.png)
Fat Dad Fishing Show
Join the Fat Dad Fishing Show on our quest to help the average saltwater angler to catch more fish and have a better on-the-water experience. Each week we will be covering topics to help anglers get the most out of their time targeting multiple species spanning the entire east coast of the USA. We will cover fishing for flounder ( fluke ), striped bass, weakfish, sheepshead, bluefish, tuna, and many more. On some episodes we talk in detail about how to catch flounder, while on others we will take a deep dive into saltwater fishing gear. While our home area ranges from DE to NY, we will speak with guests throughout the east coast. If you find value in the podcast, or are entertained please consider following the podcast, sharing with friends, and leaving a great review. All of these help us to reach more anglers and draw more guests! Tight lines!
Episodes
70 episodes
EP 70: 2026 Fluke Pre-Season Show with Capt. John Halkias
Fluke season is rolling in, and we can feel that annual shift from “waiting it out” to “get me on the water.” I’m Rich Natoli, and Captain John Halkius joins me for a fast, practical talk on early-season fluke fishing that’s built around what a...
.png)
EP 69: Nine Practical Tips For Catching Black Drum
The fastest way to waste a spring black drum trip is to fish them like fluke: drift around, bounce spots, and hope they find you. I’m going the opposite direction and laying out a patient, repeatable approach for black drum fishing that works f...
.png)
EP 68: Targeting Winter Flounder & When AI Hands you a Striper
The internet can argue about anything, so when an AI-generated thumbnail put the wrong “flounder” in a guest’s hands, we got a front-row lesson in how messy AI can be with fishing details. We laugh about it, but we also use it as a springboard ...
.jpg)
EP 67: A Chesapeake Alarm and Some Spring Fishing with Thomas Arens
Raw sewage doesn’t stay “local.” When a major sewer line breaks on the Potomac River, the consequences travel downstream into the Chesapeake Bay, into the places we fish, crab, and launch our kayaks. We wanted a plain-spoken, real-world breakdo...
.png)
EP 66: The Ultimate Spring White Perch Playbook
The spring perch run is lighting up tidal rivers across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and we’re diving deep into how to find the school fast, pick the right depth, and stack fish on light gear. White perch aren’t a fallback—they’re a high-act...
EP 65: 15 Tips for Spring Striped Bass
A tiny rise in water temperature can flip the striper switch, and we’re putting you right where those micro-warms and ambush lanes collide. Spring season just opened in New Jersey, so we pull together 15 field-tested tactics from our guests and...
.png)
EP 64: Audience Choice of Topics
Cold water doesn’t mean quiet water. We open the lines for a live, no-frills breakdown of early-season tactics that actually catch in back bays and coastal inlets, from snap-jigging for March stripers to building fluke bucktails that look right...
EP 63: Bucket List Fishing Trip To The Amazon with Erik Cohen
Most anglers wait for the “right time” to chase a dream trip—and then life moves the goalposts. We decided to flip that script, tracing a real path from a cold New Jersey winter to a seaplane touching down on a tea-colored Amazon tributary wher...
EP 62: We Can’t Fish, So We Talk About It with Captains Josh and Ben
Winter slammed the Mid-Atlantic, but we’re not wasting it. We trade the skunk for strategy with a practical guide to thriving off the water: how to rebuild reels the right way, why baitfeeder spinning reels shine for tog and sheepshead drops, a...
EP 61: Fishing for Anything, Everywhere with Justin Lerner
Winter shut down the ramps, so we opened the map. We brought on traveling angler and musician Justin Lerner to chart a course from Florida inlets to Northeast canyons, with a hard left into South America where Golden Dorado blow up topwater lik...
.png)
EP 60: Bucktails That Consistently Catch Fish
A bucktail can be the most forgiving lure in your box—or the most finely tuned instrument—depending on how you build and fish it. We sat down with Ed of Captain Hank’s Tackle to break Bucktails 101 into practical choices that catch more fish: t...
