Tom Rowland | Zombie Marlin and Monster Pythons in the Everglades | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 855

Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 855: Rob Chapman

In this episode: a couple of crazy Marlin videos and a snake video, a marlin that was stone dead and then revived, a black Marlin whose bill went through the back of a boat, and a monster python that is close to 20 foot — in the exact words spoken.

00:00 · Cold Open

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01:37 · Coming Up: A Revived Marlin, a Boat-Piercing Bill, and Snakes That Eat Anything

Rob Chapman: They saved that fish, which if they had just left it, that fish would be dead.

Tom Rowland: Charge the boat so hard and fast that the bill went through the back of the boat.

Rob Chapman: Mice and rabbits. They're eating gators. They're eating cattle. They they can eat anything.

01:53 · Meet Rob Chapman and This Week's Viral Videos

Tom Rowland: What's going on, everybody? We're here with my good friend, Rob Chapman. He has brought us several different viral videos to talk about, the ones that are going crazy on the Internet this week. Rob, what do you got for us today?

Rob Chapman: Alright. We've got three videos, couple of crazy Marlin videos, and then also a snake video. Could it be the 20 footer that, Fish and Garrett's been trying to find for several years?

Tom Rowland: Right on. Well, what do we got with the Marlin video? This is Uno Mas Billfish. I saw this one before you even sent it. I knew this was gonna be a video that, was gonna take off. And, tell me about what you think was going on here.

02:30 · The Zombie Marlin: Stone Dead, Then Revived

Rob Chapman: Yeah. So that's I mean, you and I have fished for, I don't know, sixty, seventy years combined now. We see a lot of things happen in the water. We don't know exactly how they found this marlin, but this this marlin, you could tell from the start of the video, and this this Instagram video is edited. They show the full length video on YouTube. That that Marlin was stone dead. Like, it looks like it had been dead for days.

Tom Rowland: Mhmm.

Rob Chapman: They find it. They start reviving it. As you know, getting the water through the gills and get it moving. And miraculously I mean, look at it.

02:58 · A Tail Wrap, a Twitching Pec Fin, and a Call to Rufus Wakeman

Tom Rowland: So here it is. Yeah. It it that it is actually very stiff. But what I saw, it looked like it was tail wrapped. Right? So

Rob Chapman: Uh-huh.

Tom Rowland: So watch this. Right here, he's he's unwrapping something. And then right here, you see the line on his tail. So a tail wrap marlin, definitely that can happen. Marlin, sailfish, whatever. And so then then he turns it around so it seems like it still got the hook in his mouth, and they were gonna pull it back up to the up to the boat. But I saw the pec fin kinda twitch as they were bringing it in. So I called, I called Rufus Wakeman this morning in in preparation for this, and Rufus has caught more billfish than I'll ever, see in my entire lifetime. And I asked him about this. I was asking him how often he had tail wrapped one and seen it come up dead, and he said that it had happened a couple of times. This one certainly appeared like it was in very bad shape. And then these guys are doing textbook, reviving. And see, at this point, that fish is not stiff anymore. Like, it's moving. Like, it's it's obviously moving right there. And, and they they revive this thing and and and off it goes. So good good work to them. Some of the comments are that they thought the video was edited and, that maybe that fish just swam off right there out of his hand.

04:23 · The Negative Comments and the Vanished Video

Rob Chapman: A 100%.

Tom Rowland: Swam off.

Rob Chapman: Well, to your point on the comments too, Tom, people don't ever know the full context. I appreciate the fact they put this video out here with as you observed with the tail wrap. I didn't see that. I just watched it on my phone. These guys that marlin fish for a living, like you said, Rufus and Unimar, you can go down the line. This is all they do three hundred days a year, most of them. They know way more than I'm ever gonna know. These fish are their passion. This is what they live for. This is what they love. They're gonna do everything to keep these fish healthy. So the people that get in the comments that are so negative, you and I, we we've seen it a million times. Most of them don't know what they're talking about. These guys will do everything to keep those fish healthy because that's their that's their lifeblood.

Tom Rowland: For sure.

Rob Chapman: They're they're certainly trying. Showed so much of this too.

