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LT Jesse Walker, USN, has moved to the panhandle from Jacksonville and brought some experience. Not only has he grown up fishing, but after joining the Navy, he has also traveled extensively and picked up new tricks that have helped him be more successful each trip. This week, we talk with Jesse again, and he dives head first into the world of YouTube, being a digital creator, and influencer thoughts. You're not going to want to miss these!
Episode Is Sponsored By: Kids Can Fish Foundation: Kids Can Fish is a state and federally-recognized 501(c)(3) charitable foundation. Their mission is to teach kids fishing fundamentals and, most importantly, HAVE FUN!!
Bait Check: DS Custom Tackle: Tackle Supply for all anglers. Floats, rigs, jigs, bait, and more
Bait Check: The Sinker Guy: The Bruno & Mortician rig, Sputnik Sinkers, Sinker pouring supplies, and terminal tackle.
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Theme Song Dirty Rock by Twisterium
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30 Miles Out
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Yakin with Jack
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#FloridaSurfTackle #ClayGordon #BamaBeachBum #30MilesOut #PerdidoBlane #YakinwithJack #SmittysSurfFishing #SaltSquatch
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Creators & Guests
What is Finding Demo Surf Fishing?
Podcast by a Panhandle Surf Angler for all anglers of any level. We will talk weekly to guests that are anglers and also industry professionals. I want you to walk away from this podcast with some knowledge either refreshed or new for you to become a better angler. Though it will start in the Panhandle of Florida, it will be around the entire United States so we can all learn something about fishing in different regions.
Brian (00:00):
This episode of Finding Demo Surf Fishing is being brought to you by Kids Can Fish Foundation. Kids Can Fish Foundation is an awesome organization out of Georgia that is doing great things for kids and helping them out with these camps. They are getting them out there to learn how to fish, teaching 'em tips and tricks. A lot of the same stuff we're doing here in the podcast. One of their biggest things, they always say, more tackle boxes, less Xboxes. Head on over to the kids can fish.net and help them out to get the kid out there fishing and learn.
Brian (00:49):
Ah, yes, welcome back new week. Hope you are still rocking it out, doing good things wherever you are. I hope you enjoyed the last week's episode here. We started with slot city fishing and we're just getting right back in. We got a lot of cool stuff to continue to keep talking about, and you're not gonna wanna miss it, especially if you are looking at getting into the YouTube game or into other areas of fishing. We still got a lot more to talk about, so I'm not gonna keep him waiting. You've already had that intro. You haven't heard it. You gotta go back to next week, last week. You gotta get caught up, man. Don't miss out on the good stuff. So, without further ado, Hey Jazzy, welcome back on the show, man. I'm excited. We had a lot of fun last week and this week's only gonna get better, man. I'm just, I I'm still pumped,
Jesse (01:28):
Dude. That's it's great, man. Thanks again for your time. Y you're, you're making me blush, dude. I'm, I'm not wordy of all the, all the praise that you're, you're giving me. I'm just, I'm just a regular dude, man. Thanks for having me on your, on your show, bro.
Brian (01:42):
Ah, man. I'm glad you're here. And I know that everybody's been listening. It's like, dude, this is like, this is perfect. I'm getting so much. And that's, that's the whole goal. We all want you to succeed and just be out there happy, crushing it. You know, that's, that's the key of this whole game and we just gotta keep it going. So we fin we finished out last week. We were talking about finishing a tactics when, you know, the bite isn't on fire. With fishing being such a fun and finicky game, you can do a hundred things right, but that one thing you do wrong is just gonna derail the whole day. And it's like, what the hell just happened? So, one question I know I didn't put on there before. Was there ever anything you did where you're like, oh, you bonehead, why'd you do that?
Jesse (02:20):
Yeah, actually, yes. I, I can think of one that's funny is a, a lot of fishing success I would contribute to prep work, right? Yeah. Like, if you're showing up and tying all your rigs and all that stuff and you haven't, you know, spooled your reels or whatever. Like, I, there's a French word for this in the culinary industry, I forget what it's called, man, but ba basically what it means is like having all your stuff pre prepared to go right at that moment. And fishing is like that. Anyway, the story is, I was kayak fishing outta Navar. It was one of those magic moments, dude, where, I don't know, I, I can't even des like describe it and it, it's gonna sound like I'm making this up, but I'm not. There legitimately was like, as far as you could see in every direction, there was Spanish mackerel.
