Ott DeFoe: 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champion on Tournament Strategy
Ott DeFoe is a professional bass angler and 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champion who has built one of the most consistent careers in competitive bass fishing, and he joins me to break down tournament strategy and decision-making under pressure.
Rodrigo Salles: Untamed Angling and Pioneering Remote Fisheries
Rodrigo Salles joins me on Episode 579 of the Tom Rowland Podcast to discuss his work with Untamed Angling and his experiences pioneering remote, conservation-driven fisheries in some of the wildest places anglers can go.
Diamond Dallas Page: From WCW Champion to Yoga Innovator
Diamond Dallas Page is a WWE Hall of Famer and 3-time WCW World Champion who has taken an unexpected path from the wrestling ring to becoming a wellness advocate through yoga, and he joins me to talk about reinvention, resilience, and his second act.
Jeff Malone: Tarpon Fishing the Florida Keys and Living 300 Days on the Water
Captain Jeff Malone is a Florida Keys fishing guide who logs close to 300 guided days on the water each year, making him one of the busiest and most dedicated captains in the region, and he joins me to talk tarpon fishing and the realities of that schedule.
Dr. Jennifer Rehage and Carissa Gervasi: The Jack Crevalle Migration From the Keys to Louisiana
The FIU Jack Crevalle acoustic tagging study discovered that fish tagged in the Florida Keys migrated all the way to Louisiana, traveling through Tampa and Apalachicola, a distance researchers never anticipated, and scientists Dr. Jennifer Rehage and Carissa Gervasi join me to explain it.
Toby Hansen: From Coast Guard to Professional Captain and Founder of the Skiff Challenge
Toby Hansen is a professional captain, spearfisherman, and founder of the Skiff Challenge who grew up as the son of a commercial fisherman in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and he joins me to trace his path from the Coast Guard to a captain's life funded in part by a mail-Jeep hustle.
Sam Milazzo: 76 Sailfish in One Day and the Reality of Guiding the Keys
Sam Milazzo is a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys specializing in sailfish and offshore species, known for setting a record by catching 76 sailfish in a single day, and he joins me to talk through that day and the reality of guiding for a living.
Blane Chocklett: Fly Design Innovation and Muskie on the Fly
Virginia's mild winters keep water temperatures in the mid-30s to low-40s through winter, pushing muskies into wintering spots and a pre-spawn feeding phase, and fly-design innovator Blane Chocklett joins me to explain how he designs flies and targets these fish.
Kevin Pavlidis: Hunting Invasive Burmese Pythons in the Florida Everglades
During winter in South Florida, invasive Burmese python behavior shifts from random hunting movements to highly predictable breeding patterns, and python hunter Kevin Pavlidis joins me to explain how he uses that to find and remove some of the largest snakes in the Everglades.
Alycia Downs: How Captains for Clean Water Mobilized 25,000 People
Alycia Downs is a key leader at Captains for Clean Water, a Florida-based conservation organization founded by fishing guides to protect and restore the state's waterways. She joins me to talk about how the organization mobilized 25,000 supporters toward a landmark LOSOM victory, reached 18 million people in 2021, and connected fitness and conservation through the 10,000 pushup challenge.
Capt. Paul Tejera: Keys Legend Returns to Tennis at 63
Capt. Paul Tejera is a legendary Florida Keys fishing guide with decades of experience on the water who returned to competitive tennis at 63 and is still competing against players in their 30s. He joins me to talk about a lifetime of guiding, the discipline behind staying competitive at any age, and the mindset that bridges fishing and high-level tennis.
Capt. Paul Ross: Solo SuperSlam and Guiding While in School
Capt. Paul Ross is a young Florida inshore fishing guide who grew up offshore fishing with his father before discovering his passion for the challenging world of inshore flats fishing. He joins me to talk about achieving a solo SuperSlam, balancing a guiding career with college, and what drew him from the offshore world to the flats.
Jako Lucas: Arapaima Fishing in the Amazon
Jako Lucas is a South African-born fishing guide and the founder of Capt. Jack Productions who travels the world chasing exotic species on the fly. He joins me to talk about arapaima fishing in the Amazon, the tackle and techniques required for the world's largest scaled freshwater fish, and the logistics of mounting an expedition into remote jungle.
