Jill Christofferson and Sean Trindell are the FWC team who run Catch a Florida Memory, the saltwater angler recognition program, in Florida. Tom Rowland Podcast episode 1034 is a conversation with both of them about how the program works: a 75-species life list no angler has finished in 10 years, the Reel Big Fish and Grand Slam programs, and the prizes anglers can earn along the way, starting with a T-shirt for your first 10 fish.
You can watch the full conversation in the player above, or press play in the player at the top of this page to listen.
Catch a Florida Memory is a saltwater angler recognition program run by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). It started in 2016, and 2026 is its 10th year. The program has three main parts: a 75-species life list, the Reel Big Fish program, and nine Grand Slam categories. Each one earns anglers a T-shirt and a certificate, and more than 4,500 anglers have submitted about 40,000 catches so far.
The life list has 75 saltwater species, from thresher shark to Atlantic croaker. Your first 10 species earn a T-shirt and a certificate. The list is designed to get anglers fishing in different places with different gear, and some of it comes down to luck. In the 10 years the program has run, nobody has completed all 75. The full list is at catchafloridamemory.com under the life list tab.
A Grand Slam is three qualifying fish from one category caught within 24 hours, and the program has nine categories. The new Southern Inshore Slam, added in 2026 after requests from South Florida anglers, is a snook, a redfish and a trout. The original inshore slam is flounder, redfish and trout. The family slam counts any three species from the same fish family, and anglers have submitted shark, wrasse, filefish and sardine-and-herring family slams.
Reel Big Fish covers 30 species with youth and adult categories. To qualify, the fish has to meet a minimum length, and you need a photo of it on a measuring device. Red drum, for example, has to be at least 30 inches. Catch-and-release fish count, so you can measure the fish, take the photo and let it go. Measurements are only required for Reel Big Fish, not for the life list or Grand Slams.
Yes. Photos from decades ago are accepted as long as the species can be identified, you are in the photo with the fish, and it was caught in Florida waters. The catch has to be a legal method of take for that species, which can include a cast net, and harvested fish have to be legal to keep. Fish of any size count toward the life list and Grand Slams.
Yes. A charter captain can submit for a customer with that person's name, address and email. Some captains submit for their clients, and others tell clients what they caught and point them to the website. In some parts of Florida, charter captains are the main way anglers hear about the program. Captains can also sign on as program partners to help promote it.
When my kids were young, we kept a checklist of fish on the refrigerator. They did not want to catch more of the same fish, or even a bigger one. They wanted the next new one on the list. Catch a Florida Memory is built the same way, and I think that is why I liked it so much when Jill and Sean showed it to me. We fished inshore and offshore in the Keys together before we sat down to record. Press play at the top of the page to hear how the program works.
In my experience, the easiest fish of a slam is the one that turns into the hardest. We had big trout early, some of the best trout fishing I have seen in the Keys, and the redfish came without much trouble. The snook did not. Floating grass fouled almost every cast, the water was dirty, and Sean has what he calls his snook curse. We kept saying fifteen more minutes. Sean tells the end of that afternoon better than I can write it.
Seventy-five species sounds possible until you look at the list. Some of those fish are common, and some almost have to be accidental catches. I think putting a challenge like that out there makes anglers better, because they start learning about fish they would never have targeted. Jill and Sean explain what the list is meant to do and why it rewards both skill and luck. If you want a goal for the rest of the year, their answer is worth hearing.
Every quarter this year, Jill and Sean write a riddle describing a secret fish, and anglers who submit that fish during the quarter get a bonus prize. They read two of the riddles on the show. I took a guess at both, and I did fine on one. The other one had me stumped, and I fish for a living. Listen to the riddle yourself and see if you can get it before I do.
If you only listen to one part, make it the snook hunt and the Secret Fish riddle. Press play in the player above, or scroll back up to watch.
The program has a database of measured, photographed catches going back to 2016, and I could not stop thinking about what you could learn from it. If 30-inch redfish submissions dropped by half, would that mean something? Jill and Sean gave me an honest answer about what that data can and cannot be used for, and why it is not used to manage fisheries. They also explained who checks every one of those 40,000 catches, and it is not a computer.
This year the program launched its first Veterans Challenge. Active-duty service members and veterans note their branch when they submit, every participant gets a challenge coin and a hat, and the branches compete for points. I made a confident guess about which branch was in the lead, and I was wrong. Jill and Sean also told me about one angler from a very small branch who is putting up big numbers on his own. You have to hear who it is.
The day after the snook hunt, Jill joined us offshore with Captain Scott Walker, who is a great fishing captain and an even better cook. We ran into rainbow runners, and Scott said they were the biggest he had seen in a 45-year career. We also caught yellowtail, sharks and a big blackfin tuna, and I came home with a new nickname. Jill caught a fish she had been chasing for years. Her reaction is in the episode.
Yesterday's conversation with Jill and Sean reminded me how a simple list can change a day on the water. Two kinds of snapper in the box, and suddenly everyone on the boat wants the third one.
If you run charters, I think this program is a way to send clients home with something they will remember. If you are a parent, it is biology class on the boat.
Press play in the player at the top of this page to hear the whole conversation, then go to catchafloridamemory.com and start your list.
Jill Christofferson, Sean Trindell, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Catch a Florida Memory, Captain Scott Walker, Captain Brandon McGraw, Jonathan Moss, The Captain's Log, the Marathon Lady, Mustad, BonaFide, YakAttack, Mount This Fish, TFO, Florida Fishing Products, Bass Assassin, Mustang Survival, Daiichi, the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida, the Florida Keys, Bay County, Gulf County, Port St. Joe, the Florida Panhandle, the Everglades, catchafloridamemory.com and anglerrecognition@myfwc.com.
Jill Christofferson has worked on Catch a Florida Memory at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission since the program launched in 2016, when anglers emailed her copies of their applications before the program had a website. Sean Trindell works alongside her on the program and helps write its quarterly Secret Fish riddles. Together they review every catch anglers submit, run the program's angler survey and prize partnerships, and promote ethical angling practices such as wet-hand handling, circle hooks and keeping monofilament off the water.
Transcript
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 1034: Jill Christofferson & Sean Trindell
In this episode: Jill Christofferson and Sean Trindell of FWC explain how Catch a Florida Memory works, from the 75-species life list nobody has finished to the Reel Big Fish and Grand Slam programs, the all-day hunt for a snook to finish the new Southern Inshore Slam, why old photos still count, what 10 years of angler submissions can and cannot tell scientists, the quarterly Secret Fish riddles, the first Veterans Challenge, and the rainbow runners, blackfin tuna and cobia from an offshore day in the Keys.
