Captain Nick Labadie is a Key West fishing guide who, at the time of this episode, had been guiding for five years and had just guided Tom Rowland to a permit-bonefish-tarpon grand slam on Tom's own birthday. On this episode of the Tom Rowland Podcast, Nick joins Tom to talk about permit fishing in Key West, how the guiding seasons shape when and where he takes clients after permit, and what separates a good guide choice from a bad one on the flats.
Nick Labadie is a Key West fishing guide who, at the time of this episode, had been guiding for about five years and had recently guided Tom Rowland to a grand slam that included a permit.
Tom fished with Nick in Key West on his own birthday, and Nick guided him to a grand slam — permit, bonefish, and tarpon — while the trip was filmed for an episode of Saltwater Experience.
Nick and Tom talk through what it takes to chase permit specifically in Key West, drawing on the same trip where Nick guided Tom to one as part of a grand slam.
Nick's own path into guiding, covered in this episode, speaks to what separates guides who can consistently put clients on permit from those who cannot — time on the water and specific local knowledge of the fishery.
Press play above, or find this episode of the Tom Rowland Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Nick guided me to a permit as part of a grand slam on my own birthday, and that is not an easy thing to do for anyone, let alone a guide only five years into his career. I wanted to get him on the podcast to talk through how he thinks about permit fishing specifically.
Permit have a reputation for being difficult even for good anglers with good guides. Nick talks about what he was seeing that day that let him put me on one, and what he looks for on the water when permit are the target.
Part of this conversation covers how Nick built his own guiding career in Key West from the ground up. That path — and what it says about matching the right guide to the right season for permit — is worth hearing directly from him.
Getting a permit on a grand slam is a day I will remember for a long time, and having Nick walk through how he set that day up made me appreciate it even more. Press play above to hear it all.
Captain Nick Labadie.
Nick Labadie is a Key West fishing guide known for permit, bonefish, and tarpon fishing on the flats.
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