Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 789 is a conversation with Mike Counihan, who brings an unusual combination to the table: serious surf fishing experience, firsthand killer whale encounters, and a career with the NYPD. We get into how he reads coastal water and picks productive beach spots, what he actually witnessed about orca hunting behavior, and how the mental discipline of law enforcement carries straight over to fishing.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · or press play in the player above to watch.
Mike Counihan is a surf fishing expert and former NYPD member who brings law enforcement experience, coastal fishing knowledge, and firsthand killer whale encounters to the conversation. His background bridges high-pressure police work and reading the water.
Mike breaks down how he reads coastal environments, selects productive spots along the beach, and adapts to changing surf conditions. His methodical, observation-first approach challenges some conventional thinking about beach fishing.
Mike shares specific killer whale encounters that go well beyond casual sightings. He describes their hunting patterns and intelligent, calculated behavior, revealing how strategic these apex predators are in the wild.
Mike connects his NYPD experience to fishing through shared mental disciplines: reading environments, pattern recognition, and decision-making under pressure. He explains how those law-enforcement skills transfer directly to situations on the water.
This episode combines surf fishing strategy, killer whale encounters, and NYPD experience in one wide-ranging conversation. Mike's perspective ties law enforcement, marine wildlife, and fishing together in unexpected ways.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 789 with Mike Counihan is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I like guests who connect worlds that seem unrelated, and Mike does exactly that. Surf fishing, killer whales, and the NYPD do not obviously belong in the same conversation, but the way he talks about reading an environment ties all of it together. The skills you build in one arena show up in another, and Mike lives that.
Press play in the player at the top of this page to hear how those threads come together.
Mike brings a methodical perspective to surf fishing built on years of reading coastal water. He gets into how he approaches different surf conditions, what he looks for when selecting a spot along the beach, and how he adapts as conditions change. Some of what he says challenges what a lot of anglers assume about beach fishing. The way he balances patient observation with decisive action is the part worth studying. Hear his full breakdown early in the conversation.
The conversation takes a turn when Mike describes encountering killer whales. These are not distant sightings. He walks through specific interactions that show just how intelligent and calculated these apex predators are, what they were doing, and how he watched their hunting patterns up close. There is one story about orca behavior that genuinely surprised me. Listen to that section of the episode for the details.
Mike's time with the NYPD gives him a particular way of seeing the world, and it shapes how he fishes. He talks about decision-making under pressure, reading a situation fast, and acting with incomplete information. The overlap between the mental discipline of law enforcement and the mental discipline of fishing is bigger than you would expect. He connects the two in ways that are not obvious until he explains them. Press play in the player above.
The thread I find most compelling is how Mike moves skills between completely different arenas. Reading a city street and reading a surf break are not the same thing, but the underlying pattern recognition is. He shares concrete examples of decision-making under pressure that translate straight to fishing situations where quick thinking decides the outcome. This is practical, hard-won stuff, not abstract philosophy. Listen to the full episode.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the player at the top of this page.
This one goes in directions you do not expect. You think you know where a conversation about surf fishing, killer whales, and the NYPD is headed, and then Mike keeps surfacing connections that make you see all of it differently.
What I appreciate most is how he ties experiences from separate worlds together. The skills we build in one part of life transfer to others, and Mike is a clean example of that idea in action.
The killer whale stories alone are worth the time, but the real value is how he thinks about observation, decisions, and adapting to what is in front of you in real time.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 789 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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.
Mike Counihan · NYPD · Tom Rowland Podcast · surf fishing · killer whales / orcas
Mike Counihan brings a rare combination of NYPD experience and surf fishing expertise. His background spans high-pressure law enforcement and deep coastal fishing knowledge, including firsthand observation of killer whale behavior in the wild. He connects the mental disciplines of urban police work with the pattern recognition and decision-making that make a difference when reading coastal water.
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