Tom Rowland: They're they're certainly trying. And I I went and looked. I I, you know, went to that link that's in Carrie Chen. This is off Carrie Chen's, Instagram, by the way. I went to that link, and the video had been taken down.

Rob Chapman: Oh, is that right?

Tom Rowland: Yeah. So I don't know what that's

Rob Chapman: all about. Negative comments.

Tom Rowland: I I don't know what that's all about, but I don't know why you would have what what what is up with negative comments? You gotta you you you've got a fish that is being revived, and and they're spending a lot of time reviving it and and and showing people exactly how to do it and then giving you hope that that, a fish that appears like it's not gonna do well, if you spend enough time with it, maybe it will. And, and that could be different from from, Billfish to Redfish and Bonefish. I mean, we when we were doing all the the, release tournaments and stuff like that, when a Bonefish would would lose its color, it was it was really, really in bad shape. And this Yeah. That that marlin right there looks looks in in incredibly bad shape. It looks very

06:02 · Every Species Handles It Differently

Rob Chapman: a great point, Tom. You know, and you've caught a species. You fly fish. You you do all kinds of fishing. You're as multiverses you can get fishing wise. Every fish is different. Bass are tough as nails. I've got pet bass over my other shoulder. This is a pet grouper. I got pet shark. I I I have missed pets, but I catch them. I release them. Redfish can survive anything. You can leave them out of the water for five minutes, put them in the cooler. They'll come back. Gars can live twenty so every fish is different. I'm modeling obviously resilient. Trout are very weak. Bonefish are very weak. So I think it's a species by species. I think most of these videos that could be taken into context, but how many people truly know that are driving by an Instagram how tough a species is, we'll say.

Tom Rowland: Right.

06:44 · Kudos for Showing the Release

Rob Chapman: That's why I said, I really appreciate Carrie putting this video on these guys. I hope they didn't pull because of negative comments, but that's just the reality. It within our own industry fishing industry, there's guys who you shouldn't be you know, you didn't you didn't catch it fast enough. You caught it too fast. You didn't release it. The debate will never end. Like I said, these guys, I've I know what their passion is. I you can watch their videos. No one handles them better than they do. So kudos to them for at least showing it. I mean, most people wouldn't show it and take the chance of showing it, so I'm glad they did. This is a good learning tool to me, and I think that you ultimately if you could show video and we love viral content and this and that. But if you show videos, actually teach people some, this is a great release technique. I know you've probably debated is the s curve is the shove the fish in the water. That's a debate within its own, but this the proof's in the pudding. They save that fish, which if they had just left it, that fish would be dead.

Tom Rowland: So For for sure. Kudos to

Rob Chapman: those two.

07:34 · Forecasting the Views

Tom Rowland: This is where we will, give a give a forecast. Right now, this video has been up for one day. It's got 55,299 plays as of now. What what's your, forecast? How many how many videos of views is this one gonna

Rob Chapman: get? So as you know, Tom, between you and I, I'll I'll say for this gamer, there's roughly 5,000,000 accounts that we have the ability to, or 5,000,000 followers between our accounts. I'm gonna get behind it. I push it. I love the messaging. We'll leave it with Carrie Chen as that original video. I would think this gets to a quarter million. And this is also one of if it stays, could get in that cycle fifteen to thirty days from now and just go into the stratosphere with people that don't love fishing. To truly have a viral go video, it's not just a fishing community. It's gotta be people from every walk of life. And then when you do that, you get every opinion from every walk of life. So Yeah. Yeah. I'd say quarter million to half million on this one would be my guess.

Tom Rowland: Okay. Alright. What do you got next?

08:32 · The Marlin Without a Bill

Rob Chapman: We got the Marlin without a bill.

Tom Rowland: Marlin without a bill.

