Tommy Wood - Living In a Van Chasing a Dream on MERCER-222

Tommy Wood is the only Australian to ever win a Bassmaster Open but his goals and dreams are a lot bigger than that. Tommy wants to become the second Aussie on the Bassmaster Elite Series and he is willing to chase his dreams to the other side of the world and live in a van to achieve them. Fueled by passion and his addiction to angling, no matter where Tommy is it’s clear he is Frothing to Fish!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
He is an Australian with a dreamthat he's frothing to
accomplish. Tommy Wood joins me this week
on. I'm Bob Cobb for the Bassmaster.

(00:20):
Welcome to Mercer. Yep, we're going to do this
again. Welcome one.
Welcome all, friends, family, freeloaders, fishing freaks, and
of course, you, my humpers. Happy hump day and welcome into
the awkwardly honest fishing podcast that goes by my last
name, which is Mercer. This is the 2. 122nd.

(00:43):
Edition of the Mercer Podcast and I hope you are all having a
wonderful, wonderful week. First of all, for those of you
watching the video version of this, yeah, that was that little
222 was ripped off of Chuck Woolery.
And I'd like to thank Chuck Woolery from Love Connection, an
angler, which is pretty cool, but I'd like to thank him for

(01:04):
the hand gestures that got us into this week's show.
This week's show is a fun one, ainspirational one.
If you love inspirational stories, if you love.
The. This did you love Rocky?
I mean a movie about somebody who's accomplishing something
that they shouldn't really accomplished that everybody says

(01:25):
you're a nuts to even try, but they still accomplish it.
Well, you'll enjoy this week's show because that's the kind of
story we're going to share here this week.
And some of you might be saying who in the hell is Tommy Wood?
Well, I'll tell you who Tommy Wood is.
Tommy Wood is an Australian thatis trying to follow in Carl

(01:46):
Jacobson's footsteps and do something that only one other
person has ever done in history and that's being Australian and
qualify for the Bassmaster Eliteseries.
Tommy Wood is literally living in a van down by the river
chasing his dreams. And it is just, it's awesome to
me to see. And this week's podcast was not

(02:10):
an easy one. I mean, we had to rob Wi-Fi from
McDonald's. There was times where we lost
said Wi-Fi. It was an emotional roller
coaster for us recording it. There was times where there was
an echo. The audio was off.
But I think we'll have it all polished up nice.
And here's the best part. It's a great conversation with a

(02:33):
great dude and somebody that youwant to keep an eye on because
I'm going to throw it out here and make a prediction.
Tommy Wood will make the Bass Master Elite series.
I don't know when but I believe Tommy Wood will make the Bass
Master Elite series because I also believe in Tommy Woods head

(02:53):
not making the Bass Master Eliteseries is not an option.
This is an incredible story. Buckle up, get some popcorn,
pour some Java, enjoy Tommy Woodas we hook up with him in a
McDonald's. Parking lot Tommy Woods, you're

(03:14):
in a van in Virginia, and I don't know if this is a badge of
honor or says a lot about this show, but you're not the first
guest that we've interviewed in a van.
Oh really? I thought I'd definitely be the
first. KJ Queen in the Queen Machine
and the best part about the whole podcast?

(03:35):
And don't make this mistake. This isn't a tip and a story all
wrapped up in one. He does the whole podcast and
he's done and I mean, he lives in North Carolina, but as soon
as we're done, as soon as we're done recording, he's like starts
taking off all his clothes. He's like, and I'm like, well,
what is wrong? He's like, I am sweltering hot.
I guess his air conditioning wasn't working and he was

(03:57):
sitting in his truck in North Carolina in the middle of the
summer and he sweat the whole way through.
And I said, well, why didn't youjust take your hoodie off?
Like why didn't you? He goes because I have a non
sponsored shirt underneath. So he's willing to suffer for
his craft, let's just put it that way.
Oh, man, that's a big error. Yeah, I've got the AC running
here for sure because it is stinking hot outside.

(04:19):
Yeah, yeah. You, you're still dealing with
Jet. Like how long you have you been
back in America now? I only flew in here last week so
I just had a 2 month gap but we had like 3 months off in the
open. So took the time to fly home and
go work for two months and it was good.
You know, I got some cash behindme again.

(04:39):
So definitely helps because to stay longer, to stay for 12
months, it would have cost me, you know X amount more and then
living costs here while I can't work, it just goes through the
roof. So definitely worth heading
back. Got some cash on my belt now
again and ready to roll for the rest of the season.
What do you do to to amass cash quickly in two months?

(05:00):
Are are you a manservant? I may look like one, but no, no,
my dad owns a business back in Australia and we do like marine
electronics. So we sell Garmin and we do all
sort of boat videos, all electrical stuff.
So I've got a job there to jump straight into, you know,

(05:21):
offseason and stuff to earn somemoney.
And I also did like a, a live scope training thing.
So I took people out to show them how to catch barramundi
with live scope and I had like probably eight or nine people
sign up straight away. I booked out a week and you know
they will pay good money and they knew what it was for and

(05:41):
they all showed up and we had a good time and made some extra
money so it was good. Awesome awesome.
I know this is weird but like instantly you've turned off some
people to you just just by talking about you're obviously a
live scope guy. Is that the same in Australia?
Like is there anti live scopers in Australia or is it just a

(06:02):
North American thing? No, there, there definitely is
some stigma in Australia. Like it's, it's not as bad I
would say as over here. I've definitely seen the bad
side of it here. Like there's a lot of stuff on
online about it. But in Australia now it's pretty
readily accepted because it's like so much fun, I guess.

(06:23):
And our fish, those barramundi, like we used to go out fishing
for a day and if you get one or two, that's a good day.
So it's changed our odds a little bit bit now and we can
catch, you know, 5 or 6 to have a good day and even up to 10 if
you have a really good day. So it's definitely helped the
game over there for everyone. Wow, wow.
So to barramundi, I mean, in themuskie world there's a lot of

(06:46):
pushback on it because it's a bigger fish.
So I would assume just even a simple minded person like me
would be like a bigger fish is abigger target which is easier to
find. Muskie guys are real up in arms
because that very thing happened.
They went from catching 1 fish to catching in some situations
10 fish and a lot of giants. Is there any concern in the

(07:08):
barramundi world that that will affect it?
Yeah, you know, guys, guys are sort of concerned about it, but
the good thing is like all of our legs are stocked with fish.
So they put in like between 10,000 to 500,000 fingerings
like every year in these lakes. So we've got like a fresh stock,
huge numbers going through all the time.
And you know, you can definitelytell the pressures there now

(07:31):
like with the barrel, like you'll you'll see one every 10
minutes if you're in a good area.
And like if you cast and it lands like 20 feet away from
them too loud, they will just turn the other way and bolt.
Like it is so hard to get a lurenear them.
So we're definitely seeing the effect of it now, but it just
sort of it's, it's sort of bringing out some more
techniques where you got to be abit more quiet, stealthy, and

(07:53):
it's pretty cool, yeah. Yeah, yeah, well enough about
forward facing Sonar seems to blind its way into every
freaking conversation. Every.
Conversation. It's impossible not to have it
as part of the conversation, buthow ridiculous is this?
First of all, tell me what your dream is.

