Sponsors & Friends

At TroutRoutes, our mission is to inspire you to explore confidently with insights and knowledge on where you stand. We strive to empower trout anglers with information to help you go further and discover new waters, new places and new faces. TroutRoutes is proud to be able to connect you to local resources and experts, such as fly shops, guides, local brands and non-profits. We are even more proud to do so while helping protect the limited natural resources we all enjoy through value driven initiatives.

An entertaining and informative consumer show dedicated to connecting customers with business owners, manufacturers and other fly fishing professionals.

2025 Dates and Locations:

Marlborough, MA
January 17-19, 2025
Royal Plaza

Edison, NJ
January 24-26, 2025
New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center

Atlanta, GA
January 31-February 2, 2025
Gas South Convention Center

Seattle/Bellevue, WA
February 15-16, 2025
Meydenbauer Center

Denver, CO 
February 21-23, 2025
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center

Pleasanton, CA
February 28-March 2, 2025
Almeda County Fairgrounds

Lancaster, PA
March 15-16, 2025
Lancaster County Convention Center

Guided fishing trips on both fly and conventional gear targeting brown trout, striped bass, and musky on the rivers and reservoirs of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Western North Carolina. We primarily target brown trout and striped bass on the South Holston River and the Watauga River, while Musky are chased in both the upper reaches of the the French Broad River, near Asheville, NC, and sections of the Clinch River in Tennessee, including Melton Hill. We also have excellent smallmouth fishing on the holston proper, along with other freestone rivers in the nearby area.

As a tyer, angler, and guide, who fishes for all of these species with every form of tackle I can get my hands on - from 4 weight dry fly rods to baitcasters tuned to handle muskies - I genuinely enjoy showing off this area, and providing a unique experience for all anglers of any experience level, with any preferred style of fishing. And as someone who fishes for fun with good friends and very fishy people, the guides we use on multi-boat floats are the best this area has to offer - behind the vise, on the oars, or with a rod in their hands.

Angling journeys vary greatly. And there are a great many guides that operate very different businesses, offering different approaches to anglers with different goals and values. The importance of the energy that's created in a boat by the folks in it as they approach the water cannot be overstated.

I take great pride in guiding the way that I fish. I will always place adventure and the opportunity for trophy fish and special experiences above the easy, average option, unless it's clear that the latter route should be taken. I do not guide in conditions I wouldn't personally fish, and I don't launch the boat without confidence in the possibility of success. The business we run is intended to be a long-term one built on passion and relationships with special places, people, and creatures, and I relish every opportunity to share that with you.

Where we live in the Southeast is a region of incredible diversity. This diversity allows us to fish 365 days a year, and gives us the opportunity to study, learn from, and utilize different fisheries throughout the seasons when they're prime. Such versatility is the key to the success of our business, and the constant learning, innovating, and exploring that it necessitates is what drives us every day.​

Like most of us Brendan was introduced to fishing at a young age by his father. It quickly grew into a passion and eventually into a career as a shop employee at TCO Fly Shop in Haverford, a guide for Relentless Fly Fishing and, most recently, the owner of Ruch Angling. His fly fishing passion started in high school when he found an old, unopened Pflueger outfit in his garage. Brendan started working at TCO in 2016 and has not looked back.

Starting out as a largemouth bass fisherman, it’s no surprise that Brendan gravitated to the warm water scene pretty quickly. He is all but obsessed with smallmouth bass and tying the flies to fool these freshwater predators. After a long day on the water, you can find him at his tying desk refilling his own boxes and tying commercially for clients all over the East Coast and Midwest. Some of his flies can be found in the bins of Schultz Outfitters and in the boxes of Blane Chocklett, the original designer of the Game Changer.