The state of Florida has a list of 75 fish that you can submit to become a master angler in the program called Catch a Florida Memory. I have Jill and Sean here to talk about how this program works and the fact that you don't have to finish the entire list to get something special. For example, if you catch 10 fish, you can earn a T-shirt. Even an old photo counts in, in getting these fish submitted to the program. It's a really cool program. Jill and Sean are here to talk about it. It's called Catch a Florida Memory, and we're getting started. Hit subscribe and let's go. I'm Sean Trindell. I'm Jill Christofferson, and this is the Tom Rowland Podcast.
Okay, Jill and Sean, what's going on? How are you? Doing well, Tom. Yeah, doing well. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I had a great time fishing with you, um, recently. We got to fish inshore and then we got to fish offshore as well, and, uh, it was really fantastic. Um, we had, we had a couple great days. Did you guys make it back okay? Yep. Yeah. No issues. It was, it was really hard to leave. I was very- Yeah, I bet it was. Yeah. I was very impressed that you could go offshore fishing with us on not the smoothest of days, and then, uh, hit the head boat after. Well, we were down there, so you know we had to take the chance and, and go out on the Marathon Lady. Yeah. Yeah, wind in the Keys, man. That's right. And, and tell me about the Marathon Lady.
What, what did you, what did you catch there? Um, so we caught some different snapper species, and, uh, we also caught some grunts, and it was really cool 'cause we did the night trip. So it wasn't even just what we caught, it was what we saw. Like, the, the, um, the night trip, there was so many, um, like, bioluminescent creatures- Nice ... and so many juvenile creatures, and some, like, sharks swimming off, so it was just a really cool experience. The ocean at night is, uh, is, is wild. Um- Yeah. It's incredible. It, it really is. All that bioluminescence, that's, that's really cool.
Well, the reason that we went fishing was, um, because you all were showing us about your program- Yes ... Catch a Florida Memory. So can you tell us about the program? Sure. So it is a, um, angler recognition program. It's a saltwater ec- angler recognition program, and it has, um, three different main programs. We've got our life list, which has 75 species on it, um, and people can earn prizes by catching those fish and then, um, sending them to us. The first 10 gets you a T-shirt and a certificate. Um, then we've got our Reel Big Fish program. There's 30 species on that. Um, we have youth and adult categories, and, um, if you catch fish over those qualifying lengths, um, you get a T-shirt and a certificate. And then we've got our, um, Grand Slam program, and we've got nine different Grand Slams. You catch three fish in a category in 24 hours, and you get a T-shirt and a certificate for that.
Right on. I love the slams. I think that that's really fun and, and what we saw, Sean, when you fished with us, um- Yeah ... we had, w- we had, we were going for a slam. The, the inshore- Yeah ... slam. That's what we were going for. Yeah. And- That's our, our Southern Inshore Slam, which, uh, was, is new this year. It, it is, it's also a flounder, redfish, and trout, but this year we created, uh, you know, from, we had a big outcry of people in South Florida that want a snook, redfish, and trout to be a slam, so we made that this year, and that's what we were attempting- Right ... to accomplish. And so we, we went after that one because the conditions were, were good and, and those fish are all very available this time of the year, and, but what always happens when you have a fishing tournament or you're trying to film a TV show or you're trying to do something like target something, one of those fish will become the most difficult one.
Right. And it's usually the one that is the easiest to catch. And that's my experience. It's just- I mean, if you're, if you're, we used to have a tournament where we would, uh, catch a, a, a flats grand slam, which is a permit- Right ... tarpon, and bonefish, and any day that's a particularly difficult one because any day one of those fish can be very difficult. On another day they can be very available. Yes. And what, what we found was that the trout was somewhat easy, uh, some of the best trout fishing we've ever seen in the Keys. We, we all got big ones. And then, um- The redfish wasn't that difficult. No. But we encountered a real challenge trying to catch a snook, and the conditions- changed a little bit.
Um, what, what do you remember about, about catching the snook? Well, see that, well, the snook plays into what I, uh, before, before I finally caught one, I described as the Sean Trindell snook curse. Where I, you know, I've had a couple on and lost 'em. I've gone specifically two places to catch them and not had any luck. Um, so, you know, w- we were trying to find one at the end of the day. We were being flummoxed a little by all that floating grass that was in the area. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and then you, you ended up getting one right in the, where, or in the what? Snake Bite Cut, I believe. Yep, that's exactly where that were. And all that bait was flooding off of the, uh, off of the flats into that little channel, and you got one right where they were supposed to be, right in the channel there.
And so then w- we're focusing on that area, and I was like, "Oh," you know, hoping it was gonna happen. And then it did, and, you know, I had a nice one on for a second, and he came up head thrashing, and I guess I had my drag a little bit too loose, and he was pulling a fair amount of drag. And he came up, you know, one or more, two more times, and on one of those times he ended up spitting the hook, and I felt that one hard. Well, you know- I've never been- ... it's getting, it's getting later and later and later. Yep. And we have been trying to catch this fish for hours now, and, you know, it's, it's, it's getting close to time to go, and we- Mm-hmm ... pushed through and gave it- Yep ... I mean, I think we even said, "Let's give it another 15 minutes here." Oh, yeah.
Because, I mean, the fishing conditions were very tough. For people that are listening, there was tremendous amount of floating grass, so you would... The fish were there, we knew they were there. Mm-hmm. But it was dirty water, you couldn't see them, so every time we cast- You could make maybe one turn on the reel handle and you were, you were f- full of grass. Yeah. We tried all different kinds of baits for, um, weedless, different, different rigs, different approaches. Mm-hmm. It was, it was very, very, very challenging fishing. Um, but you did it. You got one, and- Yeah ... we, we stayed out there, and you got, not only that was your first snook, but then it also was a slam.
Yeah. And so what, what I really like about your program and just the idea of slams in general is that it takes a tremendous amount of strategy to, to do these sometimes. Mm-hmm. Sometimes they just happen. Sometimes you're just out there and you just, you catch a snook and a redfish in one place and, and then maybe you make a cast, you know, i- to a different area, and you catch a trout, and you're just- Yeah ... it just happens. Mm-hmm. But other days, particularly the days that you actually try to do this, it becomes- Yeah ... more d- more difficult for some reason. For sure. Um, but your program is, is really cool because, um, you have all these different things that you can target, all the different slams, all the different fish. Mm-hmm.
And it can really take a day that can be kind of a, a mediocre day or something that isn't really, you know, something that you would put in your, in your lifetime best day of fishing. Mm-hmm. And then you start to target it and say, "Oh, well, if we caught..." You know, maybe you've caught two different types of snappers, for example, "And if we caught one additional type of snapper, we would qualify for one of these slams." And so- Right ... you can change the strategy, change the day, and change the whole mood on the boat. And we saw that- Yeah ... both inshore and offshore, Jill, when you joined us the d- the following day to go offshore. You know, there were some fish that, um, w- that we caught that were something that maybe on a, on a normal day somebody doesn't get all that excited about.
