Tom Rowland Podcast

Often when I'm filming Into The Blue I am sitting on the anchor and waiting for something to happen. During this time I will talk with people like Jason Stemple and Jake Perry. On the last trip we were talking about different things that we could talk about on the podcast. One of the things that I took with me was eliminating twists in the anchor line. Some people might not experience this because you are using a certain kind of anchor or you are in shallow water. But one of the things that happens when you are offshore is you use an anchor retrieval ball. When you are set up with several hundred feet of anchor line it is very difficult to get right over the top of that anchor and just start pulling. You would just be pulling the anchor from the bottom up to the top and it would be a lot of work. So if you use an anchor retrieval ball, you can use the buoyancy of the ball to pull the anchor up. If you are interested in checking it out you can find one HERE.

A long-time listener of the Tom Rowland Podcast joins me today to talk about the TRP Fitness Challenge. Bryan Sears is 5 days into 20 for 20 and tells us about his exercises and how he gets them done while being a captain, guide and working for Mass Bay Guides.Bryan is a fisherman up in Massachusetts and also is big into fitness, so he was excited about the challenge and the comradery with the #TRPFitnessChallenge. Bryan’s mom owns a small gym and he has always been around a fitness lifestyle, but he was most excited about doing 20 days straight with no rest. Bryan’s family owns a charter company called Mass Bay Guides and he sometimes goes up into Canada for the Big Tuna which I would love to see one day. If you want to book Bryan or follow him on social you can visit @mbgbryan or @massbayguides.The January 20 for 20 fitness challenge is just 20 minutes of exercise a day, whatever it is, just do it for 20 days straight. If you are wanting to do the challenge you can tag #TRPFitnessChallenge, @tom_rowland and @saltwater_experience, I will put the video or picture up on my account. Get some apparel for this challenge by CLICKING HERE and part of the proceeds will go to Captains For Clean Water. If this challenge is a bit easy for you, just hang around and see what the challenge is for February. This episode was brought to you by Waypoint - Watch all your favorite Saltwater Experience episodes at any time and find your favorite podcasts on the Waypoint Outdoor Collective. The episode was produced by Tom Rowland and Brock Rustand. The show was edited by Brock Rustand.

Your Character is who you are deep inside. But it also is made up of all the things that you do, say and think and you can influence and change those things. Being a kinder person starts with your thoughts and ends with just being apart of who you are. Being a stronger, more positive, more artistic person, all comes from your thoughts. You have the power to influence your character. 

I came across Joshua Medcalf's work after hearing 2x CrossFit Games Champion, Katrin Davidsdottir reference a book called Chop Wood, Carry Water. I put it on the list and then quickly read that one and 2 more. Since reading his books, they have become the most gifted books of the year. I gave them to my children, friends and people I work with. Each of the recipients have as impressed with them as I was. We also had some other interests in common. Joshua recently returned from an Inner Mountain Excursion in Norway to learn more about the Wim Hof Method and much more. LinkJoshua's story is quickly summarized below (from his website, www.t2bc.com)T2BC founder Joshua Medcalf gave up scholarships to law school to move across the country to live and serve at a homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles. After six months of serving at the shelter he moved into the closet of a gym. It was there, 6 years ago, that Train to be Clutch started to take form through the simple mission of love people, serve people, and provide value. He has gone on to be one of the most sought after people in the world of mental conditioning, leadership, and life skills. He created the first mental training apps in the world for basketball, soccer, and golf. He has written four books. He is also one of two people ever to be invited to work with UNC Women's Soccer (22 National Championships) on mental conditioning. Joshua is a straight shooter who is passionate about people and he communicates with a heart posture of love and grace. But he is not afraid to say the hard things that people need to hear, which has made him a valuable consultant and mentor to some of the best in the world. Core Principles : You don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training The people at the top of the mountain didn't fall there Authentic vulnerability is the only way to lead In everything you do, operate with a heart posture of gratitude Chop wood, carry water Greatness isn't sexy it is dirty, hard work I hope you enjoy this podcast with one of my favorite authors of the year.

Fourth generation Conch and Key West Flats Guide joins me today to discuss everything about how to catch a permit on a fly rod. This is one you do not want to miss if you ever aspire to catch this incredible fish.

With the help of my friends from Captains Collective we are starting a Fitness Challenge. There will be a new challenge each month that we will all do together. This month we are doing the 2020, 20, 20. We will do 20 minutes of exercise everyday for 20 days in a row. Going from January 9 to January 29, 2020 we will all try to get 20 minutes of exercise, no matter what it is, anything goes. Take pictures or videos of yourself doing 20 minutes of exercise and tag #TRPFitnessChallenge and I will share it on my story. 

As Dan Coats said, "Habit is the daily battleground of character." As we discussed that your actions form your habits, it is very important to monitor your habits because that will determine your character. Habits can be created and destroyed, but changing your character can be a long process. It is best to take small steps and look at your habits if you want to impact your character.

