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Clint Holcomb has been fishing since before he walked.

His father, John, often took Clint in a baby carrier on his back to the farm pond below their house. The father fished while his son watched or slept.

Fishing has been an important part of Clint’s life ever since.

Now, he’s 21 and living what might be every fisherman’s dream.

A junior at Western Carolina University, Holcomb has worked for the past two years at Hookers Fly Shop in Sylva. Not only does he have the opportunity to see and sell everything a fisherman needs for fly fishing, Holcomb also has become a well-known fishing guide.

Before moving to Cullowhee, Holcomb had never done much fly fishing but had always wanted to, he said. One of the things on his to-do list was to learn to fly fish for trout. Shortly after Holcomb enrolled at Western Carolina, a friend took him fly fishing in the delayed-harvest section of the Tuckasegee River .

As he needed more fly-fishing gear, Holcomb started visiting the shop.

“I was in and out of there all the time,” Holcomb said. He and owner Jason Cole began fly fishing together and eventually Cole asked Holcomb if he wanted a job.

As a guide, Holcomb takes fishermen on anything from half-day trips to multiple-day trips in the back country.

Usually, the Tuckaseegee section is the most popular site in late fall and early spring. In late spring, summer and early fall, most trips are in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for trout or on the lower sections of the Tuckasegee near Whittier and Bryson City for small mouth bass.

On the longer trips, Holcomb and his clients camp along the banks of the rivers they are fishing.

His clients range in age from 7 to the 70s. They come from across the country — from Washington and Oregon to Maine and the Southern states.

“A lot of our clients are from Florida,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb ties all his flies. He and Cole tie the majority of the flies they sell at the shop located at 546 W. Main St. in downtown Sylva. He also ties flies at a workstation set up in his cabin right behind the college.

Holcomb teaches free fly-tying classes every Tuesday night for local fishermen as well as visitors and Western Carolina students.

Several days a week, Holcomb works at the shop. He takes clients fishing mostly on weekends.

“If I’m not guiding, then I’m fishing,” he said. “I fish almost every day. I’m on the water at least 250 days a year — and that’s just fly fishing,” he said.

Cole and Holcomb are out on the river at least every other day — normally before Cole opens the shop and Holcomb goes to class.

The young guide, who is also the son of Tangie Holcomb, graduated in 2009 from Rockingham County High School. He is the grandson of Helen Holcomb and the late Raymond Holcomb and Sue Barber and the late Otis Jackson.

After graduating with a degree in parks and recreation with an outdoor leadership concentration, Holcomb wants to become a professional fly-fishing guide out West.

For further information, contact Holcomb at (828) 587-4665 or hookersflyshop.com.

Reidsville native Ann Fish has lived in Eden since 1979. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com.