(08:14):
What's that? Sorry, just broke.
Up What was your dream? What are you doing here?
Oh, it's crazy. I'm trying to make the fast
master elite series and we're halfway through the open season
at the moment. So we're we're getting after it.
But it's been a dream of mine since I was a kid.
And you know, watching Carl for years and he, he smashed like he
did such a great job and he's like influenced a lot of kids

(08:39):
over in Australia, like so many people want to do it now.
And I just thought, you know, like 5-10 years ago I was like,
I'm just going to set 2025 as a goal.
I'm going to come over here, fish the opens and just see how
we go have a crack at it. And you know, if things work
out, stay for a bit longer, fishthe next year.
And Fast forward 2025, here we are fishing the open.

(09:00):
So but yeah, it's good. I got to meet Carl and Gussie
and I think it was 2022 when they came over for the
Barratour. And like those guys are awesome.
Like I got to stay with them at a Airbnb with Steve Morgan and
Nicole. And it was, it was good because
Carl sort of gave me a plan. He said this is what you need to
do. And I wasn't planning to go till

(09:22):
2025. He's like, you need to come over
for three months in 2023 as a car angler, get after it, like
Start learning, making contacts and stuff.
And I was like, OK, looks like we're doing it.
And it was just good that it lined up with the Classic, that
he made the Classic and like, flew straight in Knoxville, got
to see Gussie win the Classic there.

(09:42):
And like straight after that, you know, Gussie gave me a
handful of rods to use for the three months in a like a prop
box full of tackle. And Carl hooked me out with a
heap of rods and tackle as well.And then I was off on fishing
the car angler stuff. So it's been crazy.
It's a pretty insane dream, evenwith Carl kind of blazing the

(10:04):
trail. I mean, you're on the other side
of the world searching for Wi-Fito do a podcast in a van,
chasing something that's tough for people who live right here
to accomplish. Like, have you always been a guy
who chases the stuff that peoplesays say?

(10:25):
I mean, people at home must say this is ridiculous.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Like all the time.
I tell people and they're like, you're doing what?
Trying to fish for a living, Butlike, I just can't.
I can't really stop at a point and get comfortable after like
always have like some really high goal to sort of push
towards. I've got to keep like going

(10:45):
after something And it was good.I cannot since I've been a
teenager to like my mid 20s. I was fishing all the
tournaments in Australia and I had a lot of goals that I wanted
to accomplish and I started to tick a lot of those boxes.
And I was like, what's the next big thing is like going to the
states? Like I always wanted to do it.
And I thought, I think it's timewe'll go give it a shot.

(11:05):
And it's, it's been an eye opening, like learn a lot of
life lessons. And but it's also being unreal.
Like every time, like I'm driving through, like I was
driving through Virginia today. I'm just a kid from Australia in
a van. I got a bastard in the back.
I'm just thinking, how the hell am I even here?
Just crazy. It is bizarre.

(11:28):
It's, it's bizarre, but it's, I mean, you're not the only one.
And you know, obviously Carl's done what he's done.
We've seen Japanese anglers do what they've done.
I mean, the Canadians have made an impact.
But I mean, they don't have to fly to get here.
They can literally drive to go to another country and just do
what you're doing. Do you have a backup plan or is

(11:51):
this everything? Yeah.
Like I do have a backup plan, but it doesn't appeal to me at
all. Like I can, I can go back and
wire boats for the rest of my life, but like, this is what I
want to do And like, I just wantto do everything I can in my in
my muscles to make it happen. But yeah, it's, it's definitely

(12:14):
crazy once you start flying overhere, like those flights from
Australia, I think, I think someof the stints you do are 16
hours on one plane and then there's connecting flights three
to four hours each. And by the time you pack
everything up at home, sell everything, sell your car, most
of your clothes and all your oldfishing stuff, and then you move
over here, you got all your stuff and you're trying to set

(12:36):
up a life here. It is like a it's a mission in
itself just doing that. So it's been crazy.
Yeah, I feel horrible. I mean, the the flights alone,
I've always wanted to go to Australia.
Carl's given me some opportunities and literally the
flights have been like, never mind everything you're
overcoming while you're here. But to me I I think halfway

(12:58):
through a 16 hour flight I wouldhave to punch the guy beside me
because he was blinking too loudlike.
Yeah, you get some bad, you get some bad like experiences on
planes. Like I've had some really good
ones and really bad ones. Like I think my last flight home
when I left in end of May, I hadthis guy sitting next to me and

(13:23):
he was massive. He was tall to me and we're
shoulder to shoulder. And it was like AI think this
plot was about four hours and hewas like falling asleep and his
head was starting to come over to my side a little bit and I
thought, oh, this is getting badbut.
That should be an ad campaign. A picture of Tommy Wood with a
big man drooling on your chest and the best master Dream.

(13:48):
How bad do you want it? That's exactly.
But then, you know, like when I first flew over here in December
in the last year, I had three seats myself, stretched out.
Best flight ever. Yeah, see, that's the flight I
need to be on. But I won't.
I mean, that's just the world. I know that it won't.

(14:10):
It won't happen for me. And nobody wants to sit beside
me for that long, so I'm holdingout till I become successful
enough that I can buy really good seats.
But. Yeah, they're probably.
Not going to happen. So you said you've learned a lot
of life lessons. How so?

(14:31):
Oh, just sort of living on your own, like it's totally different
to living at home. Like I, I lived in a house with
like 5 friends. So, you know, after work, you're
always seeing each other, alwayshanging out, there's always
someone there. And then all of a sudden you're
in this little van and you're byyourself travelling around the
country. You don't even know and people
can't understand everything you say.

(14:52):
And it's just definitely, it's definitely a growing experience,
but it's been awesome. Like it's probably the best way
to do it. Like I, I did it in 2023 just
out of a tundra and my plan was to camp, but it didn't really
end up working out that well. It was just going to cost too
much money to set up a fridge and everything in it and, and

(15:12):
I've stayed in Airbnb and it cost me an arm and a leg.
So having the van set up is being unreal.
Like I've got a fridge in here, a sink like a cupboard full of
groceries and stuff. So it's been probably the best
way for. Groceries.
Like a cabin. Oh, a cupboard?
I thought you said something else like yeah, no, we have
cupboards here too. Very good.

(15:33):
So continue on. I'll disregard.
So yeah, it's been a, it's been a different life to get used to
and like even even going home for two months and living over
there working and stuff and thencoming back again, it's like
hits you in the face pretty hardback being alone so.
Yeah, do you ever hear voices inthat van late at night?

(15:55):
I have not voices, but tremblingI I was stuck naked in the bed
one day and I was sleeping out the front of a mate's house and
I could hear rustling outside. And I was like, you got to be
kidding me. And I was yelling at my my
buddy's name, Connor. And I got no response.
And I thought someone's in the boats and I'm freaking out
getting changed. Got clothes on real quick, open

(16:16):
up the door and Connor's out there.
And I was like, far out dude, you scared the hell out of me.
So where do you sleep? I mean in front of your buddy's
house, but like, is it planned out?
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty planned out.
So I've got a guy who I met in 2023, his name's Kyle and he's a

(16:38):
Canadian as well. And he was working the Exxon
booth, OK, the classic. And I got talking to him and
he's like, man, if you haven't had anywhere to stay, you can
always pull up at mine. I was like hell yeah.
And he had like a 30 foot campervan and stuff.
And so in between the car angle stuff, I just go back to, he
lives in Alabama and Birmingham and I just sleep in the 30 foot

(16:59):
camper. And it was such a good setup,
you know, same heap of dollars. And we've been fishing a couple
of times. And since then we stayed in
contact. And when when I was looking to
come back over, he said, you know, you're obviously welcome
to stay here again and everything.
And we'll send each other like second hand boats, like looking
at boats I was going to buy and stuff.
And he said, you know what, why don't you just borrow a Ranger?