I have followed Mark Quartiano who is better known as Mark The Shark for a couple of years. To say that Mark is controversial is an understatement. Mark seems to relish the role as the bad boy of Sportfishing and referred to himself as the Darth Vader of Sportfishing. This was interesting to me because he also seems to have a lot of kind of contrary opinions and actions to being the badboy. For example, Mark has no problem killing big sharks and posting the pictures on Instagram, however after talking to him for a while I also learned that he has tagged more sharks than anyone in the world. He doesn't just kill sharks for no reason, they are sent to biologists or he takes them to the homeless shelter. I wanted to learn more about what made him tick so I took a chance and sent him a message. To my surprise, he responded right away and we set up the podcast even though he didn't know what a podcast was. When I met him at his iconic office in Miami it was literally jammed with shark jaws, pictures stacked 2 feet high of previous catches were all over his desk. There was so much stuff in his office that it was impossible to take it all in. Mark sat down and talked about anything I wanted to talk about and by the end of the conversation I knew way more about Mark the Shark than before. I understood where he was coming from and I understood his motivations for what he does. We discussed sharks, of course, tournaments, water quality and family as well as many other subjects. We may disagree on a few things but we also agree on probably way more than we disagree. In fact, at the end of the conversation I really liked Mark and respected his work ethic that has him working 450 trips a year…every year.There is no doubt that this will be the most controversial podcast I have ever done, but I am very happy that I get a chance to talk to Mark and was very impressed with his willingness to do this interview and answer any questions I had.This podcast is brought to you by Waypoint. Produced by Tom Rowland and Brock Rustand. Audio editing by Brock Rustand. If you have any questions, email podcast@saltwaterexperienece.comSee you on the water,Tom Rowland

There are many ways and methods that we can use to catch permit. In order to be successful in catching permit under all conditions anglers need to have mastered many skills with different types of tackle. I find that a fly rod and a spinning rod will cover most conditions but anglers who enjoy baitcasters can also have success.Spinning TackleIf an angler wants to maximize his chances at permit, the spinning rod is unquestionably the most useful tool available. The spinning rod allows anglers to cast small and large crabs, light artificial lures and jigs and live shrimp in every condition. In the Florida Keys, we experience seasonal changes that require me to alter my spinning tackle to optimize the conditions. For example, winter and spring conditions are often windy; a condition that allows guides to get very close to the fish before they become alarmed. The rough conditions camouflage anglers and boats contrary to the extreme calm. Spinning RodsIt is in the windy conditions that I use a 7 foot medium action spinning rod designed for 8-17 pound line or 12-20 pound line to throw crabs that measure 2-3 inches across the carapace. The rod needs to have enough backbone to fight and land a fish over 30 pounds yet have a tip sensitive enough and light enough to be able to present these baits accurately and precisely in the windy conditions.  Casting distance is not the most important aspect of the setup at this time of year so I choose a rod that I am comfortable casting and that can whip a large fish easily. As the season wears on into the early summer, I find that the conditions often become calmer or at least we experience more calm days. As a general rule of thumb, the calmer the conditions, the spookier the fish will be, therefore the longer the cast will have to be to have success. In order to cast farther, anglers can simply change a few things in their tackle to easily add 10-50 feet in their cast. A rod that measure 7 1/2 feet and that employs a lighter and more responsive tip will out cast a 7 foot rod with the same line and lure. As the season becomes calmer and the fish become more wary, I go to a 7 1/2 foot medium action rod designed for 6-12 pound line. The extra length and whippy tip will also throw lighter crabs successfully which is often necessary to present the bait to the fish without alarming it. Crabs choice this time of year is often a crab measuring 2-2 1/2 inches across the carapace.The Florida Keys weather in the summer is often dead calm. The ocean can be as calm as a mill pond making sneaking up on permit tough, however summer is also the time when permit are the most available. In order to take advantage of the calm conditions, I go even farther in changing my tackle and move to 8 foot medium light action for 4-8 pound line. These rods will cast an even smaller crab a country mile. I routinely use the smallest crabs I can throw which might measure from 1-2 inches across the carapace. On the smallest crabs, a split shot is often necessary. Fighting a fish on a noodle rod like the one mentioned is much like fighting a fish on a fly rod. If you have never fought a fish on a fly rod, it is very important to keep the bend in the rod at a minimum by avoiding a situation known as “high sticking”. Keeping the tip of the rod pointed directly at the fish creates a slight bend in the rod, resulting in more power and better control over the fish. Pointing the butt of the rod towards the fish results in way too much bend in the rod, lack of control over the fish, very little pressure on the fish and often a broken rod.This podcast is brought to you by Waypoint. Produced by Tom Rowland and Brock Rustand. Audio editing by Brock Rustand. If you have any questions, email podcast@saltwaterexperienece.comSee you on the water,Tom Rowland

Thoughts become words which then become your actions. In part 3 of this series we cover how your words determine your work ethic, how you treat others and how you treat yourself. All of your actions are directly impacted by the words that you speak to others and especially by the words you speak to yourself.