Ryan Harrington | 320 Days Fishing & Running a Six-Month Waitlist | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 879
Captain Ryan Harrington is a full-time fishing guide based in Islamorada, Florida who spends over 300 days a year on the water chasing tarpon, permit, and bonefish.
Jacob Wheeler | 2X Angler of the Year on Tournament Fishing | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 877
Jacob Wheeler is a 2X Angler of the Year in professional bass fishing, and in this conversation with Tom Rowland, he opens up about the path that took him to the top of competitive fishing.
Chris Malinowski: Ocean Conservation and Marine Research
Dr. Chris Malinowski of the Ocean First Institute on marine research, protecting ocean ecosystems, and what individuals can do to support conservation. Listen to Ep. 875.
Jon B: The Googan Squad and Modern Fishing Content
Googan Squad member Jon B on modern fishing content, balancing entertainment with instruction, how digital changed fishing education, and creator challenges. Listen to Ep. 873.
Jimbo Keith: Cedar Key Fishing Secrets and a 10-Pound Trout
Cedar Key captain Jimbo Keith on Nature Coast fishing secrets, a 10-pound trout, reading tides and wind, and decades guiding one fishery. Listen to Ep. 867.
Steel Rockett: Spearfishing Stealth Techniques and Blue Water Dangers
Third-generation Keys diver Steel Rockett on the tropical fish trade, hunting Cubera, his take on Keys sharks, and a loggerhead bite. Listen to Ep. 865.
Viktor Hluben: Building Landshark Outdoors and Viral Fishing Content
Viktor Hluben on building Landshark Outdoors from childhood fishing videos into a viral media brand, what makes content go viral, and how creators earn. Listen to Ep. 863.
Uncle Larry: From Weekend Fishing Buddies to 4 Million Views
Uncle Larry on turning weekend fishing videos into millions of views, the comment that made him quit his corporate job, and building Uncle Larry Outdoors. Listen to Ep. 861.
Dr. Mike Larkin: Why Fish Don't Migrate From Florida to the Bahamas
Marine biologist Dr. Mike Larkin uses tagging data and Gulf Stream science to explain why fish don't migrate from Florida to the Bahamas. Listen to Ep. 859.
Spearfishing, a Near-Death Experience, and Ethical Fishing
A solo Tom Rowland Podcast episode on meeting spearfishing champion Ritchie Zacker, a friend's shallow water blackout, and what ethical angling really means. Listen to Ep. 857.
Danny Mako: Freediving With Sharks and Big Ocean Predators
Freediver Danny Mako on holding his breath five minutes at 70 feet, the personalities of bull, tiger, and reef sharks, and diving a Mag Bay bait ball. Listen to Ep. 854.
Gator Boy Chris: Wrestling Gators and Reading Apex Predators
Chris Gillette, known as Gator Boy Chris from Animal Planet's Gator Boys, is a professional alligator handler, wildlife educator, and shark-tourism operator out of South Florida. In this episode he joins me to talk about how he reads an animal's telegraphed movements the way a martial artist reads an opponent, the real difference between alligators and crocodiles, Florida's Burmese python crisis, his shark-diving work, and the gator ponds he is building to keep growing his mission of changing how people see these predators.
Forrest Galante: Conservation, Balance, and Hunting for Animals Thought Extinct
Wildlife biologist and Discovery Channel host Forrest Galante joins Tom Rowland for a conversation on conservation and balance. Forrest shares his Zimbabwe upbringing, how Naked and Afraid redirected his career into wildlife media, the making of Extinct or Alive, and how he rediscovered eight species lost to science including the Fernandina Island tortoise. He also delivers an unfiltered, realist take on why conservation is a war we keep losing and where ethical hunters and anglers fit in.
Capt. Jason Stock: Rebuilding Reefs and Fishing Ancient Sinkholes
Captain Jason Stock is a professional fishing guide and conservationist out of Bradenton, Florida, who specializes in nearshore and offshore reef and wreck fishing around Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key. In this episode he joins me to explain how the 'springs' he fishes are actually ancient sinkholes from when Florida extended 40 to 50 miles further into the Gulf, the staggering concentrations of fish they hold, the science he learned from Mote Marine Laboratory, his upgrade from a Yellowfin 26 to a 31, and his reef-rebuilding conservation work.
Kevin Cullum - The Road to One Million Push-Ups
Kevin Cullum, known as the push-up guy, joins me to talk about his mission to complete one million push-ups, documented on Instagram. We get into the systems that make consistency automatic, why the real battle is mental, and how showing up daily changes everything.
