Catching up with Don Barrett
By Kelly McHugh
I have been fishing once in my life,but even then my dad did most of the work. So when I met Don Barrett of Barrett’s Guide Services, I was a little hesitant. But as he began to enthusiastically explain the art of fly tying
and his journeys across the globe, I was instantly intrigued.
Most of us associate fishing with lakes and creeks, especially the ones nearby. But Don has been all over the world – Alaska, Argentina, Brazil, Austria, and Ireland, just to name a few. In fact, he has had to send away each of his passports in order to have the pages extended. As a fishing guide, he takes small groups of people on what he affectionately calls his “dream trips.”
Don spends most of his time guiding on the many rivers and streams in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. His clients can choose to float in his drift boat or wade for trout and smallmouth bass. The middle of September you can find him fishing rivers for landlocked salmon and steelhead trout near Lake Ontario. In Alaska, the team is dropped by airplane to a remote area, where they float down the river and fish for eight days. He uses a GPS and several maps to track the team’s progress and assure they are in the pick-up zone at the right time.
Austria is one of the world’s most popular vacation spots, and while most travelers are skiing in the Alps or dancing at music festivals in the villages, Don seeks some of the world’s best fishing. His team stays in ski lodges, where they get a great price since it is the offseason. With a fishing permit, no waters are off limits in what are arguably the world’s most beautiful villages, farms, and valleys. This particular trip will be available again in 2010.
As one of Don’s friends phrased it, “You’ve heard of the horse whisperer, well Don’s like the trout whisperer. It’s incredible.” With the look of a good ol’ Gaston County boy – strong, weather-beaten features and a kind expression, Don is the type of person you would want to take on a fishing trip; his knowledge and expertise make him the ideal fly fishing guide.
While it is easy to see how anyone could be excited about a passion that takes him all around the world, Don fell in love with fly fishing and fly tying as a boy in Dallas, NC. He spotted an old cane fly rod in neighbor’s building and instantly became intrigued. Long before ESPN began broadcasting fishing shows, he was in the library researching his hobby. Even the preparation is fun for him.
“There’s a recipe for every fly pattern, just like you’re baking a cake,” Don explained. “But it’s definitely an art. Especially talking about Ireland, the Atlantic salmon flies are some of the most beautiful and colorful flies you’ll see. They look like a piece of artwork, and anybody can learn to do it!”
Perhaps the best thing about fly tying is the natural feel, something rare in today’s world of plastics and chemically altered metals.
“You just wouldn’t believe the size of the fish you can catch with these small flies that you create. You’re emulating nature, and that’s what these fish are used to. They aren’t used to metal and plastic,” said Don. “But these waters we fish have trees that love to eat your flies and lines! That’s just another part of the experience.”
When we met for coffee, Don spoke reverently about his favorite fish, Carp, which he considers the most powerful and difficult to catch. His favorite fishing trip was in Donegal, Ireland, which surprised me as my father is from the area and I was unaware that this was also a premier location for Atlantic salmon. Each story he told seemed to top the previous; he was truly a fascinating individual.
Traveling the world experiencing some of the world’s most beautiful rivers and fishing for the big fish isn’t everyone’s dream job, but it is for this Gaston County man. To learn more visit www.barrettsgs.com.
The Fine Art of Fly Fishing
Saturday August 29th 2:00 p.m.
Gaston County Public Library
1555 East Garrison Boulevard • Gastonia, NC