(17:21):
It's like a 2014 Ranger said youcan borrow it for the year.
Obviously, you just got to pay for any costs and stuff.
And I said, hell yeah, like 100%.
I'm keen on that. So I put some garment screens on
there for it. But like, if you do that, it's
absolutely unreal. Like, it just goes to show like
how willing some people are to help.

(17:42):
And there's still some positive stuff out there.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, the man gives you a a
house and a boat. What do you do in return?
Are you like his gardener? Is he just that good a human?
This has been an emotional roller coaster.

(18:02):
We got Tommy Wood living in a van.
Is it stealing Wi-Fi from McDonald's?
For the last 8 minutes we've been battling it out, but it
will not stop us from having a good podcast.
I have no idea what the hell we were talking about.
Tommy, do you remember? Yeah, I was going.
I was talking about how Kyle letme borrow his boat and stuff

(18:25):
like that so. Yeah, Kyle, how about Wi-Fi in
the future, I mean. Yeah, Wi-Fi, not even the car
would actually be really good. Today's high tech fishing world
can be a real pain in the neck, especially if you're running the
wrong mount. Beat down Outdoors.
They bring the graph to you and they support this podcast and

(18:50):
care enough about you to make this a short ad read.
Check out Beat down outdoors. Now back to the show.
But now it's amazing people thatthat you meet along the way.
And that is truly the greatest thing about this sport.
I think like, yeah, it is the people like, and that's what
frustrates me about all the Internet crap that you hear and

(19:12):
that is out there because ultimately they're the some of
the best people on earth. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's such a
such a good industry in some senses because like as soon as
you find someone who likes fishing as well, you know, like
I never knew this guy and now we're like best mates and he's
helped me out big time. And that's all just because

(19:34):
we're from years ago, we used tolove catching fish and all the
way across from the other world and just crazy how opportunities
like that can come up. So I definitely wouldn't be here
if it wasn't for that. Like I wouldn't be able to
afford to buy a boat, a car and survival year.
So having that opportunity to have this Ranger has been
unreal. So.

(19:55):
All right. Thanks, Kyle.
You're a good guy. Let's he's a legend.
Hope he doesn't turn out to be an axe murderer sounding a
little bit too good to be true. Yeah, I know.
I was a little bit worried. I was like, is this actually
happening? Are you checking your air

(20:15):
conditioner? Is that why it's so hot?
Is that why you're distracted? Yeah, just making sure I've got
the AC button actually on, but Ijust cranked her up a bit.
All right, so who's Tommy Wood before this?
Who are you? Tell me about your life growing
up and. So I pretty much grew up in like

(20:37):
in the country is a place calledGinjian in Queensland,
Australia, so. Ginjian.
Yeah, Ginjian, beautiful place. No, it's a little country town.
It's not too bad. But one of the lakes that's
close by there is called Lake Mondrian and that's like
probably one of the best barrel fisheries in Australia.

(20:58):
And my dad, he loves fishing. So he did barramundi guiding and
also did offshore guiding for Marlin fishing.
And ever since a young kid, likewe always went Marlin fishing
offshore, did the inshore stuff,Barrow fishing.
And I always got drawn back to going into the lake and going in
the bass boat, going chasing barrows, Lily pads and trees.

(21:20):
I just something bad. I loved it.
And no matter how many times we had Marlin fishing, I always
found myself like I wanted to goback Barrow fishing and like
after the years there was ATV show that, come on, called AFC.
Yeah. And that's actually what it's
the. First time I ever saw Carl in
AFC. Yeah, yeah.
So that was huge in Australia and I used to be a huge fan of

(21:42):
Carl watching that back in the day and going from that like
seeing Carl do that and hate other guys in there.
It sort of got me really keen ontournament fishing and of the
year. So at least like did a few
tournaments here and there, nothing too serious.
But once I started doing ABT theAustralian bar tournament,

(22:04):
that's how you used to qualify for the AFC.
So it had a pretty good name, like a pretty pretty well known
sort of league and thought you know what, I'm going to jump in
this and have a crack and over the years got my my ass kicked a
fair bit and learn a lot as well.
But from there I just fell in love with tournament fishing,

(22:24):
like how good the highs are. Like you can go from having the
worst day to having one goodbye and it just changes everything.
And I was like, man, I've got tofigure out a way to do this full
time. And that's like, I think here's
the only place you can do in thestate, so.
Were you were you always a competitive person?
Like did you compete in anythinggrowing up?

(22:48):
Not totally like I was always sort of a bit more of like a
team player really like did a lot of fishing, like a lot of
team fishing like back in Australia as well.
So but never really got into sports much at all.
Like in high school got into surfing a little bit and stuff
like that. But I was never like huge into
sports and real competitive. So I it's probably like my only

(23:11):
downfall is I haven't got that competitive edge.
What do you mean by team sports?Like what do you mean what's
team fishing? Oh, like we fish like in teams
and stuff like that. So still got to be competitive I
guess, but. You're still competing against
each other, yeah. Yeah, I understand.
Yeah. But like in the team fishing,
like you side by side and you'refishing together.

(23:34):
But I never really sort of played like I'd play a little
bit of 40 and stuff like that, but not like some of the other
guys that played tennis and soccer and stuff like that.
I was sort of always fishing andstuff like that and the like.
Why'd you get into surfing chicks?
Yeah, it's literally why everybody surfs unless you're

(23:56):
female or anybody plays guitar. Yeah, literally.
No, it's just, it's a good, it'sa good lifestyle back home, you
know, like on the beach and stuff.
So all my mates surfed and if weweren't surfing, we're fishing.
If we're not fishing, we're surfing.
So it was sort of grew up with it and yeah.

(24:17):
That you guys have some real surf, like big surf, right?
Yeah, yeah. Like how big are we talking?
Oh, it gets massive. Like I don't go on, it's that
big. Like my mates serve some pretty
big stuff, but I'm all just out there for the fun stuff.
But like we got just up the road, it's Noosa Heads, which is

(24:39):
like one of the best like sort of right hand waves in
Queensland. And when you get a cyclone come
through, those waves get huge, like up to UPS, like 810 foot.
Damn. Yeah, they're big.
Have you ever wiped out real badsurfing?
Yeah, I've had a few, like a couple of bad ones.
It gets pretty scary sometimes. That's why I sort of sort of

(25:01):
laid back. I just sort of surf like longer
boards now in smaller ways just for the fun of it.
But like when it's bad, like when it's big out there and
stuff goes wrong, it can go wrong real quick, so.
Yeah, yeah. Plus there's a lot of different
critters. I mean, I faced my fear this
year and I swam with sharks. I swam with some bull sharks and
some no white tiger sharks and and it was awesome.

(25:25):
But I would not do it in Australia where they have great
whites and stuff like that. Do you ever have any encounters?
I haven't really had too many encounters that God I only one
that happened was we. Yeah, I mean, you should have
just totally lied and I. Mean the Australian miracle.

