Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 917 is a conversation with Major Thornton, the tournament redfish angler and fishing content creator known on social media as majorgator95. Major built a large following by sharing his fishing and his honest perspective, and in this episode we continue the discussion about the sport, the realities of building an audience online, and what it takes to stay grounded while doing what you love on a public platform.
Listen now: Spotify · the Tom Rowland Podcast feed.
Major Thornton, known online as majorgator95, is a tournament redfish angler and fishing content creator. He grew up bass fishing around Lake Okeechobee near Belle Glade, Florida, before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, and has competed in professional redfish tournaments while building a large social media following.
Major and Tom talk about fishing, what keeps anglers engaged with the sport, and the realities of building and managing an audience on social media, including the upsides and the pressures that come with sharing your life online.
Yes. Major describes himself as an introvert who is quiet in day-to-day life but expresses himself creatively through content. He has said that creating fishing content became his way of coming out of his shell and connecting with people.
Major grew up fishing the canals and dirt-road backwaters around Lake Okeechobee near Belle Glade, Florida, targeting bass in waters that saw little fishing pressure, before later expanding into saltwater and tournament redfish.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 917 with Major Thornton is available on Spotify and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed.
I wanted to keep the conversation going with Major because he represents something I care about, an angler who turned a genuine love of fishing into a platform without losing himself in the process. He is thoughtful about the trade-offs of being online, and that honesty is rare. I wanted listeners to hear how he keeps his perspective grounded while building an audience around the thing he loves most.
Press play in the player to hear it.
Major is candid about the pressures of a public platform and how he protects what matters to him. He explains how he keeps his head straight while growing online. Hear it in the episode.
Major and I get into what first pulls people into fishing and what keeps them coming back for decades. He shares what keeps it fresh for him. Listen to that section of the conversation.
Major describes himself as an introvert, yet his content is full of energy. He explains how creating gives him a way to express a side of himself that everyday life does not. Press play in the player above.
Major grew up on the canals and dirt roads around the lake, learning to find fish where few people bothered to look. He explains how that shaped him as an angler. Worth hearing in full.
Listen to the full conversation: Spotify · the Tom Rowland Podcast feed.
What I keep coming back to with Major is how grounded he stays. The platform is big, but the person is the same quiet, thoughtful angler who grew up chasing bass in the backwaters.
That balance is hard to keep, and he makes it look natural. Press play in the player above, or find Episode 917 on Spotify and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed.
Major Thornton · majorgator95 · Lake Okeechobee · Belle Glade, Florida · Charlotte, North Carolina · redfish tournaments · 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.
Major Thornton, known on social media as majorgator95, is a tournament redfish angler and fishing content creator. He grew up bass fishing the canals and backwaters around Lake Okeechobee near Belle Glade, Florida, before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. A self-described introvert who found his voice through creating content, he has competed in professional redfish tournaments and built a large following sharing his fishing.
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