When the sun sets on October 5, the Stateline Drive-In theater just south of Elizabethton will host the world-traveling Fly Fishing Film Tour 2024. The F3T, as the cool kids call it, includes a thrilling roster of fly-fishing films that cover the globe, as well as raffles, auctions, a cookout, and local fishing guides on hand. Sponsored by the Blue Ridge Guide Association and the Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the effort will raise funds for both organizations and call attention to conservation on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers, large dam tailwaters that offer some of the South’s best trout fishing. The drive-in theater by the Doe River has been an East Tennessee landmark since 1947, showing family-friendly flicks on weekends from April through September. But this special off-season event highlights its storied roots, says Matt Maness, a fly-fishing guide and vice president of the guide group. “While we work on conservation initiatives from water quality to public access,” he says, “this event is about bringing people together.”
Southern Agenda
Reeled In
Illustration: Tim Bower