Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 908 is my conversation with Clay Cowart, the creator and host of Life by the Bow, the fishing YouTube channel he runs with his wife Stephanie. Clay grew up filming everything as a kid, learned to edit in high school, went to the University of Miami, and started a media company shooting weddings and video jobs before going full-time on YouTube. We get into how he built the channel, why The Bahamas holds his best content, the pressure of delivering on expensive trips, and the craft of fishing videography.
Listen now: Megaphone · YouTube.
Clay Cowart is the creator and host of Life by the Bow, a fishing YouTube channel he runs with his wife Stephanie. He grew up in Florida filming and editing video from a young age, attended the University of Miami after a year at Alabama, and ran a media company shooting weddings and video work before pursuing the YouTube channel full-time. He is known for cinematic fishing content, much of it filmed in The Bahamas and the Florida Keys.
Life by the Bow is the fishing YouTube channel created by Clay Cowart and his wife Stephanie. It blends high-quality videography with saltwater fishing adventures, and is known for its cinematic style and trips to destinations like The Bahamas. Clay produces and edits the content himself, treating the filmmaking as seriously as the fishing.
Clay says The Bahamas holds something new on every single trip, with less fishing pressure, easier fishing, and beauty that makes it a paradise for both anglers and videographers. He notes that the internet loves The Bahamas, so it is where he finds the most excitement for his content, even though it carries the pressure and cost of delivering on every trip.
Clay had a love for filming from childhood, rolling tape on family events long before everything went digital. He got into editing in high school, filmed friends fishing and even football games, and studied at the University of Miami while building a media company. He shot weddings and other video jobs before turning the skills into a full-time YouTube career.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 908 with Clay Cowart 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 Clay on because if you like fishing on YouTube, you already know Life by the Bow, and I have been watching his stuff closely. Just the other morning I watched the one where he took the bay boat to The Bahamas, and I thought it was really well done. Clay loves the videography as much as the fishing, and that combination is exactly what makes his content land. He is also going through a season of big changes with a new baby while still making great work, and I wanted listeners to hear how he does it.
Press play in the player above to hear it in his own words.
Clay walks through the whole arc, from rolling tape as a kid to editing in high school to studying at Miami and running a media company shooting weddings before going full-time on YouTube. He is honest about what it took. Hear how he built Life by the Bow in the episode.
Clay explains why he goes to The Bahamas as much as he can, the surprises on every trip, the lower fishing pressure, and the pressure of delivering on a trip that costs a lot of money. He calls it a fisherman's and videographer's paradise. Listen to that section of the conversation.
Clay loves the filmmaking as much as the fishing, and he gets into how he thinks about shooting and editing to make a fishing trip feel like a story. If you have ever tried to make your own footage look better, press play in the YouTube player above.
Clay and Stephanie just had a brand new baby, and he talks candidly about wanting to pull back a little, getting his sleep, and how the team around him keeps the content consistent through a big life change. Worth hearing in full.
Listen to the full conversation: Megaphone · YouTube.
What I take away from talking to Clay is that the best fishing content comes from people who genuinely love both halves of the job, the fishing and the filming. He has been chasing that since he was a kid yelling at his own family to let him roll tape.
I look forward to having Clay back already, and we are just getting started. Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 908 on Megaphone or Spotify.
Clay Cowart · Stephanie Cowart · Life by the Bow · The Bahamas · Florida Keys · University of Miami · 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.
Clay Cowart is the creator and host of Life by the Bow, a fishing YouTube channel he runs with his wife Stephanie. A Florida native who started filming and editing video as a child, he attended the University of Miami and built a media company shooting weddings and video jobs before going full-time on YouTube. Known for cinematic saltwater fishing content filmed across the Florida Keys and The Bahamas, Clay treats the videography with as much care as the fishing itself.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.