Episode 212 of the Tom Rowland Podcast is my conversation with Graham Tayloe, a master woodsman, turkey hunter, and angler from Alabama who is, outside of my own family, my favorite person to hunt with. Graham is completely obsessed with the outdoors, the kind of kid who watched hunting shows instead of cartoons and never grew out of it. We talk about that obsession, his run to the finals of the World Turkey Calling contest, how he became a guide at Westervelt, and the reflective approach to every hunt that makes him such a good teacher.
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Graham Tayloe is a master woodsman, turkey hunter, and angler from Alabama. He is known for an almost total obsession with learning the outdoors, a deep knowledge of turkey behavior, and his skill as a hunting guide. Tom calls him one of his favorite people to hunt with and a great teacher who knows a tremendous amount about his quarry and the natural world.
Graham grew up obsessed with hunting, watching shows like Primos Truth and Bill Dance instead of cartoons. That obsession with learning never faded. He chased turkey hunting relentlessly, studied the best callers in the country, and turned that fixation into a career guiding hunters and competing at the highest level of turkey calling.
Yes. In 2005, with a single off-the-shelf call while the other competitors carried three calls each, Graham entered the World Turkey Calling contest. He pushed through serious stage fright and made it all the way to the finals that year. He never entered another contest after that, having proven to himself he could call with the best of them.
Graham believes the real growth happens after the hunt. Instead of just packing up and saying maybe tomorrow, he sits down and gives deep thought to what the animal did, what he did, and what he might change by even a hair. He says most hunters are doing the right thing and are only slightly off, and that reflecting on each day is how you close that gap.
Graham talked his way into a shot at Westervelt, the biggest commercial hunting operation in Alabama, while he was a college freshman. What started as a shot rather than a guaranteed job became his entry into professional guiding, where he built the reputation and the deep field knowledge he is known for today.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 212 with Graham Tayloe is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
Graham is, outside of my family, probably my favorite person to hunt with. Every single time I go out with him I learn something. He is a great woodsman, a great hunter, and a great fisherman, and he knows a tremendous amount about his quarry and about what is going on in the natural world. If you have ever hunted with someone who is genuinely obsessed, you understand him immediately. I wanted to put that obsession and that knowledge on tape so other people could learn from him the way I have.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the whole conversation.
Graham tells a story about watching Primos Truth and Bill Dance as a kid while his friends played with toys, and being just as obsessed today as the first time he saw it on TV. For him the obsession is really about learning, always asking what he can pick up next. That is the engine behind everything else he has done. Listen to him describe it in his own words.
In 2005 Graham walked onto the stage at the World Turkey Calling contest with a single call he bought at a store, while the guys around him carried three calls each. He talks honestly about the stage fright and how he made it to the finals that year before walking away from contests for good. It is a great story about confidence and proving something to yourself. Hear it in the episode.
This is the part of the conversation I keep coming back to. Graham does not just end a hunt and try again tomorrow. He sits with it, thinks deeply about what the animal did and what he did, and looks for the small adjustment. He believes most hunters are only a hair off, and that the reflection is what closes the gap. Press play in the YouTube player above to hear how he does it.
Graham talked his way into a shot at Westervelt, the biggest commercial hunting operation in Alabama, as a college freshman. He is candid that it was a shot, not a job, and how he turned that into a guiding career. Listen to that section of the episode.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
What makes Graham special is not just that he is good in the woods. It is that he is still hungry to learn after all these years, and that he thinks about hunting as a craft you can always sharpen. That mindset is why I learn something every time I am with him.
This one is personal for me. Graham really is a brother from another mother, and I think you will hear why. Listen to the whole conversation.
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.
Graham Tayloe is a master woodsman, turkey hunter, and angler from Alabama. Obsessed with the outdoors from childhood, he reached the finals of the World Turkey Calling contest in 2005 and went on to guide at Westervelt, the largest commercial hunting operation in the state. He is known for an exceptional understanding of turkey behavior and a reflective, study-it-deeply approach to hunting that makes him both a formidable hunter and a generous teacher.
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