Mill House Podcast

Mitch Howell has had a very interesting life on and off the water. At a young age, Howell’s family was failing him so his grandparents took the helm and raised him. His world was coming at him in different directions very quickly. He would eventually find profound joy and success in fishing. It was one of our sport’s great heroes, Flip Pallot, who would be Mitch’s greatest influence and mentor years later.

We have heard numerous stories on this podcast how fishing has saved many of our guests lives, and here, Mitch will document a similar story stemming from a different kind of carnage. Mitch found invigoration with fishing and he eventually carved his way to the podium many of the Florida Keys most prominent tournaments. And, too, Mitch had incredible dexterity. He could do damage with a fly rod as well as a spinning rod or bait caster. Inshore or offshore, he could do it all!

Today, we talk about how tackle shops were the hang out spots of the past, fishing with Mark Krowka, Flip Pallot, & Billy Pate, and how there was no challenge quite like the big bonefish of Islamorada. Thanks for coming on, Mitch!

At 41 years of age, Jarad “Dingo” Boshammer, has been fishing the world for a very long time. He’s renowned now for having an acute sense for catching monster snook and tarpon guiding out of his 18 foot Chittum Skiff in Jupiter, Florida. But Florida is a long way from his roots. He was born into a heavy sport fishing family in Queensland, Australia. His Dad, Sid, was a live-aboard Charter Captain, so naturally his son was catching fish at a very, very young age. He loved it! At one time Jarad and his friends had bikes with trailers on them with a number of rods, a live well, and tackle boxes. They’d fish along the shore or catch the ferry to Frasier Island. School was secondary as he knew he was going to be a fisherman. At one point, Dean Butler showed him a photo of a shark ravaged marlin that would impact him greatly. The pectoral fins of this half eaten giant were on the deck and the bill was as tall as Butler. “When I saw that picture, I knew right then and there what I wanted to do with my life - chase dinosaurs!” Soon he was on the high seas. At seventeen he was the #1 deckhand on the boat “Lucky Strike” with Captain John Batterton who would give him the nickname, “Dingo” that would stick.

Over a 20 year span he worked with some of the most famous captains in the game including two IGFA Hall of Fame members, Captain Dean Butler and Captain Laurie Wright. He also learned from the great lure magician in Hawaii, Captain Chip Van Mols. Dingo crewed 15 seasons on the Great Barrier Reef, fished in 20 countries and helped catch 150 fish over 700 pounds and 25 over 1,000 pounds!

Here is Dingo’s incredible life story...

Betsy Bullard has an amazing heart filled with the love of fishing, her friends, and the insatiable desire to save the Everglades. At a very young age, her father helped her catch her first fish that would eventually direct her empowering life in fishing. I first recognized her beauty when she worked many of the Key's Fly Tournaments as a weigh master. Before she found her footing in Islamorada, Fl she owned and operated the Golfito Sailfish Rancho in Costa Rica. But when she experienced sight fishing on the flats in the Florida Keys, she was “Toast."

Betsy ran the Herman Lucerne tournament and also fished in many of the men’s tournaments against some of the best in the game. Her biggest competitive achievement might have been when her and Wesley Locke won the Sail Fly tournament in Guatemala.

Bullard is relentless when it comes to conservation and restoring the Everglades. As an honorary board member of Bonefish Tarpon Trust and a tireless worker for Captains for Clean Water she was one of hundreds that showed up on the Senate floor demanding the destructive SB 2508 bill be vetoed by Governor DeSantis. They were eventually victorious. It takes a real ground force, a movement to do such things and Betsy is always up front leading these all important charges. Betsy Bullard, in our book, is true inspiration!

During the late 80’s, Capt. Ed Walker was one of my first guides in the fabled tarpon grounds of Homosassa where some of the largest megalops in the world were being caught on flies. Eddie, as I called him then, was much younger than I and possessed an innate ability to find and catch fish that many others couldn’t. He was a joy to fish with and we caught some fatties. He was good, very good and his peers recognized his incredible, young talent. Walker would eventually win some of the largest tournaments in Boca Grande, totaling over a half a million dollars in prize money. He was a great innovator and later in his life became very good at catching big grouper and snapper’s on flies. He was thinking differently and his curiosity was not limited to that from the surface of a boat. He started chasing fish underwater with spear guns and became so good at it he won the free diving state championship. Today, we’ll cover his fascinating life in fishing and his desire to give back through conservation and fish management. We hope you enjoy…

Chris Wittman grew up fishing every second he could. He never thought of becoming a fishing guide until he became one in 2000. This was the same year The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush and President Clinton, which was a financial engine that was designated to save the Everglades. Invaluable clean water is paramount to insure the future of wildlife, birds and fish, and regain its lost prominence. The Everglades is one of our countries most treasured national parks and was rapidly dying. Over the next sixteen years the war over water was real and the flora and fauna of Florida was losing out to big sugar. In 2016, Lake Okeechobee was overwhelmed with green toxic water and billions of gallons were released into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers emptying into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It killed everything living in the water that was exposed to it. Even local riverside communities suffered the effects of the deadly water.

