False albacore triggered Shute’s fly-fishing pursuits

One of the top fly-fishing guides and fly-tiers on the Crystal Coast grew up 379 miles inland in the Union County hamlet of Monroe.

But once saltwater fishing grabbed his interest, Joe Shute didn’t look back and is now nationally known for his fly-tying expertise as well as his ability to pick the right flies, rods, reels and lines to catch dozens of saltwater species in all kinds of waters. He also has written dozens of stories for fly-fishing journals.

“Actually, I’m more well-known up north, in the Massachusetts and New York areas, than I am here,” said Shute, who owns Cape Lookout Fly Shop on the causeway between Morehead City and Atlantic Beach.

After years of attending trade shows, selling flies, and giving seminars in northern venues, Shute gained his reputation with northern anglers more than those from North Carolina.

“Fly fishing around here never has been a booming business,” he said. “I think my shop is more of a destination place.”

It’s easy to see why. His tiny shop is crammed with fly rods, reels, thousands of flies (many hand-tied by Shute), lines, leaders and weights — basically anything a saltwater fly angler could want.

Shute’s saltwater career began 30 years ago when he first worked at Henry’s Tackle and then opened Aaron’s Bait & Tackle. He christened it Capt. Joe Shute’s Bait and Tackle in 1991.

So many customers, especially northern anglers, wanted to buy fly-fishing equipment or hire him, he opened his Cape Lookout Fly Shop next door in 1996.

“I had a bell on the fly shop door, and I’d run over there from the bait-and-tackle shop when the bell rang,” he said.

Shute eventually sold the bait-and-tackle store and now works out of his fly shop with help from his wife and daughter.

“I really owe (his success) to false albacore,” Shute said. “Northern fly fishermen started coming here in October and November 2004 to fly fish. Fifteen to 30 northern guys and six or 12 from North Carolina would come. They’d have a blast. I talked some of them into trying red drum fishing, and they got hooked.

“Now we fish for red drum inside and off the beaches in the fall where we catch bigger fish.”