EP 59: Recapping 2025 and Chasing 2026
The mics may be scratchy and the coughs unavoidable, but the mission couldn’t be clearer: turn a growing fishing show into a real-world family. We kick off 2026 with an honest 2025 recap, a salute to the Osprey party boat trip that brought chat...
.png)
EP 58: Mastering Trout in Cold Weather with Chris Matuson
Cold winds, canceled boats, and cabin fever don’t have to end your season. We head upstream to chase winter trout in clear, moving water and break down a simple, reliable playbook: ultralight gear, two confidence lures, and the patience to fish...
.png)
EP 57: Night Bites, Secret Squirrels, & Tackle Truths with Stefanos (Sport Fishing Outlet)
The best fishing conversations start with a simple truth: the right presentation beats the biggest hype. We sit down with Stefanos, the mind behind Sport Fishing Outlet, to unpack what actually works—from cold-river walleye to night-striper mis...
.png)
EP 56: Annual Tog Trip Recap: Last-Drop Tautog Drama On The Osprey
A sold-out party boat, a weird current, and a deck full of strangers who felt like old friends—this Osprey trip had a little bit of everything. We kick off with a starfish cameo and an early keeper that set the tone, then watch the day shift in...
EP 55: From Kayaks To Head Boats, Your Questions Answered
Cold water shrinks the feeding window, but it doesn’t close the door. We break down how to keep catching when the temps drop—reading birds and bait from the sand, shifting targets when the tog bite dies, and picking kayak hulls that actually ma...
EP 54:Ten Saltwater Fishing Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
Boats piled on a blitz, motors roaring, and someone floors it straight through the bunker. We’ve all watched the bite die in seconds. This week, we break down the most common saltwater mistakes and share the simple, high-impact fixes that turn ...
EP 53: Tackling Tautog with Frank Mihalic - Roasters to Jumbos
Cold water finally clicked the “on” switch, and we leaned all the way into it: a full tautog system that works from New Jersey reefs to Rhode Island boulder fields. We brought Frank Mahalik on to open the tackle bag and the playbook—how to lock...
.png)
EP 52: Stripped Seas: How Menhaden Mismanagement Threatens Our Fisheries
Schools of bunker once blacked out our bays; now many anglers chase scattered pods and skinny bass while ospreys circle empty water. We sat down with Captain Paul Eidman of Menhaden Defenders to unpack what changed, why the new ecosystem scienc...
EP 51: Why Some Anglers Catch More When They Say Less with Chell Baybay
Cold air, numb hands, and a white crab that changed everything. That’s the scene Chell Baybay paints as she walks us through the drop, the thump, and the surge that sealed her first double-digit tautog—a moment that turned a late-start angler i...
.png)
EP 50: Surf-Casting The Fall Striper Run with George Bucci (Throwback Episode)
Miss the shoulder-to-shoulder blitzes where bass erupted at your feet? We dig into how to make moments like that repeatable by reading the beach, timing the wind, and picking simple surf lures that just work. With surf-casting standout George B...
EP 49: The Anatomy Of A Fall Run: Structure, Bait, And Smart Releases
The surf is alive, the foam lines are loud, and the biggest stripers of the season are sliding into casting range. We invited Bayside Dave to dig into a land-based masterclass: how to read Long Beach Island’s sandbars, troughs, and rip seams, a...
Fall Flip: From Sheepshead to Stripers with Capt. Scotty Sevins
We step through the storm gate into fall fishing, trading summer sheepshead grind for backwater striped bass, smarter leader choices, and tactics that work when oxygen rises and bait stacks. Gear gets practical, lures get both bigger and smalle...
EP 47: Seasonal Closures, Flawed Data, and Striped Bass with Jim Hutchinson Jr.
We unpack the proposed 12% striped bass mortality cut, why “closure” likely means a short seasonal window, and how flawed MRIP effort estimates are steering the debate. We compare regional impacts by month, weigh status quo against quick fixes,...
EP 46: Beach Brawling with Nick Honachefsky
We confront the push for “no targeting” on striped bass, challenge shaky mortality data, and argue for smart, consistent rules that protect spawning fish without killing access. Then we spotlight the Barrier Island Beach Brawl—part surf tournam...