(25:45):
Walker Damn it, Tommy. The only one that actually ever
happened was one I didn't even know about.
It was funny, like we went surfing after school one day and
it was like like windy, windy day, late afternoon.
We definitely shouldn't have been out there and the wives
weren't that good. We ended up coming back here,

(26:06):
and as we're walking back to thecar, this guy come up to us.
He's like, oh, like, I can see why you guys got the hell out of
there. And I was like, yeah, I was
getting pretty bad. And he's like, Nah, that shark
that was like next to you, did you see that?
And I'm like, Nah, he's like there was a feeling like right
behind you for like 2 minutes and I was like, are you kidding
me? So we left it a good time but
like I didn't even see it. So just goes to show you how

(26:28):
sneaky they can be. Yeah, yeah, Well, I mean, I did
a little research on swimming with sharks and stuff, and then
here's the whole thing. Surfing's dangerous, whatever
they say, because the shark can't see.
Like when you're out in the ocean and you're surf and you're
swimming with a shark, a shark sees you.
A bull shark's very smart. I mean, we look at them as
aggressive because how we've always seen them around fishing

(26:50):
or stuff, but when they're in the surf they're at a
disadvantage and bad stuff can happen.
Some people think bad stuff happens anywhere.
While we're on Australian stereotypes, tell me about
Kangaroos. Are they a pain in the ass?
Yeah, they are. They're just, they're, they're
dangerous because like you can be driving anywhere and they

(27:11):
just jump out and they're like deer almost.
But yeah, they're, they're a weird animal.
Like just when I was back home, I've never done this.
And actually, I don't think manypeople have done this.
There's these Kangaroos around this campsite at this lake.
And usually they keep their distance.
Like they usually hang out around the houses and stuff and
you can like try and walk up to them, but they'll just sort of

(27:33):
hop away. But this one come right up to
our door. And I was just like feeding him
biscuits and like bread and stuff.
And he was hanging out like right next to us like a mate.
And they're interesting creatures for sure.
What about the ones I see videosof?
There's some that are like all all bowed up.
Like the ones that like they look like a 60 year old dude

(27:56):
hopped up on testosterone in Hollywood.
I mean, they're just all. Is that real?
Or is that like, why do they getlike that?
Yeah, I real. They're, they're like the big
dogs. They like we see a lot of little
ones around like the campsites, but the ones out like in the
Outback and stuff and up north, they're massive.
They just, I think it's the way they got to walk because they

(28:18):
sort of like they don't always hop.
They sometimes get down on theirfront arms and they got to like
hold their weight and sort of walk along the ground a little
bit and they just get jacked up.They do.
They look intimidating. Oh yeah.
So yeah. So how often would you see a
kangaroo in Australia? Probably.

(28:41):
Well, if you're if you're in thecity, you're not going to see as
many, but like. As many, so there is some in
the. Yeah, yeah, sometimes, like in a
park or something, you'll see them every now and then, but
like if you're going out fishing, you're going to see
them every day, like 100%. They're just everywhere.
So more than you see deer here, probably.

(29:03):
Yeah, I'll definitely say so. Yeah.
Like they're, they're like they're actually a bit of a
problem. Like they're, I think, I think
people actually like shoot them over there as like a pest thing
to try and get rid of them. So.
Yeah, Do people eat kangaroo? People do eat it but it's
usually more so solved for like dog food and stuff.

(29:25):
Yeah, it's like squirrels. Some people eat squirrels, but
not. Everyone.
I love squirrels. They are the coolest little
animals. See, I'm.
Curried by Kangaroos because they're so bad.
You're probably like, oh, littlesquirrels are cool.
You probably don't have animals like that because you have
poisonous snakes. Exactly.

(29:45):
Yeah, that's why the Kangaroos get so baffed, to defend the
stakes. Yeah, damn.
Wow. So how much did winning the Open
help you? Oh, it was, it was more so like
huge for like my confidence and like really got me going.

(30:10):
Like didn't really like it. Surprising didn't help me get
any sponsorship over here or anything like it sort of sort of
didn't help much there. But like, you know, I got my
name out there, listed my profile a little bit and stuff
like that. So it was, it was definitely a
good move. But like winning that because my
goal was just to cash a cheque in at least one of the four
events I, I went in and that wasthe third event we did and end

(30:35):
up cashing a cheque in each fan.And then that third event won
it. And I was just like over the
moon. And that's when I started
thinking, Oh yeah, OK, maybe, maybe I can do this.
And got the blood flowing for sure.
So how is the sponsor world for you?
Are most of your supporters fromAustralia or other than Kyle?

(30:55):
Of course. Team Kyle.
Yeah, I got most of my my supports from Australia, like
one of my biggest sponsors is toa company called Samaki.
So they do like fishing rods andlures.
They also import like X braid line from Japan, D coin, stuff
like that. So and I actually got to know

(31:17):
the owner Josh pretty well and we're like really good mates now
and we fished team tournaments for years now and I'm sort of
growing pretty close with him. So we're sort of developing rods
together, baits and stuff like that for Australia.
And when I said I was keen to goto the US, he said, dude, I'm
100% behind you. He said he's actually been

(31:38):
thinking about bringing Samaki to the state.
So he's made him paired up and we designed like a range of rods
for the states here. We just got the first demos,
demo rods in now and hopefully in the next couple years we'll
have them in the US here, so. So he's your Ian Miller,
basically similar to Carl's relationship with the rod

(32:01):
manufacturer, correct? Yeah, Yeah, same deal.
The blueprint crazy. Hey, it's it's easy to follow
you. So now you just got to suffer
for like, what, the next 10 years?
Yeah. Oh, I hope enough to go through
the stuff that Carl went through.
Yeah, he went the highway with everything.
Like everyone got to see it fromAustralia too.

(32:23):
Like what he went through. It was, it was a rough Rd.,
that's for sure. What, what is Carl's reputation
like in Australia? Like what do people think of
what he's done? Do they realise you know how big
a deal it is over there? Yeah, I think, I think people
like he like he's a super well known guy in Australia.

(32:43):
Like anyone that fishes knows Carl.
And I don't think people sort ofunderstand how hard the stuff
was that he went through. Like until people come over here
from Australia and sort of seeing the classic and seeing
how big it was. And especially me coming over
here, seeing the stuff that he would have had to go through
with the opens and getting your life set up.

(33:03):
Like he didn't know anyone. So he was just on his own living
out of a truck. And I think, yeah, I think
people didn't really understand like what he was actually going
through. So.
But Australia was always behind him too, which is good.
So. And you can still see now that,
like today, everyone coming overfrom Australia to watch the
classic, like it's pretty cool. It is very cool.

(33:25):
It, it's incredible and, and still, you know, the first one
was a big deal obviously, but now he's been to three in a row,
hopefully four in a row by the end of this year.
And it, it's still amazing to me, you know, how many
Australians show up and how vocal they are.
And, but they're, they're kind of world renowned for being, you

(33:47):
know, you look at kind of, I look at Australia, Ireland,
there's some countries that in, I mean, Ireland isn't even a
very big country, but they're very vocal.
If somebody's in one of their worlds, like in competing in
anything, they're very vocal. And the Aussies are like that
too, are they not? Yeah, oh 100%.

