Clemson football offensive coordinator Garrett Riley already hooked about fishing Upstate

CLEMSON – When Garrett Riley recently posted a photo of himself holding a rainbow trout that he’d reeled in from an Upstate mountain creek, one might have assumed that it represented the latest installment in a lifelong affinity for fishing.

Nope.

“I grew up in Muleshoe, Texas,” Riley explained Tuesday during Clemson football's media day. “There’s no water there, so this whole lake thing and fishing is something I didn’t do a whole lot of growing up. I’m taking advantage now.”

Indeed, Muleshoe is located in the far northwestern corner of the Lone Star State, considerably closer to New Mexico than the famed bass-fishing lakes of east-central Texas.

So it’s not surprising that Riley, who was hired from TCU by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney in January to spice up the Tigers’ offense, has found the waters of the Upstate to his liking.

With Clemson’s campus nestled along the shores of Lake Hartwell and several other fish-laden waters located within a short drive, Riley will have plenty of opportunity to discover his piscatorial prowess.

Riley jump started his fishing exploits during a recent mid-summer break. Consider him hooked.

“It’s unbelievable,” Riley said. “Drive not even an hour from where we live and you’re fly fishing in the river. That’s kind of cool.

“It’s a unique location, as we all know if you live here, because of what’s accessible – the lakes and all that. We took full advantage in our time off up here around Clemson for about 10 days, so it’s been good.”

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Clemson’s new offensive coordinator has yet to hook into a Hartwell bass, but there’s no need to rush things – he’s currently deriving plenty of satisfaction by chasing trout.

“I would say if I had to choose, I’m probably more of a trout fisherman,” Riley said. “I’m kind of into the fly fishing – that’s kind of my kick right now.”

Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football coordinator Garrett Riley hooked on fishing in Upstate