But because- Mm-hmm ... it counts and because it, it is a, uh, a, a fish that, that is in your program, it became way more exciting, and I love that for kids particularly. Because, like, when my kids were young, we used to keep something on the, on the, uh, refrigerator, and it was a checklist of all these different fish that they would catch. Cool. And they didn't wanna just go out and catch more of the one that they catch a lot- Mm-hmm ... even or a bigger one or something like that. We were always going for these different fish, and- Mm-hmm ... that's how your program is structured, and I think it's super cool.
Um- Yeah ... what's, what's the participation in the program so far? I mean, and, and this isn't a new program, by the way. We're on the 10th year anniversary of your program. Is that correct? Yeah, yeah. So this started- This is the- ... in 2016 and we're now in 2026. 2016. So this is the 10th year. And, um, how many people are, are, um, participating this year? So, um, total throughout the program we've had, uh, we've got a little bit over 4,500 people that have submitted about 40,000 catches. Wow. Um, yeah. Wow. And we look at all of those. Yep. Every one that comes in. That's, that's really cool.
Um, have you had any, um, particularly good ones this year, or strange ones, or anything unique? We get cool stuff all the time. Um, you know, we, I can't remember if it was this year or last year, but we had, um, an 80 pou- pound cubera- Wow ... come in off of Bay County. Um, uh, a, a like 90-pound wahoo that was caught while slow-pitch jigging. And some of the ones that stand out for me are just the unusual catches, like we, we, this year we had a tripletail that was caught while surf fishing on the beach, uh, in Gulf County. Really? That was, that was- Now, where's Gulf County? Is that in northern Florida? It is. It's along the Panhandle. It's, uh, Port St. Joe area. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And somebody caught a, a tripletail up there- Yeah ... surf fishing.
Just surf fishing. Yeah, right off the beach, and it was a nice one too. Really? That's cool. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, I mean, I typically see those in a little deeper water. We do see them- Right ... I guess you could maybe catch one off the beach in, um, in the Everglades. They do get pretty close up there, so I'm- Yeah ... I, I guess there's probably places where, where they do come close, closer to the shore maybe. Maybe that's not- Yeah, you know- ... that uncommon, but it's a pretty cool catch. Yep. Mm-hmm. In the Panhandle it's usually in the bay areas, so to be off on the Gulf side and then just from the beach was, yeah, was pretty unusual. Wow. Yeah.
And- We've had some fun Grand Slams too. Like, um- Mm-hmm ... we had someone submit a, um, clupeid Grand Slam, so it was a scaled sardine. Um, what was it, the scaled sardine, a Spanish- Spanish sardine ... and a- Atlantic thread herring ... and an Atlantic thread herring. Wow. And you don't see that very often. That was the first one we'd ever gotten, so that was kind of a, a fun submission as well. It sounds like some of those could've been caught in a cast net. Which- Are- ... you know, we've, we've had people submit cast net catches before. It just has to be a legal method of take for the species. Okay. Okay. And so, um, you can take any three of a, of a specie and that will make a slam. Is that, is that right? Any, any three in a family.
Mm-hmm. So we've had, uh, shark Grand Slams. Um, we've had m- uh, I think mackerel Grand Slams. We've had a couple wrasse Grand Slams, um, which have been kind of fun and interesting. I think we've even got a filefish Grand Slam. Yeah. A filefish. We have filefish Grand Slam, wrasse Grand Slam. So yeah, this, within the nine categories that we have in our Grand Slam, uh, program, we've got the family Grand Slam. So as long as they're in the same fish family, you can submit those three catches and, and you would get a family slam. Wow. That's cool.
And then the other thing that I really, uh, thought was interesting when we were talking on the boat was that you have this saltwater master, uh, or saltwater life list, and- Mm-hmm ... that has 75 different species of fish, and you have not had anyone in the 10 years do this. So there's a challenge for you. If you're listening to this- Yep ... and you want a challenge for the remaining part of the summer, there's 75 species on this list that you can go check. Where can they go check the 75 species? CatchAFloridaMemory.com, and you'd click on the life list. And, um, it, it is, it, it, they do run the gamut. We've got everything from a thresher shark to an Atlantic croaker and everything in between, 'cause it is a true life list. Um, it's designed to get you to do- Yep ... you know, fish in different places, use different types of gears, and some of it's skill and some of it really is luck.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. I mean, for some of the fish, I mean, they're, they're, they're not common catches. Um- Yeah ... and, and you almost have to catch, or, or some people will almost have to have an accidental catch. But then- Yep ... when you have... One of the things I like about fishing tournaments and, and programs like this is that when you put a challenge out there for somebody to catch a filefish grand slam or something like that, that they would never go for, they will start to go for it, and they will start to- It's easy ... figure it out, and they will learn more about those fish, and they'll become better anglers because of it. And more than anything, it'll get them out on the water more, and that's- Yeah ... that's really the idea for the program, right? Yes. No, absolutely. To add another dimension, get people out and then kind of get them to think about fishing a little bit differently.
Yeah. And so how long have you all both been working for the program? Um, so I've been with the program since it started. Really? Um, yes, yes. Um, uh, it was actually, this is silly, but to, but, um, it's, it's fun to me that, um, this program and my son were both born the same year, so they're both 10 years old this year. Okay. Well, congratulations for both of those. Thank you. Um, do you remember the, the, um, were you hired to run the program? Or d- was this kind of like- Um, no ... we're putting you over here? So it, it was kind of, so I was hir- I was hired and then maybe it was something I'd been like, "Hey, this would be cool if we did this something," because, um, I'd seen it in other places, and they were like, "Actually, it's something we're working on." Um, and so when I came back from maternity leave, they were like, "Okay, so we're launching this.
This is, uh, you and my, um, my coworker at the time were in charge of it." Um, and she's since gone on to amazing, do amazing things. Um, but I'm still here Right on And, and really, really enjoying seeing, um, the progression of the program and, and some of our longtime anglers as they've grown.
Well, let's talk about the progression of the program a little bit. How has it changed since you've started? Have you added more species? Have you added more opportunities? More prizes? Like, what, what's happened? All of the above. Um, when the fergo- when the program was first started, um, we didn't really have a website. People would just email me copies of applications. Um, we had 71 species on the life list. Um, in that time we've taken off two and added five, six. Mm-hmm. Um, s- um, kind of trying to switch some things. We've, um, we've, this year like, um, Sean said, we added the Southern Grand Slam. We've rejigged some of the other Grand Slams. Um, we've changed some of the lengths on some of the, uh, Reel Big Fish. We've taken away a couple, we've added a couple, just based on, um, angler preference.
