Joe started tying flies in 1973 while in the Army and tied mostly trout and shad flies.  He was stationed in Maryland and became a member of Maryland Fly Anglers where he met Lefty Kreh.  He and Lefty has been friends ever since.  Upon release from the Army Joe returned to Georgia and tied part time for several local fly shops.

In 1987 Joe decided to get into saltwater fly tying and tied part time for several guides and fly shops. Two years later he decided to go full time and he and his wife, Rose, tied for numerous shops all around the United States.  Joe is currently a contract tier for Umpqua Feather Merchants.

Joe is credited with several popular flies of his own design to include: The Epoxy Charlie, The Swimming Crab, Branham's Shrimp, Branham's Crayfish and several other patterns.  His flies can be seen in numerous saltwater fly pattern books. 

Not only does Joe tie flies, he has written articles for the S.E. Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers and several saltwater fly fishing magazines.   He also provided numerous fly tying classes and tied as a demonstration tier for the SE Council of the FFF, the Shallow Water Expo, the ISE in San Mateo, CA and numerous other fly fishing and fly tying shows.