Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 726 is my conversation with Captain Mike Genoun, the founder behind Florida Sport Fishing TV. Mike grew up working party boats, head boats, and charter boats in New Jersey, earned a 100-ton license, and fished for everything from tuna to stripers before moving to South Florida in the 1990s. He found a completely different fishing world that humbled him for years, and out of learning it from scratch he built a media brand that has run for more than two decades. We talk about that whole arc.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Press play in the player above to watch.
Mike Genoun is a captain and the founder of Florida Sport Fishing TV. He grew up working party boats, head boats, and charter boats in New Jersey, earned a 100-ton license, and fished for tuna, stripers, fluke, and more before moving to South Florida in the 1990s, where he eventually built a long-running fishing media brand.
Florida Sport Fishing TV is the media brand founded by Captain Mike Genoun, focused on South Florida sport fishing. Mike built it out of the local knowledge he gained relearning Florida fishing after moving from New Jersey, and it has run for more than twenty years as a resource for anglers.
Despite a lifetime of fishing experience in New Jersey and a 100-ton captain's license, Mike could not even get a job in the South Florida fishing industry when he moved to Fort Lauderdale in the 1990s. He describes the region as a completely different world and says it took a couple of years before he threw in the towel on what he thought he knew and started learning the fishery from scratch.
Mike started in New Jersey, working party boats, head boats, and charter boats and eventually running his own boats. He worked his way into the wheelhouse, earned a 100-ton license, and fished for tuna, bluefish, blackfish, fluke, flounder, and stripers before relocating to South Florida.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 726 with Mike Genoun is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I met Mike at a Mercury event and his story stuck with me right away. Here is a guy who was an experienced, licensed captain up north, moved to Florida, and found out he basically knew nothing about fishing down here. That kind of humility — throwing in the towel on what you thought you knew and starting over — is rare, and it is exactly what made him good. I wanted him to walk me through how a Jersey party-boat kid became the founder of Florida Sport Fishing TV.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the full story.
Mike grew up doing nothing but fishing in New Jersey — party boats, head boats, charter boats, and eventually his own boats. He worked his way into the wheelhouse, earned a 100-ton license, and fished tuna, bluefish, blackfish, fluke, flounder, and stripers, then spent every spare second fun fishing on his own. That foundation is the base everything else was built on. Listen to how he describes those years in the episode.
When Mike moved to the Fort Lauderdale area in the 1990s, he could not even get a job in the fishing industry despite a lifetime of experience — because South Florida is a completely different world. He says it took a couple of years before he finally threw in the towel on what he thought he knew and started learning fresh. That reset is the turning point of his whole story. Watch the YouTube player above for how it unfolded.
Out of relearning South Florida fishing from the ground up, Mike built Florida Sport Fishing TV into a media brand that has run for more than twenty years. He talks about turning hard-won local knowledge into content that helps other anglers, and what it takes to keep a fishing show going that long. The business side of fishing media is something I know well, and Mike's path is worth hearing. Listen to that part of the episode.
Mike has now spent decades fishing two very different worlds and building a brand around the second one. He reflects on what carries over, what does not, and what he wishes he had known when he was the humbled new guy in Fort Lauderdale. For anyone moving regions, switching fisheries, or starting over in midlife, this is the conversation. Press play in the YouTube player above for the full reflection.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
The day after talking to Mike, the thing I kept thinking about was his willingness to admit he had to start over. A lot of experienced people would have bluffed their way through. Mike threw in the towel, learned a new fishery, and built something lasting.
Florida Sport Fishing TV exists because Mike was humble enough to become a beginner again. That is a lesson that applies far beyond fishing.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 726 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 Genoun · Florida Sport Fishing TV · New Jersey party and charter boats · Fort Lauderdale, Florida · the Florida Keys · Mercury Marine
Mike Genoun is a captain and the founder of Florida Sport Fishing TV. He grew up in New Jersey working party boats, head boats, and charter boats, earned a 100-ton license, and fished for tuna, stripers, fluke, and more before relocating to the Fort Lauderdale area in the 1990s. After a humbling start in an unfamiliar South Florida fishery, he relearned the region from scratch and built Florida Sport Fishing TV into a media brand that has run for more than two decades.
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