Who is Tom Rowland?
Capt Tom Rowland is a fishing guide in both fresh and saltwater turned entrepreneur. Becoming a flyfishing guide in Jackson Hole, WY was a dream come true but finding great success in Key West, FL was even more of an unlikely success story. At first simply guiding anglers to their best catches was what drove Tom to obsession but upon entering his first ever fishing tournament, he saw that he missed competition in his life. After that first tournament, Tom went on to compete in every tournament he could find including ones that featured an international field. From Florida Keys Charity tournaments like the Redbone to professional Redfish tournaments to freshwater fly fishing tournaments, Tom has competed in and won tournaments of all kinds both as an angler and as a guide.
No one could have predicted what came next as Tom and his partner started a production company, created, starred in, sold and distributed a television show on ESPN and OLN Networks only to replicate this popular format 2 additional times in offshore fishing and freshwater Bass Fishing. They did this with no formal education about television of business. It happened out of sheer determination, hard work, and hustle. That original show is known as Saltwater Experience and it has been on the air for 17 years. The second show was Into the Blue (14 years) and the third is Sweetwater (11 years). Along the way, there was another show called Fitness Truth which aired for 2 years and covered the very early years of the then underground fitness movement of CrossFit.
Out of necessity due to declining television ratings and cord-cutters, Tom and his partner Rich Tudor then created a digital network called Waypoint TV to take the outdoor television landscape to digital OTT platforms. Again, Waypoint was built on the hustle and hard work rather than outside capital, high profile contacts, and formal education.
Most recently, he has become a podcaster and creates inspiring and educational content for his loyal audience that includes interviews with entrepreneurs from all industries, fishing and hunting icons as well as, "how-to" advice. Tom credits much of his success to his dedication to his physical condition and keeps physical education as a foundational part of his message. At this point, it may go without saying that he knew nothing about podcasting either. More hard work, mistakes, and determination led to the growth of this property as well. The Tom Rowland Podcast has been downloaded more than 1 million times and is growing more rapidly than anything else.
Where did this all start?
Capt. Tom Rowland grew up in Chattanooga, TN where he developed a love for fishing while spending time with his father. The hours they spent together established a firm foundation for the passion that Tom now has for all types of fishing. While working in Yellowstone National Park, Tom was able to backpack every area of the vast Park and fish the wild backcountry streams. This adventure leads him to a career in guiding originating in Jackson Hole, WY. Second generation outfitter, Joe Bressler gave Tom a chance and helped him learn the guiding business giving Tom a huge head start in achieving the level of success that accompanies him today. After 7 seasons as a drift boat guide on the greatest Western Rivers, Tom was ready to begin his saltwater career. Beginning in Key West, Tom spent a year learning the water before he ever took a paying customer.
Famed outdoor artist, Peter Corbin was Tom’s first paying customer and they enjoyed unbelievable success from the get-go. On that fateful day, Peter landed 2 Permit on fly in a half-day of fishing. Finding that accomplishment difficult to top, Tom worked hard on every charter and quickly developed a reputation of being a patient, extremely hard working and enthusiastic guide. This reputation spread like wildfire and soon Tom was booked constantly; working more than 300 days a year on the water. Guiding was never a part-time activity for Tom. He considers guiding to be an art form and was dedicated to professionalism from the beginning.
After marrying the love of his life, Tom and Cynthia delivered two wonderful boys and a perfect little girl. Tom’s free time is devotedly spent with his family…sometimes fishing.
Flyfishing
Flyfishing has always been important to Tom and he has spent hours daily, perfecting his fly casting and teaching techniques. In Los Angeles, Tom recorded a 131-foot fly cast with a standard 5 weight fly line and 9-foot graphite fly rod. In 2000, Tom competed in the inaugural ESPN Great Outdoor Games in Lake Placid, NY and won two medals, a silver in the Fly Casting division and a Gold in the Overall. This led to participation in many other tournaments in both fresh and saltwater.