(34:08):
Like soon as soon as you got someone going overseas to do
something, you're going to get some pretty good support.
But yeah, it's like I've definitely had some good support
too from the Australians as well.
Like it's pretty crazy. Like everyone's back in here,
which is cool, so. Yeah.
So what makes you, when you've seen everything that Carl's
overcome? I mean, does that excite you or

(34:31):
does that worry you? Like what makes you think that
you can do this? It does worry me.
Like, yeah, he's told me some stories as well.
Like, I don't know, he's told everything, but like some of the
stories he tells me, I'm like me.
And that's like, like, eventually some stuff like this
is going to happen to me. And that's the sort of stuff

(34:54):
where like you got to sort of really put your head down and
work through it. Otherwise you're just going to
fall over. So it's kind of like you just
got to get through it and there's no other choice really.
So if I want to make this happen, I've got to get through
those hard times and see how it goes.
But it's definitely having him like good having him there
because he's told me a lot of stuff already, like make sure

(35:17):
you go like do things a certain way, go about it this way and
stuff like that. And it's been good.
But there still is a lot of stuff like being naive and
young, like, he's still got to learn those lessons yourself.
Like one of the biggest things he told me when I first come
over here is he said never stay in a hotel that has a number in
it. And I was like, yeah, OK, no

(35:38):
worries. Like, I took it on board a
little bit. And after an open, I had, like,
nowhere to stay. And I'm like, it was like 11:00
PM. I'm trying to find somewhere to
stay. And Motel 6 was the only one
that was open. And it was in Jackson, Ms. And
it was an interesting night. Well, there goes any chance of

(35:59):
us getting sponsored by H6. Yeah, or any other motel with a
number and a name. The other thing that I know
about hotels, if it says it's the best, it almost maybe Best
Western is an exception to that.But you know, like when you see
America's Best in, you know, yeah, Missouri's greatest hotel,

(36:22):
it never is. It almost never is.
Oh yeah, 100% you just I I don'teven go near motels anymore.
Like I stay out in the sticks orlike an Airbnb.
Yeah, if it's near lake you're kind of safe, but I just try and
stay away from the cities. Yeah, what?
What, what? What is the biggest lesson

(36:46):
fishing over here has taught you?
Probably to biggest thing I, I think is I sort of fish too fast
in a tournament. Like I've had to learn to slow
down a lot. And it's been hard because the
lakes are so big. And when stuff's not happening,

(37:06):
I'm like thinking, OK, maybe I've got to run over here
because the wind's blowing this way.
But I've had to slow down and like I spent an extra 10 minutes
on the spot and I start to pick up something and the more time
you run around like I'm just wasting time.
But I've learned slow down, fishout your areas that you know,
there's fish. Like they're not going to go too
far. They're either going to move a

(37:27):
little bit offshore or in shore and seems to be every open.
If I do sort of pretty bad on the first day, I just go fish
some new stuff and awesome stuffthat I fished before and I just
milk it for what it's worth and end up catching more fish out of
the spot than I did the day before.
And I think, OK, maybe I'm just fishing too fast.

(37:48):
And like he watched some of these guys at Scope and like
this once they're on those fish,they're on those fish.
Like they don't jump around a lot.
Like they know when they're on the good fish.
So it's been, it's been definitely interesting and sad
enough to say like you do have to use live scope to be
competitive now, like because itis available and the rules and

(38:11):
stuff that we're all allowed to use law scope.
If you go choose to be the bank,you're just going to have a very
unreliable tournament in the sense that you might catch 18
lbs one day and the next day yougo you might catch 2 fish.
And I love catching fish off scope and everything, but I'll

(38:32):
absolutely love fishing the bank, which just definitely hurt
me. So like there's nothing I love
better than rolling down the bank with a chatter band.
Just goes boat loads up boat flipping like 3 pounders other
than slinging A minnow. And oh, I go through my
practice. Like some of the days we can
practice are up to 13 hours likeof daylight.
So I'll go out there scope for like 10 hours, maybe catch one

(38:54):
or two. And I'm like thinking, I don't
know if this is going to work. And then I go beat the bank,
catch a 2 1/2 and I'm like, and that's kind of hurt me.
So I keep resorting to fish in the bank for it.
You watch some of the younger guys that fish college and stuff
and they've already learned thatlesson and they're just focusing
in on scope. And no matter how many fish they

(39:14):
catch in practice, they figure it out enough to catch fire fish
a day. And I think using that live
scope will keep you consistent because I just don't have the
the background and largemouth fishing to go, OK, the likes
come up to meters or 6 foot. I know this creek's going to be
good because of the way it lays out.

(39:37):
And I know how to flip a jig. Like a lot of this stuff, like I
learned how to flip a Cypress tree at Tom Bigby.
So like, I'm all like learning this stuff on the fly, which is
which is good. You know, like I can learn to
pick it up pretty quick. But all those guys have got that
experience to fish the bank, whereas I'm sort of like my best
opportunity to do well in the opens is to like focusing on
scope and use that to my advantage.

(39:59):
So it's definitely been hurting me a little bit not using it.
So I think these next three events, I'm just going to zone
in on it for sure. What is your life like?
I mean, just hearing you explainthat kind of gives me kind of an
idea of just all the stuff that you're just not used to seeing
and, and the learning curve you got to go through.
I mean, you fish, but I mean it it, there's navigation, just

(40:22):
everything you got to go through.
What is your life like? Like when you're not competing,
are you just perpetually on the water?
Yeah, yeah, I'm fishing here as much as I can.
Like in between events I've beenfishing chain tournaments with
Kyle and stuff and it's all beenlearning.
And like soon as I'm back in thevan, you know, I got like videos
up like sort of like from the last 10 years.

(40:44):
I've been watching like every water fish or everything on
YouTube and reading everything online, trying to figure out how
to learn these techniques the best I can in a short period of
time and stuff like that. Open that I won in that wheel.
Like in 2023 as a Co angler, I never even caught a bass on a
jig. And he goes, yeah, we're going

(41:06):
to go fishing stumps today and 24.
And I was like, right, I'll turna jig and, you know, call them
the first day on a jig. And I was like sweet, yeah, I'm
feeling good for the next day. My next partner the next day
says we're going in like 3 foot and less throwing a swim jig,
Spinnerbase. I'm throwing Spinnerbase a fair
bit, but I've never even tied ona swim jig, never even rigged
one up. And like that night I'm like

(41:27):
looking at stuff online trying to figure out like obviously
I've seen a little bit before, but went out that day and then
caught like 10 lbs on a swim jigwith three fish.
And it's just like, it's been like that the whole time.
Just you got to learn on the flyand be like get uncomfortable
with your situation and learn, learn learn.
That must be an incredible high,like, to literally be like,

(41:48):
yeah, I've never done this before, and then go win a
tournament doing it. Like how do you stop from being
like a How old are you? 26 to not.
The 26 year old version of me holds that trophy and screams
out to the world. I've never even done this
before. I've never even done wait till I
figure out what I'm doing. Like, Oh yeah.

(42:10):
How do you, maybe not quite, I mean, the wrestler version of me
would do that. That's going to be an incredible
high to to, you know, when you figure out a new technique or
something new, there's a high tothat.
I think that's what makes us alllove this, what we do.

(42:32):
But to actually win a tournamentdoing some of that stuff, I
mean, that is freaking ridiculous.
Yeah, it was, it was crazy. Like I've never even seen a bass
like blow up on a swing peek before in real life.
And I was like, whoa, that is crazy.
And then like, you know, it, you're ripping around the Lily
pads and then but it like it's been like that the whole the
whole time. And I've been lucky enough that
I've met some good, some good guys blowing fish in the open

(42:54):
and stuff. And I remember with like Jack
York and Donald Smith and Sam Hankey and they've all done like
super well in the past. And I think Jack York actually
almost made the elites last year.
So and they've been unreal. Like I'm going into these events
like no idea where to even start.
And they go to maybe like maybe try this tomorrow.

(43:15):
Like we've been catching some fish drawing this way.
And so it's been good to have like those guys in the back
there help me out as well. That's definitely helped the
learning curve speed up and but yeah, other than that, like if I
was on my own, I'd be definitely, definitely
struggling a little bit. What body of water has been the
most intimidating for you? They're all pretty intimidating.

