121. Pulling on Oars A Conversation with Guide Howard Brooks

In this episode of Southeastern Fly, we’re posted up on the banks of the Elk River, just over the hill from the Jack Daniel Distillery, swapping stories with our longtime friend Howard Brooks. Howard’s a Tennessee native, a former client turned guide, and one of those guys who somehow makes every day on the water feel richer than the last. We get into where his fishing life started, how guiding happened “purely by accident,” and why at 83 years old he’s still pulling on oars and loving every minute of it.

Key Highlights:

1. Howard’s first fish: hand-lining bluegills during a willow fly hatch on Chickamauga Lake.
2. Early fly gear memories: South Bend rods and old automatic reels.
3. Big trips that reignited it: Bahamas bonefish and Alaska trout.
4. How guiding started: a career change, a boat, and one two-boat trip that turned into a calling.
5. Why guiding isn’t “not fishing”: Howard feels like he’s fishing every minute.
6. The Elk before and after Tim’s Ford Dam: canoe trips, changing water, changing river.
7. What makes a great river lunch: know your anglers, keep it simple, or go all-out when it fits.
8. The fish that changed everything: a 738-pound blue marlin and a lifetime shift toward catch-and-release.
9. Advice to younger folks: get outside, learn nature, cut the screen time.
10. The three stages of an angler: numbers, size, then contentment.

Resources:

1. At The Rivers Edge
2. Visit southeasternfly.com
3. Sign up for our newsletter

Produced by NOVA