Jesse (03:09):
I'm talking millions, dude. It seemingly to me at the time. And I had a, a cigar min out trying to catch kings, and then I had some spoons trying to catch Spanish mackerel, and all my lines all went off all at once and I had nothing, nothing ready. Like, they snapped all my gear. Like, I don't know if you know this, but you probably do fishing with terminal tackle, like a Spanish mackerel will hit that, like a, a shiny swivel. If you have that in your dropper rig and Spanish macula around, they'll cut your line off. Oh yeah. If they
Brian (03:44):
See that hands down, they, they do not mess around. That's like a razor blade. Just like, here you go. Thank you. Yummy.
Jesse (03:49):
Yeah, but they see that, that shiny this and they'll, and they'll hit it. But I was fishing my silver spoons with swivels because you get line twist fishing like that. Anyway, long story short, they busted all my stuff and I had nothing prepared. Like, I didn't have like a tackle box situation. Like at the time I just had like a Walmart bag with like some lures in it, you know? But that bite turned off just as quickly as it started. And that was just like, oh my God. Like, that was a once in a lifetime moment that I, you know, I'll be lucky if I ever witnessed anything like that again. And yeah, dude, it was just lack of preparation. So like, big, big takeaway with that is prep your stuff. With surf fishing specifically I mentioned it in the last episode, it's tying your own rigs, man. Let me give a plug to a dude that may or may not listen to your, your show, but I'm gonna share all this across all my social media. Another great thing I keep on mentioning, chip, dude, you owe me money after this, bro. I'm plugging you so hard. . I didn't know what a rig board was at the time.
Brian (04:53):
Oh yeah. Love that thing.
Jesse (04:55):
Yeah, man. So he showed me that and I was just like, good god, bro. Like, why are you, I can't believe that you're telling me this. Like, you, like, I don't have to buy rigs anymore. Like you, you know, I, I was tying my own rigs at the time, but not like that, not like sitting down in front of the TV with a beer and tying 60 of 'em at once. You know what I mean? Yep. And then Mark Burford would surf, er, tackle, I think is what it's called. He makes a cool rig bag.
Brian (05:24):
Oh yeah. That thing's great.
Jesse (05:26):
Yep. Here's another bonehead thing I do all the time, man, is my surf fishing cooler has a hatch on the top, and I'm lazy, bro. I'll leave that thing in the back of the truck and water will get in it. And I can't tell you how many, probably a disgusting amount, like hundreds of dollars of that I've just had like rusted out because I was stupid and left my cart in the, in the back. Which that goes into preparation also, man, take care of your stuff and you know, that that will lend yourself to time is money. And by money I mean catching fish. And the more time that you are out there, there with bait in the water or lures in the water, that's, you're not gonna catch 'em if you don't have lines in the water.
Brian (06:02):
Right? Yeah. That and backing up that rig board, when he put that video out, I was like, holy crap. He just gave away that, he just gave away the castle. Yeah,
Jesse (06:10):
Dude. Right?
Brian (06:10):
He's always said, he's like, why? What's the problem with it? What? Because I want you to be able to tie your own rigs. How's that a bad thing? I was like, all right. I mean, you got a great point. And
Jesse (06:18):
That just expounds on how good of a dude that is because like, that cost him money. You know, like legitimately, he's sharing That's a trade secret, dude, I didn't know that that was a thing. I had no idea that was a thing. I was like, what is that? And he was like, watch this. It was in his garage. And I was like, whoa, bro. Like, mine blown. Holy cow. You just tied that rig in like 20 seconds, dude. Oh shoot. But there's a guy named Clay Gordon. I don't know if you ever met or run, run. No. Cross paths with him. He's just a good dude that likes to fish, but he usually shows up to a lot of events and stuff like that. All the Jacks bros will know him. He made me a rig board out of a beautiful piece of just old reclaimed wood. It's like a work of art, dude. But anyway, I, I love that thing, man. I'll, I'll post a picture of it on my on my social media for anybody that like cares to even see it. But it's, it's neat, man. I love that thing. He
Brian (07:12):
Makes those heavy duty ones, right? The ones that basically he just puts the saw down. Yeah, I've, I've seen his stuff. I haven't met him, but I've seen his stuff. He made some nice gear.
