Tom Rowland Podcast

Brandon Cyr is a 4th generation Conch. A Conch is someone born in Key West, FL and there are fewer now than ever. Brandon developed the fishing passion at an early age and grew up into one of the best flats guides in Key West.  I originally contacted Brandon to discuss his recent trip to Cuba. However, the Cuba trip took a back seat to his recent marriage proposal on his birthday, permit fishing and tagging bonefish. We finally got around to discussing Cuba and he filled me in on an amazing trip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Lower Florida Keys are one of the very best places in the world to catch Permit on the flats. In order for Permit to be plentiful, they need the right temperature, food source, vast inshore and offshore habitat and structure such as wrecks, coral heads, and bridges.  Best Seasons and Tides In the Florida Keys, the permit fishing is truly year-round. Of course, there are better times than others for permit, but anglers can feel confident that with enough looking, permit can and will be found. My favorite times of the year are Feb, March, June-November. The months of Feb and March coincide with the water temperatures climbing back into the comfort zone of the permit while also being just before the spawning season for permit. This time seems to be when there is a lot of permit on the flats and also when conditions are conducive to catching the fish on the fly. I look for post-cold front days when the sky is completely clear and the temperature is increasing for the best opportunities. The windy conditions t

This is number 2 of a six-part series dealing with your thoughts, words and how it determines your success or failure. To start off we have a couple of quotes, this one is from Chad Wright: “Your tongue is your rutter, it will steer the direction of your life and the outcome of your situations 98% of the time.” Zig Ziglar says: “There is power in words, what you say is what you get.” Pierre du Plessis: “Words create worlds” It is very difficult for us to have complete control over our thoughts. Our thoughts often run wild and sometimes when you are in a difficult situation you have some thoughts that you might fail or you might think you aren’t good enough. Most of the time you can dismiss them, but there is a serious change when you speak that you are going to fail or that you “can’t do it.” Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your character, and your character determines your destiny. There is so much truth to that statement,

Whatever industry you may be in, it is common to hear of the legends. Those people whose name continues to surface in conversations with other customers or competitors. In the inshore fishing business, Capt Joe Gonzales is one of those people. Despite working 150 miles away from one another, I heard Joe's name and stories on the regular. His reputation precedes him as a professional who might actually have some Bonefish DNA mixed in with his.  Many have said that Joe knows all the bonefish in Biscayne Bay. This may be true but that is not what makes a great reputation. There is much more to becoming a legendary Captain. Like most of the legends I know, Joe has stayed curious and seeks to learn more about all things fishing in order to continue to improve. I visited Joe in his home in Little Havana, Miami. He was gracious and welcoming and certainly told some great stories. I hope you will enjoy this podcast with Capt Joe Gonzales. If you do, please share this one with a friend.  Find Joe on Social Media: @cap

I was in the boat recently with a couple of my friends, Jason Stemple and Jake Perry and we started talking about little things that make a big difference on fishing trips. So we each put our two-cents in on the things that are the cheapest and that might be the most important. If you could carry a couple of these items instead of just one, it would exponentially increase the enjoyment and productivity of the day. So here is our list of things that we think will make your fishing experience much better. Hook Remover: When fishing for kingfish or barracudas (or anything with teeth) you will need this. Roughly $12 to $14 dollars. You will want an extra one because they don’t float and you might lose it. I prefer the Hook Extractor from Bass Pro Shops. Wire Straightener: Probably the cheapest thing you will have on your boat, but this can be the most important for kingfish, barracuda, sharks or anything with teeth. If you have a leader straightener, $2 it can help you get back out there much faster. AFW Econo Wi

Your thoughts will influence your words, which determines your actions. Your actions will define your habits which make up your character. Your character will determine your destiny. Learn to master your thoughts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Captain David Cohen is a coast guard 100 ton Captain who runs a pathfinder with a 150 Yamaha. He’s a south Florida Native that specializes in Big Tarpon and Snook with his vast knowledge of fishing Biscayne Bay for 30 years. He takes pride in giving each client an experience that they will remember for a lifetime. The Salt Life is simply the way of life for Captain David Cohen. I met Capt David Cohen at Jeff Magio's Lunkercon (Hear the podcast with Jeff at that Lunkercon here). Right away I liked David and was impressed with his passion for guiding. Luckily, we found time to get together as I was going through Miami.  David has been getting some attention lately with a new article published by Sportfishing magazine, a recent article in Sun-Sentinel on mullet run, Team Saltlife member, IRT Reels head team ambassador, team Bubba, as well as Seaguar and Owner Hooks pro staff.  Follow David on social media: @captdavidcohen This podcast is brought to you by Waypoint. Produced by Tom Rowland and Brock Rustand. Audi

