Mill House Podcast

Eddie Wightman will go down in history as one of the legendary guides of Islamorada, Florida! Pushing his boat for his clients over 300 days a year, he was known as one of the hardest working guides and was an independent man who prided himself on finding his own fish in different locations. When the fleet of boats went one way, Wightman went the other. So much so that Flip Pallot named him “The L...

Steve Kantner has one of the greatest fishing spirits I know of, and his spectrum of ability on and off the water is legendary. For many decades he’s been known as “The Land Captain”, fishing on foot, out of his car, in the surf, off piers, canal banks and canoes, but sadly the great Captain has been grounded, if you will, because of the debilitating Parkinson’s disease. Steve is famous in South F...

A cool thirty three some years ago I fished the sacred water of Homosassa, Florida with Tommy Locke. There, I met a young man I’d soon realize was one of the young, passionate guides of those flats. Initially he was just a name, as I was to him, but we fished hard together and I really dug being in Tommy's presence. We chased the poon in Homo for a few years then I went to the Keys, where I felt I...

At ten years of age, Randy Towe started building a fishing life for himself when his mother wouldn’t buy him a fishing rod, instead she bought him the parts to build one. This became a catalyst for his successful life on the water. Most anglers or guides gravitate to the offshore chase or the skinnier backcountry shallows or the oceanside flats. The latter two being the same. This is Pandora's box...

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 surviva...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 t...

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...

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 f...

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 he...

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 R...

As I stated in the intro to this podcast, Carl Ball has been a true brother for many years. I first got connected with Carl from a fellow guide, John Glorieux, as I was looking for a camera boat operator for my fishing TV show at the time, “Sportsman’s Journal.” Carl and I instantly hit it off, and he was the first to show me how exhilarating tarpon fishing with mullet can be. We would light up a...

Dan Malzone experienced first hand the halcyon of Homosassa's tarpon fishery when all the big guns were there chasing the holy grail of Tarpon, a 200 pound behemoth. All the players were there: Evans, Apte, Pate, Huff, Dopirak, Delph, Robinson, Chittum, and everyone else who wanted a shot at catching the biggest tarpon on the world. I showed up in the late 80's when the fish had already been rapid...

Andrew’s relationship with the Everglades began before his first screams as a baby were heard. Back when the land was free with the long lost term of homesteading, Bostick’s ancestors staked their claim in the Marco Island area in the late 1800’s. Their rugged life simulated the labyrinth waterways of the nearby 10,000 islands, which would eventually become Andrew’s sanctuary and office. Andrew’s...

When I first met Harry Spear I instantly knew I was in the presence of an unusual man. He was affable, wired, and intimidating. His aura exuded a high level of confidence. His legacy had already been established as one of the most successful skiffs guides in the Keys. Little did I know how deeply he’d impact my life. Our introduction was like most others, a call was made with a little chit chat, e...

At the spry age of fifty, Jeff Legutki is in the prime of his life. Born and raised in Naples, he’s had a prolific life with the water. Prior to his grandfather introducing him to his first fly rod, Jeff was a typical adventurous, Florida kid who surfed the best shore breaks and chased snook and redfish on topwater plugs. His aspirations for both filled his heart. As a young man he followed his dr...

Dr. Gordy Hill is one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever met! He was literally a pioneer in both the medical and fly fishing world. He was the 6th surgeon to perform hip replacements and at one time had done more hip replacement surgeries than anyone. He was nominated for a Nobel prize in medicine when he and Dr. Roger Haugen figured out how to successfully process a patients own blood for an in...

The venerable Fitz Coker is known as one of Key West’s fondest people. This southern gentleman from South Carolina has always been a keen outdoorsman. As a young man he was always found in the back water creeks catching everything he could out of his skiing water canoe. His curiosity for the flora and fauna during those formative years has evolved as vibrantly as his passion to fish. He was an ath...

When you think of offshore fly fishing in the Palm Beach/Jupiter, Florida area there is one name that stands out - Scott Hamilton. Scott is a true visionary and fishing genius in how he innovated the south east ocean fishery as an exclusive fly fishing captain. He designed his own flies that successfully caught a plethora of blue water fish, and when he got blown out offshore he could move inside...

Mark Sosin has experienced a life of giving, determined to teach his viewer how to catch more fish. His avenues were vast and their depths fathomless. He wrote thirty three books, three thousand plus articles, and produced an award winning television show, Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal, that spanned 27 years. Offshore, inshore, fly, bait, spin, you name it - he taught it. But was he a great fishe...

Over the last 34 years Capt. Michael Guerin has been one of the top guides in the Lower Florida Keys. At a young age he knew his heart was connected to fishing and he pursued his passion to the fullest with a bachelors degree in fisheries science from Cornell University. After his last exam, his future wife, Bridgette, picked him up outside the school building and they headed south. He started gui...

Dr. Gordy Hill is one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever met! He was literally a pioneer in both the medical and fly fishing world. He was the 6th surgeon to perform hip replacements and at one time had done more hip replacement surgeries than anyone. He was nominated for a Nobel prize in medicine when he and Dr. Roger Haugen figured out how to successfully process a patients own blood for an in...