Rob Chapman: I've never seen I know, Tom, you've seen we've seen piebald tarpon. We've seen crazy things over the last ten, fifteen, twenty years, especially now cameras. I mean, there's always stories of stuff before cameras. But now if it didn't happen on camera, you know, it didn't happen with all the so this when I first watched this video, before I saw this clip, I was baffled. It had my interest immediately because I was like, what is that? Is that a is that a blue tarpon? I couldn't tell without the bill. So to see right there that angle, is that a giant kingfish? Immediately, it fascinated me. I it looks to me like it's something that that marlin it it looks like it's healed. Who knows when and how it lost its, its spear, its knife, its you know, that's its tool for for shredding bait and attacking bait. But, obviously, this fish is healthy and doing well. So it it speaks again to the toughness of certain species. Marlin, they're the baddest fish in the planet, so they are as tough as they come.

09:26 · Two Permit With Half a Tail

Tom Rowland: So definitely seen, different fish with, former injuries. Like, I caught a per I caught two permit one day, and the first one that I caught had half of the it only had half a tail, and the top part of it was missing. So it only had the bottom ray of the of the tail. We go down the beach a little bit further. We catch another one, and he only has the top fin. Both of these were not, recent injuries. They were long time injuries ago that the shark had bitten off their tail or whatever. But it was the craziest thing because I've caught tons of permit, and I've only caught two that have a half a tail. And I caught both of them on the same day back to back, and one was the top fin and one was the bottom fin. Super strange. Super strange. And I also caught that with someone that, had a had a deformed arm, believe it or not. It's so crazy. It's one of the craziest guiding stories I ever had. But to to the point that these fish are very, very resilient, and I asked Rufus about this one too because I knew we were gonna talk about this one. And, Rufus said that when he was in Australia, he had a black Marlin charge the boat so hard and fast that the bill went through the back of the boat.

10:46 · The Marlin That Speared a Boat

Rob Chapman: I remember that picture. He

Tom Rowland: said that it was the most incredible thing he's ever seen, because he said you could shoot a gun at the back of that boat and it wouldn't go all the way through. And this went all the way through.

Rob Chapman: Speed of them. Yeah.

Tom Rowland: Right. And

Rob Chapman: so great point, Tom.

10:58 · One-Eyed Tarpon and Why Bill-Less Marlin Are Easy Marks

Tom Rowland: He he had a couple other things to say about it too. He was saying that, he he has had, a number of tarpon, including a 186 and a half pounder that he caught and thought it was a world record. And this was back when people kept tarpon, and he put that on in the boat and went and waited at a 186 and a half pounds. It only had one eye. No. No. That one had he told me about another one that had one eye. This one had half a tail, just like the permit I was talking about. And he said that, a a group of fish came to him, and he throws his fly in there. And this one went over the back of other fish to get it. And he said that when, it's been his experience with with Marlin that don't have a bill, he's caught he's caught several like this. Even though he has caught thousands of Marlin, he's only had experience with maybe one or two or three that don't have a bill. And and some of them were obvious previous injuries where it was broken off and there was part partial bill there, and then others are like this one that it was broken off a long time ago and it healed over to the point to where it looks like it never had a bill. And there could and he even said that there could be deformities where they don't have one. But those fish, he said that when every time he's encountered, one of these fish that has one eye or half a tail or something or or an albino, that they are some of the easier ones to catch because, like, he was saying, this fish right here is gonna have to be right next to all of the other Marlin that are going into the school and using their bill to whack the fish. And when they whack the fish, he's gonna be right there, almost like a almost like a a Jack Gravel following a shark. Right? Like like, they'll let the shark do the do the hard work, and then they'll be right there to get it. So he was saying that, you know, while maybe rare, also highly opportunistic. Well, the thing too is that these guys are catching so many more in in, in Mag Bay right now. Not just this group of people, but everybody that's going down there. It's the hottest spot in the world right now, I think. And, so when you're catching that many fish, you might catch a weird one like this.