Capt. Jeff Malone: Fighting Big Fish, Drag Control, and Rod Technique
Capt. Jeff Malone is a full-time charter captain who runs two boats year-round and teaches anglers proper fish-fighting technique. He joins me to break down drag control, the lift-and-reel cadence, palming the spool, and how to prevent tip wraps, the fundamentals that decide whether you land big fish like tarpon or lose them.
Dr. Kevin Stone: Why 80% of Knee Replacements Are Not Needed
Dr. Kevin Stone is an orthopedic surgeon and pioneer of biologic joint repair who argues that the vast majority of knee replacements are not needed. He joins me to explain the strict criteria a replacement should actually meet, the biological alternatives he has refined over decades, and why resting an injured knee often makes it worse.
Alyssa Amos Clark: Accomplishing a Goal Without Getting Overwhelmed
Alyssa Amos Clark is an ultra-endurance athlete who ran 95 marathons in 95 days and set the fastest known time on the Pinhoti Trail. She joins me to share her framework for accomplishing huge goals without getting overwhelmed, how she breaks the impossible into manageable pieces, and the mindset that carries her through.
Richard Black: Florida Keys Tournament Secrets and Black Fly Charters
Richard Black is a Florida Keys guide and the owner of Black Fly Charters who has built an exceptional tournament record by mastering the entire Keys fishery, from upper Keys tarpon and permit to lower Keys backcountry, Flamingo, and offshore. He joins me to talk tournament strategy, seasonal patterns, and why knowing the whole Keys chain is the edge.
Debbie Hanson: Peacock Bass and Topwater Secrets
Debbie Hanson is an award-winning outdoor writer and angler who specializes in chasing peacock bass in the South Florida canal system. She joins me to break down why summer into fall is prime time for these warm-water fish, how to read canal structure, and the topwater cadence and retrieve strategies that trigger explosive strikes.
Ryan Martin: 2x World Champion Boxer on Mental Toughness and Fishing
Ryan Martin is a two-time world champion boxer known as @BlueChipBoxer who brings championship-level discipline from the ring into his fishing pursuits. He joins me to talk about how the mental preparation that made him a world champion translates to saltwater fishing, a fish catch that changed his perspective on conservation, and why the same visualization techniques that helped him win titles now help him land trophy fish.
Lee, Seth & Joel Wakefield: Saltwater Heart Fishing and Building Community
Lee, Seth, and Joel Wakefield are three brothers from the Philadelphia area who created Saltwater Heart Fishing, a fishing social media brand built to help anglers enjoy fishing more. By day they run a family custom cabinet shop, and in their free time they fish the Jersey Coast and Delaware River while building a network of fishing friends up and down the East Coast. They join me to talk about balancing the woodworking business with content creation, the techniques that work on their home waters, and the philosophy behind helping other anglers connect.
Geoff Arias: How Tough Times Can Refine You or Define You
Geoff Arias is a commercial construction professional in Fort Lauderdale who was diagnosed with ALL leukemia his senior year of high school and beat it after chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. He joins me to talk about choosing to let tough times refine him rather than define him, the Make-A-Wish fishing trip he took with me to the Florida Keys, and the values of resilience, work ethic, and gratitude he is passing to his three kids.
Pete Erickson: Fly Fishing Team USA and the Competition Mindset
Pete Erickson is a member of Fly Fishing Team USA, a Great Outdoor Games champion, and an old friend and former roommate of mine from our early guiding days. In this episode he joins me to talk about the competition mindset, why his best tournaments are the ones where a French or Czech angler beats him, how a small group of us came out of one area to dominate fly fishing television, and the art of a craft that never stops moving.
Billy Davis (Melton Hill Bill): Reservoir Bass and Musky Tactics
Billy Davis, known as Melton Hill Bill, is a Tennessee fishing guide who spends over 200 days a year on the water chasing bass and musky on Melton Hill Reservoir. In this episode he joins me to share how he got noticed through Larry Dahlberg's The Hunt for Big Fish, the leap of quitting his job to guide full-time, and the reservoir tactics he has dialed in from fishing nearly every single day.
Mike Counihan (NoDonutsHere): A Cop's Take on Fitness and Night Fishing
Mike Counihan, known online as NoDonutsHere, is a New York police officer who built a following around fitness and the outdoors. In this episode he joins me to talk about staying in shape on a punishing schedule, why he fishes alone at night far from everyone, how he protects his gym time around long shifts and a long commute, and the gratitude he finds out on the water under the stars.