Whatever industry you may be in, it is common to hear of the legends. Those people whose name continues to surface in conversations with other customers or competitors. In the inshore fishing business, Capt Joe Gonzales is one of those people. Despite working 150 miles away from one another, I heard Joe's name and stories on the regular. His reputation precedes him as a professional who might actually have some Bonefish DNA mixed in with his.  Joe walked me through his Bonefish Rig, you can see detail instructions below with links to the knots the Joe is referencing: To start off Joe uses an 8-foot spinning rod - this gives him a little more distance, especially when fishing out of a Marquesa and the bonefish are more aware of Joe’s presence in such a large boat. With the 8-foot rod Joe is able to cast further and into the wind. Joe uses a light rod (light action) and uses a 20-pound-test and will tie it with a Uni Knot or a Clinch Knot. Then Joe will use an offset 2/o with a bait keeper. He will then bite th

Today is about recovery - being a professional guide or just an active person, you are going to get beat up quite a bit. Most importantly, when you live an active lifestyle, you don't really have time to rest and recover. So a crucial way to recover that is quick and helps you become more agile is yoga. I understand that time commitments that go into an active lifestyle and I know many of you might not want to travel to a studio or be in an uncomfortable situation. So I would encourage you to look into all of the free opportunities that are available for you out there. You can find yoga on Amazon Prime Video and there are over 4,000 videos where you can isolate your back or hamstrings and maintain flexibility and mobility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heath Daughtry runs the small boat division at Yellowfin Yachts.  He is responsible for 4 boat models from 17-26 feet.  His attention to detail has improved the quality of our boats over the years.   Heath also started the Skiff Challenge which is a 1300 mile race around the State of Florida which has grown into a fundraiser and awareness generator for the water issues affecting the State of Florida.  Today, Captains for Clean Water runs the race and is bringing additional attention to the race and the issues. Last year, Heath won the race with his partner Chase Daniels (Hear that podcast here). However, this year, that team is breaking up and Heath has asked me to be his partner in the race.  We announce my participation and discuss preparation for this endurance event. 1300 miles in a skiff is going to be difficult no matter what the weather is and both Heath and I are preparing mentally as well as physically for the race.  Past Skiff Challenges have been motivation for Heath to embrace the physical culture

In the XPT Breathing Course, we went through a protocol that many people can benefit from. If your mind races as you lay down in bed and it becomes more difficult to go to sleep, this method may help. Inhale for 5 seconds through your nose, exhale for 7 seconds. I was taught that the 7 second exhale is critical. It can be more than 7 seconds but not as beneficial if it is less than 7 seconds. Do this 5-10 times. I like to extend this out to a 7 second inhale and a 14 second exhale. Ill do this for 10 times and fall asleep like a baby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many workouts are too difficult for someone’s current fitness or skill level. Scaling through progressions allows individuals to be able to participate in most workouts while gaining strength and skills to eventually be able to do any movement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah Ohlsen is a legitimate CrossFit superstar. His resume includes 1st, 2nd and 6th place in the Worldwide Open, 4 1st place finishes and a 2nd in the Regionals, and he has been in the top 10 in the World at the biggest stage in CrossFit, The CrossFit Games, 5 out of 6 times to include a 4th place and a 2nd place at the 2019 CrossFit Games. Despite being a true star of the sport, Noah is one of the most positive, friendly and supportive people I have ever been around. His enthusiasm and positivity are infectious.  We met at the CrossFit Peak 360 in Miami and did a standard 9:00 am class. Noah just jumped right in with the regular folks like me after greeting everyone in the gym, fist-bumping and being genuinely interested in each person there. After seeing this authentic display of leadership, it was no surprise to me why he has created a loyal army of supporters around the World. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Noah Ohlsen on-site in a hot sweaty upstairs office at Peak 360 with his giant Golden Ret

So far on our breath series we have gone over the Wim Hof method and we have covered Box Breathing. But now we are going to talk about what to do in situations where you might be anxious, nervous or overwhelmed. In these situations you are taking short breaths into the top of your chest and you activate the sympathetic nervous system where you are ready for fight or flight. In situations where you will be stressed or anxious you can do the Box Breathing or Wim Hof method to relax yourself so that you can focus. Sometimes the fight-or-flight reaction might be good, but if you are about to fly on a plane, or make a business presentation, then you want to be calm and collected. When feeling anxious or overwhelmed, try this technique to bring you back to a relaxed state. Simply stretch your hand out and with your other index finger simply start at the wrist and trace a line to the top of your thumb as you breathe in through your nose, trace a line back to your wrist as you breathe out.  Follow this for all your

