Waypoint Outdoor Collective

When Glenn Housman gets into something, he really goes all in. That is my personality exactly. When I walked into his house, we went back into his “Man Cave” which was a perfectly soundproof garage with a full drum set that looked like it was set up for a Rush concert. I knew that I was going to like this guy. That is how I do things as well.

Glenn not only plays the drums like a professional, but he also has followed his passion to create a new software mapping product called Florida Marine Tracks. Having experienced the difficulty of navigating the Lower Florida Keys, which I know very well, Glenn began to record his tracks on his GPS and start to envision a product that would allow anyone to safely navigate the difficult areas like the backcountry between Key West and Big Pine.

As his vision became a reality, he collected the best aerial photography and then started running all over the Keys. When I say all over the Keys, I mean he ran everywhere. Every possible way that you can get through areas, he did. He also ran aground a few times. After the Keys were complete, he began running other areas, like the 10,000 Islands and eventually the entire State of Florida.

He has covered 1000’s of miles of inshore water in his skiff and kept these tracks over the years. Now, Florida Marine Tracks sells chips that can go into a Lowrance or Simrad unit and overlay the most incredible aerial photos and the actual safe tracks that Glen has run.

Over the years, Glenn found himself stranded in some terrible places, and also floating in the most beautiful areas in Florida.

This was a great conversation with a really cool guy.

In this episode, we have Jeff Barnes from Cast For Kids (a non-profit specializing in taking disabled kids and veterans out fishing) to discuss all of the biggest mistakes they've learned along the way when it comes to kids and fishing. You'll also get to hear the top "Must Do" things when it comes to fishing with your kids. Enjoy.

I guess that if you just continue to do what you love long enough, people just kind of figure that you are doing ok, or maybe it was the infectious positive attitude, or the 14 hour days that I never complained about, or that I was always doing 14 hour days for months at a time, and on the one day off that I might have, I would do an 18 hour day for my own enjoyment.  Behavior like this is so contrary to the 9-5 punch a clock mentality that is so prevalent in our society.

Sometimes, I find it a little funny that anyone would ask me for advice on how to get started.  It is funny because I did virtually everything wrong that can be done wrong and continued to do that until another “tipping point” where people just started assuming that if I had been doing it that way for a while, maybe it was the right way.

My father was not a professional fisherman or guide.  I did not grow up in the Keys or near the ocean.  I did not know anyone who had ever been a professional guide and I had only taken a couple of guided trips in my lifetime, from guides who were not people that I had any desire to emulate.

No, I just started fishing and loved it.  When I say that I loved it, I mean it.  Fishing became everything to me.  When I was fishing, I had complete tunnel vision and laser focus.   I was able to learn at a rate that I never knew in school and for the first time ever, I had a passion, an unrelenting desire to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible in the shortest amount of time.  This was new to me.

On this week's episode of The Woman Angler & Adventurer, Barb Cary interviews one of the few female professional walleye tournament anglers around. Meet Brenda Picht. 

Born and raised in the Northwoods of Minnesota, Brenda has been fishing since childhood. It was only natural for her to begin tournament fishing 20 years ago. She "tricked" her husband into his 1st tournament one weekend while camping with some friends. They ended up taking home 1st place in the perch division and he was hooked as well! 

Barb asks Brenda some important insider questions like how she breaks down a new body of water while on the tournament trail and the best way to go about getting sponsors.  

Brenda's true passion is getting women and kids into fishing and the outdoors. She has received some incredible donations through organizations like the National Professional Anglers Association and Women Anglers of Minnesota for her kid's clinics. She's found that not only do the kids learn from these clinics, but the parents do as well. Her desire is for every woman to be confident enough to take themselves and their families fishing.

"The sense of accomplishment one feels when you master a task that you are afraid of is like no other feeling in the world," Brenda says.

She recalls the first time she backed her boat into their little garage with no help. Brenda firmly believes that proud, accomplished and confident is something EVERYONE can feel.

With that, she puts out the following challenge: "Come on ladies...let's show them what we got!"

