Mac Brown has lived in Bryson City, North Carolina, for much of his adult life. In 1987, he started McLeod’s Highland Fly Fishing as an independent guide and educator. The company name changed in 2000 to Mac Brown Fly Fish & Fly Fishing Guide School. Mac was the first full-time permitted and insured guide service in the Western North Carolina region. Swain County offered plenty of outdoor opportunities. Mac started the Fly Fishing Programs at Western Carolina University in 1994 as an Associate Professor. He is the author of Casting Angles, a fly casting handbook for understanding the mechanics of the cast. It brought about a single-spey type of casting for the waters of the Smokies long before single-spey was popularized. His favorite passion is teaching at the Fly Fishing Guide Schools in Bryson City, as well as numerous shows annually.
Mac has been an industry consultant, pro staff, National Advisor, or National Ambassador member with many of the top industry leaders since the late 1980s. In 1999, Mac received the “Angler of the Year” award from Field and Stream. He is currently a National Advisor with Temple Fork Outfitters, Regal Vise, Richardson Chest Box, and Scientific Anglers. He has authored articles in national magazines such as Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Fly Rod and Reel, Angling Report, Fly Fishing the World, and Fly Fisherman and has provided instruction on ESPN, Fly Fishing America TV, and others. He has been a member of Fly Fishers International (FFI) since 1991 and has served on the Board of Governors. Mac received the Mel Krieger Fly Casting Award in October of 2021. In 2023, Mac received the FFI Lifetime Achievement Award from his casting peers globally.
Mac enjoys teaching and sharing locally and in the myriad venues on the road. He enjoys using the latest technologies for numerous podcasts, Zoom meetings, and featured speaking events online for clubs worldwide. Mac helped initiate the Delayed Harvest Pilot Program on the Upper Nantahala River in 1992. Mac was an adjunct Associate Professor at Western Carolina University for fly fishing and fly casting programs in the mid-90s. He has served as the keynote speaker for numerous FFI clubs and National Trout Unlimited chapters. Since 1993, he has performed casting demonstrations and various fly fishing classes for the Fly Fishing Shows.
Mac has produced educational papers on modality and learning of motor skills for fly fishing, quantitative fly rod analysis, fly line, and copolymer nylons studies during his years at WCU. He is an FFI-certified Master Casting Instructor, a past CBOG with Fly Fishers’ International, and has served on multiple boards that define the requirements for the Educational Developmental Pathway for other instructors. He has served as the Educator and Coach for Fly Fishing Team USA since 2009 and as Coach for Fly Fishing Team NC from 2008-2015. Mac continues to coach many young fly fishers in competitive angling as well as fly casting.
He has helped bring many Fly Fishing Team USA Regional and National Championships to Bryson City, North Carolina, since the competitive scene took root in this region. He is involved with local youth in the Swain County school system, with Casting for Recovery and Casting Carolinas, Project Healing Waters, and many other volunteer-based efforts aimed at getting new fly fishers into the sport. Mac was the 2017 incoming President of the Bryson City Rotary Club. Even the local Nantahala Brewery is naming a new beer to honor him for raising scholarships for youth in his county.
Mac Brown was inducted in 2017 in the Recreation category for his many contributions to the fly fishing community.