Don Ray Howell (1943-1998) was born in Mitchell County in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. He lived inn Brevard, North Carolina. Along with his partner and brother Dwight, they ran their fly fishing business and fly fished together from 1970 until 1997. When Dwight passed away, Don Ray arranged for Kevin Howell his son to take over the family business.
Don Ray taught Business at Brevard High School from 1967 until retirement in 1996. He started Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle business along with his brother Dwight in 1970 specializing in handcrafted rods and custom tied flies.
They were self-taught rod builders and both would go on to become significant members of the rod crafters guild. He was interviewed by Outdoor Life Europe and was featured in countless magazines, Newspapers, videos and articles around the world. Don Ray also was an avid bass angler, winning the 1976 United Bass Fisherman’s Silver Cup Trail – defeating Roland Martin, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston and all the other professional bass anglers of that generation. His favorite fly was a size 8 Sheep Fly (long shank).
Don Ray Howell (1943-1998) – Inducted in the Ambassador category for his leadership and commitment in sharing a lifetime of knowledge and experience as a regional pioneer, fly tyer, guide, writer, fly rod builder, fly shop owner and dedicated fly fisher.
The Howell Brothers were the first in the region to offer commercial fly tying supplies. They started Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle in 1970 and operated their custom rod building and fly tying business until Don’s Passing in 1998 when Kevin Howell took over the reins and combined Dwight and Don’s Tackle with Davidson River Outfitters. They penciled countless articles, were both founding directors of Pisgah Trout Unlimited and the NC Council of Trout Unlimited. There flies were some of the most sough after in the nation. They tied for Orvis, Yellowstone Angler, Dan Bailey,s Blue ribbon Flies and countless local shop as well as retail over the years. They even tied for the Prince of Wales. In addition they gave us countless original fly patterns.