(43:39):
I think this next one coming up,Chesapeake Bay is going to be
the most intimidating one because yeah, yeah, I've I've
got fish bottle stuff that kind of, I've never called the last
minute pass out of pop fishery. So it's like all fresh.
Yeah, Aveco not only makes incredible outdoor clothing, but
they care about anglers. With their 10% pledge, Aveco and

(44:00):
the Shed family donate at least 10% of the company's profits to
conservation and making fishing better.
Now, back to the show. That to me, I think is one of
the things that is so. And I mean, it's for the elite
guys, for anybody. But like the tournament anglers
don't get enough credit. Like it would take the average
human a week just to figure out how to navigate.

(44:23):
Like, you know, if you travel with other people in the water.
I went to a buddy of mine who, you know, rented a place on an
island once and we got lost every time leaving.
It was the week before. It was like, Oh yeah, now we
know where we're how to get there.
Obviously it's before GPS, but that part of it has to be just

(44:43):
wild. Yeah, yeah, there's all like
different markers over here and everything like so I had to
learn a lot sort of stuff doing the boat is safety certificate
anyway. But like, yeah, it's just crazy.
And then like even driving on the other side of the roads
crazy enough. Like pretty good at like
changing up each side of the carand each other road now.

(45:03):
But when I first came over here,like me, that was that was
scary. Scary.
Yeah, I imagine, I imagine it. So what is the ultimate dream?
End goal is to like do well enough, have the Opens, qualify
for the elites and make a careerout of it full time and move

(45:24):
over here eventually. Like my dream's always been to
have like a ranch in America, but a big private lake on a fish
tournament for a living and havelike my own little private lake
out the back with bass in it. And that's the end goal, so.
It's a damn good dream. Yeah, and it's been like that
for a long time too. Like I've always wanted to have
like a freaking lake on my property.

(45:46):
That would be awesome. But it's not easy to get to
that, that's for sure. Yeah, Yeah.
Well, so where, how long do you think?
I mean, are you there in three years, five years, 10 years?
What, what? What do you in your head?
Are you there next year? I think I definitely won't be

(46:08):
getting a ranch next year. I think that's going to no.
No, I don't mean the ranch, I mean making it on the elites
and. Yeah, if I make the elite system
for the. Ranch, sorry, yeah, break it to
you, but a lot of competition inprovision nowadays.
Oh yeah, and you got to have a lot of money to get to that
level, so. Yeah.
But yeah, like if I make the elite this year, yeah, I'll,

(46:31):
I'll be having a super good year.
Like I was pretty confident coming over here, but now after
being here for like 6 months, I've sort of realized how much I
sort of need to learn and how much how far behind I actually
am. So I think after next year, like
if I get another full year into that, like this year's been like
a really good learning year get finding my feet, getting

(46:53):
comfortable, but one more year here and I think I could be
getting pretty close to making the leads.
That's pretty incredible. And the way the Elites is with
RE qualification, I mean, you don't want to make it too early
either. Like let's say you made it,
yeah, this year. Would that be too soon for you,
do you think? Oh, 100%.

(47:15):
If if I make it this year, obviously I'll go, but like I
would be well out of my comfort zone.
But The thing is too, I've been like in that sort of space for
the last three years, like always been out of my comfort
zone. New lakes, new fish, and I think
I'll definitely struggle like, but whatever happens is will

(47:38):
happen and it'll be what it's meant to be.
So we'll see what happens, but. Got any tattoos?
Any ink? No, no tattoos.
My dad would kill me if I got a tattoo for sure.
Really. Oh yeah.
He's in Australia, you'll be fine.
Yeah, it's a long way. No, I, I, I, I don't.

(48:03):
So you're never getting ink. No, I don't really got the money
to spend on it. It's expensive to get a tattoo.
No kid, no kid. I don't have any either.
But yeah, I'm not 2626 year olds.
You're in a rare group, dude. I'll say you just broke up a
little bit. I said I'm not 26.

(48:24):
There's not a lot of 26 year olds that do not have tattoos or
plans to. I mean, your generation wants to
deface their body. Yeah, like all my mates got
tattoos on them. Like my girlfriend, she's got
tattoos all over her arms and stuff like that.
Yeah, it's crazy. Everyone's getting them, that's
for sure. But I'm too worried I'll get
something stupid. Five years later.

(48:46):
I'm thinking, what the hell haveI done that for?
That's the main reason. That can happen.
I believe nobody should get a tattoo till they're at least 25,
unless it's like a memorial or something like then in that
situation, like you can do it. But I understand and here's why
I know that because at one time in my life I wanted a tattoo.

(49:07):
Like I really thought about getting it and I was probably a
drunken night away from saying let's do it.
And I never did. But now I look back and that
tattoo would have been the barbed wire arm bar, which is
the worst tattoo a human can have.
Sorry if you have it. I mean, most people are maybe
not the worst tattoo, but the most regrettable tattoo.

(49:30):
Yeah. And that's what I would have
got. So don't get a tattoo till
you're at least 25, maybe 30. Yeah, like it.
And it sucks to get him off. Like you got to get that laser
treatment and man. Yeah, yeah, Pete Davidson is
getting all his take. You know Pete Davidson from
Saturday Night Live? He's dated like everybody.

(49:53):
He's getting them all taken off.He's going to be playing Pete, I
guess. I don't know.
I. Didn't even know he had tattoos.
Oh, he's inked up. Horrible.
I mean, his dad died in 9/11. He's got a lot of issues and
sometimes yeah, yeah, yeah. He once, I forget once he once
told a joke and he said this is he got off a flight and said
this is the worst, my worst flying experience ever.

(50:17):
And my dad died in 9/11 which. Is Oh yeah, that's pretty bad.
Horrible. So I want you to make it, dude.
I mean, I think that I think thetour could use another
Australian. I mean, I've been fighting with
Carl to come out from a land down under and he will not.

(50:37):
I mean, he just does it, sprinkles it in here and there.
Will you be the Australian that America wants?
I'll give it a guy, that's for sure.
You heard it here, Carl. You better start using that song
or young Tommy Wood is going to come take it.
Yeah, I love the green and gold jersey over there and the
classic if I make it. How come Australians dislike

(51:05):
Kangaroos but when they come here they seem to like them?
Like it's embraced as a good symbol.
Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of just like a
stereotypical thing that I thinkit's a little bit worn out
almost because it's like for us,it's just a normal animal.
It's kind of like everyone's like, oh, like it's like me

(51:27):
sound like you guys got squirrels over here.
That's crazy. Like, are they everywhere?
It's like, yeah, it's just like a normal animal.
So us living with it, we're probably just used to it, like,
oh, it's nothing like abnormal for us.
And but then again, like everyone loves them.
Like you bring a toy, a koala orkangaroo over here and
everyone's freaking out. They love it.

(51:49):
Yeah, what is the, what is the question you are so tired of
answering from people when they meet you as an Australian want
to be professional angler or maybe maybe you're too nice to
answer that if I question what is the question you get asked

(52:12):
the most? Do you like a shrimp on the
Barbie? I'm like, man, you can't be
asking that. We don't even call shrimp
shrimp. Freaking Paul Hogan.
Yeah, I know. Everyone says it to you.
It's like it's a, it's a prawn. That's not even a line.
Like shrimp on the Barbie is notanything you'll ever hear.

