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Episode Show Notes
Jamie Howard is the filmmaker behind Chasing Silver, Running the Coast, Location X, Black Salmon, and Bass The Movie — and yesterday he sat down with me to talk about his new podcast Cameras Off, the Tarpon Diaries series he's launching inside it, and where the show is going next as it expands beyond fishing.
If you have ever wondered what it actually takes to film a fishery at its peak — and what to do when that fishery starts disappearing — this is the conversation. Press play below, or keep reading for what's inside.
Listen to Episode 1011
Jamie Howard | Tom Rowland Podcast
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio.
Why You Should Listen
Jamie has spent twenty-plus years making the kind of fishing films you remember the shots from years later. He does not give a lot of interviews. He is in the middle of building out his Cameras Off podcast right now — Season 1 just dropped, the Tarpon Diaries series is starting inside it, and almost no one has heard him talk about where he's taking the show yet.
Here is what's in the conversation:
There is no version of this article that captures what hearing him tell it does. Press play.
Title Sponsor
Star brite is the title sponsor of the show. Speed Detailer came up at the end of yesterday's conversation — Jamie shouted it out on his way out the door because he uses it. Sea Safe is the biodegradable line I lean on hardest. Built for anglers who care about the water they fish in.
Why Running the Coast Took Four Years
One year of editing. Four years of shooting. Striped bass from the Chesapeake to Maine. Jamie almost did not finish the film, and the reason he did is one of the better lessons I've heard for any kind of creative work.
He told me how he kept getting close, then someone would say one sentence to him that meant going back another year. By year three he was running an ad agency by day and editing the film by night. The full story is in the episode.
Get the full story.
Listen on Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.
The Aerial Tarpon Shot — What the HD Remaster Revealed
If you have seen Chasing Silver, you know the shot. The first real aerial footage of a tarpon school swimming down the beach. When it dropped, every conversation about the film went straight to that scene.
I went back years later to look at it. There's something in the frame that everyone missed for years. Jamie corrected me on what it actually is, why it was hidden originally, and why it stopped being hidden later. Worth hearing in his own words.
What Jamie Saw Happen to the Striped Bass Fishery
Jamie filmed Running the Coast right at the end of what he calls the peak. The predictable blitzes. The giants on a schedule. None of that is reliable anymore.
In the episode, he walks through what he thinks happened — pressure, including what he called black-market activity, water quality in the Chesapeake affecting reproduction, and a migration shift that has fish moving farther north than they used to. The parallel to Homosassa tarpon is also part of the conversation. If you fish stripers from Montauk to Maine, listen to this section.
How Jamie Picks the People He Puts On Camera
Casting a film is harder than it looks. Jamie's process is unglamorous: a lot of phone calls, a lot of listening, follow the names that come up more than once.
The Andy Mill story is the one I keep thinking about. Jamie did not want Andy Mill in Chasing Silver originally. He explains exactly how he changed his mind, and what that taught him about trust on camera. If you're building anything — a film, a brand, a team — there's something portable in here.
Stop reading. Start listening.
Jamie's full conversation runs about ninety minutes. The article cannot do what his voice does.
Cameras Off — Jamie's New Podcast and the Tarpon Diaries Series Inside It
Cameras Off is Jamie's new podcast channel. The name comes from the conversations on set that never made it into the films — the stories you tell when the camera stops rolling and you're just talking. Season 1 is out. He's building it as a long-running outdoor stories channel, not a one-and-done.
The Tarpon Diaries is the special series he's running inside Cameras Off. Untold saltwater stories from the tarpon world, dropping on Thursdays. One guest holds a world record he has not really spoken about publicly. There's also animation rolling out — head over to Jamie's Instagram to see what's coming.
What's next on Cameras Off as it grows beyond fishing: National Geographic's best adventure photographers, Red Bull wingsuit flyers, and the kind of outdoor stories you don't expect to find on a fishing filmmaker's podcast feed. If you only know Jamie from Chasing Silver and Running the Coast, this is a wider lens than you've seen from him before.
