Terra Ludis: Play Ground | Meet Andy Hill

Andy Hill is a life long fly fisherman, former fishing guide and the current Watauga Riverkeeper. Now he spends his days protecting trout ecosystems and testing the waters of the High Country where he used to spend them searching for the big one. He told us that environmental protection is nothing new to fly fishing culture.

"The etiquette of fly fishing is one of conservation, of a certain kinship with the river and the land, a stewardship. Trout can only thrive is these areas of extreme water quality and diverse habitat, it’s unique. I think most fly fishermen appreciate that. You’ll find that a fly fisherman moves quietly through the ecosystem, they try to minimize their impact. They’re not the folks who leave worm containers and empty beer cans.

It’s a total immersion in the ecosystem, the ecological world. You have to know what they’re eating, and why, where they live in the water, their habitats change, their needs change. In the winter you’ll find them in the deeper pools, hanging on trying to maintain, their metabolism slows down a little bit. This time of year (Summer), you’ll find them in the fast-moving, oxygenated water, aggressively feeding on the emerging insects. It’s a totally different game. So, learning where to fish, and why, and what to use is a life-long passion for many because it’s never the same. The flies that worked yesterday may not work today. And the fish are free to move up and down the river as they chose, so they may move to find food, or a better habitat, or following the urge to spawn. Where they live and eat, isn’t necessarily where they move to spawn, and lay their eggs and reproduce, it’s every changing so I really like that aspect of it.

They say the first fish is a gift and then there can be a long waiting period before you catch one again."

Photo provided by Andy Hill.

#trout #flyfishing #highcountry #riverkeeper #optoutside