星空传媒 alumnus Matt Canter reflects on fly fishing career
Matt Canter made the choice to attend 星空传媒 while ankle-deep in the Tuckasegee River, fighting a hungry rainbow trout at the other end of his fly rod.
He hadn鈥檛 seen campus or met his peers, but Canter didn鈥檛 need more convincing. For the future fly-fishing guide and owner of Brookings Fly Shop, the pristine waters surrounding Cullowhee had done the job well enough.
鈥淚t was a wonderful experience,鈥� Canter said about his time at 星空传媒. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the best school there is if you love the outdoors.鈥�
I accompanied Canter as he guided a pair of fishermen on a half-day wade up Caney Fork creek, an atypical afternoon for a university journalist, but one Canter鈥檚 lived a thousand times over.
The parks and recreation management major set his sights on becoming a fly-fishing guide from his childhood backyard in High Point, but his experiences fishing the mountains of western North Carolina with his family cemented that ambition.
鈥淚 remember my first trout. My mom took me up to the Boone area when I was about 11. First time in the mountains at that point. First time really fishing for trout,鈥� Canter said. 鈥淎bout an hour into it, I caught my first wild brown trout, and it was, like, the best thing ever. Total addiction from there.鈥�
It鈥檚 clear from how he speaks about his work how much Canter enjoys being an educator and sharing his passion with residents and visitors alike.
It came across in words, certainly, and in small moments of compassion.
Over the course of the afternoon, Canter did everything from setting up his clients鈥� flies to tying their wading boots at the bank. He took time to point out the well-camouflaged trout by their delicate shadows on the river bottom and showed me the principles of casting between recordings.
鈥淚 really enjoy seeing other people learn and get excitement and satisfaction from being successful. And I always say fly fishing will take you places you would otherwise never see,鈥� Canter noted.
Canter came to understand the full truth of that sentiment over time. While attending 星空传媒, the High Point native met his future wife Natalie and, by the close of his senior year, he鈥檇 drawn the very first plans for his fly fishing business, a capstone project from professor Deborah Singleton. His career quickly took shape.
鈥淚 actually started guiding during school,鈥� Canter said. 鈥淚n the summers I鈥檇 go up to Minnesota and Canada and lead 10-to-12-day canoe trips with the Boy Scouts鈥� As soon as I graduated, I started guiding for a company in Cherokee.鈥�
Not long after taking that position in Cherokee, Canter joined Brookings鈥� operations in Cashiers, and that decision proved instrumental.
The experienced outdoorsman quickly worked his way up to a lead guide position at Brookings, before the 2008 financial crisis put new strain on the business. The stress of the recession meant that for a moment, the shop, which then employed only four guides, might have to close its doors permanently.
Forced to downsize the operation against his wishes, Canter was preparing himself for a major pivot 鈥� before a miraculous meeting in the shop.
鈥淚t looked like Brookings wasn鈥檛 going to make it,鈥� Canter said. 鈥淚鈥檇 already let employees go. I went three or four months without getting paid.
鈥淥ne day I鈥檇 just gotten off a bad phone call with ownership, and a customer walked into the shop wanting a $5 spool of tippet. I was frustrated and just said, 鈥楳an, get whatever you want today because I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to be here next week.鈥�
鈥淭hat customer became my business partner鈥� Life鈥檚 funny like that. He bought the business, moved the store to his property, and changed the whole direction of the shop 鈥� made it more of a real fly shop instead of a lifestyle store.鈥�
Over the next five years, Canter and his fishing financier transformed their business, and when presented with the opportunity to take on majority ownership, Canter made the bold choice to take the challenge on.
Since then, Brookings Fly Shop has seen tremendous success. The shop now employs 26 fishing guides year-round. They鈥檙e able to guide on public rivers and exclusive patches of private water.
Beyond western North Carolina, they鈥檝e been able lead groups on fantastic expeditions from the Bahamas to the Amazon Jungle to Canada to Patagonia.
And here at home, they鈥檙e still at work to grow. Fishermen visiting Brookings Fly Shop to restock or catch up can now enjoy a drink at the Blue Line Bar they鈥檝e erected inside, that鈥檚 quickly become a hotspot in town.
鈥淭he whole idea was community,鈥� Canter said. 鈥淐ashiers is a second-home community, and a lot of people don鈥檛 really know each other.
鈥淲hat we noticed on destination trips was that if you take people somewhere adventurous together, they come back as friends鈥� So we thought, if people who love fishing just get to know one another locally, that benefits everybody.鈥�
Canter says it has exceeded his expectations.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how many real friendships started there鈥� I pinch myself every time I pull in,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen I told my dad I was gonna be a fly fishing guide, he said, 鈥業f you're okay with trying to scratch by on about $40,000 a year, go for it,鈥� and I said, 鈥極K, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 gonna do鈥� To have the opportunity to build the store that we've built is just above and beyond. I never would have imagined it.鈥�
Canter now lives in Brevard with his wife and two children. He invariably spends his days by the water, and even now, it doesn鈥檛 feel like work.
When I asked Canter what advice he had to share with current Catamounts set on a fishing career, he shared what he looks for in guides he brings aboard.
鈥淚n my opinion, people skills are more important than anything鈥� I don鈥檛 care whether you can catch 100 fish or not. You need some skillset with fly fishing, but first and foremost you need people skills and the ability to entertain,鈥� Canter said. 鈥淚 can teach somebody to fish. I can鈥檛 teach personality.
鈥淚 have no patience for ego,鈥� Canter added. 鈥淚f somebody gets cocky, they leave, and because of that, we鈥檝e got a really team-oriented environment. Everybody helps everybody. There鈥檚 no secrecy鈥� I鈥檒l tell whoever鈥檚 guiding tomorrow exactly what flies worked best today.鈥�
Sharing wisdom is what it means to Live Western, and Canter provides an especially valuable example. I count myself lucky to be among the leagues of people he鈥檚 taught, inspired and hooked with the sport.
