S6, Ep 125: Weathering the Storm: Southwest Virginia's Fishing and Tourism Recovery
In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash connects with Matt Reilly for a comprehensive update on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Southwest Virginia. Matt shares his firsthand experiences of the storm's impact on the community, highlighting the severe flooding in towns like Damascus and Marion, which has disrupted local infrastructure and tourism. Despite these challenges, Matt's family is safe, and he discusses the broader implications for fishing and local businesses.
Marvin and Matt emphasize the importance of supporting the affected communities, particularly as they were just recovering from the economic impacts of COVID-19. They suggest practical ways to contribute, such as purchasing gift certificates from local businesses or postponing fishing trips to allow guides to retain deposits. Matt offers insights into the current fishing conditions, noting the challenges posed by the storm but also sharing opportunities for musky and winter smallmouth fishing in the coming months.
Listeners are encouraged to check the show notes for links to charities and resources to support the relief efforts. Marvin and Matt remind everyone that rebuilding is a long-term process and urge continued support for the affected regions. Tight lines!
To learn more about Matt, check out our full length interview.
Support Hurricane Helene Relief
All Things Social Media
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Support the Show
Subscribe to the Podcast
Subscribe to the podcast in the podcatcher of your choice.
Advertise on the Podcast
Is our community a good fit for your brand? Advertise with us.
In the Industry and Need Help Getting Unstuck?
Check out our consulting options!
Speaker:
Marvin: Hey folks it's marvin cash the host of the articulate flower back with another
Speaker:
Marvin: southwest virginia fishing report matt riley matt how are you.
Speaker:
Matt: I'm doing good man how are you as.
Speaker:
Marvin: Always i'm just trying to stay out of trouble and you're my last boots on the
Speaker:
Marvin: ground uh folks that have been affected by hurricane helene and uh you know
Speaker:
Marvin: what is you know how did it impact your community in southwest virginia and
Speaker:
Marvin: you know how is it impacting the fishing.
Speaker:
Matt: Um well it's
Speaker:
Matt: it's a good question a lot has changed the last couple
Speaker:
Matt: of weeks but we are uh i mean
Speaker:
Matt: our our family is perfectly fine um in
Speaker:
Matt: all the ways that matter but the uh some folks
Speaker:
Matt: literally just a couple miles down the road in damascus
Speaker:
Matt: and up the road in marion
Speaker:
Matt: chilhowie they're all um dealing with
Speaker:
Matt: flooding damascus got got whacked pretty hard
Speaker:
Matt: um lots of homes and roads and
Speaker:
Matt: things lost uh currently you know
Speaker:
Matt: it's i guess it's a good thing i don't have a lot of trout trips on
Speaker:
Matt: the books because the uh national forest is
Speaker:
Matt: pretty much closed um infrastructure wise
Speaker:
Matt: um about half of the Virginia creeper trail is uh is looking at some pretty
Speaker:
Matt: serious damage from the top near the town of White Top all the way down to Damascus
Speaker:
Matt: um so that's not really available anymore um and uh.
Speaker:
Matt: A lot of the uh you know trails and roads and stuff over that where are not not usable currently so,
Speaker:
Matt: that's certainly a big impact um in terms of like if we were trying to get out
Speaker:
Matt: there fishing right now but also
Speaker:
Matt: just for the economies of of these small towns that we live in because,
Speaker:
Matt: this is usually a pretty crucial time of year outdoor
Speaker:
Matt: tourism wise for them um the
Speaker:
Matt: other area that is in our immediate vicinity that
Speaker:
Matt: got hit hard is is the new river valley um we saw a not a not a record crest
Speaker:
Matt: but just two feet short of the all-time record crest um that friday night saturday
Speaker:
Matt: morning after after all the the rain and flooding um came through,
Speaker:
Matt: and it has in terms of impact to me that's certainly been the biggest hurdle
Speaker:
Matt: at the moment um lots and lots of boat ramps are unusable filled in there's
Speaker:
Matt: a couple that they're looking at.
