By Frank Yaun
The Lollapalooza of fly-fishing festivals (Woodstock for you older cats) will again descend upon the vibrant yet sleepy Maggie Valley, NC, on June 15th & 16th, 2024. Shannon & Kristin Young, owners of Maggie Valley Fly Shop (MVFS), took a chance putting this festival on last year, there’s been nothing like it in the area, and it was a HUGE success. Put it this way, Mick & Keith took a break from their Rolling Stones tour to come check it out, in fact, Mick often hangs out at MVFS. Stop by and see if I’m lying or not being completely forthright, knomesayn?
What makes it so cool, you might be asking (or, “Is this dude taking a ‘shroom ride? He is from Asheville.”) Great food, live music, a wide variety of fly-fishing shops, rod makers, Hardy Fly Rods, Winston Fly Rods, Cortland, groovy giveaways, casting contest, expert fly tiers, yours truly, JW Files, the omnipotent Jerry Yates and Frog’s Fanny, and many others. Also, we have a heavy hitter coming in this year, author, Fly Fishing Team USA member and coach, Josh Miller, will be our guest speaker. You do not want to miss this; Josh is truly one of the industry leaders and one of the top guides in the Eastern US, if not the US! I may not be serious all that much, but I’m definitely serious about how big of a deal it is to get Josh down here.
Needless to say, it’s always a great time to come visit Western North Carolina for the weather, the scenery, the plethora of things to do, the food, and definitely the fishing, always the fishing!
For more info, go to www.maggievalleyflyfishingfestival.com, or www.maggievalleyflyshop.com. Dates are June 15th & 16th, 2024, at the festival grounds in Maggie Valley, NC, about 25 miles west of Asheville NC.
Frank Yaun has been chasing trout around WNC, and all over the US for over 30 years, but WNC is home, and his first love. Frank resides in Asheville with his wife and his 12 year old son, and when not fishing, he’s usually on the tying vice. He guides exclusively for Maggie Valley Fly Shop.