Mill House Podcast

Paul Dixon’s name has preceded his presence for decades, and rightfully so. His life in fishing has had enormous wings, ranging from pioneering the shallow water striped bass fishery with flats skiffs in Montauk and the eastern end of Long Island, to guiding for tarpon in the Florida Keys. He's seen the rise and fall of his beloved stripers and his voice was impactful in their struggle for survival.

(Their recovery has been heavily documented and so many years later, today, the fishery is falling apart, again, due to similar practices that all but destroyed them years ago. “There are none so blind as those who will not see!” I don’t know where that quote came from, but it appropriately fits the greedy whose actions guarantee destruction!)

On today’s podcast, Paul weaves us through his beautiful, tangled life, which has been connected to his fellow man as much as it is to a fish! He has been a modern day pirate, tv show host and guest, shop owner, and more importantly a heartfelt guy who has inspired his fellow guides, anglers and friends into preserving our resource through love, science, and fundraising. No one has done the latter better!

After this podcast was recorded, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust decided it will induct Paul Dixon in the fall of 2022 into their Circle of Honor with the Lefty Kreh Award for his life long efforts in conservation! But, too, what he speaks about today helped cement this well deserved award.

It’s only fitting that we air this podcast with Dr. David Dalu and Capt. Scott Collins the same week as the 2022 Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament. In 2008, Scott and David won all three major tarpon tournaments; The Gold Cup, The Don Hawley and The Golden Fly. It was the first time anyone had pulled off the triple crown in one year. It was also a confirmation that their wins in the previous year’s Gold Cup and Don Hawley were no fluke. They knew their methodology of catching sensitive ocean side tarpon swimming in clear water was under everyone else’s radar (which would soon be blow wide open). The key elements to this recipe was actually formulated by a few earlier moving parts before it got to Dalu and Collins and because of the significance of their success, history deserves to know how it all unfolded and by whom.

Bring in steelhead/tarpon angler Neil Light, Capt. Albert Ponzoa, inventor Carl Anderson and Key West fireman, Carl Wagner, all adding to the success of what Collins and Dalu perfected. Who knew what and when? And what about all the refined techniques of their little secret that blew the common tarpon techniques deep into the history pages.

With their newfound information, Dalu won five tournaments in three years, and Collins has one of the greatest records of any guide with 8 tarpon wins, 5 permit wins and a bonefish victory in 9 years....

On today's podcast, 14 years after their 2008 sweep, we speak about that magical year, the build up, and the players that participated in how the most current tarpon techniques evolved!

This is the story of one of the greatest tarpon teams in history.

We hope you enjoy!

I first met Howard Croston 14 years ago when I was hired by Hardy to help with their salt water rods and reels. Howard was their product developer and designer, and we instantly hit it off. His knowledge and experience in the fresh water world was profound. He’d competed in 16 fresh water World Championships, and was the individual World Champion in 2019 when the English won the Team Championships. Howard had also competed in casting competitions and lectured about the spectrum of his craft.

The Hardy design team was rewarded with immediate success in our quest in the salt. Our very first prototype rod and reel won the biggest tarpon tournament in the world, The Gold Cup, with Thane Morgan and Craig Brewer. With Howard’s tremendous knowledge, and Hardy’s commitment to winning, the victories kept coming and products keep improving. You can find these rods and reels in many of the boats you see on the flats of the Florida Keys and around the world, and in 2021 the top seven placed teams of the Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament were throwing Hardy.

As we celebrate our 150th Anniversary at Hardy, I’m proud to have my friend, Howard Croston, on the podcast today to help us understand the the differences in fishing, casting, and building fly rods & reels.

Before I ever met Darren Clarke, I loved him. The big man from Northern Ireland played golf with vibrant passion and his big smile showcased a wonderful demeanor, someone you’d want to share a pint with.

When he was stalking one of his great wins, I leaned in closer. When he won the British open, my heart jumped for joy. When he took down Tiger Woods in the World Match Play, it was incredible. Two of my favorites were in the ropes.

Soon after his wife, Heather, passed, he became a captains pick for the Ryder Cup. He decided his wife would want him to go, and six weeks later he won all three matches for the European team which would go onto win. Instantly he was an International hero. Tears flowed from millions of viewers, mine too.

Then I met him. We played together in a Champions Tour pro am. I couldn’t breath. Soon we were speaking about his insatiable passion for fishing; permit, tarpon... and then it was over, the golfing became secondary that day. He couldn’t retain himself. I realized that fishing was omnipresent in his mindset.

We stayed in contact and I finally summoned the courage to request an interview. Without pause he said he’d love too. At some point, Darren asked about Dustin Huff and his permit prowess. I told Darren all about my good friend and told him I’d ask Dustin to join us.

So there it is, and that’s how the stage was set. We spend the morning hanging out behind the mics and went to the course for afternoon golf.

We hope you enjoy this conversation with my two superstar friends...

I’ll cherish this conversation the rest of my life.

Glenn Flutie is one of our sports greatest fisherman with accolades few have. He won the prestigious Fall Fly Invitational Bonefish tournament when he was 16. His passion for them was relentless and when he found his footing with Tarpon, he became an obsessive predator. He would eventually win an unprecedented five Gold Cup Tarpon tournaments in five years.

He was a prodigy, born with fisherman’s blood. His father was an offshore Captain, but sea sickness kept Glenn in the bonefish’s shallow water. Raised in the fishing capital of the world, Islamorada, he chased fish every day. With a fly rod in his locker for quick access he’d often be found casting to tailing bonefish instead of attending class. His friends, Timmy Klein and Craig Brewer, too were on the water daily and became iconic guides.