We do a angler survey every year, so we try to see what the anglers like, what they don't like, and kind of try to adjust some of the things, um, based on them, because it is a program for the anglers, and we, we want them to have fun.
And it is a program for the anglers, but is, is the, um, the information that you're gathering with, with all of these submissions and where they're coming from and when they're being caught, is that being used for, um, scientific data as well? Not yet. Okay. Um, we, we do use it, we do use it to look at, um, right now it's, it's a little bit high, higher level, like how are people hearing about the program based on location, and, you know, how are we reaching people, like, in the Keys or in North Florida. Um, and we do have plans to do some of that, but, um, you're kinda looking at the team. Mm-hmm. So time is, uh, time is a limited quantity at the moment. Yeah. It does really help to hear from the anglers, 'cause we have a comment section.
When someone submits a fish, they have a chance to comment. And so for conservation related issues, we'll be able to, you know, get those to the right, the right places. So it is, it is a good way if you're, you know, if you're concerned about something or anything and you wanna just throw it in the comments, and we'll, we'll make, you know, make our best effort to make sure that that comment gets seen by the right people. Yeah. And we do read all of the comments. Mm-hmm. Yep.
Well, y- it's cool. I mean, it seems like you have a tremendous amount of desk work to look at all of these applications and submissions, but then you're also able to get out on the water, which I think that's gotta be the dream job, that you can, you can get out there and experience this and see it, you know, with your own eyes, like, what, how the program's working and, you know. Yeah. I, I thought that we all had a really good time, uh- Oh, yeah ... when we were fishing. I mean, I could see it in both of you. Like, we, we both- Me too ... w- you were both able to catch fish that you had never caught before, which was really cool, and you get excited about it, and that's- Yeah ... that's really what the program's about, you know, is, is getting people out there on the water and then, you know, promoting ethical angling.
I see that's a big, big part of your mission. Mm-hmm. What does that mean to you to promote ethical angling? You wanna, you wanna go first? Yeah. I was gonna say, I mean, here's the thing, is Sean and I both really love fish. Um, and we want fish to be available for the next generation. We want people to handle their fish properly so that if you're releasing a fish, it has a better chance of survival. So that is everything from, you know, helping people identify their fish so they know what they're catching, they know what they can keep, to handling them properly, using wet hands, using circle hooks, using those best fishing practices so when they release the fish it has a better chance of survival. Um, and just, you know, being aware of things on the water like stashing your trash, you know, putting your monofilament away and- Mm-hmm ... and all of those things, because, you know, fishing is a passion of both of ours, and we want that to be something that people can do for generations. So just, you know, using this program to educate people on those things.
Yep. Have you ever had a, a submission come in that really surprised you? Outside of like a, like a, a triple kinda slam thing where, you know, getting those fish in the same day is difficult, or getting them in your lifetime might be difficult. But, um, has there ever been something that's come through that you just couldn't believe? There's, I mean, there's definitely, like, I can't think of a specific instance, but I know that we'll get one, um, you know, different fish and we'll be like, "Wait, they got this way." Mm-hmm. You know? That's, that's a big one where, um, we'll, we'll see some, some interesting things in interesting places that maybe we didn't, um, think, you know, think they would be in that area, but- Yeah ... you know, fish don't read maps.
Stuff like that, the cool catches where someone's, someone's using like really, really light tackle and gets something really big Yeah. And then for the knowledge and conservation part of it, um, y- conservation is obviously a, a big part of, like, what we do on this show, you know, to promote- Yes ... conservation and to keep people aware of the things that are going on. Uh, but that's a part of your program, too, and, and I have some data here that you, that I think you sent over, or maybe I did this on my own. But it says that, um, some of your survey data shows that 96% of survey respondents say they learn more about Florida saltwater species, 97% said, um, an important motivation for participating in Catch a Florida Memory increased their engagement with conservation and sport, and the sport of fishing. 77% targeted a wider variety of species after joining, and 39% explored other FWC programs because of it.
So that's, that's pretty, that's pretty good. I mean, that seems like, that seems like you're, you're definitely on mission with what you're, what you're doing. When you hear those numbers, does that sound right to you, like that, that with the work that you're doing and the information that you're putting out, that that should be the result? Or should it be higher or more, or where are we at? I just, I think, I think it's right on target. Mm-hmm. I mean, not, you know, having, having a percentage that high of people saying that they've learned more, and, and we do, we see that where, you know, we'll, someone'll start, and, you know, we'll end up having to correct a lot of their fish, which we do. You know, if you send us the wrong fish, we'll change it to the right fish, and we'll tell you why.
Mm-hmm. Um, and we'll see people get better at their fish ID. Um, you know, we'll see them change how they're handling the fish. Um, and, and, you know, with the engagement, I think one of the, the biggest, you know, poster childs is, uh, our current lionfish coordinator I met through Catch a Florida Memory, and now he works for us. Um, you know, so a- and, and, but we've got lots of people that, you know, participate in other programs. But I, I think that those numbers are, are pretty reflective of, uh, you know, hopefully the impact that we're having.
So what kind of information, uh, well, first of all, how did... You, you were, you say that you ask the anglers how they hear about the program. What, what has been the way over the 10 years that it's been going on that most people are hearing about this program? Uh, so that actually varies by location, which is really cool. Um, in some areas, and I, I don't have the information right in front of me, but in some areas, they hear about it a lot from charter captains. Mm-hmm. Some areas they hear about it from the regulations. Yeah. Um, some areas where we've got some very active participants that the, you know, significant is word of mouth, you know, and they've got friends that just have, have talked up the program. Um, and it's really interesting to see that change by region, and that also, um, is, you know, gives us in- information on how we can reach people in, in, on other topics- Mm-hmm ... you know, and have that be most successful.
I mean, this is a great program for a charter captain because you can take a day that is mediocre and you can make it something that people will remember for the rest of their life. Like, they did this, this thing. Yes. Like, whatever. Mm-hmm. If it's a slam, you've caught two species and maybe, you know, you know, if we, if you wanted to, we could go over here, we could try to do this, and if you, if we were able to catch that fish, it would qualify you for this, this special thing. Especially for a, for a kid. Like- Yeah ... something like that, and then you get something, a prize or a certificate. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That, that makes all the difference in the world for- It does ... for someone to get involved in, in fishing. That's gotta be pretty cool to see that.
Yeah. From, from your standpoint. I just saw that in my own household. My daughter just got a certificate, and she was just carrying it around, reading her name off of it. She, yeah, she had a blast with that. Yeah. And with the charter captains, it, it, you know, it was part of the program, uh, since it was designed, uh, because we, we allow people to submit, if you just have a little bit of information about the person, their name, address, um, and email information, then you can sub- the charter captain himself can submit for his customers- Okay ... with that little bit of information. Yeah. And the- And, and we do have some that do that. We have some that will do it the other way and just say, "Here's what you caught. Here's the website." Mm-hmm.