Additional Resources:

• Brenda Picht on Facebook
• National Professional Anglers Association
• Women Anglers of Minnesota
• The Woman Angler & Adventurer
• The Woman Angler & Adventurer Facebook Group
• The Woman Angler & Adventurer on Instagram

Brenda's Sponsors:

• Lund Boats
• Mercury Marine
• River Bend Resorts
• Off Shore Tackle
• Airwave Pedestal 
• White Oak Inn & Suites in Deer River
• Bishops Performance
• G2 Gemini Jerseys
• World Wide Marine Insurance on Facebook
• Wired2Fish
• Fin-tech Fishing Tackle

Full show notes at: www.thewomanangler.com/28

This week we discuss taxidermy and trophy aspects of some of the most common birds with my good friend and taxidermist Tony White.

Hunt Jennings is a professional Kayaker who is also working his way through Nursing School. His kayak life started early as a few teachers taught him a few things and gave him opportunities to learn. This was a springboard to spending a semester at a kayak school in lieu of traditional high school. Through this program, Hunt learned a lot about kayaking and even more about himself. Soon he was challenging not only his own limits but possibly the limits of the human body by doing several first descents on waterfalls over 100 feet tall.

Hunt joined Tom Rowland on the podcast to discuss this kayak life, what it has taught him and how in the world someone might look at a 100 foot waterfall and decide that they wanted to paddle a boat over it. Hunt has done this many, many times. His demeanor may not be what you expect, as he is a soft spoken, thoughtful person who has taken into account many variables of safety in deciding to run these falls that others don’t even notice.

In this episode, we have on Salt Strong Insider fishing club member John Archipolo to discuss how we went from a complete fly fishing newbie to a legit (and very consistent) fly angler in less than six months. He shares his biggest mistakes, what he wished he knew, and how to get good fast.

How to set your drag perfectly for saltwater gamefish - Feat. Capt. Bouncer Smith

Capt. Bouncer Smith is a legendary Sportfishing Captain in South Florida. He was inducted into the IGFA Legendary Captains and Crew, received the Hyman Award from the MET Tournament, has over 70 World Records to his credit and has a legion of customers who love and adore him. Over his 52 year career, he has won more tournaments than most people ever enter and he continues to be recognized for his work with tagging and conservation. I sat down with Bouncer and he went over exactly how to set your drag on your saltwater tackle for success. Bouncer gives some excellent advice including:

1. Use a hand scale every time

2. Point the rod directly at the scale and pull back until the drag slips at 20% of the breaking strength

3. Use the scale to observe how the drag changes as your customers or friends pull on the line and bend the rod

4. Practice so much that you can know exactly how hard the angler is pulling by the bend in the rod

5. Set your drags this way every time

6. What to do differently for bottom fish

Meet Jackie Kutzer and Christine Atkins, the women behind the Orvis 50/50 On the Water campaign. The ultimate goal of the campaign, which started in the spring of 2016, is to reach gender parity (50/50 by 2020) in the sport of fly fishing.  

 They’ve been working on achieving this goal through a variety of initiatives, which Jackie and Christine outline on this episode. These include everything from women-specific gear development to free women's only Fly Fishing 101 classes to partnerships with other industry leaders. They also discuss the progress made thus far and the plan for the future.

 While it's been no small endeavor, there's no better company to take on this quest than Orvis. With a rich history in the fly fishing industry, starting as a mail-order business selling high-end fishing and hunting gear back in 1856, they're poising themselves to do whatever they can to help increase engagement in the sport and keep it going strong for generations to come. They're not just stopping with women. They're looking to get more children, people from various ethnic backgrounds, and more in geographical locations as well.

 Listen in and get inspired, then help Orvis further the mission by sharing images on social media using the #5050 hashtag and most important of all, introduce someone new to the sport!

 If you have any questions or suggestions, reach out to Orvis at [email protected].

Additional Resources:

• Orvis 50/50 on the Water Campaign Website
• Free Fly Fishing 101 Classes
• Follow Orvis Fly Fishing on Facebook
• Follow Orvis Fly Fishing on Instagram
• The Woman Angler & Adventurer Website
• Join The Woman Angler & Adventurer Facebook Group
• Follow The Woman Angler & Adventurer on Instagram 

 Full show notes at: thewomanangler.com/27

This week we talk with with Addison Edmonds the founder of Gunner Kennels.