BRMTU NEWS & INFORMATION

Right here in Blue Ridge and the surrounding North Georgia region, four of the strongest supporters of Blue Ridge Mountain Trout Unlimited and Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival (aka Trout Fest -- the chapter's primary, annual fundraising event) have chosen Trout Unlimited Business memberships as part of their support for TU at both national and local levels.  

We hope you are passionate about supporting TU Business members. They are partners in TU who help spread our conservation to their angling communities — they are truly our representatives on the water. In return, TU features them in its quarterly magazine, lists them on the national website and give them free Trout Unlimited gift memberships to share with customers, clients and partners who stand behind TU's mission to protect, reconnect and restore the trout and salmon resources we love so much. These businesses put their money where their mouth is and give back to the resources  they love and depend on.

Local support of BRMTU by TU Business members include the Atlanta Fly Fishing School, Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School and Reel 'Em In Guide Service. Each is a significant contributor to the education, conservation and community outreach programs of BRMTU.

• Atlanta Fly Fishing School is a TU Business member of COHUTTA TU an original and ongoing DIAMOND-LEVEL sponsor of Trout Fest. AFFS is responsible for attracting thousands of visitors to Trout Fest who enjoy the fly-fishing instruction offered by certified instructors. Thousands more from all over the world have chosen Atlanta Fly Fishing School, based in Cumming, GA,  to improve their casting and angling skills, and they keep coming back for more.

• Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School is a TU Business member of BRMTU and joined Trout Fest in 2022 as a BRONZE-LEVEL sponsor. Owner Becky Hulsey also joined the Trout Fest 2023 organization committee. Becky and her husband, David, are both FFF-certified fly-casting instructors and are locally based in Blue Ridge, operating guided fly-fishing services across the North Georgia mountains. We look forward to her participation and bringing her skills to Trout Fest next spring.

• Reel 'Em In Guide Service is a TU Business member of BRMTU, operating guided fly-fishing service on many local private and public trout streams in Fannin and Gilmer counties., including more than 4,500 miles of fishable water in the Chattahoochee National Forest. 

• Alpharetta Outfitters is a TU Business member of UPPER CHATTAHOOCHEE TU, operating fly-fishing services (retail & guided) in Alpharetta, GA, and has participated as a vendor at all five of the annual Trout Fest events in Blue Ridge. The staff shares its passion for fly fishing with every angler—novice or advanced, young or old, man or woman. A not-for-profit business, any extra income after expenses goes to monthly donations to various organizations and individuals.

Across the country, more than 400 great TU Business members support us financially, physically and in every other way. They donate to their local TU chapter banquet. They show up to support us at the planning and zoning board meeting. They email their elected representatives in the state house when we need them to do that. They fly to DC to testify on Capitol Hill. They’re our hometown businesses and we should support them.

Check them out in the back pages of TROUT magazine or search for them by state on our website. You’ll find a vast array of opportunities for your holiday shopping. The best fly shops and outfitters are there, of course, and we’ll come back to them. But there are great gear manufacturers like Winston, Scott, Fishpond and Vedavoo. There are great businesses that produce apparel like FisheWear, Damsel Fly Fishing and Simms. There are commercial fishermen, wineries, breweries, investment managers, media professionals and insurance companies. Every one of them is an ardent supporter of what we do to protect, reconnect, restore and sustain coldwater fisheries across America.

But at the center of it all are the businesses that form the nucleus of fly fishing and conservation, the fly shops, guides and outfitters who are the heart of fly fishing in any community. These are small family-owned businesses that trade on Main Street, not Wall Street. When you buy that holiday gift from our local TU Business members -- Atlanta Fly Fishing School, Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School and Reel 'Em In Guide Service -- you’re supporting local families and local communities. But maybe just as important, you’re supporting another TU member, a teammate in the greatest coldwater conservation organization in the world.

Check them out. Buy some gear. Book a trip. Buy a gift card. You’ll be glad you did, and so will the fish.