The local tournament success lead Tom to try the national tournaments. The Redfish Tournaments were designed for a two-man team. Tom had fished against Rich Tudor in numerous tournaments and respected his abilities. Together they formed a great team and a great friendship. Success followed and they gathered sponsors as quickly as they gathered tournament wins. The tournaments were a stepping stone to the television success they now have. Since 1997, Tom Rowland’s tournament record includes more than 65 championships, divisional wins or top 5 finishes in international, national, regional and local tournaments for a wide variety of species. These wins come from fly fishing tournaments as well as conventional tackle tournaments in fresh and saltwater against an international field.
Podcast
The Tom Rowland Podcast is the latest addition to the lineup. Tom believes that one way to accomplish your goals is to help other people reach theirs. Interviewing icons, up and comers and people doing really amazing things, Tom is helping his guests to get their message out to a big audience in an unhurried atmosphere and he is helping his audience by relaying the stories of success and failure so that we can all take-home lessons from the very best. Tom creates 3 podcasts a week that are long-form, How to and Physical Friday which focuses on health, fitness, and nutrition. Currently the podcast has been downloaded over 1 million times and has over 850 5 star reviews on Apple Podcasts.
Saltwater Experience is the culmination of Tom Rowland’s fishing goals by allowing others to see what captivates Tom to obsession.
Physical Training
Physical Training has been a major influence on any and all success that Tom Rowland has earned. As a wrestler in high school, Tom knew about hard training and learned a hard work ethic that benefitted him later. When he decided not to wrestle in college he lost track of physical training. He found fishing and cared about almost nothing else. Of course, this benefitted him in learning about fishing and becoming a guide but it became obvious to him that being in shape was essential to success as a guide. He regained his fitness and began to train for marathons, eventually running a 3:13:00 Marathon at Disney in 2000. Because of the physical training and hard work on the water, Tom’s career began to get better and better. He could spend more days on the water without a break and maintain his focus and intensity throughout the day. Eventually Tom was able to set his own personal record of 175 days in a row with no days off only to do another 125 immediately after that. Tom credits this to training daily.
Today, Tom trains 5 or 6 days a week, pays strict attention to diet, nutrition and mobility. Just as physical training was instrumental his fishing success, he credits it as instrumental in the formation of Waypoint TV, Saltwater Experience and producing other television shows like Into the Blue, Sweetwater and other shows.
The Physical Friday episodes on the podcast are designed to help others train their bodies so that they can continue to fish, hunt, guide, climb mountains, hike, backpack, ski or whatever their outdoor passion is for the longest amount of time possible. Tom shares the knowledge he has learned over a lifetime of training and seeks out experts and authors in fitness, health, mobility and mindset to learn himself and pass that on to others.
You can follow by his daily training by clicking here.
Tom Rowland Tournament Wins
2006 Inagural ESPN Madfin
4th place with Carter Andrews (Team Crooked Island)
2006 KeyMorada Fly/Spin Tournament
Guide To Grand Champion
Guide To Runner Up Grand Champion
Guide to High Point angler Day 2
Guide to 2006 IGFA Jr World Champion - Smallfry Boys division
Key West, FL 2006
2006 IGFA World Championships
Guide to 2nd place Stringer Award
High Point angler day 1 - Jr Girls
Key West, FL
2004 IFA Key Largo Professional Redfish Tour, Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor win the overall title and a new Ranger boat
2004 Key West Fishing Tournament, Tom Rowland won these prestigious titles in 2004:
Guide Achievement Most Winners, Flats Division
Guide Achievement Most Releases Flats Division
Runner up Guide Achievement Overall Flats Division
Runner Up Guide Achievement Overall General Division
Guide to Pee Wee Master Angler
Guide to Spin Division Champion
Guide to Fly Division Champion
Guide to Most Permit Releases
2004 Seamaster Superfly, Key West, FL
Guide to Runner up
2004 Key West Flats SLAM
Tom Rowland and sons Turner(6), and Hayden(4), win most permit releases and runner up.
