Meet Our Guides

Starr Nolan

Starr Nolan has been guiding and teaching fly fishing in Western North Carolina for the past 24 years. She has extensive experience guiding experienced anglers and has taught hundreds of people from age 7 – 82 how to fly fish.

In 2017, Starr was inducted into the Southern Fly Fishing Hall of Fame for her fly fishing expertise and for her many years of work in the fly fishing/non-profit world.

Starr was a featured angler on ESPN2’s show “Rods and Wheels” in 2008.  

Starr enjoys fly fishing all over the world. Favorite spots include: fishing for native brook trout on small streams in Western NC, fishing “anywhere” in Montana and Wyoming, floating the Kenai River in Alaska, and stalking bonefish on the flats in the Bahamas.

When she’s not fishing, Starr is playing fiddle and mandolin in her band All Strings Re-Considered, playing traditional mountain music in Asheville.

In addition to private instruction and Brookside Guides Fly Fishing Schools, Starr has guided and taught in the following programs

Casting Carolinas: Helping women thrive after cancer by providing a comprehensive program that includes free weekend retreats where women learn to fly fish.. Starr is the Executive Director of this program, a local 501 C3 organization.

Instructor and guide: Rivercourse, a Fly Fishing camp for kids; John C. Campbell School and Being an Outdoor Woman program.

Starr is past President and Board member of Land O’Sky Trout Unlimited in Asheville.

Steve DeBlois

Manager / Guide

Steve is a lifelong fisherman. Fresh water and inshore salt whenever possible. Steve started flyfishing for trout in the South Mountains of NC in the early 1990’s. As the trout lured Steve and he began venturing deeper into the mountains of Western NC finding small streams and learning to Fly Fish. In the early 2000’s Steve took a corporate job traveling North America. of course, he took his fly rod along. Now more than 25 years later Steve has fished for Trout(Brooke, Brown, Rainbow, Cutthroat, Red Band, Bull) Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Bream, Steelhead, Salmon, Carp, Catfish, and a variety of Saltwater Species including Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, Redfish, Spanish Mackerel, Trout, Jacks, and more. in 2024 and 2025 Steve completed the South Carolina Black Bass Slam (Large mouth, Smallmouth, Spotted, and Bartram’s) In his travels, Steve has met many people and been fortunate to fish many of the fabled waters only read about. Sharing the knowledge gained along the way is Steve’s passion.

Steve has tied flies with Hill Top Fly Tyers @ Hendersonville, NC since 2017 and is an active member of Fly Fishers International, Trout Unlimited. Casting Carolina’s River helper, Fly Fishing TEAM USA Sector Judge.

Steve does not consider himself a guide. Rather he is a connecter of experiences. Steve knows what he expects out of a day on the water and has learned that not everyone has the same expectations. Let Steve help you make your experience one that takes you on your adventure.

Tony Brooks

An East Tennessee native, Tony has lived in Hendersonville, NC with his wife Charlotte since 1999. They have a grown son, a daughter/son-in-law, and one granddaughter. He has over 50 years of experience fly fishing and has become very serious as an instructor. He learned to fly fish on the Davidson River in the Pisgah National Forest and Big Santeehlah Creek in Graham County, NC. Fly fishing has taken him from Key West, FL to Portland, OR, and lots in between.

Tony is a Certified Casting Instructor through Fly Fishers International. Tony is a member of Team Stonefly (a competitive fly fishing team), Hilltop Fly Tyers, and a Casting Carolinas River Helper/Tourney Sector Official, Fly Fishing Team USA-Sector Judge, President; French Broad Fly Fishers-FFI Charter Club, Competitor-2016 US National Fly Fishing Championship-Lake Placid, NY. Guiding professionally since 2009 and a Fly Fishing Educator since 2020. He has collaborated with some of the very best in our industry across the country.  Tony is a perpetual student of the sport because of its simultaneous simplicity and complexity. “Fly fishing offers something new on every outing. It’s an activity where one skill is built on another and I enjoy passing that knowledge along to others wanting to improve or just getting started.”

Jake Smith

Jake is originally from Northern California. Some of his earliest memories were chasing stripers with his dad and grandfather in the California Delta. He would spend the majority of his youth fishing conventionally until college where he picked up his first fly rod. He was soon hooked and found himself driving to various rivers in the southeast always looking for the next bite. 

Jake studied communication at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky and competed on the collegiate mountain biking team as well. During his college years, he fell in love with Western North Carolina and decided to call it home upon graduation in 2017. 

Many memories and fish later, he is thrilled to be a fly fishing guide here in Western North Carolina and looks forward to helping anglers improve at all levels.

Will Percy

Will has been fly fishing since he was thirteen and has spent the past twelve years immersed in the sport and its communities. Wills passion for teaching and sharing the water has taken him from local streams to destinations around the world, pursuing species like tarpon, bonefish, snook, trout, and redfish in Belize, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and Hawai‘i.

Will is a graduate of Mac Brown’s Fly Fishing Guide School and holds Colorado Rowing Certification and Basic Life Support certification. Wills training includes guiding techniques, river rescue, boating and rowing, and client care—skills he uses every day to create safe, enjoyable, and educational experiences.

Whether you’re picking up a fly rod for the first time or refining advanced techniques, Wills approach focuses on fundamentals: strong casting mechanics, reading water, and adapting to conditions. He tailors every trip to meet anglers where they are, ensuring you learn, grow, and enjoy every moment.

Beyond guiding, Will is active in the fly fishing community through Fly Fishers International, Trout Unlimited, and Casting Carolinas, and he founded a Project Healing Waters chapter to help veterans experience the therapeutic benefits of fly fishing.