I like to post about things that catch my eye. And recently, my eye has wandered toward the art that Ian Rutter is creating…
If you’ve ever Googled pretty much anything about fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains, you’ve likely encountered Ian (and his wife Charity’s) names. They are longtime guides out of Townsend, Tennessee under the brand R&R Fly Fishing.
(Photo: R&R Fly Fishing)
I don’t recall exactly when I first learned about them, it was either when I went to fish in western North Carolina for the very first time with Owl Jones… or when tenkara was relatively “new” in the United States and I was consuming any scraps of content I could find. (They were early adopters and are advocates for the technique in the Smoky Mountain waterways).
When Ian isn’t guiding or writing books, he’s creating wonderful pieces of art that represent the fly fishing opportunities, outdoors, and lifestyle of the southeast. I don’t own one of his pieces yet, but after a ton of time “sight fishing” I think I’m just about cast my fly. I’m just not sure which one to target…
Notice a theme? Yeah, there’s just something about brookies that are mesmerizing to me… but he also does renditions of rainbows, browns, black bears, birds, and elk.
If you’re interested and want to see more, check out Ian’s art website HERE, or Instagram account HERE.