Meet Our TEAM | Tall Tails fly Fishing

Jacob Eanes - Head Guide

Jake “FishFry” Eanes is your prototypical “fish bum.” He has been absolutely obsessed with chasing fish of all sorts ever since he was a kid. Jake’s dad put a fly rod in his hands around his eleventh birthday and that’s been his preferred fish-catching method ever since. Whenever he travels, Jake always has equipment with him to catch whatever the local species may be. “Fishing is my impetus for travel”, he’s been known to say on many occasions, and that has found him chasing arctic grayling in northern Manitoba, marble trout in the Dolomites of Italy, and a myriad of other species much closer to home.

Jake earned the moniker “FishFry” from his 2018 southbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Passionate angler that he is, Jake carried a fly rod with him despite the extra weight it put in his pack over the course of his 2,190+ mile long journey. The “Fish” in “‘FishFry’” was an obvious reference to the three weight fly rod often found in his hand. The “Fry” part though, was a more sadistic reference to the third degree burns (accidentally) self-inflicted on his feet just weeks before leaving out to begin the long hike of the Trail in earnest. One of the greatest adventures of his life, Jake’s journey took him nearly five and a half months to walk from northern Maine back home to the Blue Ridge mountains of north Georgia.

Whether you are looking for guidance, instruction or a friendly companion on the water, Jake would be thrilled to go fishing with you.

Collin fuller - Marketing Dictator

Collin Fuller was president of the University of Alabama’s Fly Fishing club while studying operations management at school. As president, he vastly increased the size of the club while also pushing a philanthropic and conservation based message. Collin has long been a dedicated fly fisherman and has honed his skills in the wilds of Montana, the backwoods of Alabama and the high altitude streams of the Smokies. Also a multi-species angler, Collin and Jake have a friendly competition based on seeing who can catch the most species “on fly”.

Collin is our master of marketing, digital media and promotion. He shoots fantastic photos and creates some amazing content with his artistic vision. When not pursuing fish in his Hog Island skiff, look for Collin on the trails riding any one of his custom mountain bikes.

CHAD HOFFMAN - Media

Our environmental expert Chad is the program director at Coosa Riverkeeper in central Alabama where he guides a team in protecting and monitoring the mighty Coosa river and its tributaries. When he’s not patrolling the riverbanks in central Alabama, you’ll find Chad with a camera in his hand photographing his fluffy pup Tippet. Chad may just be the friendliest fishermen of the bunch so when you see him on the water be sure to say hi and ask him if he’ll help you move apartments, he probably will. He plays a pivotal role in our media sector with some of his finest work being featured in publications like The Drake magazine.

Though Chad doesn’t spend as much time fishing as he’d like to, who amongst us really does? Chad is an ever-common sight along the many waterways that make up the Coosa watershed. Look for him paddling his slick Wenonah canoe amongst the surprisingly beautiful waters of the Alabama fall line

Marshall Cornell - worm man

Marshall, ‘Marsh-man’, ‘Mo’, has grown into the official worm tier of Tall Tails. Even if that were his only role, he would still be considered an integral member of the team as, if there is a fish on earth that refuses to eat a worm, we haven’t found it yet. Marshall ingratiated himself as a true go-to fishing buddy with the Tall Tails fellas as he is always up for an adventure be it by foot high up in the backcountry or via paddle in his well-appointed Upriver raft.

Marshall has become an excellent trout guide in his own right, bringing with him a set of skills well adapted to helping his clients have a great day on the water. His long experience in trout fishing taught him to utilize a variety of methods and techniques that allow him to adjust to most any situation. He is an excellent teacher able to instruct either a newbie in the basics or hone the expert into an even more rarefied fishing implement. With the addition of new tools and weapons, Marshall has ventured head first into fishing for all things beyond trout too as striped and smallmouth bass have both become particular favorites of his to pursue. Look to find Marshall in the woods and waters of North Georgia, Southwest North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee most often, and typically with his faithful Catahoula Leopard dog, Lula, at his side.

Marshall, a late comer to the game, has a long way to go before scaring Collin and Jake in the pursuit of more species on a fly. At least he may still be topping his boon companion Henry below…

Henry Hooks - A suspiciously excellent name for a fisherman

From his birth Henry Hooks was endowed with perhaps the greatest name ever bestowed upon a future fly fisherman. From the alliteration to the obvious mention of terminal tackle, he has had a lot to live up to. His future was predetermined with a name like that, and he has been striving ever since to fulfil the promise his christening foretold. As such, Henry is always hard at work with irons in many fires, seeking ever to live up to his name.

Henry is another terrific photographer for the Tall Tails Media team but he also has flowered into a wonderful writer and a patient guide when he has time from his schooling hoping to become the real-life version of Hermes the Elf from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Yes, Henry unfortunately left his dear friends in Chattanooga and North Georgia behind when he heard his calling was to inflict pain and pretend to be a real doctor. No matter, Henry will someday graduate from Memphis and hopefully return to more trout-oriented elevations possibly with the ability to fix his friend’s teeth chipped from their oral snipping of tippets. He’s making the best of the situation where he lives now as he seeks to build an urban fly fishing scene around The Home of the Blues while also endeavoring to learn the Mecca that is the not-so-distant White river.

You may wonder if Henry has filled the big shoes his naming created and though that remains to be seen, it can’t be said that he isn’t at least giving the effort his all. That being true, he may still be bringing up the rear in the aforementioned species hunting on the fly.