(52:35):
Somebody is. Why wouldn't he just say what?
What? Like what would an Australian
say rather than shrimp? Shrimp on the Barbie, what would
you say? So having a couple of prawns,
baby. Why didn't he just do that?
Oh, no, I can't believe. I think there's probably an
American director and he they probably said they're not,

(52:56):
they're not going to understand what a prawn is.
You better say shrimp. Who is the greatest Australian
hero, would you say? God, there's a, there's a few
athletes around from Australia, around the world.
Like there's that guy Cameron Smith, he's a golfer and stuff

(53:17):
like that. Yeah, but yeah, like, I wouldn't
really know. There's a, there's a lot of
Australians that like there's a,isn't that that actor from
Australia? What's his name again?
He's like in a few, he's like a blonde dude.
I don't know. I'm asking you the questions.
I mean, you're the Australian you're supposed to know.

(53:38):
I mean, I'm from Canada. Ask me about Céline Dion.
I got you Michael J Fox, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson.
I got them all covered. It's.
Focus on bass fishing. What's that you're too focused

(53:58):
on? Bass fishing.
Yeah, you're do you need to be obsessed to make it at this?
Oh, I think so, yeah. Yeah, 100%.
Like a lot of my mates in Australia don't even like,
understand some of the techniques we use over here
because it's just like not something you see, like unless
you're fully obsessed with it, watching videos and surrounding

(54:21):
yourself with it, I think, yeah,you just, you're never going to
really see it. But you got to be obsessed.
That's 100%. Who's?
Your guy. Like if you've watched for
years, who's the guy that you? Who was your hero fishing wise
growing up? Like definitely like Carl's

(54:41):
obviously a big influence, but also Brandon Polini, like since
he started that YouTube stuff and like watching his career,
like it's pretty unbelievable what he's done.
And he's had all that YouTube stuff out for years.
So like from Australia, you could watch it all.
So like readily, it was so readily available.
And he's definitely the man I like, even my girlfriend, like

(55:05):
she loves Brandon Politic. Why?
He's a good person to love. What's your favorite movie?
God, trying to think, I think there's this one.
There's this one called This is the End or.
This is the end. Yeah, Like, this is, I can't

(55:27):
remember the exact name a littlebit, but it's like where a bunch
of comedians are like acting as themselves in this house and
pretty much the world falls apart and they're all stuck
together. It's pretty funny, but I'm
pretty sure it's called This Is the End.
You don't watch a lot of movies that take it you're not good at
naming actors or movie names. Oh yeah, no, I'm like, I barely

(55:49):
watch TV anymore. What's the coolest pet you've
ever owned? Already a pet barramundi, I've
had a few there. Damn, how big did you let it
grow? Oh, they get pretty big pretty
quick. Like any year they'll grow like
when they're fed pretty well, they'll grow like a millimetre a
day, which is by the end of it, like by the end of the year

(56:12):
they'll be a foot long. So like you got to be able to,
oh, they have a tank big enough or let them go.
And I've actually had a pretty big one before that I caught and
it was 106 centimetres. So that was just over probably 3
and a three foot long something.And we put in like this big
water tank and like we're hand feeding and stuff.
It was unreal. They're a cool fish.

(56:36):
Do you have your graph set on feet or meters?
Crazy enough feet but like temperature?
I'm still trying to figure out the Fahrenheit that does not
make sense to me. Like when you were saying 95°
before, it just went shut over my head.
See, and we use Celsius in Canada, but I spend so much time

(56:57):
in America. I transit and in fishing, I
always go. It's weird, certain things and
candidates confusing because people will use millimeters and
centimeters and some stuff, but they don't go to a store and ask
for a certain centimeter length of board, they go and ask for
another 4 foot long board. Or it's some things we use and

(57:20):
some things we don't, but. Do you guys use like kilometers
in the? Yeah, yeah, Kilometers, yeah.
That's crazy. So it's.
Your speed on America is that plumber is the history.
Of America, 250 years ago, a bunch of people moved to a land
and said that we're going to make our own rules if we're
going to build our own castles, yeah.

(57:42):
Yeah. So I mean, it makes a lot of
sense to me. And I mean, they've done a
pretty stinking good job so. Yeah, no, it's freaking.
It's cool country. Like there's so much opportunity
over here, which is crazy. Like the fact that you can like
fish torrents for a living, likethe Gulf, you can surf

(58:02):
professionally over here. Like there is so, so much
opportunity. If you want to do something,
this is the place. You can get it done.
If you're, if you're willing enough to put the time in and
dedicate your, your life to it, you'll get there.
But you definitely can't do stuff like this in Australia.
Why I just? Don't think we have like the the

(58:24):
we don't have the population to to grow a sport big enough where
that it can get funded big enough.
Yeah. Like, I think I think Texas has
more people in it than Australia.
Damn. Just to stay alone, Yeah.
Wow, wow. Definitely more guns.
Yeah. Oh yeah.

(58:45):
That's something that's been crazy to get used to.
Is that like having guns everywhere?
Yeah, that. Stuff's crazy.
And, and a lot of people who grow up around guns also think
it's crazy to not have them. You know what I mean?
Like it all depends on I've run a Yamaha outboard for over 30
years. It has got me home safe each and

(59:07):
every time. If you enjoy this podcast,
remember Yamaha supports it and they care enough about you to
make this ad read very short. Now back to the show.
I mean, we started this podcast with Ford faces Sonar.
Might as well finish it on guns.I mean, what else you want to
talk about religion next? Yeah.
Oh no, let's not go down that road.

(59:28):
No, we're really upset some people.
No, it's awesome to watch what you're doing and if there's
anything I can ever do to help you, I just hope to have you on
the Elite series stage one day. I mean it, it's, it's amazing
what you're willing to lay on the line to chase this dream.

(59:52):
No thanks, Dave. I appreciate it.
It's been been a pleasure comingon the podcast here too.
When you asked me that, I felt Iwas like so shocked because you
got some top, top caliber guys on here.
So I really appreciate it. Well, no, I mean, I've wanted to
do it for a while. And I mean, I wish I had was
better planned out, but it was literally just like, I think
you'd made some posts about being back here.

(01:00:13):
And it, it came from there that I was like, Oh yeah, got to get
Tommy on at some point. And you're welcome here at any
time. I mean, oh, I know what I want
to talk to you, but dude, you, you love freaking snow, dude.
That's when you got here. Like I was in as a Canadian, as
a man who's buried in freaking snow, I was enthralled by your

(01:00:33):
excitement for cold weather. Oh, it was crazy.
I've never seen it before. Like, I was staying in the
camper at Kyle's house and he comes knocking on the door at
5:00 AM and I'm like, oh hell, like what the Hell's going on?
And he's like, dude, you got to get outside now.
And Oh my God, that stuff is so cool.

(01:00:55):
I was frothing hard. That was awesome.
But like, seeing frozen water everywhere like that.
That was the only stuff I've ever seen on movies and like TV
and stuff before I was a kid. Like I'd like pick up a bucket
of water and the the top like 4 inches is frozen hard.
Like just crazy. Like they'll I'll go up an arm

(01:01:17):
of a Creek and there's like ice just straight across the end of
the Creek. Like I was like this is insane.
Just totally different. But like we get snow in
Australia. I've just never been down that
far so. Yeah, it, it's snows cute when
it goes away by itself. That's what I have to say.
It's when it snows when you snowhere and you're like, yeah, this
will be well, my future for the next four or five months.

(01:01:43):
But no, no, it is pretty amazing.
I I think that that's got to be an advantage to you in some ways
competing here because everything's so fresh.
Like, I mean, it's like when anybody goes on vacation
anywhere, they're like, I want to move there because they
they're seeing everything from different eyes.
But that's your perpetual existence while you're in

(01:02:04):
America. Yeah, yeah, it's just like
everything's exciting. I've got like I've got a clean
slate coming over here and like everything's new and like seeing
that snow, like the every day I wake up, I'm like so excited to
go do something different and catch a fish on a new lure and
try a new technique because there's like 20 different
techniques you got to learn and like get confident in.

