The Live Q&A With Tom episode is Tom Rowland's first live question-and-answer show, recorded over Facebook Live and Instagram Live with questions also coming in by email and Twitter. Tom spent two hours answering questions on everything from Goliath grouper regulations and becoming a fishing guide to Captain's License requirements and how to stay in shape on the road, thanking fans and friends who took part in the live event.
Tom pointed listeners toward Sea School for Captain's License training during the live Q&A, the same path he has recommended to other guests asking about becoming a guide, including going through the U.S. Coast Guard licensing process.
Tom directed listeners to Captains for Clean Water at captainsforcleanwater.org, discussing the ongoing freshwater discharge issues affecting Everglades water quality and what anglers can do to get involved and support the organization's work.
Tom said his favorite boat to fish from is a 24-foot Yellowfin Bay CE, discussing what he likes about that platform for the kind of fishing he does in the Florida Keys.
Tom pointed listeners to his fitness-for-fishing content for ideas on staying in shape on the road, discussing the kinds of bodyweight and travel-friendly workouts he relies on between guiding, filming, and podcasting.
Tom walked through how he ties a flyfishing leader, including referencing the Lefty Kreh leader formula, and pointed to his own bonefish leader tutorial for anglers who want the step-by-step version.
Tom answered a fan question comparing braided line to monofilament, walking through his own preference and reasoning for different situations on the water.
I had never done anything like this before on the podcast, but the questions had been piling up for a while, everything from tackle questions to bigger issues like the Everglades. Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and email all at once seemed like the only way to actually get through as many of them as I could in one sitting, so I set aside two hours and just started answering.
A good chunk of this Q&A ended up being about Everglades water quality, and that was not an accident. I wanted to use some of this time to point people to Captains for Clean Water and explain what is actually going on with the discharges, because that issue affects every angler listening to this whether they fish the Keys or not. I would rather spend a few extra minutes on that than rush through it.
Boat choice, braid versus mono, and how to tie a proper leader come up in some form almost every time I open the floor to questions, so I made sure to get to the Yellowfin 24 Bay CE question, the leader-tying question, and the line question in this session. I answer them here the same way I would answer a buddy at the dock.
Thank you to all the fans and friends who participated in this live event. Two hours went by fast, and I could not get to everything, but I tried to hit the questions that seemed to matter most to the most people.
Tom Rowland is a professional light-tackle and fly fishing guide in the Florida Keys and host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, where he covers fishing technique, guiding, conservation issues like Everglades water quality, and the fitness and mindset habits he uses to stay sharp on and off the water.
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