Pete Utschig — the surfcaster behind Phase Gear, Project Magic Hour, and the Surfcasters documentary series — sits down with Peter Jenkins in Newport, two weeks into his annual pilgrimage north from Florida.
They cover how one weekend trip turned Florida into Pete's winter home water, and how a spare-room guide service became a full surf fishing lodge: all-inclusive, 20 minutes from the water, 45 minutes from three or four inlets, running December through April — exactly when nobody wants to be in the Northeast. Rods, lures, and food are provided; you bring board shorts and a toothbrush.
From there it's Pete's bucket list, which is organized by fish rather than by country: cubera snapper on topwater, GTs in Indonesia, corvina in Ecuador, giant tarpon in Gabon, and bluefin tuna busting sardines within casting distance of a European rock. Along the way: why daytime fisheries beat vampire hours for actually enjoying a place, what guides learn from their guests, and the line that sums up the whole episode — the best time to fish is anytime you can.
To fish with Pete in Florida, reach out to @phasegear on Instagram or through phase-gear.com.
Mentioned in this episode: Phase Gear · Project Magic Hour (dir. Mikko Huttunen) · the Surfcasters series · Kyle Schaefer / Soul Fly Lodge (Bahamas) · Larry Dahlberg's The Hunt for Big Fish · Steve Huff on the Mill House Podcast
Timestamps (podcast apps)
(00:41) Project Magic Hour — FL, the Northeast, Alaska (02:58) Discovering Florida surf fishing (03:56) Building the lodge (06:08) December–April, all-inclusive, "Get Tight" (11:43) Bucket-list fish: cubera, GTs, corvina, tarpon (16:44) Bluefin from shore in Europe (20:33) "Do you want to catch, or do you want to fish?" (22:01) "The best time to fish is anytime you can" (24:16) What's next for Pete