"Go ahead and, and do it yourself." And it's whatever is, is easiest for them. Is there a division for charter captains? Like, most submissions or any of that? Not yet. Not yet. That would be a good idea. I, I- Yeah ... I like that idea because, um, it, it, I mean, those are your, those are your best kind of ambassadors of the program, I think. Yeah, absolutely. They're the ones that are out there every day. They're the ones that are either encouraging participation or, or not encouraging participation. And, and it can also be something they can put on their, their website or something, you know? Mm-hmm. 2026- Yeah ... most submissions in the Catch a Florida Memory program. That's what, that would be my- That's a good point ... my, uh- Yeah ... my, my advice. I think that would be really good.
Tell me about the prizes that you can win. Like how many, what, what brands are associated with this and how, and also, like how does a brand become involved? So we have a, a fair amount of partners, and it is, it is always changing. Um, we have Mustad on board. Um, we have, uh, what is it? BonaFide that has donated the kayak- Mm-hmm ... for our, um, Triple Threat Throwdown. We've also got Power-Pole and YakAttack on that. We've got Mount This Fish company that does some of our, um, monthly raffle prizes. We've got, um, Promar Ahi that gives away nets. We've got, um, is it TFO? Yep. Um- Florida Fishing Products. Florida Fishing Products. Uh, Bass Assassin. Mm. Uh, Mustang Survival. Yeah, we've, we've got a, a bunch of great- All right. Yeah.
We've g- we've got really- Mm-hmm ... the, the gamut. I know we've got Dia- Daiichi hooks as well. Um, and it, like I said, we do monthly raffle prizes, so we give away different, um, fishing and fishies re- release related things. We have our Triple Threat Throwdown, which is a, um, a special contest for our Triple Threat members, and that's people who have gotten a Grand Slam, a Reel Big Fish, and 10 fish on their life list. They get like a special raffle, um, between, um, is it March- March ... and September-e ... and, uh, September s- uh, 13th. 13th, sorry. 13th. This year's 13th. We've changed different seasons, we've changed the dates around. This year, March 1st through September 13th. And- Um, but so we give away a kayak and stuff for that, so we've got a lot of- Oh, nice ... prizing options.
That's great. Yep, and that- And how, how does a brand get involved if they were interested in participating? They can just send us an email at anglerrecognition@myfwc.com and say, "Hey, uh, we heard about your program. We're interested in being a partner." And, um, for them we can see, you know, "Hey, what are you interested in doing?" Um- Yep ... and we do have different types of partners. We've got support partners that are like tackle shops that just, you know, put out our flyers. We've got our charter captain partners that help promote the program. And then we've got our premier partners that do provide product that we- Mm-hmm ... can give to our anglers. That's cool. And has that- And that we- ... grown over the years since you first got started?
What did it look like- So much ... the first year? So much. Um, the first year, gosh, I think we had a few- I don't remember, but it was not a lot of partners, and we were really just grateful for whatever they were willing to give us. Um, I think we started with the T-shirts, which we, we do have to purchase ourself, and from there it, uh, I think that was, that was really all you got in the prize pack. And a- a lot of it was, you know, stuff that came from, stuff that we had to purchase ourselves or came from the, um, Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. And now I would say we have a pretty stacked list of things that partners have donated. Mm-hmm. Um, and it, it, it's come a long way. It seems like- Yeah ... it's come a long way.
And, and this year you're doing some, some different outreach. You've, uh, I know you went fishing with, um, with Jonathan Moss on The Captain's Log, and then you went fishing with us. That's, that's pretty cool. That's gonna definitely, um, definitely you're gonna... I've, I've already seen the Jonathan Moss show, actually. It was on Waypoint. Yep, mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And it was beautiful. It was great. Um, have you gotten some- Thank you ... some, um, some people becoming involved because of that? No one's, uh, not that I've seen in the comments. I haven't seen any- anyone specifically call out the episode, but this year has seemed like we've had a banner year for s- for submissions. We have. Um, some of the early indicators are showing that this is gonna be one of our, our best years for submissions.
Now- So I would not be surprised if we've already had some people submit to Salt Program. One of the, one of the things that we talked about on the boat was the way that you can make a submission. So, um, what was interesting to me is that you can submit catches that you've caught previously. Mm-hmm. So like for this year, you could submit, like if you were after that 79 species, the life list, and you caught, you know, one of these fish when, you know, three years ago, five years ago, and you've got the picture of it, you, can you submit that? Is that what you were telling me? Absolutely. It ... As long as we can recognize it, we can have photos from decades ago. Uh, and, uh, as long as we can tell what the species is in that photo, and you're in the photo with the fish, and it was caught in Florida waters, that's a, that's a good submission.
Now, what about the, the measurement of it? Because that was something we were doing on the boat. We were measuring all these fish. So that one specifically, the measurements are only required for the Reel Big Fish, uh, recognition. Okay. So if you're going after one of the 30 species that we have that has a minimum size limit, for instance, a red drum has a minimum size of 30 inches, if you get one over 30 inches, as long as you have a picture, picture of it on the measuring device and show that it reached that minimum size, then you get the Reel Big Fish recognition. Okay. So the minimum size is only for the Reel Big Fish, but- Yeah ... a redfish of any size counts towards the, the program. The life... Yep, the life list and the Grand Slams, that would include the br- so the inshore Grand Slam, it's any size.
We've had, you know, little, little babies submitted before. Hmm. And how do you- As long as you're not harvesting an illegal fish. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Um- Yeah. Well, that's another thing too, is that, that we're talking about this and a lot of the things that we've talked about are fish that have been harvested, but you can also catch and release, right? Right. Absolutely. So if you- Absolutely ... just measure it, release it, it'll still count for the trip or for the, uh, Reel Big Fish, but you can release it. Yes. Right. Right. Absolutely.
And so on the, on the sizes for the Reel Big Fish, how did, how did you determine what, what that size would be? So for the majority of the species, and I wasn't part of the initial process, but from my understanding, um, they used a lot of our fisheries independent monitoring and fisheries dependent monitoring data to establish some baselines. Um- I think somewhere in there some things got a little wonky, 'cause when we, um, went back and looked at some of the, um, projections, they were... Some species were maybe not quite super attainable. Yeah. Um, so we've, we've had to change them over the years. Um, but I've, I believe from my understanding, um, of, of the backstory, we used, um, a good deal of scientific data. Um, and I, I think so too, that's why I will say our red drum is probably one of the more attainable ones, because a 30, a 30-inch r- inch red drum is an amazing fish, but if you look at the sizes for some of our other species, they might be a little bit higher, and I, I think that has a lot to do with, um, our sampling of inshore red drum and that being the sub-adult population that we primarily see there.
Talking about the scientific... Whether this information is being used for scientific data, because it seems like, you know, with 10 years of data and you're seeing- Mm-hmm ... you know, for, you have a lot of submissions for a, let's just say a 30-inch redfish, and if those submissions start to fall, it would s- it would be an indicator that people are not catching those, those 30-inch redfish anymore. And I would think that that would be real good scientific data, especially th- when people are actually measuring them and you have pictures of, of the measurements, so you know it's a real- Mm-hmm ... 30-inch fish. And if those drop by 50%, something's going on, right? And, and I'm not saying that that's happened. Yeah. It's just, that's just an example.
Not... Yeah, not... There could be other things pl- in play, but yeah- Mm-hmm ... it can be used as an indicator. The problem with using it as strictly as data is because if, you with bias, people are self-selecting. They're, you know- Mm-hmm ... there's, we're not capturing a wi- you know, people know about the program and they, they wanna be part of it, so they're the ones submitting, so we're not, we're not getting a wide unbiased view of all of the data. So for indicators and stuff it can be super useful, but using it for data for, like, managing a species- Yeah ... would be tricky. No, I th- I mean, we've been doing some other podcasts lately about fisheries management, and- Mm-hmm ... it's tricky already. Um- Mm-hmm. You know, to, to...
We've been talking about red snapper and all kinds of- Mm-hmm ... things that people are, are very interested in, but the, the way that those decisions are made is, is tricky. And so what I've learned is, like, this one little sample wouldn't- ever be used for, for, um, management. Right, correct. But it could be used as an indicator- Yes ... um, of just kind of what's going on. Wow, it's interesting. Mm-hmm. Seems like the species, uh, the numbers are dropping, but we're seeing bigger ones everywhere, or the opposite. Right. You know, it could be that you're, for whatever reason, you're getting fewer, um, entries on a certain fish where it used to be- Right ... very common for people to catch this. Um, that's where I think that, that all that data that you have is, is really interesting.
So are you, are... Like, obviously you're, you're using computers. Are you using AI for this data that you have now? No? No. Just, just- No. You two- It's, I mean- ... or the AI. I, yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Well, and, and, you know, AI's come a long way, but I've, I know that I've used AI, you know, to do some fish identification just, you know, quickly to like, "Oh, I can't remember the name of this." And, um, it's not always where we need it to be. So for fish identification especially, we do all of that, and we do, um, have other experts that when we, um, especially sharks especially, when we have, um, disputes or we're not sure, we'll, um, farm it out for that. And then, like I said, we haven't had a lot of time to do a fair amount of data analysis, but when we have looked at things, like, um, a couple years ago I looked at, um, QA, QC of fish identification and to identify some of the species that people were having trouble, um, identifying, um, most significantly.
Um, that was all, you know, that was all me. HI, human intelligence. Yeah, HI. Human intelligence. Um- But yeah, we, you know, we do, we, w- we know what we've got. We know we have this massive database, and we do try to, we tr- you know, we, we talk it up with the other, the, the other sections that are doing management stuff and- Right ... and research and stuff like that, and we, you know, we let them know. We, we like to keep our, the options open. Yeah. For sure. If I had that data to, you know, available to me, I think I would use AI, and I would use it in a way that we were talking about earlier. Um, over the 10 years, has the, have the, uh, submissions of this size fish gone up or down, and by what percent and in what areas? Like, that's where I think- Mm.
Mm ... AI could really, um, do something incredibly quickly that would take a team a while- It, right, yeah ... of just like this particular county has had an increase in this size of fish that looking at 10 years of data you might not necessarily be able to tell that it was up 15%. Right. Yeah. Um, and I just like to look at that kind of stuff just because I think it's interesting. But, um- For sure Yeah, for sure ... it's a powerful tool. It's definitely a powerful tool. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Um, so in some of these things also you guys are trying to make it fun, and there's, like, a secret fish thing. What, tell m- tell me about the secret fish program. So- No The secret fish, um, it's a little bit like the secret weight in a, in a tournament where we wanted people to have a little something else for fun where they could kinda luck into an extra prize. Um, and so we do a quarterly secret fish where we, we have a lot of fun with this. Mm-hmm. We, we craft a little riddle, um, describing a fish for the quarter, and then people have to submit a photo of that fish, um, or, um, to, uh, to earn the extra bonus prize. And Mustad, um, is kind enough to send that out for us. Um, so it's, it's been a lot of fun and, um, this past quarter, this is the second qu- we're in the s- or we're in- We're in the third ... the third quarter now, but we just wrapped up the second quarter, and the response to that one was, was really very, um, we had a lot of submissions.
We did. And, um, we had sort of a little- Yeah, so we've had two quarters in, so I guess we c- can we say- So can you, can you tell us what the riddle was? Oh, gosh. Um ... Let's see if we can figure it out. I, well, I'd have to look it up. Well, let's look it up. We'd have to look it up. We got plenty of time. All right. Cool. Here, let me, let me look it up real quick. I think it, I think it might be something fun. We'll, we'll see if we, if anybody can figure it out. Yeah, it was cool. You had, in the comments, you had people that, um, very clearly read, you know, submitting for secret fish. They put that in there, or, "I think this is the secret fish." And, uh, and then we had other people that, you know, had n- seemingly had no idea, and they just happened to submit during the time period and, and got that, that prize.
Where, where would you even see this information about what the secret fish would be? Is it on the, on the website? So we had a newsletter and, um, you could go to our website, catchafloridamemory.com, and we had, um, what we called for our 10-year anniversary, we called it our Catchiversary, and we had a little tab up there you could go and, and look at it. And if you went down to the secret fish, we had our, um, we had the, um, the riddle, the hint riddle on there. And so you do a different hint riddle every quarter? Yes, for this year. Yep. Mm-hmm. And whose job is it to come up with the, with the riddle? I think that's gonna be Jill. That's what I'm thinking. It's actually Sean did the- It's Sean? Sean did the last one. We, we, we take- It's a team, yeah ... we, we take turns.
Okay. I wanna, I wanna know what one is. Yeah, it's a team project. Okay. It's loading right now. Okay. Do you, you, since you wrote this one- Okay ... do you wanna read? Do you wanna read it? All right. Here's the secret fish for last quarter that just ended. So it's, "With whiskers on my chin, I scan the sea floor. I live in the salt water, always seeking more. Coated in a thick and sticky layer of slime, long filaments stream from my top and side spines. No scales do I wear, just smooth, slippery skin. Use caution when handling. There are serrated spines on my dorsal and pectoral fins." And that's, that's the hint. Well, it's a, is it a, well, it could be a gafftopsail catfish or a hardhead catfish. Yeah, yeah. It's the, it, it was the sail cat with the, um, with, with the long, um- Long filaments ... yep, the long filaments on the dorsal- Okay ... and, uh, pectoral fins.
So that, that was, that was pretty good. That, and, and do we have another one we could do? Um, do you wanna do quarter one? Let me see if I can find that one. I say we c- well, no, I can't. I would say we can't do this one 'cause we can't tell you what, what it is for this quarter. No, don't do one that's active now. Okay. Here's our, all right, here is our quarter one. Um, and this one was, "Colored bronze on the back with sharp spines on the cheek. No spots on the tail, but they croak when they speak. Small brassy spots form wavy lines on the sides as it drums up its prey on the inshore tides. This is the first secret fish that we've ever had, so submit photos between January 1st, 1st and March 31st for a bonus prize from Mustad." Hmm. So what about it?
To the listeners, uh, we should have a text line right now, but, um- ... that Is it a black drum? No It's in the drum family It's in the drum family Yeah This one was hard for people, uh- This one was- You said bronze ... because- Bronze Bronze ... bronze on the back On the back. And spots With, yeah, wavy lines on the sides. Or brassy spots form wavy lines on the sides Huh I don't know. When, when it's put to you like that, I don't know. I've, I, uh, you know, it's like watching a game show. It seems easy until you watch it, and then somebody asks you- Mm-hmm ... that question and you're like, "Uh, I don't know." I don't know. How many, how many... Did somebody get this right, or a lot of people get this right? Oh, we... Yeah, we had our number.
We, I think we had 30 for this one. Was it- We started out a little slower, yeah. Yeah. But it was, it was also 'cause it was the first one. I also sent it around to several of my friends, 'cause I was like, "I need to make sure that other people know what this is because I know what it is and Sean knows what it is." Um, so we, we, we field tested that one a little bit- Well- ... harder. Go ahead The key to that one is they croak when they speak. Yeah. Well, that's why I thought it would be a, in the drum family. Right. Yep, it is. But- It is in the drum family ... I don't know. I'm coming up empty. Tell me what it is. T- Or g- or give us some more, some more, uh, give us, give me another hint. But now that's part of this thing, right? You can get hints somehow?
Mm-hmm. How do you get hints? Uh, no, this is, this was the only hint. That was the only hint. This is the only hint. Yeah. And this was one of our newer species, um, that was new- Yeah ... on the, um, on the life list, so we were kinda hoping too that people would be excited that it was on there and, and submit it right off the rip too. Um- So I'll just say, it's a Atlantic croaker. A what croaker? Atlantic croaker. Atlantic croaker. Okay. Yeah. Um, hmm. I missed that one. Which was hard for some people because croaker's such a ubiquitous, common name. Some people like to call grunts croakers, uh- Mm-hmm ... 'cause they'll also make noise, but yeah. So it was a good opportunity to educate people about spec- of specific species and the identification.
It can also be used for snook bait. Oh, yeah. It's, yeah, great, great, uh, big bait- If you had put that in there, I think a lot of people, a lot more people would've gotten it. Should've put the snook candy in there. Yeah, that would... That's a good point. Yeah. That's, that's the one that, um, when I went to, uh... Well, I, I caught my biggest snook this year, um, with Captain Brandon McGraw, and he, um, we did not use croakers. I caught my biggest snook on a live shrimp, but the whole field were, were using live croakers. Um- Mm-hmm ... and that's how you catch the big ones in this area apparently. And, um, we did not do that, but we sight fished one. Um, it was a tournament- Mm-hmm ... kinda like your program. Like, it was like- Yeah ... you were after a slam and any size counted, so we thought, um, well, it's gonna be very competitive to catch the largest fish, so let's just go out and try to catch the first slam.
And so we were just fishing with live shrimp. You were planning on catching a small snook. Yep. And, um- We went down the shoreline and there was a monster just sitting there. And, um, I was able to throw it in there and, and, and he ate it. And that particular day- Heck yeah ... there weren't a lot of, there weren't a lot of fish eating. It, uh, I mean, a lot of people reported back that they didn't, there weren't a lot of big fish caught that particular day. Now, the next day something changed and they c- Big fish ... a lot of people caught big fish. Uh, but that particular day, um, I threw in there with just a live shrimp and, and caught the fish, and it was my biggest one ever. But I was not expecting that because we had almost intentionally not played that game of going. Right. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. And so that's, that was, that was kinda fun for me.
Um, and so also, you're encouraging a lot of different types of participation, including our veterans. Um, what are you doing for the veterans, and what kind of special program is there for the veterans? Sure. So this year we launched our first ever, um, Veterans Challenge. And so for this, um, people need to, uh, be a member, uh, of the military service or a retired veteran. Um, and in the comment section, they need to put, um, that they're participating in the Veterans Challenge and what branch of the military, um, because it is a, we're doing a contest between the branches. Um, and the, uh, the... Excuse me. Okay, not important. Um, and the, uh, branch with the most, um, points wins, um, the honor award at the end of the year. So we've got a competition in between branches.
Um, but then for every participant, um, we send a challenge coin and a hat, um, that's exclusive to the Veterans Challenge. Very cool. I love the challenge coins. It's really cool. Like- Yeah ... I have, I have a few of those and they're, they're, they're really cool. Um, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the branch with the most participation is the Navy You would be incorrect- I would be ... at this point in time. Well, they do. They're on the ocean. Uh- Yeah ... but, uh, what is the branch with the most participation? Army? So right now, Army is winning by one point- One point? ... um, over, one point over Air Force. Wow. And they, they do have more people than Air, like a few more people than Air Force. Yeah, they do have a little more participation.
I'd think a lot more people than Air Force. It's that connection to- Yeah The size of the Army versus the size of the Air Force? Mm-hmm. That seems like dwarfing. We're having great participation from the, from the Air Force veterans. Yeah, yeah. We, you know, we've got a lot of Air Force bases in Florida and stuff, and so yeah, we've, especially in the Panhandle region, we've got a bunch submitting from there. And so on the participation scale, you've got Air Force is number one, Navy is number two, or Army is number two. Our, Army's number one. Air Force is number two. Mm-hmm. I think Navy's number- Navy's number, Navy's number three ... and then I think it's- What about Coast Guard? Those guys are out there. They are. So Coast Guard and Marines are around the same- Yep ... number.
