Pete Erickson | Fly Fishing Team USA & Great Outdoor Games Champion | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 525

Pete Erickson is a champion fly fisherman who represented the United States on Fly Fishing Team USA and won the Great Outdoor Games on ESPN. A former college roommate of Tom Rowland at the University of Montana, Pete started competing at age twelve or thirteen in Wisconsin's Driftless area and made the national team when he was nineteen or twenty. In this conversation, Pete reveals how competitive fly fishing forced him to master every technique from dry flies to nymphs, shares the moment he watched an eight-and-a-half-pound brown trout eat his size sixteen pheasant tail nymph in crystal-clear New Zealand water, and explains why ninety percent of a trout's diet happens subsurface—even though everyone wants to fish dry flies. This is a masterclass in reading water, staying present, and understanding what it really takes to fool the smartest fish in the world.

From Wisconsin Spring Creeks to Fly Fishing Team USA

Most people don't know that Wisconsin has world-class trout fishing, but Pete Erickson grew up on the phenomenal spring creeks of the Driftless area. His father had him fly fishing from age five, and Pete fished every day after school, every weekend, every summer. When he was twelve or thirteen, his dad introduced him to local competitive anglers, and Pete started entering tournaments. He did well enough that it snowballed—regional events led to national competition, and by nineteen or twenty, Pete made Fly Fishing Team USA. The key to his success? Competitive fly fishing demands total versatility. You can't specialize in just dry flies or just nymphs. Conditions change, water changes. You might fish a big river in the morning and a tiny spring creek in the afternoon. Pete explains how competitive fishing shaped his entire approach starting at 3:08.

Representing Team USA in Spain and New Zealand

After making the national team through qualification rounds held across the country, Pete got to represent the United States in international competition. He competed in Spain, where the fishing was extremely technical and the fish were incredibly wary—very different from American waters. Then came New Zealand, which Pete describes as some of the best sight fishing he's ever experienced. The South Island rivers held big brown trout cruising through crystal-clear water with unreal clarity. You could see fish from fifty feet away. But there was a catch: these were five, six, seven-pound browns that had been caught and released a thousand times. They knew what flies looked like. Getting close meant spooking them, and even perfect presentations got refused. The details about what made New Zealand so challenging start at 5:17.

Winning the Great Outdoor Games on ESPN

ESPN used to put on an event called the Great Outdoor Games—essentially an outdoor Olympics with timber sports, dog trials, and fishing competitions. The fly fishing portion was set up arena-style, with competitors casting to targets in a controlled environment, and it was televised nationally. Pete won it. Tom calls it domination, but Pete says everything just came together that day. The truth is that Pete's years of competitive preparation positioned him perfectly for that moment. Whether it's competitive fishing or just recreational trips, Pete emphasizes that preparation is everything. Most people underestimate how much the work before you hit the water determines your success on the water. The conversation about the Great Outdoor Games and what it took to win starts at 5:48.

The Eight-Pound Brown Trout on a Size Sixteen Pheasant Tail

On the Mataura River in New Zealand's South Island, Pete hiked three miles into wilderness to reach a remote stretch where nobody else was fishing. When he came around a bend, he found a pool with water so clear he could see an eight-pound brown trout sitting in the middle, feeding on nymphs. The clarity was so extreme that Pete could watch the fish open its mouth and take individual insects. He set up sixty feet back—any closer would spook the fish—and tied on a small pheasant tail nymph. The cast drifted perfectly. Pete watched the trout tilt to the side, open its mouth, and eat it. What happened next involved a ballistic downstream run, three or four jumps, and fifteen minutes of fighting before Pete landed an eight-and-a-half-pound brown. All on a size sixteen pheasant tail nymph. Pete walks through this entire hunt, cast by cast, starting at 12:37.

Final Thoughts from Tom

I'm so glad Pete finally agreed to do this podcast. He's one of the most talented fly fishermen I've ever been around, and he's also a pretty private guy who's not out there trying to get famous or build a brand. He just loves fishing and is incredibly good at it.

What I love about this conversation is how Pete breaks down his philosophy. He talks about being present, about how fishing forces you out of your head and into the moment. In today's world, that's rare and valuable. He also gets into the technical side—reading water, choosing flies, why subsurface fishing matters even though it's not as exciting as dry flies.

The story about that eight-and-a-half-pound brown in New Zealand is incredible. But more than that, this whole episode is a masterclass in what it takes to compete at the highest level and how those competitive skills translate to everything else on the water. Listen to the whole thing.