(01:02:25):
And like if it's a 12/14 inch bass, I'm still like frothing to
catch one on like a different lure.
I'm like, that's cool, let's do it again.
Like, I just want to keep catching them and stuff like
waking up, seeing snow for the first time.
It did get old though, pretty quick.
Like once it started going away and everything was all sludgy
and messy. Like I was like, yeah, I can see
how this gets old pretty quick, but it's it's definitely such an

(01:02:49):
unreal experience being over here.
It's like crazy. Some stuff's different.
One of them is something you just mentioned, frothing.
You don't ever hear somebody sayI'm I'm frothing to go fishing.
I'm frothing to go on a podcast.Oh yeah, yeah, I'm I'm trying to
get that that that that word over here pretty strong now, but

(01:03:13):
the I got a funny story like when I first came over here in
2023 as a Co angler, this is HowI Met Jack Yorkers.
I actually got pair with him at Bugs Island and he had never
obviously talked to anyone Australian.
And like, we were fishing all day and I would say something to
him. He'd just be like, hell yeah.

(01:03:35):
And I was like, I don't think heknows anything I said.
And at the end of the day he's like, dude, you're a cool dude.
Like we'll follow each other on Instagram and all that sort of
stuff. And he like commented on my
post. He said you're a dog, like DAWG.
And like, if you call someone a dog in Australia, that's like,
that's like saying something pretty bad, like you're a bad

(01:03:58):
person. And he commented that.
And I thought, dude, I thought we had a good day.
And I was like, Oh, that's pretty rough.
And I'll see you next time. I'm like, what's with the
comment, dude? He's like, Nah, dog means like
you're a homie. You know, I'm like, but he's
like a, he's like a full East Texas gangster cowboy.

(01:04:18):
It's, it's, it's so funny. Every time I'm on the phone to
him, it's like, it's a funny conversation.
And he, he's working on his Australian accent and he's
starting to get all the the lingo down and it's a good time,
yeah. Yeah, yeah, he's, I mean, you
both need to get here on the elite series when when Carl
first came. The C word in America is the

(01:04:39):
most offensive word anybody can say it's AC word for a female
anatomy part. But in in Australia it's just a
word like it's it gets thrown around.
I mean, it can mean multiple things.
There's good CS shit sees the you know what I mean like that

(01:04:59):
you can it can be a compliment, it can be an insult, but when
Carl so we used it bass live when it first started, we had
like a chat board that you couldcomment on under it.
And when Carl first came in contention, the amount of people
that were like just show these sees how it's done something and
the Internet exploded like people are like, whoa, whoa,

(01:05:22):
what is Australia saying? So there is some different
lingos, but. Oh yeah, it's funny.
Like everyone, like it sounds more offensive when an American
says it, I reckon. Like it's because we sort of say
stuff like half assed. Like we don't really give it.

(01:05:43):
Like I don't want to say it, butlike if we say it, it's like a
really quick sort of you almost don't say the T at the end that
much. Like it's not a very pronounced.
Letter. We'll bump.
We'll beep it out if it's offense.
I'm not going to do it. Come on, you want to get it out?
I mean, you've got so many CS built up at you and been away
from home for a week. Oh, no, I get them out.
It's all right. But like, only one of the boys

(01:06:07):
say it from like, Jack or like Sam, and I'm like, dude, that
does not sound all right. Yeah, it's.
A little different. It's a little different.
It one of the proudest moments ever of my wife.
After Gussie won the Classic, there was a whole bunch of
Australians around and the C word was getting dropped like
crazy. And Carl notices, I don't know

(01:06:27):
if it was Carl or Gussie. One of them notices that Sarah,
my wife is like standing right there and they turn around and
they're like, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there.
And Sarah responds. She goes, I think it was Carl.
It was Carl or Gussie, Whoever it was, they'll let me know.
We'll know what the end is. But they turn around and they're

(01:06:48):
like, oh, sorry, Sarah. And she goes, oh, it's OK.
I'm I'm A and I'm not a SH. I'm so proud of her.
That's one of the many moments that made me realize I love my
wife. That's awesome.
But happy trails, put your air conditioning back on and we'll

(01:07:10):
be in touch with you soon. So whenever you see let's
throughout the year here, I'm going to challenge you.
Next time you run into somethingcrazy like snow or something
you've never done, let's just have a Tommy Wood drop in on the
podcast. Like, I mean, you could just
record me a one minute. Hey.
Here's what's going on. We're in the world as Tommy

(01:07:32):
Wood. We will just throw to you as a
segment and that'll be how this show can help, hopefully help
build your brand a little bit. But as you travel around, it can
be anything. It can be an odd place you
stayed. It can be a tournament you won.
It can be a mishap, a good thing, a bad thing, a big fish.
What? Just whenever you send them to

(01:07:53):
me, we'll put them up. I'm came for that.
Does squirrel and canvas count? Oh, you cut out at the very end.
You were keen for a squirrel. Encounter.
Does that count? What?
A squirrel encounter. Yes, squirrel encounters count.

(01:08:15):
Anything counts. Anything.
Where in the world is Tommy Wood?
It'll be a segment we'll just randomly throw up whenever you
send them to me. So.
I'm in 100%. Let's do it.
I mean, if you want to send themevery week, send them every
week, You want to send them every month, send them every
every six months, whatever you want.
We'll see how keen and frothing you are, mate.

(01:08:40):
So good. All right, next tournament,
Chesapeake, you're heading thereright now.
Yeah, I got to be out another five hours on the road.
So we got, we start practice tomorrow morning and hopefully
this one's not going to be too harsh on us.
And then we got I think two or three days after that we're
heading to Saint Lawrence and ina week after that Leech like

(01:09:02):
it's all sort of happening in the next three weeks.
So it's going to be a busy couple weeks.
Awesome. Well, keep your eye on Tommy
Wood coming to the Bassmaster Elite Series very soon.
Cool. Thanks mate.
So there you have it, Tommy Wood.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know him.
And the good news is, if you did, there's going to be more of

(01:09:23):
it. Stay tuned for where in the
world is Tommy Wood? It's it's going to be very cool.
And Speaking of which, what a freaking handle.
My name's Tommy. Tommy Wood.
I mean, it's just, I mean, I'm frothing to have him on the
Elite series is what I am. And I hope you are frothing too.

(01:09:46):
Tommy Wood has already accomplished a lot to overcome
everything to be here. He's already the only Australian
ever to win a Bassmaster Open. He did that from the back of the
boat. A great story.
Thank you for for watching this.Make sure to follow him.
Support Tommy Wood 'cause you guys can support some stuff.
Speaking of support, holy crap, the YouTube channel just passed

(01:10:12):
a week ago. Half a billion views.
That's right, half a billion with AB over 500 million views
on this YouTube channel because of you guys.
Whether you watch the underwatershorts, whether you watch the
Facts of Vision TV show, whetheryou watch this podcast.

(01:10:35):
Thank you. That being said, I mean, we'd
like to make it to a full belly and we're not going to get there
without you guys. So make sure to like, comment,
subscribe, do all those things to help stroke the algorithm, go
fishing, have a great week, enjoy being as always.
And until next time. Hey, Bob Cobb, why don't you

(01:10:56):
take it away? Thanks for watching.
Please like, comment and subscribe because Bob Cobb of
the Bass Masters told you to youhere.