Speaker:
Matt: Potentially having closed for a long long time um
Speaker:
Matt: and the upper new river
Speaker:
Matt: currently is is flowing pretty clear um if
Speaker:
Matt: you can get on it and the lower is
Speaker:
Matt: running chocolate milk still just because it's turning
Speaker:
Matt: over all the muddy debris filled water that's in claytor lake right now so that'll
Speaker:
Matt: uh that'll be pretty much a waiting game um i've been speaking with uh toby
Speaker:
Matt: mclanahan the guy that is our DWR sort of boat ramp maintenance guy.
Speaker:
Matt: And he's a really busy dude right now.
Speaker:
Matt: But he's been getting to a lot of things. He told me the other day that basically
Speaker:
Matt: every ramp that they can get to on the lower new is open right now.
Speaker:
Matt: It's just a matter of waiting for conditions to kind of right themselves down that way.
Speaker:
Marvin: Yeah, and I would imagine, too, you probably actually got a lot of traffic in
Speaker:
Marvin: your neck of the woods because I know basically, at least from Charlotte,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, one of the routes to kind of get to like, you know,
Speaker:
Marvin: East Tennessee, Western North Carolina is to actually come up and then go back down 81.
Speaker:
Matt: Yeah that's right i mean you look at all the vdot signs
Speaker:
Matt: 181 around here it tells you either
Speaker:
Matt: not to go to western north carolina um or
Speaker:
Matt: not to get off 81 or just to stick to 77 and
Speaker:
Matt: move on through so um i have
Speaker:
Matt: not had a reason to go over there yet um but
Speaker:
Matt: uh you know more than
Speaker:
Matt: anything i mean one thing that we've seen here locally for sure is
Speaker:
Matt: just folks kind of clogging up the roads um and
Speaker:
Matt: some of the towns just to kind of sightsee a little bit um see the damage and
Speaker:
Matt: and and look at some of the places they're familiar with and um i'm just trying
Speaker:
Matt: not to be a part of the problem in that regard if i can help it right now yeah.
Speaker:
Marvin: And i would say you know backing up a little bit you know tourism is i mean
Speaker:
Marvin: to say that it's critical to southwest virginia east tennessee in Western North
Speaker:
Marvin: Carolina is an understatement.
Speaker:
Marvin: And, you know, a couple things, you know, I'll drop a link in the show notes.
Speaker:
Marvin: I've come up with a list of large charities that are kind of funneling money
Speaker:
Marvin: to boots on the ground in those three areas for folks.
Speaker:
Marvin: But also, too, on the tourism side, you know, if you go to your local,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, go to your state, you know, Department of Transportation,
Speaker:
Marvin: because the road situation is evolving everywhere.
Speaker:
Marvin: And, you know, for places that are open that you can get to,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, go spend some money.
Speaker:
Marvin: But even if you can't, you know, and I think I saw you write about this as well,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, you can buy gift certificates and gift cards, right?
Speaker:
Marvin: Yeah. And that's a way to send money in that, you know, is helpful to people,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, kind of, you know, pay them today for services tomorrow.
Speaker:
Marvin: And then in kind of a related point for all of our fishing friends,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, if you've got a trip on the books, if you can possibly just postpone
Speaker:
Marvin: it till 2025 and let that guide or outfitter keep that deposit,
Speaker:
Marvin: that's a huge deal so that while people are trying to get back to normal,
Speaker:
Marvin: they're not trying to figure out how to refund deposits to people.
