Charity Rutter

In 2014, Charity Rutter was recognized by Field & Stream magazine as one of the top female fly-fishing guides in the nation. She and her husband, Ian, are the owners and guides at R & R Fly Fishing. Charity has spent countless hours as a volunteer with The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries, Trout Unlimited, Casting for Recovery and Trout in the Classroom.

A native Oklahoman, she moved to Townsend, Tennessee in 1998. She met her husband, Ian, and took up fly fishing a short time after. Captivated by the sport, Charity fished essentially non-stop for the first few years, and then started guiding in 2002. Charity and Ian have two children, Willow and Boone, who share in their fly-fishing adventures. In addition to guiding, Charity hosts backcountry fishing camps, as well as western fishing trips in Idaho and Yellowstone country. She’s also addicted to saltwater flats fishing, especially tarpon.

“I love to guide fly fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to help introduce people to fishing in wild places for wild trout,” she says. “If I can help someone have a positive experience in the wilderness, my hope is that they too, will want to protect and preserve these places that hold such beautiful rivers and trout.”