I got a question recently from a listener asking, "how do you start working out if you haven't worked out in a long time." My biggest concern is what is your reason for working out. That is the most important thing and is what will carry you through the process of getting fit. It is important to have a good "why" when you are getting back into the habit of fitness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Dunlap is a Firefighter and fishing guide who is preparing for the Everglades Challenge. He plans to do the event on a Standup Paddleboard. The Everglades Challenge is an unsupported, expedition style adventure race for kayaks, canoes, and small boats. The distance is roughly 300 nautical miles depending on your course selection. There is a time limit of 8 days or less. Your safety and well being are completely up to you. You can follow the Everglades Challenge HERE, and watch Mike through instagram @chesapeaketjam. Follow @tom_rowland on instagram and watch every episode of Saltwater Experience for free on WaypointTV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I went to SealFit Kokoro, a 50 hour camp run by Navy Seals, one of the first things we learned was the technique of Box Breathing. Box Breathing is a technique that calls for breathing in for a specific time, holding for a time, breathing out for a time and then holding for a time. Repeat this 5-10 times. The idea of box breathing is that this protocol allows us to move from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system or from fight or flight to relaxation. It turns out that we learned this technique early because we would find many…many times that we would be placed in chaos and definitely in fight or flight and need to make decisions without emotion and clear headed. The technique is simple. Lets take 5 as the count for all sides of the box. You simply breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, breathe out for 5 seconds and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat this 5 to 10 times. Try this when feeling anxious or preparing to perform. Maybe even when you are poling up on a big tarpon an

I know we have talked about the Deck of Cards a lot on this podcast, but I want to give you some variations of the Deck of Cards that you can do. No matter how many times I talk about it I continue to get questions about it, so lets go over it one more time. In an average deck of cards you have for suits (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs). Face cards in this deck equal 10 and aces equal 11 or 1 if you need to scale it back. So from this point I will assign an exercise to each suit (for example burpees|spades, pushups|clubs, sit-ups|hearts, and squats|diamonds. So if you turn over a 3 of spades, that is 3 burpees, but a Queen of clubs would be 10 pushups. If you are outside you can take advantage of Joker cards or blank cards, designate them to be a running exercise or pull-ups. But often I will do this in a small space (like a hotel room) where I will have to just disregard the Jokers. So now that the Deck of Cards layout is established, let's go over some variations that I really like to mix up the Deck o

Chris Dombrowski is from Michigan and is known far and wide for his debut nonfiction book, Body Of Water: A Sage, A Seeker, And The World’s Most Elusive Fish. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris and getting to hear about his story and what inspired this book as well as his other fictional publications. Chris is from Michigan and earned his MFA from Montana where he then published Fragments with Dusk in Them (2008), September Miniatures with Blood and Mars (2012), and the collections By Cold Water (2009) and Earth Again (2013). Chris is quite the poet and draws a lot of inspiration from an early reading of Norman McLean’s novella A River Runs Through It. Chris has earned awards and honors for Associated Writing Programs Intro Award, Alligator Juniper’s National Poetry Prize, and a runner-up for Foreword Magazine’s Poetry Book of the Year. Chris still lives in Montana where he is a fly-fishing guide, director of the 406 Writers’ Workshop and the Beargrass Writing Retreat, and the Kittredge Distinguis

Wim Hof Breathing Method  In October of 2015 I came across a documentary that changed how I started my day. Vice did a documentary about a Daredevil named Wim Hof who, through a breathing technique, was able to do amazing things previously believed to be impossible. He ran a marathon barefoot in the Arctic Circle, another marathon in extreme heat, he climbed Mt Kilamanjaro in shorts and even went up Everest in a pair of shorts. He set world records for swims under frozen lakes, he stayed in ice up to his neck longer than anyone to set a World Record. He was also able to influence his autonomic immune system in a laboratory environment to astound the scientific community. What was the most impressive to me, though, was that he claimed that he could teach these methods to anyone and that anyone could do what he has done. Strong claim…but he proved it by takin untrained people right up Kilamanjaro and teaching a group of people to alter their autonomic immune system in a lab just as he had done. I was intrigue