Nick Mayer: Sharing a Love of Nature Through Art
Nick Mayer is a nature artist who creates detailed illustrations of fish and marine life, blending artistic skill with a deep passion for conservation. He joins me to talk about leaving the video-game industry for full-time art, the childhood obsession with fish identification books that shaped him, and why he believes art can connect people to the natural world.
Nic De Castro: How LandTrust Built the Airbnb of Private Hunting and Fishing Land
Nic De Castro, founder and CEO of LandTrust, joins Tom Rowland to explain how he built the leading land-sharing marketplace for outdoor recreation, the Airbnb of private hunting and fishing land. Nic shares how he launched a two-sided marketplace from a single New Jersey farm, why owner-operator farmers and ranchers are the right landowners, how LandTrust handles trust and insurance, and how it now scouts day, weekend, and season access across 1.25 million acres in 40 states for sportsmen by species and activity.
Capt. John Landry: Clean Water from Florida to Alaska
Capt. John Landry is a fishing guide and clean-water advocate I have known since he was ten years old. In this episode he traces his path from a few trips on his dad's boat to guiding in Alaska with no freshwater experience and then building his own business back in Florida. We get into the Pebble Mine fight in Bristol Bay and the 2023 EPA ruling that protected it, the parallel battle in Florida where the sugar industry is the biggest obstacle, the role of Captains for Clean Water, and how Hurricane Ian's aftermath has reshaped the fishery.
Drew Chicone: The Art and Science of Saltwater Fly Design
Drew Chicone is an expert saltwater fly designer, author, and former tennis pro. In this episode he joins me to talk about how he develops fly patterns, the prized rooster capes he inherited from his father, why he leans on big spawning-style shrimp and gurgler patterns, the crab-fly drop-to-the-bottom presentation for spooky fish, his honest take on permit versus bonefish and snook, and the writing discipline behind his books and step-by-step tying content.
Lunkerdog: Protect the Mullet Run and Fight for Clean Water
Lunkerdog (Jeff Maggio) is a longtime South Florida tarpon guide turned fishing content creator and clean-water advocate. In this episode he joins me to talk about the decline of the Florida mullet run, how the anticipation and thrill he grew up with has faded, why he believes the science foundations are not moving the needle, and his call for real political leadership and a broad coalition — anglers, restaurant owners, developers, and mega-yacht owners alike — to fight for clean water in places like Fort Lauderdale.
World-Class Coaching Is Closer Than You Think (Physical Friday)
In this Physical Friday solo episode, I make the case that right now is the best time in history to get great at almost anything, because modern tools like Zoom and apps such as TrueCoach let you hire the best coach in the world instead of whoever happens to be within driving distance. I walk through my own pursuit of a CrossFit Games qualification at 55, how I ended up coached by four-time CrossFit Games champion Jason Grubb and Olympic weightlifter Sonny Webster, and what it takes to actually get results from remote coaching.
Capt. Jonathan Moss: The Captain's Log, Mosquito Lagoon, and Clean Water
Capt. Jonathan Moss is a Florida fishing guide and the host of Waypoint TV's The Captain's Log. In this episode he joins me to talk about advice for new guides and managing client expectations, the heartbreak of watching Mosquito Lagoon's water quality and seagrass collapse, the damage Hurricane Ian did to the lagoon system, and the work of the Lagoon Waterman Alliance — the angler-, guide-, and scientist-led group backed by Captains for Clean Water that is fighting to keep the fishery healthy for the next generation.
Hunter Smallback: From the Flats to the Wrestling Ring
Hunter Smallback is a Florida-raised lifelong angler, surfer, and former Division I football player who is now training to become a professional wrestler. In this episode he joins me to trace a life built around the outdoors — strapped to the bow of a boat in the Keys as a baby, sneaking onto a golf course to fish the best creek he had ever seen, drifting Mosquito Lagoon for snook — and to explain what it has been like to take bump after bump learning the brutal, athletic craft of pro wrestling.
Zack Bogosian: Pro Hockey, Bow Hunting, and the Details That Transfer
Zack Bogosian is a veteran NHL defenseman and an avid bow hunter and outdoorsman. In this episode he joins me to talk about the path through pro hockey, why he fell in love with bow hunting in Alberta, the relative-age effect that shapes who gets noticed by scouts, and the way the small-detail discipline of elite hockey — positioning, hand placement, listening to systems — carries straight over into archery, breathing, and the focus required in the outdoors.