Speaker:
Matt: Yeah that's that's a good point i mean not to get too in the nitty-gritty of
Speaker:
Matt: things but as a self-employed fishing guide i mean we do have policies for a
Speaker:
Matt: reason you know most folks will,
Speaker:
Matt: will uh we'll call deposits non-refundable but
Speaker:
Matt: as a small business person um you know
Speaker:
Matt: usually you're you have your policies and then
Speaker:
Matt: you kind of use your discretion um in in
Speaker:
Matt: how you treat people you know somebody has a
Speaker:
Matt: major thing come up and it's nobody's fault and
Speaker:
Matt: they're not going to be able to make the trip and they're probably not coming back you
Speaker:
Matt: know maybe maybe you send them a deposit back but it
Speaker:
Matt: is a little bit of a tight spot to put
Speaker:
Matt: people in when they're you know potentially lost a month
Speaker:
Matt: or two of their calendar and you're uh you're uh
Speaker:
Matt: reaching out asking for your hundred bucks back
Speaker:
Matt: or whatever um you know just try
Speaker:
Matt: to avoid that if you can um and then like you're
Speaker:
Matt: talking about visiting some of the places that have reopened um
Speaker:
Matt: it uh it is really important i mean right now um one of the i mean the busiest
Speaker:
Matt: time of year for the virginia creeper trail which is probably our locally most
Speaker:
Matt: well-known um outdoor attraction is uh is this time of year.
Speaker:
Matt: And i can imagine a lot of folks probably
Speaker:
Matt: canceling trips they stay in damascus or or
Speaker:
Matt: somewhere nearby and they just don't want to make the trip but um
Speaker:
Matt: a lot of localities are really trying to get things
Speaker:
Matt: going and and get things online again i mean
Speaker:
Matt: in avingdon right now um they're
Speaker:
Matt: really pushing hard this idea of uh riding the
Speaker:
Matt: creeper trail backwards so typically most
Speaker:
Matt: folks would start up on the mountain the
Speaker:
Matt: town of white top you can take a shuttle um and
Speaker:
Matt: i mean just to illustrate how important some of these things are i
Speaker:
Matt: mean there's a half a dozen or more um
Speaker:
Matt: bike rental outfitters shuttle services
Speaker:
Matt: in damascus and having them that all cater to that
Speaker:
Matt: um that basically have their business
Speaker:
Matt: model just disappear overnight um but
Speaker:
Matt: that trail runs all the way down the mountain to damascus and
Speaker:
Matt: then it runs another 17 miles to abingdon and
Speaker:
Matt: that second leg doesn't get a ton of traffic um
Speaker:
Matt: it's not in the national forest for
Speaker:
Matt: the most part um it's it's flatter so
Speaker:
Matt: it's not quite as effortless of a ride but
Speaker:
Matt: um it's beautiful runs along several couple different rivers and um it's definitely
Speaker:
Matt: worth doing so that's that's something that's definitely an example of the local
Speaker:
Matt: community kind of getting their stuff together and trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Speaker:
Matt: So I'd encourage anybody who has been on the trail or comes to town this time
Speaker:
Matt: of year to consider doing that.
Speaker:
Marvin: Yeah, and I would say, too, particularly important because all of these regions
Speaker:
Marvin: got hit really, really hard with the COVID impact on their tourism.
Speaker:
Marvin: So they were just kind of getting ready to kind of come out of the other side
Speaker:
Marvin: of that, really, you know, have a couple good years under the belt. And this happened.
Speaker:
Marvin: And, you know, to put a finer point. Yeah, and to put a finer point on it,
Speaker:
Marvin: too, you know, in this, you know, I'll talk about it in the context of a fly
Speaker:
Marvin: shop or an independent guide like you.
Speaker:
Marvin: But this is true for all of these tourism businesses, you know,
Speaker:
Marvin: whether you're a hotel or a restaurant. But, you know, if you have a fully booked
Speaker:
Marvin: week as an independent guide and you're going to make several thousand dollars
Speaker:
Marvin: and it now turns into people asking for deposits back, that's a huge cash flow swing, right?
Speaker:
Marvin: And if you stack that up over a few weeks or a couple months,
Speaker:
Marvin: that's very significant. And that's happening to all of the restaurants and
Speaker:
Marvin: all the hospitality venues in these areas.
Speaker:
Marvin: So, you know, folks, you know, do what you can to support these businesses.
Speaker:
Marvin: There's been a tremendous loss of, you know, life and property.
Speaker:
Marvin: You know, check out the links in the show notes to this episode for ways to
Speaker:
Marvin: give money because I think things are sort of starting to shift.
Speaker:
Marvin: At least that's kind of what we're hearing in Western North Carolina where the
Speaker:
Marvin: preference is really not for donations of goods but more for donation of money
Speaker:
Marvin: to kind of help the kind of more permanent relief structures,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, be able to target exactly what they need.
