What happens when a South African fly fishing guide logs more than 300 days a year on the planet's most remote flats, from the Seychelles to Siberia to the Texas coast? You get Jako Lucas, the filmmaker and Capt. Jack Productions founder who has turned an obsession with tailing fish and storytelling into something rare. In this conversation Jako breaks down how he went from meeting guide Keith Rosinis on a beach to directing films for The Drake, why he refuses to call himself an expert, and what he learned after landing 373 GTs in his first week in the Seychelles.
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Jako credits the Alflexo fly with taking permit catches in the Seychelles from roughly 15 per season to 60 or 70 per season. He describes it as the primary innovation that changed permit fishing outcomes, because the pattern seems to trigger more strikes and better hooksets on permit that were previously declining other offerings, though he stresses technique and patience still matter most.
Jako was born and raised in South Africa, fishing with his father as a child. He met guide Keith Rosinis on a beach, which sparked his interest in professional guiding, then worked at a fly shop in London before heading to the Seychelles, where his guiding career accelerated rapidly.
GTs are found in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the Seychelles and Maldives, and are available in high numbers on the flats, while jack crevalle are found worldwide including the Texas coast, the Gulf, and the Atlantic. Both fish hard and eat aggressively, but jacks are often dismissed as a lesser species. Jako argues that is fish snobbery, because both are excellent game fish that deserve respect.
Jako is based in Austin, Texas, where he guides the Texas coast for redfish and jack crevalle through Capt. Jack Productions. He continues to make films under the same brand and is a YETI ambassador, with films including Gangsters of the Flat, Glorious Basterds, Relentless Pursuit, and Yakutia.
Jako believes fly fishing tourism is one of the most powerful conservation tools available because it makes fish worth more alive than dead. Having seen fragile ecosystems from Mongolia to the Seychelles, he argues that protection works when local communities benefit economically from keeping fisheries intact, and he advocates for releasing bull redfish in Texas, treating conservation as an economic argument first.
Jako says that no matter where he fishes, he is always a rookie at a new place, and he treats humility as a strategy for learning faster than arrogance ever will. After guiding across six continents he still emphasizes that the rookie never dies, and he credits a fake-it-until-you-make-it mindset, starting before you are ready and learning as you go, for his entire career.
Jako is one of those rare guides who is equally comfortable on a 20-day expedition to Siberia and fishing the Texas coast for jacks. What struck me most was not the film stories or the permit catches, but his refusal to pretend he has anything figured out. After 300-plus days a year guiding around the world, after directing films and landing 373 GTs in a week, he still talks about being a rookie everywhere he goes. That is the honesty this industry needs, and it is why I wanted him on, along with his unfiltered take on conservation.
Jako's story does not start in a fly shop or at a casting clinic. It starts with a chance meeting on a beach with Keith Rosinis, a name you might not know unless you are deep in the global guiding community. Something clicked, and that single moment led to Jako working in a fly shop in London, then to the Seychelles, where everything accelerated in ways he never expected. He says the first week alone told him whether he had what it took. Hear what happened in those seven days in the episode.
Jako spent 20 days in Siberia chasing one impossible shot, with brutal conditions, failing technology, and infinite hours, but he came back with footage that changed how people see taimen, and a philosophy most fly fishing filmmakers never discover: if the opportunity comes, you film it now, not tomorrow. The drone battery failures and near-miss moments taught him something about patience and preparation that shows up in every Capt. Jack Productions project. Listen to what he discovered about his own creative process.
Watch the full episode or listen now to hear the rest.
One of the hardest truths in modern fly fishing is that we have built a hierarchy of fish that does not make sense. GTs are epic, and so are jacks. Permit are precious, and so are redfish. Jako has moved between all of them, from 373 GTs in a week to settling on the Texas coast for jacks and redfish. The differences in fight style and behavior matter, but what matters more is being fully present. Hear what he discovered about each species that changed how he guides.
Jako does not mince words about what he has seen, from plastic on remote Seychelles islands to fragile Mongolian ecosystems that cannot handle pressure to bull redfish that need to be released. His economic argument is ironclad: tourism is worth far more than extraction. He is betting his career on the idea that fly fishing tourism creates a financial incentive to protect these places, and he frames the move to the Texas coast as a different strategy for the same mission. Hear how he balances preservation and access.
The day after this one, what stayed with me was his refusal to pretend he has anything figured out. After more than 300 days a year guiding across the planet and directing films, he still talks about being a rookie everywhere he goes.
That is the honesty this industry needs, not the Instagram highlight reel or the false expertise, just a guy who loves fishing and is relentless about improving his craft. If you fish saltwater anywhere on Earth, or you care about conservation without the preaching, this one is for you. Listen to the whole thing.
Listen to the entire conversation here.
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.
Jako Lucas is a South African fly fishing guide and filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Born and raised in South Africa, he started fishing with his father and became one of the world's most traveled guides, logging 300-plus days a year across the Seychelles, Norway, Mongolia, Russia, Bolivia, Australia, and beyond. His film company, Capt. Jack Productions, has produced acclaimed documentaries including Gangsters of the Flat, Glorious Basterds, Relentless Pursuit, and Yakutia. He is a YETI ambassador, consulted with Thomas and Thomas on rod design, and now guides the Texas coast for redfish and jack crevalle. You can reach him through Capt. Jack Productions on Instagram.
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