2004 Swamp Guides Ball, Islamorada, FL
Runner Up Team
2004 Guides and Girls Backcountry Challenge, Key West, FL Guide to Grand Champion
2003 8th place, Redfish Tour National Championship, Venice, LA
2003 Winner of the following in the Key West and Lower Keys Fishing Tournament:
Guide Achievement Most Winners (Flats),
Guide to 12 pound Division Champion,
Guide to Fly Division Champion
Guide to Pee Wee Division Runner Up
2003 KWFT Flats Slam
Team Grand Champions
2003 Mercury/ Ranger Redfish Tour
11th Place Key Largo
2003 Herman Lucerne Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Grand Champions
2003 Mercury/Ranger Redfish Tour Titusville, FL
Runner up
2002 Winner of the following in the Key West and Lower Keys Fishing Tournament:
Guide Achievement Overall (Flats),
Guide Achievement Most Releases (Flats)
Guide Achievement Most Winners (Flats)
Guide to 12 pound Division Champion
Guide to Fly Division Champion
2002 Redbone Series
Guide to Runner Up Grand Champion
2002 Redbone, Islamorada
Guide to 3rd Place Grand Champion Angler
2002 Baybone, Key Largo
Guide to Runner Up Grand Champion Angler
2002 Maverick Owners Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Overall Grand Champion Angler
2002 Maverick Owners Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Junior Division Champion
2002 Redbone SLAM Tournament, Key West
Guide to 4th place Overall Angler
2002 Del Brown Invitational Permit Fly Tournament, Key West
Guide to largest permit
2002 Del Brown Ivitational Permit Fly Tournament
Guide to 4th place finisher
2001 Redbone, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Women's Grand Champion Angler
2001 Redbone, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Runner-Up Team Anglers
2001 Redbone Baybone Tournament, Key Largo
Guide to 1st Runner-Up Grand Champion Angler, FL
2001 SLAM Tournament, Key West, FL
Guide to Spin/Plug Division Grand Champion
2001 SLAM Tournament, Key West, FL
Guide to Most Permit
2001 SLAM Tournament, Key West, FL
Guide to 4th place overall
2001 Little Palm Island Grand Slam Tournament
Guide to Spin/Plug Division Champion
2001 Little Palm Island Grand Slam Tournament
Guide to 2nd Runner Up
2001 Del Brown Invitational Permit on Fly Tournament
Guide to First Runner-Up Angler
2001 Del Brown Invitational Permit Tournament, Key West
Guide to Largest Permit
2000 ESPN Great Outdoor Games
Gold and Silver Medallist in the in the Flyfishing and Flycasting portions of the event
2000 Guide to Seamaster Superfly Series
Grand Champion
2000 Seamaster Superfly, Redbone Tournament, Islamorada
Guide to 1st Runner-up
2000 Redbone Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Pro-Celebrity 1st Runner-up
2000 L&W Supply Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Guide to 2nd Runner-up Grand Champion Angler
2000 L&W Supply Tournament, Islamorada, FL
Guide to Most Permit
2000 Baybone Tournament, Key Largo, FL
Guide to Pro-Celebrity Grand Champion
2000 S.L.A.M. Tournament, Key West, FL
Guide to 2nd Runner-up Grand Champion Angler
2000 Guide to S.L.A.M. Superfly Grand Champion Angler
making history by being the first to catch a permit, tarpon and bonefish on fly in the history of competitive flyfishing.
2000 Little Palm Island S.L.A.M. Tournament
Guide to Runner-up angler
2000 Little Palm Island S.L.A.M. Tournament
Guide to Spin-Plug Division Champion
2000 S.L.A.M. Tournament
Guide to Pro-Celebrity Grand Champion
1999 Saltwater Angler Slam Jam Tournament, Key West, FL
Runner-up team anglers
1999 Saltwater Angler Slam Jam Tournament, Key West, FL
Largest Tarpon
1999 S. L. A. M. Tournament, Key West, FL
Guide to Runner-up Team Anglers
1998 S.L.A.M. Superfly
Guide to Runner-up Grand Champion, Key West, FL
1998 Mercury Outboards S.L.A.M. Key West, FL
Guide to Runner-up Fly Division Grand Champion
1997 S.L.A.M. Seamaster Superfly Tournament Key West, FL
Guide to Grand Champion
1997 Mercury Outboards S.L.A.M Tournament Key West, FL
Guide to Celebrity Grand Champions