Speaker:
Marvin: So, you know, that's just, you know, I guess my view from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speaker:
Marvin: But I would also say, too, you know, Matt, back on the fishing side,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, I saw your email probably before all this happened that,
Speaker:
Marvin: you know, you're in full swing, you know, you know, looking for booking musky
Speaker:
Marvin: dates and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker:
Marvin: Some winter smallmouth action if people like to go find the big ones when it's chilly, right?
Speaker:
Matt: Yeah so uh still booking all
Speaker:
Matt: that stuff you know i i talk like
Speaker:
Matt: i'm in a little bit of a holding pattern right now with with uh
Speaker:
Matt: fishing because you know this is typically kind
Speaker:
Matt: of my transitional week um where i'll
Speaker:
Matt: kind of get and put some some
Speaker:
Matt: boots on the ground musky fishing and um doing
Speaker:
Matt: some scouting and stuff like that but it's kind of more or
Speaker:
Matt: less impossible at the moment it um but you
Speaker:
Matt: know that that's being remedied every day
Speaker:
Matt: so it shouldn't be too too much longer that we're kind
Speaker:
Matt: of at a standstill but um i still do have uh several musky dates open kind of
Speaker:
Matt: later winter you know there's some here and there availability through uh november
Speaker:
Matt: december mostly well yeah just a couple you know each one of those months but um.
Speaker:
Matt: So that's, that's an option. Um, and then yeah, our winter, winter smallmouth
Speaker:
Matt: fishing is another kind of fun program.
Speaker:
Matt: Uh, much different flavor than the musky program.
Speaker:
Matt: Um, where, uh, you know, we can get out of one of our local tailwaters and usually
Speaker:
Matt: catch a lot of nice fish in the dead of winter when everything else is pretty
Speaker:
Matt: much, uh, slowed down and, and, uh, gotten tough.
Speaker:
Matt: So that's another option. If you have any questions about any of those things,
Speaker:
Matt: feel free to reach out to me, however you feel best. All my contact info is on the website.
Speaker:
Matt: And I look forward to hearing from you.
Speaker:
Marvin: Yeah, so, you know, folks, check that out. You know, please check out the links
Speaker:
Marvin: in the show notes for ways to support the relief.
Speaker:
Marvin: And some of those options, by the way, give you the ability to target your money
Speaker:
Marvin: to particular counties.
Speaker:
Marvin: And I would also say if you have information that you want shared, please reach out to me.
Speaker:
Marvin: I'm happy to share it in my social media channels on the website and on the
Speaker:
Marvin: podcast. And, you know, folks, if you've been affected, we're certainly thinking about you.
Speaker:
Marvin: You know, folks, if you can help, this is going to be a multi-year process.
Speaker:
Marvin: So try to think about being able to help in 2025 and 2026.
Speaker:
Marvin: And, you know, if you have a chance to make it to some of these affected areas, please do.
Speaker:
Marvin: Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, Matt.
Speaker:
Matt: Thanks, Marvin.
Matt Reilly
Guide | Fly Tier | Outdoor Writer
Matt grew up stomping around the warm water creeks and rivers of his native central Virginia, just a stone's throw from the James River. He's been blessed with a great many mentors, including his father, who introduced him to fishing before the age of two.
In his teenage years, Matt took his first professional venture into the outdoor industry as a freelance writer and photographer, and soon secured a weekly outdoor column in The Daily Progress' Rural Virginian.
After heading south for college and falling in love with the fisheries of southwest Virginia, Matt established his guide service in 2018. Today, he is a father, husband, USCG-licensed captain, and a leading fishing guide specializing in smallmouth bass, musky, and other predatory game fish. He speaks regularly on a range of topics. His writing has appeared in several national and regional publications like Eastern Fly Fishing, American Angler, Fly Tyer, Southern Trout, Hatch Magazine, and Virginia Wildlife. He is also an ambassador for Reilly Rod Crafters, a producer of premium fly rods based in Virginia.
Follow:
