Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 1009 is my conversation with Kyle Gemas, a Texas outdoorsman who has gone from fly fishing exotic species to some of the hardest mountain hunts in North America. Kyle harvested a mountain goat in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains in 2024 and a Dall sheep in the Brooks Range in 2025, covering roughly 85 miles over ten days. We get into foot care, nutrition, the mental game, and how more than 15 tarpon tournaments built the mindset he now uses in the backcountry.
Listen now: Megaphone · Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube.
Kyle Gemas is a Texas-based outdoorsman, fly fisherman, and mountain hunter, and a member of the Wild Sheep Foundation. He completed a mountain goat hunt in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains in September 2024 and a Dall sheep hunt in the Brooks Range in August 2025, and he has competed in at least 15 tarpon tournaments. He is pursuing the North American Grand Slam of wild sheep.
Kyle covered approximately 85 miles of backpacking over ten days during his August 2025 Dall sheep hunt in the Brooks Range, averaging 8 to 12 miles per day carrying 50 pounds. He killed his sheep on day nine.
Kyle uses Leukotape proactively every day. He tapes his feet each morning, removes the tape at night to let the skin breathe, and re-tapes the next morning. On the sheep hunt he also adopted his guide's habit of taking boots and socks off at every glassing stop to let his feet dry out.
According to Kyle, mountain goats are easier to find but harder to kill because they live at the very top of the mountain, while sheep live lower down and are harder to find but easier to kill once located. Goat hunts also tend to be cheaper, which is why Kyle used a goat hunt as his apprenticeship before committing to sheep.
Kyle has fished at least 15 tarpon tournaments, and he says the preparation, mental approach, and handling of adversity transferred directly to mountain hunting. He treats a ten-day hunt like a tournament, applying the same disciplined frameworks he developed in competitive saltwater fly fishing.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 1009 with Kyle Gemas is available on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and the Tom Rowland Podcast feed. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
When Kyle was last on the show, he had just gotten back from chasing arapaima in Guyana. What got me to bring him back is that almost everything about his pursuits has changed. He got hardcore into mountain hunting, killed a big goat and a beautiful Dall ram, and he is chasing the sheep Grand Slam. I have always paid attention to people who push to find their actual breaking point, and Kyle's version of that story, told through fishing and hunting, is one I wanted on tape.
Press play in the player above to hear it.
Kyle explains the strategy of using a cheaper, brutal goat hunt as his backcountry apprenticeship before booking an expensive sheep hunt years out. He lined up the goat hunt through the Wild Sheep Foundation. Hear his reasoning in the episode.
Kyle flew in by Super Cub, landed on a gravel bar near McCarthy, and fought through claustrophobic alders on all fours, harvesting his goat two hours before pickup. He tells the buzzer-beater story better than I can. Listen to that section.
Kyle's guides told him that mental limitations ruin more hunts than physical ones, and he describes the moment in the alders when he felt like he might crack, then pushed through and reset his suck-o-meter. Press play in the YouTube player above.
For his Dall sheep hunt Kyle tripled his weighted-pack training, dialed in hydration, and adopted barefoot glassing breaks and constant snacking from his guide. He killed his ram on day nine. Worth hearing in full.
Kyle draws a direct line from competitive saltwater fly fishing to backcountry hunting, from preparation to handling adversity. He jokes that at least Islamorada has no alders. Listen to that part of the conversation.
Listen to the full conversation: Megaphone · Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube.
Kyle's progression from exotic fly fishing to some of the most demanding hunts in North America comes down to one thing I see in all the best outdoor athletes, the willingness to find where the breaking point actually is. That moment in the alders is the moment that defines whether you achieve a goal or just talk about it.
What strikes me most is the strategic thinking, using a goat hunt as data for the sheep hunt. He learns from experience instead of just collecting stories. Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 1009 on Megaphone or Spotify.
Kyle Gemas · Wild Sheep Foundation · Wrangell Mountains · Brooks Range · McCarthy, Alaska · Wrangell St. Elias National Park · Leukotape · 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.
Kyle Gemas is a Texas-based outdoorsman, fly fisherman, and mountain hunter, and a member of the Wild Sheep Foundation. He completed a mountain goat hunt in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains in September 2024 and a Dall sheep hunt in the Brooks Range in August 2025, covering roughly 85 miles in ten days. He has competed in at least 15 tarpon tournaments and is pursuing the North American Grand Slam of wild sheep, with hunts planned in Kyrgyzstan and British Columbia. In Texas he hunts axis deer, whitetail, turkey, dove, and quail.
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