Kelly Bandlow comes to Curtis Wright Outfitters via California and is a native of
Wisconsin. He's been an avid fly fisherman for almost 30 years and a fly tyer for
eight years. He also has seven years of specialty fly fishing retail sales under his belt.
A well-traveled angler, Kelly has fished many of the world's fly fishing dream
destinations. His adventures have taken him from Alaska, across the pond, to the
Southern Hemisphere. Along with Curtis Wright Outfitters, Kelly will be hosting a
fly fishing trip to Alaska in 2010. Read More... about Kelly. KellyBandlowCWO@gmail.com
Joshua Garris was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He has been fishing
the waters of Western North Carolina for almost 30 years. He is married to his
wife Donna and has two children Bayden, who is 10 and Addie, who is 6. After
working many years in the culinary field Josh decided to share his knowledge and
understanding of fly fishing. Read More... about Josh on his staff bio page.
JoshGarrisCWO@gmail.com
Carie Ruth is never completely at home unless she's knee deep in a body of water, Carie
considers Weaverville her second home. She grew up in the streams of West Virginia,
wading in anything that looked like it could support aquatic wildlife! Daughter of
wildflower enthusiasts she knows the mountain names of many of the native flora.
Carie is excited to learn the art of fly fishing, and if she can't get a bite she's still happy
to stand in a stream and wave a stick.
David Grossman grew up in Charlotte, NC but got his start fly-fishing while attending
Washington & Lee University in the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia. Since
then he has traveled as far as British Columbia to chase trout with a few stops in
Montana and Idaho on the way. David recently moved back to North Carolina from
Colorado where he spent two years fishing and working (mostly fishing). David enjoys
all kinds of fly-fishing but specializes in float fishing the tailwaters of North Carolina
and Eastern Tennessee. Read More... about David on his staff bio page.
DavidGrossmanCWO@gmail.com
Carlton Wright Murrey- Prior to launching Curtis Wright Outfitters in March 2003, Carlton worked in the
Retail and Consumer Products investment banking division of Wachovia Securities. Prior to business
school, he was a manager in Client Services and Business Development for U.S. Inspect, a national
property inspection company based in Northern Virginia, and also in the International Project
Development Group of the Smithsonian Institution. Carlton has designed, implemented, and participated
in outdoor programs throughout his formative years and professional career. Carlton received a bachelor
of arts degree in German from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where he was awarded the
Russ Reynolds Foreign Language Award and the Manly E. Wright Award for Outstanding Scholarship and
graduated summa cum laude with distinction. Following graduation, Carlton was awarded a Fulbright
Grant to study in Münster, Germany. He received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke
University. Carlton is head of the Guide Services division of CWO and he is the one that will help you
book your next guided fly fishing adventure in the WNC area. CWMurrey@CurtisWrightOutfitters.com
Nathan Mitchell was born and raised here in Western North Carolina. His family
home sits on the banks of a trout stream just fifteen minutes Southeast of Asheville.
Nathan grew up with his two younger siblings chasing trout in their backyard. "We
were constantly playing in the creek either fishing, swimming, or flipping over
rocks to catch Crayfish or Salamanders." Read More… about Nate on his staff bio
page. NathanMitchellCWO@gmail.com
Chad Schmidt grew up on a large family farm in Indiana and spent most of his childhood enjoying the
outdoors. Depending on the time of year or open season, it was a safe bet you could find him chasing
wild game (quail or rabbit), or fishing a local farm pond or stripper pit. "I feel very fortunate to have
spent so much time outdoors, it is something I am passing along to my 4 year old son (Hunter).
Although he grew up spin-fishing, he enjoys fly -fishing because it brings together the elements of
nature, stalking quarry, and enjoy the peaceful serenity that the Asheville area has to offer. Chad
created the CWO website from the ground up. He works daily to enhance the website, to create our
monthly newsletters, to manage our e-commerce product sales, and he also creates and manages Curtis
Wright Outfitter's print and online advertising campaigns. ChadSchmidtCWO@gmail.com
Craig Byers was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Weaverville, NC.
He learned to fish in the waters of these mountains for trout, smallmouth bass,
largemouth bass, and anything else that was willing to bite. His true love of the
sport has always involved the "Big Fish" and his spare time consists of either fishing
for the big boys or formulating new strategies to catch them which involve tying
flies, making baits and scouting his next fishing hole. Read More... about Craig on his
staff bio page.
Galen Kipar ~ Fly fishing has taken Galen to many exciting destinations including Montana, Colorado,
Wyoming, California, Vermont, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. Galen has been
studying the streams of WNC for the last ten years, five of which he has served as a guide. While
studying music composition at Brevard College, Galen was able to learn of the areas intricacies from
local fly fishing guru Kevin Howell. Galen enjoys guiding the most skilled fisherman and novices alike.
For him, each experience is special as he gets to witness someone falling in love with nature's currents.
Under pressure, he is an easy going, patient, instructive guide who will cater to your experience and
expectations. Apart from being a guide he is a; fly fisherman, good cook, musician, architectural
draftsman, soccer coach, carpenter, dreamer, believer, jeep lover, and trout ninja!
