Calder Allen is an Austin-based singer-songwriter who left the University of Montana as a freshman to chase music full time, has released three albums, and routes his tours around fishing destinations across the country. He's toured with Cody Jinks and Red Clay Strays, sung with Miranda Lambert and Ryan Bingham, and played Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. On this episode he tells Tom about a 13-and-a-half-pound bass he caught on fly at night in Lake Austin, and the question that won't leave him alone: what is wild anymore?
Press play above to watch, or scroll down to listen to the full conversation.
Calder Allen caught a 13-and-a-half-pound bass on fly in Lake Austin at night under a green light. Multiple other Austin anglers, including his brother, have caught 12-pound-plus bass, and Calder believes there's at least a 17-pound fish somewhere in the system.
Three albums, with his latest dropping on March 27, 2026. He's heading into his next record built around the fly fishing world and the outdoors.
Yes. Before pursuing music full time, Calder was close with JT Van Zandt and was on track to guide under him — a decision he describes as one of the hardest he's ever made.
Calder wrestles with whether a stocked rainbow trout, a California steelhead with a clipped adipose fin, or a river reshaped by dams can really be called wild. The tension between stocking practices, hatcheries, and genuine wild fish runs through a song he's writing called Running Steel.
An 18-show acoustic tour through Spain and Italy in 23 days showed Calder how limiting European permits and tourist visas are for fishing access. It gave him a new appreciation for American public lands, where he can wake up, get a license, and fish almost anywhere.
I love finding people who fish as hard as they work, and Calder is one of those guys — except his other job is playing Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. He was headed toward guiding under JT Van Zandt before music took over, and he still routes entire tours around where he can fish. That combination is rare enough that I wanted to hear how he thinks about both.
Tom spotted a six-pound bass in downtown Austin's town lake and thought that was something special. Calder's response says everything about how different the Austin bass scene really is. He explains the rite of passage every Austin angler goes through, the unwritten rule about double-digit bass, and why he thinks there's at least a 17-pound fish still out there. Worth hearing him describe the night he hooked his personal best under a green light.
Before the albums and the festival stages, Calder's whole life was pointed toward becoming a fly fishing guide. He talks about the conversation where he chose music instead, and how fishing never actually left — he just found a way to build it into touring with Cody Jinks and Red Clay Strays. His next record is built entirely around the fly fishing world.
Calder keeps circling a question that shapes how he thinks about every river he fishes and every song he writes: what actually counts as wild? He talks through stocking practices, clipped adipose fins on California steelhead, and whether reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone changes the answer. There's a song on the way built entirely around that tension.
This conversation reminded me why I love doing this podcast. Here's a guy who had every opportunity to become a fly fishing guide under JT Van Zandt, and he chose music instead — but he never actually stopped fishing. He just figured out how to do both at the highest level, and that's worth hearing him explain in his own words.
Calder Allen · JT Van Zandt · Cody Jinks · Red Clay Strays · Miranda Lambert · Ryan Bingham · Jack Ingram · Charlie Sexton · Tom Rowland
Calder Allen is an Austin-based singer-songwriter who comes from a family of artists, musicians and playwrights. He left the University of Montana as a freshman to pursue music full time and has released three albums. He works with producer Charlie Sexton and has toured with Cody Jinks and Red Clay Strays, sung with Miranda Lambert and Ryan Bingham, and played Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.