13:04 · A Monster Python in a Pickup Truck

Rob Chapman: Absolutely. Your odds are a lot higher. So this last one, there's almost no context, which which I love. So, I I talked with Caveman Sharker. I won't say his real name. I I don't even know if it's on his profile, but, the funniest part about this video is the biggest I'm I'm gonna go ahead and say it. The biggest social media presence in all outdoors in the last year is fishing Garrett. He has gone from a couple 100,000 followers to millions. He he owns TikTok. He owns Instagram. Every video post gets millions of videos. Well, his videos are all shot with an iPhone, which is fascinating. I I know I've reached out to you about getting them on as a guest. What he does is he searches the Everglades, and he and he videos everything with his iPhone. So it's all right there, but he's he's fearless. He's incredibly educated and smart. What you and I deal within our side and the and once you get into the viral world and it crosses over people who don't know anything about their doors is they don't want you killing anything. If you kill a rat, how dare you? Well, these snakes, it's it's the ultimate catch twenty twenty two for someone who who doesn't like what we do. These are invasive species that destroy everything. Not just mice and rabbits. They're eating gators. They're eating cattle. They they can eat anything. So this is a Florida snake. So this was not taken somewhere else in the Amazon or anywhere crazy. That's right in the back of a pickup truck in Florida. I won't say all the details yet because I don't know what what Caveman wants to say. So Caveman is friends with Fish and Garrett. This is a video of a Florida invasive, obviously, monster snake. Was it 20 foot? Well, that's what Garrett's been searching for in every video. He's he's looking for the 20 footer. Mhmm. I don't wanna steal his thunder, but I could I could say I I'm not officially sure on what the world record is. It was caught in the last year for Florida. I say world record, but a Florida based, Python. We'll get into that later. But, yeah, this video just, immediate to me, it was funny. His, his hashtag or sorry, his caption, yoink guy, where you at? So they're buddies. It was all in fun, but it's it is close to 20 foot. More details will come out on it later. I've got them set up to talk to you too more about getting more depth

15:12 · How Pythons Are Found in the Everglades

Tom Rowland: about it. That they just found that, right, crawling across the road like that?

Rob Chapman: The first part of the video and, again, creative editing as you know too. Like that. Right? Get in-depth with him, but, yeah, that first shot sure looks like it's called across the road. Now I know the guys that set the record in the last four to five months, theirs was just off the road. So they literally are just you know, they're in the Everglades. The Everglades, there's nothing around. So you're driving down roads. And, yeah, it's that simple. You could see it. Now you might have to get off the road a little bit, but what's the easiest way to see the most wildlife? It's just driving down roads in the middle of the night in Everglades. Man. So, yeah, I think they found it there, and then that's when the hard part begins. These guys are crazy. I would never do it, but they see I imagine seeing that and they get out of your car and try to capture it.

Tom Rowland: That would be hitting the accelerator. The last thing I do

Rob Chapman: is vehicle.

16:01 · Snakeaholic's Nearly 200-Pound Snake

Tom Rowland: I I would get out of my car. I would, that I mean, that's incredible. We've had some other Python hunters on the podcast, most recently, snakeaholic. Listen. Look at this thing. Now he doesn't have a length on this one. He doesn't say the length on this one, but he does say that it's almost 200 pounds. And I don't think I don't think that actually and I don't think that snakeaholic caught this. I think that he was that someone brought this to him, and, and he processes them. But he said that this was the heaviest snake that he had ever Look at the size. Yeah. I mean It's like those big that head is as big as my Labrador Retriever's head.

Rob Chapman: Yeah. And that's why they can literally well, it was several years ago that the the FWC had one, the photograph that it had eaten a gator. It actually exploded because it had had eaten a gator. So it's ninety five percent of people that are involved with this snake a holic fishing gator, gator boy. The guys that do this, they love and care about the environment more than

Tom Rowland: Oh, sure.

Rob Chapman: Anybody else, and they wanna see it thrive. They're invasive, first of all, so they're supposed to be killed. It's like a snake. You you see it, you kill it because it is destroying the native habitat and the native animals.

17:08 · Wrap-Up: Send Us Your Videos

Tom Rowland: Well, that's what that's what we can't hear right now, but that's what snakeaholic's talking about on this too. It's like how many native wildlife how much native wildlife is that 200 pound snake eaten? Alright. Well, cool, man. That's three good ones this week. If, if you have your own video that you think is the next sensation on on social media or it is something interesting that we've never seen before, tag, the wild one outdoors, and, maybe it'll be on here next week. Rob, thanks, man. I appreciate it. Find find three or four more for next week. And,

Rob Chapman: You got it.

Tom Rowland: And we'll get some interesting guests on here too. Alright. That's it for today. We'll see you.