Sept. 9
By Kelly Donaldson
The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, WNC Fly Fishing Trail and N.C. Trout Capital organized the inaugural Hook, Line and Drinker Festival on Saturday, May 20 in Sylva, N.C. The free event featured music by two bands, 17 fly fishing guides and clean water vendors, three food trucks, and 10 craft breweries.
At the host tent, festival organizers gathered the names of more than 50 volunteers to participate in a river cleanup on Scotts Creek later this year on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
“The goal of the festival was to bring like-minded individuals together to spread the word about the great fishing, music, beer and food we have right here in our backyard,” said Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Hooper Spiro. “But most of all, we wanted to have a vehicle to do something positive for our community. There has never been a cleanup of Scotts Creek and we thought this would be a generous way to give back in a creative way that benefits what we’re all about as well.”
American Rivers and the Tuckaseegee Chapter of Trout Unlimited are partnering with the chamber to organize the Scotts Creek Cleanup. The effort is planned to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Monteith Park in Dillsboro and move south along Scotts Creek into downtown Sylva. Life jackets will be provided, along with breakfast, water and lunch. There will be door prizes for the most trash collected by an individual and the craziest piece of trash removed from Scotts Creek.
Anyone who would like to sign up for the Scotts Creek Cleanup can contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at 828-586-2155 or e-mail Spiro at julie@nc-mountains.com.
The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and community partners created the WNC Fly Fishing Trail in 2009. The chamber spearheaded an effort in 2016 to have Jackson County proclaimed the N.C. Trout Capital. In June of 2016, the N.C. House and Senate designated Jackson County as the Premier Fishing Destination in the state. The official designation of N.C. Trout Capital is making its way through the N.C. General Assembly this summer.
The state record for the largest rainbow trout ever caught was in Jackson County.
Jackson has 31 public access points for fishing; supports fishing classes for children, is home to the nation’s largest river cleanup day in the country (Tuck River Cleanup); and plays host to its own chapter of Trout Unlimited.
For more information contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at 828-586-2155, visit www.mountainlovers.com, visit www.flyfishingtrail.com, or visit www.nctroutcapital.com. All three entities have Facebook pages as well, as does the Hook, Line and Drinker Festival.