Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 768 is my conversation with veteran fishing guide Andy Stockett about the part of guiding nobody romanticizes: the money. Andy has about 15 years on the water and grew up in an outdoor family, and he gets practical about the systems that keep a guide business alive, from tracking expenses and structuring bank accounts so tax time is painless, to pricing trips the way most guides get wrong, to surviving the slow months that wreck unprepared operations.
Listen now: Megaphone · Spotify · YouTube.
Andy Stockett is a fishing guide with approximately 15 years of guiding experience who grew up in an outdoor family, with a father who was a hunting guide and a grandfather who was a fishing guide. He brings both a lifetime around the outdoors and years of running his own guide business to the conversation.
Andy points to inconsistent, seasonal income, the discipline required to set money aside for taxes, tracking business expenses, and pricing trips to actually turn a profit. He says many guides love the work but struggle with the business systems that keep it sustainable.
Andy stresses setting aside a portion of every trip's income for taxes rather than getting surprised at the end of the year. He uses a bank account structure that separates tax money automatically so it is never spent, which is what makes tax season painless.
Yes. Andy recommends a bank account structure that separates business income, expenses, and tax savings rather than running everything through one personal account. That separation is what makes bookkeeping and taxes manageable for a guide.
Andy says most guides underprice their trips by failing to account for all their costs and the value they provide. He walks through a pricing approach that covers expenses, slow periods, and a real profit rather than just gas and bait.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 768 with Andy Stockett is available on Megaphone, Spotify, YouTube, and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I wanted Andy on because the dream of guiding for a living runs into reality fast when you do not handle the money. I have watched talented anglers struggle not because they could not fish, but because they never built the business systems underneath it. Andy grew up in a guiding family and has run his own operation for years, and he is willing to talk plainly about taxes, pricing, and slow seasons. I wanted every guide and aspiring guide to hear it.
Press play in the player above to hear it.
Andy describes the simple tracking system he uses to know exactly where his money is going. It is not fancy, but it is the backbone of his business. Hear how it works in the episode.
Andy explains how he separates income, expenses, and tax savings across accounts so tax time never blindsides him. Listen to that section of the conversation.
Andy is direct that most guides underprice their trips, and he breaks down how to price in a way that actually covers your costs and pays you. Press play in the YouTube player above.
Seasonality kills unprepared guide businesses. Andy talks about planning for the slow stretches so they do not sink you. Worth hearing in full.
Listen to the full conversation: Megaphone · Spotify · YouTube.
What I appreciate about Andy is that he treats guiding like the real business it is. The fishing is the fun part. The systems are what let you keep doing the fun part for a living.
If you guide, or you want to, the money conversation is the one you cannot skip. Andy makes it approachable.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 768 on Megaphone or Spotify.
Andy Stockett · Tom Rowland (host)
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Andy Stockett is a fishing guide with roughly 15 years of guiding experience who grew up in an outdoor family, with a father who guided hunters and a grandfather who guided anglers. Beyond his skill on the water, he is known for thinking seriously about the business side of guiding, including expense tracking, bank account structure, tax planning, trip pricing, and building an operation that survives the inevitable slow months.
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