Frank’s Fly Arts

Awesome afternoon/​night trip. Amazing sights and learned so much about fishing the river. Mike is an amazing teacher of the art of fly fishing and what a history lesson of the area. My 14 yr old was so involved and that makes any parents heart warmed. The fish were crazy once hooked so cool to feel them on end rod. Def not the last time.

I have been on several fly fishing trips with Michael (Mike) Frank since 2012. I have done so because Mike is a great instructor, guide, businessman, and person. He demonstrates so much patience with his customers and truly enjoys teaching them how to fly cast. Mike certainly knows his fly fishing and is very knowledgeable about the three Columbia area rivers (Lower Saluda, Broad, and Congaree).
He puts his customers on the hot spots for rainbow trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and striped bass (stripers). In addition, Mike can put you onto some bream, yellow perch, chain pickerel and an occasional crappie or catfish (even though he does not typically target these fish).
Mike does not want his customers to have a good time, but a GREAT time. If river/​weather conditions are not favorable, he will try to reschedule you to a «better» time. Moreover, if river/​weather conditions are good, but the outing is not productive Mike will «make it up to you.» Case in point-​my first time out with Franks Fly Arts was with one of Mike’s former guides. We hardly caught any fish (none of any respectable size). At the pull-​out, Mike said he would have to take me out again at no charge. That showed me that he cares about his customers and is not just trying to make money. I went again about two months later (this time with Mike as the guide). In short, I caught the «Saluda Slam» plus more.
Since that time I have been out with Mike and landed a trophy brown trout. Later, I took my niece and nephew on a trip on which each caught their first striped bass ever. Mike will even frame your pictures for any trophy catches and include the fly in the frame. That is a great way to preserve your memories.
This year (2014), I have been out with Mike three times. For the second trip, we had a «slow day.» We did catch a couple of respectable stripers, but Mike knew that I did not get all of my money’s worth. So, two days later, he gave me a make-​up trip at a reduced fare. We did better on the second trip. For the second trip, my brother-​in-​law came with me, and he landed his first striper ever on a fly rod (and he is from Montana!).
In addition, Mike shares many interesting stories from his experiences on the local waters (in regards to people, history, and fishing). Furthermore, the scenery of the trip is admirable. You will not be bored!

My wife surprised me for my birthday with a gift of fly fishing lessons from Franks Fly Arts and we had a blast!
First off… we caught fish! When I was a kid I hated going with my dad all day long and never catching anything, so in my mind fishing sucked! We went with Mike and had a great time. He met us the day before our outing and spent a great deal of time teaching how a fly rod works and how to cast. Man can that dude throw out some line, it is pretty cool just watching Mike cast line farther than you thought possible. If you are a beginner Mike is very, very, very, patient and his teaching style makes a new task fun and enjoyable. If you already know fly fishing, look out! Once you get Mike going on the technical aspects of fly fishing it you could be miles down the river before you can get a word in. He is very passionate about fly fishing and his knowledge of the sport is impressive.
Once we got on the river Mike doesn’t just let you go on your own. He helps you pick the best spots to cast, provides ongoing casting tips and educates you on why we were doing what we were doing. Mike knew where the fish would be and allot of fishermen know that! We caught fish because Mike creates his own flies and these flies give you the competitive edge!
So here is the deal, when you look at the cost for a trip with Mike it might seem high but like with anything else you want value for your hard earned dollars and with Franks Fly Arts you truly get what you pay for. The trip down the river was just gorgeous, we caught FISH and Mike enhanced our experience at every turn by pointing out points of interest, cool plants and historical markers along the river. We would defiantly love to do it again!
Bryan Buskard

Mike Frank is an excellent fisherman with a vast knowledge of how to catch some really nice fish right here in town. I have been trying to catch fish on the Saluda River for years by fishing off rocks with a spinner reel or fly rod with all kind of lures, flies, and baits, but never had much luck. Mike took me on a long trip down the saluda river by kayak from noon till about 8:30pm and we had a blast. One of the kayaks we used was able to split apart in the rear so that you could slow down, it also had handles and foot support to allow you to stand up and cast. The beginning of the trip was up river where I caught a beautiful rainbow trout, which is my profile picture, and had many other bites. Mike tied on every fly that I used quickly and efficiently so that time was not wasted. He also provided knowledge about the fly I was using, which was very interesting! The whole time we were fishing Mike was taking pictures with his water proof camera, so that you cant lie about the size of the fish, jk. We then floated farther down river watching turtles, blue herrings, otters, and much more wildlife living peacefully all around us. Kayaking and fly fishing go hand in hand because they are both very therapeutic ways to enjoy nature with disturbing it too much. Farther down river Mike hooked me up with some streamer flies that are used more for bass. He took me to this perfect spot where I was catching striped bass one after the other. They were not giants like in some of his pictures, but they fought just the same. We then went down near the Riverbanks Zoo and caught a couple more trout. It was getting late so we decided to put on our headlamps and do some night fly fishing which was very fun and adventurous. I caught a couple more stripers and then we called it a day. When we docked at the river walk behind New Orleans restaurant Mike loaded up the kayaks and then gave me a small tackle box full of the flies we used and more. About a week later Mike sent me a cd with all the photos he took so that I can remember the fun we had. Fly fishing is great, but when you have a guide that ties on all your flies knowing that they will most likely work and who takes you to his special spots, it becomes a very enjoyable experience with no aggravation involved. I highly recommend Mike Franks fly fishing tours because he is a very friendly guy who knows how to catch some fish and his rates are totally worth it!