On todays podcast, Glenn walks us through a gifted life of living on an island and chasing the greatest game fish in the world, his tarpon mentor Harry Spear, and his methodology on being one of the greatest tarpon anglers of all time.

Born in Miami in 1935 Gary Register would travel into the keys fishing with his family until he moved there in 1965. It was a small fishing village back then - everyone knew each other. He’d play softball with Eddie Wightman and the young Klein boys.

Clarence Lowe mentored Register and inspired him to be a guide. Clarence showed him the nuances of the profession and eventually Gary became one of the best. He purchased the La Siesta hotel and would spend day and night guiding. He was known to be a hard working guide, and throughout time started to fish with some of the better fly anglers. Many also considered Gary to be a loner, but big hearted nonetheless. He also explains how he wasn’t resentful when others started coming into town to guide, as most of them were “Stuck in the Mud” guides.

He and Jimmy Bell Jr. hoisted the Gold Cup trophy three times. He later was gifted a trip to Alaska by a client and fell in love. Gary would eventually move there to get out of the heat of the Keys and take advantage of the remote serenity. After fishing so hard for so long (35 years), burn out was a real thing.

Gary thinks often of the fishing world he once lived in and misses how it used to be. But, at 87, he’s found new footing and passions in Alaska. He wants to be remembered as a nice man and a wonderful husband!

David Mangum is unquestionably one of the most highly exposed tarpon guides there is. His early notoriety came with a film shot by Howard films titled “Location X,” located somewhere in the Apalachicola region of the Florida Panhandle. The darker water and monster fish that swim there are much more prone to eat a fly, creating the opportunity for some highly energetic footage. It was an eye opener. Many locals already knew about what was going on in the Panhandle, but now there was a movie. Then in 2017, Yeti produced a short tarpon film, “120 days,” which represented David Mangum’s tarpon season that rocked the house. Shot in black and white, it was electric and it went viral. It’s an incredible look into a sport and a fish we love, and a man that has refined his craft. But the words I heard expressed, and the way he caught his fish raised a red flag that made me take a closer look. I knew our paths had to cross at some point.

Then, I met David in the Florida Keys while we were both filming separate TV shows with Jared Raskob. David was awesome, funny, effervescent and engaging, but I held my questions that I hoped one day would be answered.

On this podcast, we tread into some deeper water with Mangum and talked about some very important topics including: passion, legacy, ethics, and spot ownership. He was articulate about our differences and cared about how he would be heard, everything we’d hoped for!

Thank you so much for coming on, David!

Timmy Klein is a great husband, father, friend and one hell of a fisherman. I’ve been on his boat shooting tv shows and fun fishing, often we hooked so many tarpon we lost count. But it was the bonefish game that elevated his reputation to being second to none. He’s not only won the biggest tournaments, but his domination was such that, most likely, no one will ever match it. He’s won eight fall fly tournaments, three spring fly's, four all tackles and world record bonefish caught on 6,8,12,16 and 20 pound test. He’s won tarpon tournaments too, but it was his bonefish genius that will forever have his name among the greats of this sport.

His father was a commercial diver and his best friend. Growing up, Tim would dive and look for Spanish Galleon treasures with his father offshore of Islamorada. He eventually started to take his boat to school and on slick calm days, he would find himself in the middle of Florida Bay instead of Math class. His desire to explore, and go over the horizon consumed his mind and lead to him making a successful living on the water.

On today's podcast, Timmy covers the spectrum of fish, family, drugs, and flying through the air with a kill gaff in his hands....

Rufus Wakeman has been a friend before I ever met him. His legacy precedes his presence. He's big, boisterous and lovable, with the ability to out fish the best of them. We traveled to the Amazon eons ago and was awarded with a trip of a lifetime accentuated by my new found friend!

His passion for fishing took him around the world and into the fishes' most demanding and far reaching homes. He’s held numerous highly cherished world records including a 57 pound dolphin on 16 pound tippet. He also, with utter amazement, caught 11 billfish species on fly in one year. He was one species short of catching all 12 billfish species in one year! The elusive swordfish denied his grand slam dream. He built the River Palm Cottages and Fish Camp on the Saint Lucie River where his family experienced first hand the despicable Lake Okeechobee algae discharges, which over the years has decimated the river's ability to grow healthy grass essential to holding game fish. He’s given generously to many conservation based organizations and is the President of the Coastal Conservation Association of Martin County, FL.

He is one of the most important people in our sport today and his voice needs to be heard!

We hope you enjoy his riveting story...

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ATTENTION:

SOME OF THE THINGS DISCUSSED IN THIS PODCAST MAY NOT BE ACCURATE AS THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED ON 2/12/22 AND A LOT HAS CHANGED (IN REGARD TO SB2508) SINCE THIS RECORDING. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE UP TO DATE, REAL FACTS ON THIS ISSUE, PLEASE GO TO: https://captainsforcleanwater.org/

Born in Illinois in 1955, Dave Denkert had a big life ahead of him in fishing. Two years later, after his family moved to Miami, they found themselves located on the doorstep of some of the greatest fishing on earth. Soft spoken and kind, he eventually found his calling in the backcountry of Florida Bay. His expertise was exposed with his tournament success, highlighted with numerous wins in the Redbone series and a Spring Fly Bonefish invitational. His family too, dove head first into the sport he loved. His wife, Linda, and daughter, Brooke, also found themselves not only passionate, but successful in the tournament fray.

On todays podcast, Dave gets into the details of how his genius was refined, and he doesn’t hold back. When I asked him how he’d like to be known, he said “I like to teach!” With mentors like Chico Fernandez and Stu Apte, he learned well and is respected by all! We hope you enjoy...

Thanks so much for coming on, Dave!