Matt Barnes

By: admin  |  April 12, 2021

Fly fishing allows Matt to share his love of nature with his clients while creating a personal connection to the environment one cast at a time.

Fish with Matt – Ashville on the Fly  www.ashvilleonthefly.com

A native of North Carolina’s Piedmont region, Matt began guiding on the wild trout waters of the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding streams while attending Western Carolina University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Instruction.

After graduation, Matt moved to the southwest where he guided professionally on the San Juan river tailwater of northern New Mexico and on the freestone streams of southern Colorado. During his time in the Rocky Mountain west, Matt began to feel the call of his home waters of southern Appalachia and started his trek east to Asheville.

Southern Appalachia is a diverse fishery. Each day on the water in the southeast presents opportunities to target multiple fish species ranging from tailwater trout to big freestone smallmouth. While the day, fish and river may change, the boat that gets me there never does. I row and guide out of a River Skiff. The durability, maneuverability, and high level of craftsmanship come together to create the perfect boat for the waters that I fish. Row it and you’ll know it.

Matt is a strong believer in the healing and restorative power of nature and as an Army veteran, he can attest to the many benefits that come from spending a day on the water chasing fish with flies. Matt has pursued moving water across the country from the Carolinas, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, the Pacific northwest and everywhere in between but he loves the species diversity of our area and feels the most at home in the mountain streams and tailwaters of southern Appalachia.
Fly fishing allows Matt to share his love of nature with his clients while creating a personal connection to the environment one cast at a time. Matt is a member of Boulder Boat Works Pro Staff and maintains a membership with Trout Unlimited.

In addition to fishing, Matt enjoys whitewater kayaking, tying flies and exploring the local waterways of his home for trout and smallmouth bass with his trusty boat dog Davey.