Follow Cameras Off on Spotify now — get notified the moment new episodes drop, including the Tarpon Diaries series:
The Yellowstone Coincidence
Halfway through the conversation we figured out something neither of us knew. We both worked a summer in Yellowstone National Park within a year or two of each other. Different jobs, same era, same moment where the outdoors stopped being a hobby and became the thing. There's a line Jamie dropped in this part of the conversation about being fearless that I think is the real takeaway of the whole episode. He says it better than I can write it. Worth the listen.
Episode 1011 — Jamie Howard
Ninety minutes. Twenty-plus years of fishing film stories. The Cameras Off podcast you can be early on.
Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · iHeartRadio
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jamie Howard?
Jamie Howard is the filmmaker behind Howard Films. His fishing documentary catalog includes Rising Tide, Chasing Silver, Location X, Bass The Movie, Running the Coast, and Black Salmon. He is also a former advertising creative director who now hosts the Cameras Off outdoor stories podcast, which includes the Tarpon Diaries series.
What is the Chasing Silver film?
Chasing Silver is Jamie Howard's tarpon documentary, first released as a mini-series for television. It is widely remembered for the first aerial footage of a tarpon school swimming down the beach, filmed from an ultralight aircraft.
What is Running the Coast?
Running the Coast is Jamie Howard's striped bass film. It covers the fishery from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine and took four years of shooting and one year of editing. It is one of the most ambitious fishing films ever made.
What is the Cameras Off podcast?
Cameras Off is Jamie Howard's new outdoor stories podcast. It is the channel where his post-film conversations and untold stories live. Season 1 is out. The show is expanding beyond fishing to include National Geographic adventure photographers, Red Bull wingsuit flyers, and other unexpected outdoor stories. Follow Cameras Off on Spotify here.
What is the Tarpon Diaries series?
The Tarpon Diaries is a special series running inside the Cameras Off podcast. It collects untold saltwater stories from the tarpon world and drops on Thursdays. Animation tied to the series is rolling out on Jamie Howard's Instagram.
Why is the striped bass fishery declining?
According to the conversation, multiple factors are affecting striped bass — fishing pressure including what Jamie called black-market activity, pollution in the Chesapeake Bay affecting reproduction cycles, less overall biomass, and a migration shift moving fish farther north toward Maine and Nova Scotia.
Where can I watch this episode?
The Tom Rowland Podcast publishes every episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Episode 1011 with Jamie Howard is available on all four platforms.
How long is this episode?
Approximately ninety minutes. Worth hearing in one sitting if you have the time, especially the striped bass and Yellowstone sections.
Key Takeaways
Final Thoughts From Me
Jamie and I have been crossing paths for more than twenty years. He pulled me into Location X back when I was figuring out the film world, and he's still the kind of person who looks at the water like he's seeing it for the first time. That's part of why his films land.
The reason I want you to listen to this one is simple. The article gives you the topics. The audio gives you Jamie — his timing, his hedge, the way he laughed when I told him I thought there was a foot in the frame of his most famous shot. None of that translates to text. Hear it from him.
Follow Cameras Off on Spotify — Season 1 is out, the Tarpon Diaries series drops on Thursdays, and the channel is widening out to include adventure photographers, Red Bull wingsuit flyers, and outdoor stories beyond fishing. Animation is rolling out on Jamie's Instagram as well. Everything is also at howardfilms.com.
Listen to Episode 1011 Now
Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · iHeartRadio
People Mentioned in This Episode
Andy Mill · Andy Smith · Paul Dixon · Greg Meyerson · Mark Crocka · Arnaud Matei · Amy Vitale · Kyle Long · Monte Burke
About Jamie Howard
Filmmaker and founder of Howard Films. His fishing documentary catalog includes Rising Tide, Chasing Silver, Location X (and its sequel), Bass The Movie, Running the Coast, and Black Salmon. Former advertising creative director with work for British Airways, Adidas, and others across his New York and Los Angeles years. He now hosts the Cameras Off podcast on Spotify and Apple — an outdoor stories channel that includes the Tarpon Diaries series and is widening beyond fishing into adventure photography, wingsuit flying, and other unexpected outdoor lives.
Follow Cameras Off: on Spotify
Website: howardfilms.com
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