EP705

Captain Blair Wiggins, known as the Mogan Man, is a legendary Florida fishing personality and conservation champion who hosted Addictive Fishing for 25+ years and now produces Blair Wiggins Outdoors. But his most important work might be founding the Indian River Clam Restoration Project, which has planted over 96 million clams in the Indian River Lagoon to restore water quality after commercial harvesting removed an estimated 9.2 billion clams from the system. In this episode, Blair reveals how the lagoon went from paradise to black water, why "super clams" filter 24/7 while oysters don't, and the shocking stories from the Wild West days when 10,800 commercial clammers descended on the river making $1,500-2,000 a day cash.

From Chicago ICAST to 25 Years of Addictive Fishing

When Tom mentions this is his 23rd ICAST, Blair reveals he goes back even further — his first ICAST was the very last one in Chicago in 1998 or 1999, where he was pushing the pilot for Addictive Fishing. Fenwick was their first sponsor and got the show off the ground when they were still in West Palm. After 25-26 years on the air, Blair shares his fondest memories including a week-long Brazil adventure, but nothing compares to what just happened. He reveals details about his first-ever trip to Alaska in Ketchikan that he calls "trip of a lifetime," eight full days of fishing that resulted in 200 pounds of seafood coming home and something called the Ketchikan crud that put everyone in bed for two weeks. The Alaska stories and what made it so special start early in the conversation.

Working With His Son and the Evolution of Blair Wiggins Outdoors

After 22-23 years with Addictive Fishing, Blair and his partner Kevin parted ways. But what happened next transformed not just his show but his entire life. Blair's son stepped up after going to school for TV production, and people are now texting Blair saying the shows are really looking good. But the best part isn't the production quality — it's what Blair gets back that he lost during the Addictive Fishing years when he was gone 10 to 10.5 months out of the year doing Red Fish Trail tournaments and Dicks grand openings. Blair reveals what changed and why the time he gets now is "golden." Hear the full story about the transition and working with family in the middle section of the episode.

How 9.2 Billion Clams Disappeared and Turned the Water Black

Blair watched it happen firsthand. He saw literally billions of clams come out of the Indian River in the 2000s, and the more clams that came out, the dirtier the water got. When he started guiding in 1992, there were about seven clam boats. By 2009 when the industry crashed, there were 10,800 clammers working the river. Then the freeze of 2010-2011 killed about 60% of the fish, plus turtles and manatees. As all that dead material decayed, it created nutrients, and with nothing left to filter out the brown algae, the water turned black for about five years. Blair describes what it was like when clammers were swimming across the Intracoastal with wash tubs and inner tubes making $1,500-2,000 a day cash, and the devastating tool one guy used that killed 40-50 horseshoe crabs daily. The shocking Wild West clammer stories and what happened to the lagoon start around the middle of the episode.

Why Super Clams Beat Oysters and Can Live 300-500 Years

Blair breaks down the science that makes clams the superior choice for water restoration in ways most people never consider. When a clam filters and feeds, it poops into the mud or sand — not the water column — and if it's near grass, it becomes fertilizer for the grass. Oysters poop into the water column. Clams filter basically 24/7, while oysters stop filtering when they're done feeding. The "super clams" spawned for the project came from the nastiest water in Mosquito Lagoon, so they can handle high and low oxygen, high and low salinity. Blair reveals what clams do when conditions get bad that oysters can't, what happens to an entire oyster bed in a hurricane overnight, and the incredible protein balls clams create from cyanobacteria that become food for other species. Plus, some clams planted five years ago are already bigger than eating size, and Blair explains how long these ancient animals can actually live. The detailed science on why clams are the answer comes in the second half of the conversation.

The Recovery Signs and What Paradise Looked Like

When Blair describes the Indian River from his childhood, it sounds like a different planet. So much seagrass he didn't even know what a pothole was because there were hardly any bare patches. They caught 14-15 pound sea trout and 40-50 pound redfish offshore. When he pulled up crab traps as a kid, there'd be 8-10 seahorses in them. But now Blair is actually seeing recovery. He was in the Indian River last week setting blue crab traps and saw file fish he hasn't seen since the freeze. Clams from five years ago are showing up half a mile to a mile away from where they were planted, creating new clam beds every time they spawn. On their first show this year, they caught a school of 20 redfish tailing in Mosquito Lagoon — something he hasn't seen there in 25 years. Blair reveals what's still missing, what vibrio bacteria has to do with water quality, and the two horrific stories about people he knows who got flesh-eating bacteria infections. The paradise descriptions and recovery signs are woven throughout the conversation.

Final Thoughts from Tom

Blair Wiggins is exactly the kind of person who makes this podcast worthwhile. He's out there doing the work, not just talking about it. When he describes the Indian River from his childhood — so much seagrass he didn't know what a pothole was, pulling up crab traps with 8-10 seahorses — and then walks you through watching it all disappear, you understand why he's poured everything into bringing it back.

What gets me is Blair's honesty about the whole thing. He talks about the Wild West days when clammers were making thousands of dollars a day in cash, swimming across the Intracoastal with wash tubs. He doesn't villainize them — he just shows you what happened when an entire industry descended on a resource with no real management. And now he's methodically rebuilding it, one clam at a time. Over 96 million so far.

The Alaska stories alone are worth the listen, but it's Blair's dedication to his home water that really stands out. He hasn't reimbursed himself a tank of gas for the clam project. That's the level of commitment we're talking about here. This conversation goes into places I didn't expect and reminds you why fisheries conservation matters. Listen to the whole thing.