Peter Kaminski | From National Lampoon to 35 Years at the New York Times | Tom Rowland Podcast

Peter Kaminski is a prolific writer who has authored 18 cookbooks and numerous fishing books, served as managing editor of National Lampoon magazine working alongside John Belushi and Bill Murray in the 1970s, and wrote as a New York Times Outdoors columnist for 35 years. In this conversation, he shares the unexpected story of how a $54 grouper prize on a party boat launched his fishing writing career, the moment Doug Swisher's casting clinic changed his life at Beaver Kill, and why Carl Hiaasen and Rachel Maddow both contributed to his latest book. Peter reveals what it takes to get writers who've never met you to share their most intimate fishing memories, the connection between fly fishing and prayer, and why after decades of traveling the world, he no longer has a bucket list.

From a $54 Grouper to a 35-Year New York Times Career

In 1975 or 1976, Peter Kaminski took a vacation to the Florida Keys with his girlfriend. It was 39 degrees—not exactly warm. He saw a sign advertising a party boat trip: red snapper all day for $9. He hadn't fished much before that day, but he caught a 35-pound grouper that may have been high hook for the day. He won $54. As he puts it, he was hooked. That single party boat trip set in motion a career transition that would eventually lead him from managing National Lampoon magazine to becoming one of outdoor journalism's most respected voices. The path from that grouper to a 35-year run at the New York Times wasn't linear, and it involved a dirt road in the Yucatan that changed everything. Peter tells the complete story starting at 00:05:52.

The Moment Everything Changed at Boca Pila

After that first fishing trip, Peter spent a summer renting a garage in Woodstock, New York, waking up every morning to buy saw bellies or alewives and stick them on a hook. He proceeded to drown them in the Ashokan Reservoir. He caught some sunfish and one smallmouth bass that scared him. The next winter, he drove to the Yucatan with his girlfriend. They ended up at a resort in Akumal that felt too programmed, so they got in their car and drove south to Tulum—back then just a taco stand and a pyramid. They made a right down a dirt road and ended up at Boca Pila Fishing Camp. There were North American guys there, about 50 years old, fly fishing. What Peter witnessed that day was love at first sight. How that moment transformed into actual skill involves Doug Swisher, the Beaver Kill, and two of the most valuable days a fly fisherman can experience. The full Boca Pila story and what happened next starts at 00:07:38.

How a Blackfish Lunch Led to 18 Cookbooks

In 1994, Peter wrote a series for the New York Times called A Season on the Harbor. Every month he fished in a different place in New York City waters and wrote about his experience, the place, its history, and the characters. For the last story that year, he went out on a head boat from Brooklyn with his daughter and caught blackfish, also known as Tautog. He knew Mike Lomonaco, the chef at Twenty One Club, who had once called him for fishing gear advice. Peter proposed bringing up the blackfish he caught—Mike could cook them lunch and sell the rest. Mike agreed. The Times gave Peter more space than they ever had before, maybe two thirds of a page. The response was overwhelming. People loved the story. Peter figured there was something in food writing. What happened next connected him to Danny Meyer, Tom Colicchio, Gramercy Tavern, and eventually a career that spans 18 cookbooks. The complete story of how that blackfish lunch changed everything starts at 00:11:52.

Getting Carl Hiaasen and Rachel Maddow to Share Their Fishing Memories

When Peter pitched his publisher Artisan Books on doing a fly fishing book, he had a specific vision. He wanted to ask people to pick one fishing memory and write 500 to 1000 words about it—remember the height of the sun, temperature, wind, place, trees, birds. This was during COVID when everyone was locked in their houses not seeing many people. It became a voyage of discovery. Peter wrote to people he didn't know, like Carl Hiaasen, whose work he really admired. Hiaasen gave him a story. Peter saw in the paper that Rachel Maddow fly fishes and thought "holy Toledo." He wrote a letter to her agent. A couple months later he got a wonderful story about catching a pike. Peter found himself on a fly fishermen's web community and came across Flylords. Through them and Steve Duda at Patagonia, he connected with more writers. He read a profile of Katie Khan, a cancer survivor who talked about how fly fishing helped her through things. Peter had been through cancer a couple times himself. The way Peter assembled this collection of voices reveals something about the reach his New York Times work had—and about what happens when you ask writers to remember one perfect moment. Peter explains his entire process for assembling the book starting at 00:31:44.

Final Thoughts from Tom

This conversation with Peter Kaminski is one of those episodes that reminds you why we do this podcast. Peter has lived multiple careers—from the wild days at National Lampoon with John Belushi to 35 years writing for the New York Times to authoring 18 cookbooks. But what really struck me was how it all started with a $54 grouper on a party boat and a dirt road in the Yucatan that led to Boca Pila Fishing Camp.

Peter's insights on why fly fishing has so much more literature than other types of fishing are fascinating—it traces back to English aristocrats who had to justify their existence. But there's something deeper about the connection between the cast and the catch, about feeling like your arm is 20 yards long, about being an invited visitor to a world that can blow up with one more step. Peter puts words to feelings that many of us have experienced but couldn't quite articulate.

If you've ever wondered how to transition from one career to another by following what you love, or if you want to understand the connection between food and fishing and writing, this conversation is absolutely worth your time. Peter's work has touched so many people over the decades, and now with The Catch of a Lifetime and his upcoming book The Zen of Fly Fishing, he's giving us collections that capture what makes these moments on the water so unforgettable. Listen to the whole thing.