Fall Color l Fall Fishing

Meet The Fall Reporters

As the cool weather rolls in and the trees begin donning brilliant fall colors, it's time to gear up for weekly North Carolina Fall Color and Fall Fishing reports on VisitNC.com. Meet our Fall Reporters and enjoy their weekly updates.

Fall Color in the Mountains

Howard Neufeld
Howard S. Neufeld is a professor of plant physiology at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He has earned a Ph.D. in Physiological Plant Ecology from the University of Georgia, a Master’s in Forest Ecology from Yale, and a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Rutgers.

Neufeld has spent many years researching the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is considered an expert on the impact of air quality on ecosystems there. He has been cited as a resource in fall color articles published by the Associated Press, among others. He currently lives in Vilas, North Carolina with his wife and two children. Follow Neufeld's blog at www.fallcolorguy.blogspot.com.

Fall Color in the Piedmont

Dick Thomas
Dick Thomas is the Executive Director/Naturalist at the Piedmont Environmental Center. Mr. Thomas has a BA in Biology from Hiram College and a MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University. He has been the Executive Director for the Environmental Center since 1988. The Piedmont Environmental Center is a facility and program of High Point Parks and Recreation. Mr. Thomas is also a Past President for the North Carolina Association of Environmental Education Centers and a Past President of the Furnitureland Rotary Club and is also a certified Level 3 coastal kayak instructor.

Fall Fishing at the Coast

Captain Gary Dubiel
Captain Gary Dubiel owns and operates Spec Fever Guide Service from his home in Oriental, North Carolina. United States Coast Guard (USCG) licensed and insured, Gary runs both a fly rod and light tackle year-round charter service, fishing for a wide variety of both salt and brackish water game fish. He is an International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Fly Rod World Record holder. Gary has written for a number of magazines and he had served as regional editor for Shallow Water Angler magazine for a several years. You can also find him lecturing at a number of sports fishing shows, fly fishing events, fishing clubs and at the Salt Water Sportsman's National Seminar Series. Captain Gary and his original fly patterns have been featured in books and magazines and he has appeared in sports fishing show across the state, the country and the Atlantic.  Captain Gary has also appeared in regional, national and international sports fishing shows, including several popular programs on UNC-TV, ESPN 2, Versus, Sportsman Channel, WFN and Discovery Channel Europe.

added: September 8, 2009

updated: September 15, 2011