Jamie Howard of Howard Films is the writer and director behind Chasing Silver, Location X, Andy's Return, Bass The Movie, and Running the Coast, some of the most iconic tarpon and fishing films ever made. A former New York advertising executive, Howard rethought his life's direction after 9/11 and chose fishing filmmaking instead, self-funding his first projects and enduring years of trial and error before producing the films that captivated the tarpon-fishing world.
Howard Films began with In Search of a Rising Tide, featuring Andy Smith in the Bahamas, and went on to create Chasing Silver, Location X, Andy's Return, Bass The Movie, and most recently Running the Coast.
Jamie Howard was a New York advertising executive before the events of September 11, 2001 led him, like many people who lived or worked in the affected area, to reexamine his life's direction. He chose to follow his childhood passion for fishing down a different road, self-funding his first films and pushing through years of difficulty before Howard Films took off.
Tom worked with Howard Films in 2005 to produce Chasing Silver, and enjoyed the process enough that the two collaborated again on Location X. Both films are about the obsession and passion that tarpon fishing creates in anglers worldwide.
Chasing Silver, produced in 2005 with Tom Rowland, is one of two Howard Films projects centered on the obsession and passion that fishing for tarpon creates and has captivated the imagination of anglers worldwide.
Busy schedules and geography made an in-person conversation difficult, so Tom and Jamie tried several times to connect, working through internet, headset, and scheduling issues before finally sitting down for this unhurried phone conversation.
I worked with Jamie back in 2005 on Chasing Silver, and I enjoyed it enough that we teamed up again on Location X. Watching what he built afterward, from Andy's Return to Bass The Movie to Running the Coast, made me want to sit down and actually catch up with him properly, not just as a collaborator but to hear the whole story of how he got here.
Jamie was working in advertising in New York before September 11 changed how he thought about his own life's direction, the way it did for a lot of people who lived or worked there. He had grown up fishing and felt like he could tell a real story on the canvas of the world's most beautiful fishing destinations. Getting there took self-funding the whole operation and getting through plenty of trials along the way, and I think that path is worth hearing him describe himself.
Jamie and I tried this phone call more than once before it worked. Between internet issues, headset problems, and just finding a time that lined up with both of our schedules, it took a few attempts to sit down for this one. I think that unhurried, patched-together feel is part of why the conversation goes the places it does.
Tag us on Instagram at @Tom_Rowland or @Howardfilms and let us know what you thought about this one. Jamie's story, from a creek of an idea after 9/11 to some of the most iconic fishing films in the sport, is worth hearing him tell.
Jamie Howard is the founder of Howard Films and the writer and director behind In Search of a Rising Tide, Chasing Silver, Location X, Andy's Return, Bass The Movie, and Running the Coast, a body of work built after leaving a New York advertising career to pursue fishing filmmaking full-time.
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