Chris Wittman and Daniel Andrews quit their jobs as fishing guides to build an army to challenge the status quo in Tallahassee and help restore the clean water that was being misappropriated to the sugar industry. Through Chris Wittman, here is the story of Captains for Clean Water.

Kyle Holt is Taylor Creek Fly Shop’s head guide, whose favorite saying is "Fish Hard and Die Rich.” Having been raised in Springfield, Illinois, Kyle became heavily involved in fishing, hunting, and trapping the "flatlands" surrounding his home. As fortune would have it, Kyle's family decided to take regular vacations to Rocky Mountain National Park where he hooked his first browns, rainbows, and brookies - subsequently becoming hooked himself. In 1983 Kyle packed up all of his worldly possessions (which he relates were few) and moved from the cornfields to the Rockies in pursuit of any trout that would take a fly. Holt has been fishing in the Roaring Fork Valley & Frying Pan River for over 29 years, and is now considered a sub-god by many of his clientele because of his skill and knowledge of the area waters. Many years back, after taking a trip to the Bahamas with a group of clients, Kyle returned to Colorado in a sorry state. He realized his addiction for salt water fly fishing is an itch he can’t get rid of. Fast forward many moons, Kyle has been to Mexico, Belize, the Seychelles, Christmas Island, the Amazon, Costa Rica, Louisiana, and of course the Florida Keys targeting his dream catches on fly.

On today’s podcast, we speak about the state of the fishery in the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan River, the challenges they face, etiquette on the river, and the Guide Alliance that Kyle helped start in 2014. We hope you enjoy.

Dan Lahren was born in the great western town of Livingston, Montana in 1955. When he was in 7th grade the local fishing icon, Dan Bailey, gave him a fly rod which cemented his life long love affair with fishing and the local waters around the Yellowstone river. Between the ages of 3 and 10 his family traveled often and he found himself in eleven different schools. At the age of 12, he was living alone in the Murray hotel, downtown Livingston. His parent’s marriage had crashed. The railroad which passed through town was a major station connecting the midwest to the west coast. Naturally there was discord between the railroad kids and the locals, and fighting became common. Dan grew up hard and fast. He spent his early adult life chasing many occupations in the north west, but Livingston was in his DNA and he returned to his roots in 1981. He refined a life of fishing and hunting, cooking became an art form and he gravitated to many well know writers and actors who also found a life in the valley. Among others he eventually became great friends with Jim Harrison and Anthony Bourdain. Their passing hurt deeply, but Dan's stories of them fills him with joy. Lahren is a wealth of knowledge, has a great sense of humor, and has earned a voice to be listened to.

David Denholm has had a voracious life in big game fishing. It all began when he caught his first Marlin when he was 12 years old. Denholm has traveled the world seeking the largest Swordfish, Marlin and Tuna, and at one time was one of the most prolific anglers in the the fabled Avalon Tuna Club of Santa Catalina Island. He has experienced first hand what many great writers like Zane Grey and Hemingway wrote about, finning swordfish and giant bluefins over the white sand in the Bahamas. He’s caught 12 fish over a thousand pounds! He’s fished with all the greats in the the game starting at the top with Peter Wright. The Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, Tahiti, Africa, Mexico, Azores, Venezuela, wherever the great legendary fish swam, David has fished there many times.

We hope you enjoy this incredible man's story!

Steve Herter is one of the most passionate people I’ve ever meet. Humorous, smart, adventurous, ingenious… Herter checks all the boxes. I’ve been in the elk woods with him and watched him empty the Yampa river with flies only Steve could design and tie. He is world class with everything he engages with. He has led one of the most varied and successful lives of an outdoorsman I know. Aside from developing three of the top ten lodges in North America from the ground up; Elk Trout Lodge, Elk Creek Lodge and Seven Lakes Lodge, he was instrumental in positioning lodge projects in Patagonia and Argentina. He also worked with Orvis Fly Fishing schools and product development with Flies.

Steve designed and helped stream improvement projects, one on the White River and Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat Springs, CO. He also spent a great part of his life chasing rooster fish on the beaches of Mexico, but what sets Herter apart from all others is his world class ability to design and tie incredibly small trout flies; midges. No hopper dropper, no nymphs, nothing will ever be tied on his leader he can’t see floating. But it’s not just dry fly fishing, it's midge fishing. Flies so small you have to tie them with microscopes.This is an art form, and Steve is a master at it.

Also, he’s had hard luck with his health and most recently a stroke…. in spite of it all, he has remained as vibrant as anyone I know!

On today's podcast we dive into the incredible life of an old friend. We hope you enjoy!

Conway Bowman is known for many things, but for me he’s defined by passion. He’s crazy about his two boys, Max and Jackson, and his wife Michelle, who give him the base to seek out and pursue the unknown. He’s a fish hunter, and a good one that many people are aware of, specifically pioneering Mako shark fishing on fly in San Diego, minutes from his home. Adventure has no limits, and when discussing Bowman the conversation will take you deep into a fishing life well traveled. As host of three award winning TV shows he has traveled the world extensively catching fish few have ever heard of. But it'll always be the massive Mako’s that he’ll remain famous for. On today’s podcast, Conway talks about how and why his name has become synonymous with one of the fiercest, most exciting sharks that’ll stretch your fly line to its breaking point...