Uh, Marines are beating Coast Guard, but they've got about the same number of people participating. Um, it's, it's around eight or so, a little bit under 10, and then we have, um, we have one, uh, Space Force member. A Space Force member. Who's actually putting up some banner numbers. Yeah, yeah. Wow. What if one- Yeah ... Space Force member made more, more, um, uh, submissions than an entire branch? I mean, he's, he's- He's pretty close to that ... he's pretty close. Yeah. Really? I think he's got 15 right now. Mm-hmm. And, and when, um, we, it runs through, um, Veterans Day, so we've still got a good bit of time for things to, to switch around and change. Okay. Yeah. From what I know from my veteran friends is there's a lot of, uh, rivalry between branches, so, uh, Army, Navy, Air Force, you gotta get out there.
Gotta, gotta- Yep ... put in more submissions. Um- A point for the Navy, they, while they, while they're not in... They're, they're a little bit behind Army and Air Force, they're the, um, the, the submitters with the most points are b- are Navy guys, are, are two Navy guys, I believe. They've got just a massive amount of points. They go fishing all the time. Mm. Get a bunch of slams and Reel Big Fish. Well, you would think that there would be a lot of, a lot of, uh, you know, Navy, um, veterans retire- Right ... where they, where they were- Yep Yeah ... stationed. Mm-hmm. You know? I mean, I see that a lot where, you know, they like the area when they were there, and they just go back and, and stay there. Yep. And that's often where there's some really good fishing.
And they were in the lead for a while. Just recently we've had Army and, and Air Force ki- pull away a little bit. And how long have you had the veterans, uh, division or the vet- Veterans Challenge here? Um, that started, uh, January of this year. Oh, for- So it's, it's a brand- This is the first year ever? This is the first year. Okay. Yeah, we, um, we rolled out kind of a bunch of new things. The Secret Fishes, this is the first year we've done that as well. Um, and we rolled out just, uh, several new things for our 10th anniversary.
That's great. Well, the 10th anniversary- Mm-hmm ... well, congratulations on that. Jill, you've been there the whole time. Sean, you're just- Mm-hmm ... uh, joining in and, and- I'm- ... amplifying this- Yeah ... and making it, making it really great. I think it's a great program, and, um, I certainly had a good time fishing with you all. Um, we caught, um... Jake, you got any of those pictures up there? Yeah. We caught rainbow runners. Um- Mm-hmm ... huge ones. Um- Big ones. Giant ones ... my, uh... I always know, like, especially w- we went fishing with Captain Scott Walker, who is an ama- He's, he's a great fishing captain. Yeah, he's fantastic. Really great fishing captain. But however good you saw him as a fishing captain, he's even a better chef, and he really is.
He... I mean, you know how, like, some people, you know, they, they love their job, but they really love golf, and they, like, every minute they're watching golf or playing golf or learning about golf? That's how Scott is with cooking. He- Yeah ... watches cooking. He loves cooking. And when you catch a fish and he goes, "Oh," and that one goes deep in the ice over here, and that's gonna be the captain's in the- Yeah ... special little cooler for the captain. That's what he did with that rainbow, the first rainbow runner. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I was like, "Hmm, he knows about that fish. That's, that's gonna be..." And he was very excited about it for sashimi. He was, he- Yeah. Yes ... every fish that came in. And he thought that was gonna be a, a one-time deal, and for whatever reason- Right ... we're having a surge of rainbow runners.
We caught a lot of them that day, and, um, and they were all really big. He said for, in, in his 45-year career, those are the biggest ones he's ever seen, so that's- Mm-hmm ... that's really good. Um, anytime you, you have any captain- Absolutely ... that says that, those are the biggest ones- Yeah ... they've ever seen was, was particularly good. Um, can you get them up there, Jake? Yeah, they're up here. Oh, they are? On the screen. You can't see them? Yeah. Can you see them? Mm-hmm. Um, so the rainbow runners. We caught, um, yellowtail, rainbow runners, um, some different sharks. What else did we catch that day? Oh, the tuna. Yeah. We caught an incredible tuna. Oh, yeah, blackfin tuna. Yes. Yeah, huge blackfin tuna. Yeah, which I've wanted one for many years, and that was, yeah, just an, a, an amazing experience.
I remember yelling at you to, uh, to make sure you got him in, in the net. I did. I got a new nickname that day. I was like, "Get him, Tom. Please get him." Yeah, they call me- That was a hoss too ... they call me Scoop now. Yeah. That's right, right. That's what they call me. Uh, Jill, what did you, uh, what, what was the fish that you caught that you had never caught before? Um, so the cobia was really exciting for me All right 'Cause I, I, I had been on the boat when other people had caught cobias, but that was my first cobia, and I was so excited. Mm-hmm. Um, 'cause it, it'd been a fish that I had been chasing for such a long time.
That's really great. Well, that was a fun day. I'm real glad we could do it. I'm glad I could learn more about your program. Um, I think this is a fantastic program. I would highly encourage people to get involved. If you're a charter captain, it's a great way to, uh, improve your business. I really do believe that, that if you get your clients involved in this, they're gonna wanna come back and they're gonna wanna fish with you more so they can get more submissions. If you are a parent, this is an incredible way to teach your kids about fish identification. It's biology class on the boat. You learn all these different fish. They're gonna be pointing them out and saying, "Do you know how to catch this one right here? Let's go catch that one." And it's usually gonna be the prettiest one, or the weirdest looking one, or one that you've never caught before.
But that leads you on this great adventure of learning more about, um, the entire fishery and where those fish live and how you might be able to catch one. I think it's really, really cool. And, um, so I wish you all the best of luck with it. Sounds like this is gonna be your best year ever, and, uh, I'm, I'm happy for you. It's really great. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Mike. No, we're really, we're really excited to ... I mean, coming out with you guys was such, like, a, a bonus for us- Yeah ... being able to, to promote the program. Mm-hmm But also get to have a lot of fun while doing it. Yeah. Yeah, it was great. Yeah. Uh, I thought we wore you out, but then you go and h- Take a night trip on a head boat afterwards and- Fish and Fools right here Yeah, I can see that.
That's why we're here. I can see that. Well, that's, that's who's running the program, are a couple people that really like to fish, um, which, which, that, that says a lot. And so, um, if you're interested in this, catchafloridamemory.com. Is that right, .org, .com? That's right. catchafloridamemory.com. Exactly. That's the, uh, website. You can go there, you can get all of the different information, and if they wanna reach out, is there an email that people reach out? Yep, anglerrecognition@myfwc.com. All right. Great. Well, thank you, Sean and Jill, and the FWC for putting this program together and giving us an opportunity to win some cool stuff and, and learn, learn a lot more, and become better fishermen in the process. That's what it's all about.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having us. You're welcome. Thanks. It's been a pleasure. All right, we'll be back with another great, uh, guest next week, and if you haven't already, we have completely redone the Tom Rowland Podcast website. Go check that out. I'd love to hear what you think about it. You can always email me at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com. Let me know what you think about the new website. That'd be great. All right, we'll see you next week.
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