Charlie Downs builds high-quality custom bamboo fly rods at the CWO location in
Weaverville. He and his wife Marnie moved to this area from Lexington, KY. in May
of 2008. One of the primary attractions of the area for Charlie is the plethora of
wonderful fly fishing opportunities within an hour of his home...He enjoy's fishing
to the point that he "would rather fish than eat", and he self admittedly REALLY
likes to eat. Charlie would be happy to take you on a fly fishing trip using one of his
custom bamboo fly rods.
Jeff T. Curtis- Prior to launching Curtis Wright Outfitters in March 2003, Jeff worked as an independent fly
fishing guide and instructor in Western North Carolina and an innkeeper at Sourwood Inn, a thirteen room
inn on 100 acres of land in Asheville, NC. As part of the design and development team at Sourwood Inn,
Jeff was instrumental in creating an outdoor-oriented atmosphere, blending a rustic feel with the
amenities of a luxury inn. His responsibilities as innkeeper included advertising, bookkeeping, and guest
relations. Prior to innkeeping, Jeff worked at two psychiatric facilities, Park Ridge Hospital in Fletcher, NC
and Marshall Pickens in Greenville, SC. While employed at these institutions, he worked with other team
members to create and implement a comprehensive treatment program. Jeff has also served as Director of
Programs at Project SOAR, a wilderness-based therapeutic recreation program near Waynesville, NC. His
responsibilities included leading team building exercises and ropes course elements, as well as developing
and implementing group initiatives. Jeff also served as partner and manager in a multi-store chain of
clothing stores in Florida. He received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Furman University. Jeff
runs the three Curtis Wright Outfitters shop from the main office in Weaverville. Jeff makes his client's trip
fun and has even been know to catch a fish or two! JeffCurtisCWO@gmail.com
Daniel Wankel was raised in Mills River, NC. He fell in love with the freedom of
the woods and streams at an early age. He picked up a Fly Rod while living 15
minutes from the Watauga in East Tennessee. "I appreciate the intimacy that
fly-fishing allows between angler and fish, a connection to the currents of the
aquatic life." He began guiding 8 years ago, and has enjoyed the diversity of people
he gets to meet. Never mind the beautiful view from the office.
Richard Witt began fishing as a young boy in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for species that
included trout, bass, walleye, steelhead and salmon. He gained a great deal of
experience there which happened to include mastering the art of musky fishing with
his bare hands! Formerly a professional musician, Richard's musical groups were
conveniently booked near a number of the country's finest fly fishing destinations in
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming enabling
him to fine-tune his fly fishing skills. Read More... about Rich on his staff bio page.
RichardWittCWO@gmail.com
Nick Roberts grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and first got started fly-fishing
when he was a freshman at Duke University. Since then, he's spent a lot of time fishing
in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and has also fished the Arkansas
River in Colorado, and the Madison, Beaverhead, and Bitterroot rivers in Montana, to
name a few favorites. Nick has been busy writing novels and attending Grad school
the last couple of years. We hope to see him guiding for us later in 2010.
Shop Employees
More Fishing Guide Staff
Don Mallicoat & Ginny ~ Don Mallicoat is a retired Army officer and lifelong bird hunter. After
moving to Asheville in 1993 his interest turned from quail to grouse which he and Ginny pursue at
every opportunity. Don has been active with the Ruffed Grouse Society chapter in Asheville for over
10 years and most recently served as the RGS Southeastern Regional Director for three years. He
works with the NC WRC and USFS in NC to improve early successional habitat and is a member of
the NC Camo Coalition Council.
Hunting Guide Staff
David Clegg & Gauge ~ David grew up fishing the trout streams of the southern Appalachians and the
coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In early adulthood, his outdoor passions grew to include
shotguns, wing-shooting, and hunting dogs. David has pursued waterfowl throughout the mid-Atlantic
coast and Central/Mississippi Flyways. He has hunted south Georgia & Alabama quail plantations,
Kansas pheasants, and North Carolina, Virginia, & South Carolina dove fields and grouse woods.
David is an Appalachian State University alumnus, real estate broker, and small business owner. He
volunteers with Ducks Unlimited, enjoys cooking & organic vegetable gardening, and hunting &
fishing with his two sons. He lives just outside of Asheville, NC in the Cane Creek community with his
wife, Dawn, and the boys. Gauge, a Verein Deutsch Drahthaar, is an outstanding result of a century
of strict German breeding regulations. An extremely versatile dog, he points like an English Setter,
retrieves like a Labrador, and tracks like a Bloodhound. David and Gauge have excelled in both
North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) and Verein Deutsch Drahthaar breed
club hunting tests. Well-mannered, eager to please, and close working, shooting over Gauge is a true
pleasure.
Fishing Guides & Fly Shop Staff
Terry Martin, Tesha & Sandy

Terry Martin is a 2nd Lieutenant with the Hendersonville Fire Department. Terry and his girls have
been actively chasing grouse around the mountains of Western North Carolina for many years. He
is an excellent dog trainer and specializes in hunting on public land.
Heath Cartee grew up in the foothills of South Carolina just across the border from
North Carolina. He began fishing at a young age and took up fly fishing and fly tying
shortly after college. Heath likes to catch anything on the fly that will bite and pull,
from small stream brook trout to small mouth and carp on bigger waters. He now lives
near the Broad River in Boiling Springs, North Carolina and divides his time between
smallmouth bass at home and trout in the mountains with a few bream, largemouth
bass, carp, and crappie thrown in for good measure. Read full bio>>>