It’s a toasty August morning at the Pisgah National Forest, and John Conits is in his element. He’s crouching on half-sunken rocks, scouting the perfect section of the river to drift his fly to attract a hungry wild brown trout. Water creeps up his black waders as he readjusts the attack position. His trusty nine-foot fly rod flutters back and forth as a blue heron swoops down in front of the opposite bank, nearly skimming the water’s surface.
Conits is the owner of Hare’s Ear Fly Fishing, his passion turned career, seven years in the making. Not a lifelong angler, he was introduced to the sport by a friend and immediately became hooked. “When I finally caught a fish, a lightbulb went off,” he says. “I quit my job and for two years every day, I went to the river learning the sport.”
There is big difference in being a knowledgeable guide compared to a good angler. An angler can put people on fish, but guiding requires patience and being people-oriented.
It’s hard to ignore the natural beauty of his ever-changing outdoor office—a perk of his profession. The opportunity didn’t come easy, but throughout the learning process, he had four key mentors in his corner. “Walker Parrot, Ken Hardwick, Heath Carppe, and Jeff Furman taught me how to be a guide,” he says. “There is big difference in being a knowledgeable guide compared to a good angler. An angler can put people on fish, but guiding requires patience and being people-oriented. We’re up early in the morning scouting water and up late at night tying flies. There’s so much behind the scenes of a guided trip. It takes years and years of experience of knowing what flies the fish are going to eat at that certain time of year.”
Conits’s tours focus on wild fish, particularly trout, in public waters. “Stream-born fish, I wanted to get into that game,” he says. The teaching aspect in tough rivers is what he enjoys most. The Hare’s Ear experience is different than posting up at a honey hole where landing an Instagram-worthy trout is all but guaranteed.
For Conits, it’s about the thrill of the hunt, the whole operation of landing your first wild fish. Now with nearly a decade of experience, Conits has fined-tuned his instincts as an angler, and most importantly, a guide. “The fish are aware when you step in the water,” he says. “It’s just like hunting a deer—you are creeping, whispering, looking through the water because they are running from you at all times.”
Each excursion with Hare’s Ear Fly Fishing is tailored to the person’s skill level. “For first-timers, October through June are the best months to go,” he says. “Wear neutral colors, we’ll gear up in waders and boots, get rods and reels ready, and hit the water to learn how to drift the fly, fight the fish, and net the fish.”
He explains that casting the line is akin to painting, in that it’s a skill never mastered and one he works on constantly. There are so many nuances, from tweaking your wrist to the arm position on your follow-through. It requires the delicate consistency of a surgeon. “Everyone can whip a rod,” he says. “The longer you work on a cast, you begin to get your timing and form down to have success on the water. The day you think you’ve figured it out is the day you stop learning.”
As much as patience is key when fishing, respecting nature is equally vital to becoming an esteemed angler. With so many variables, even the most experienced caster can come up empty-handed. But learning from each miss is part of the process. What stands out about Conits’s passion for fly fishing is the distinctive conservation approach he is keen to highlight.
“Probably the most important thing is to protect the fish so we can come back for another fight,” he notes. “I believe in taking care of the fisheries, I’m a catch-and-release angler.” Fly fishing is a sport anyone can enjoy for most of their life, one where all ages find joy outing after outing. “I’ll be guiding a 9-year-old [one day] and the next day a 90-year-old. Celebrating the assist and watching that person hook, land, and disperse a wild fish is everything to me.”
Year after year, Conits watches the environment change, from the river’s intensity to the newly spawned fish to the colors that transform each season. If you do find a connection with wading rivers and searching for the perfect score, Conits suggests a trial-and-error approach. “Go mess up, tangle your rig, learn how to tie knots, and start looking at maps,” he says. “Part of fishing is exploration. It’s when you find something on your own that’s special.”
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT SPOT?
Adamant about protecting the wild fish, Conits cannot reveal the sweet spots he’s discovered over the course of his career. For that experience, you will have to book a guided tour. But he encourages novices as well as experts to explore three main areas within driving distance of the Upstate. And if you already have the itch, you’re in luck. Prime trout fishing season is just a couple of weeks away.
East Tennessee
“I love the rivers of East Tennessee and the year-round cold-water fisheries being tail waters. I enjoy the technical aspects of hunting their wild stream-born fish.”
Pisgah National Forest
“The Pisgah National Forest has a wide variety of trout waters ranging from big brown trout rivers to [streams for] smaller wild trout. There are creeks to Appalachian streams where you can fish for brook trout, too.”
Sumter National Forest
“In the other direction, Sumter National Forest also has a wide variety of fish and plenty of different options for water, both calm and swift. In this area, you normally think of going into the mountains for fly fishing, but the midland rivers offer a fantastic experience, especially in the colder months.”
Once you commit to an angler lifestyle, Conits advises a visit to the local fly shop to purchase the essentials. For Greenvillians, he recommends Dodson Fishing Company in Travelers Rest. To book a guided trip with Hare’s Ear Fly Fishing, visit haresearflyfishing.com or email John@HaresEarFlyFishing.com.
Photography by Matthew Franklin Carter.