Jesse (07:19):
I told you, I told you that you would recognize him cuz it's beautiful when you see that thing. It's like, whoa, I want that.
Brian (07:25):
Yeah. I've seen it a couple times that the last time I was at the Fish Bites tournament yep. They had them up. He had 'em up for auction in those pieces. Yeah. Really, really artistic and nice pieces. Gear. Yeah. Heavy. That's super heavy. It's
Jesse (07:39):
One of those things like a, like a, like a conversation starter. Like if you have that in your house, you know, like, what is that? Yeah. And you're like, dude, I, I tie rigs with this, watch this. Like, whoa, dude. Like yeah. Game changer.
Brian (07:52):
Yeah. He makes some real nice stuff. So, no, that's, I think that's great. You brought it up cuz he does. He really does. So mm-hmm. , let's move into this part of the episode that we were really talking about. Now you've been doing YouTube for a while now and you've got a great following and your channel has had tons of knowledge, whether you're, you know, kayak boat, be beach, all of it. There's so many great things that you have and it's such a great place to stop and go. Okay, cool. I'm gonna learn how to do this. And you can scroll through and find so many things on there. So if you guys, you know, after this, head on over to YouTube and take a look at it on slot city fishing. Lots of great knowledge. So moving into that, let's start at the beginning for YouTube. What made you wanna start a YouTube channel?
Jesse (08:30):
So like many of the people that have been on your show, dude, there's a, you can probably already guess what I'm gonna say. A actually go ahead. Like, why do you think I started YouTube? Like just, it's because of other YouTubers, man.
Brian (08:41):
I was gonna say either that or you wanted the catalog, you know, the history and memories and be like, look cool, check out the stuff.
Jesse (08:46):
Yep. Both of those reasons. That's exactly why, man. So 2016, I'm in primary flight school and I'm in Pensacola and I'm like, this is it, dude, this is where I can, can fish. Like, for real, like, like I, I live in a, in a dream fishing location again. And I was an officer at the time, so I had a little bit more spending money. Yeah, you did , so, yeah. Yeah. So I went out and it spent an absurd amount of money on, on stuff that I didn't need, but I'm researching. This is 20 16, 17. So who do you think is taking, taking the game right now? Youtuber, Bama, beach, bum. Mm-Hmm. . So him and 30 miles out. I think I mentioned it in the last episode, the defi a very defining moment for me fishing was when I learned how to tie my own rigs.
Jesse (09:32):
That was a video from Ty Sutherland. Just like Perdido Blanc said in his episode, that same video, I learned how to timeline on rigs. And at this point I'm just acquiring knowledge. I'm not thinking that I should start a YouTube channel at this point, but dang, I wish I had of man because he did it first and he did it first the right way. That's very important also. But yeah, Bama Beach, bum, 30 miles out Yaking with Jack. We actually did a collaboration video with him several years later. Fishing three Mile Bridge for Bull Reds and Kayaks. It's a, it's a funny episode. It's cool though. But yeah, all, all those guys, I watched every single episode and I learned how to fish here. Like I knew what I was doing right, but they took it to the next level. Like, I, I was catching fish before, you know, it was cool. But then I started actually like honing that nice, like learning new, new skills, like things I'd never thought about. A great example of something that I haven't seen a lot of people do. Maybe I shouldn't say this dude, cuz it's gonna be given away a big secret. Okay, I'm gonna do it. Screw is people make a big deal outta catching offshore species fish from the shore. The way that you do that is a balloon rig. I don't know if you've ever seen that before. Oh,
Brian (10:51):
Yeah, yeah. I've seen the balloon rig. We, we've, I've tried to do it with Mike from Smitty Surf Fishing Charters a couple times, but the wind and that first break has always kicked our tail.
Jesse (11:00):
Yep. Yeah, that's what I was saying. Like, it, it definitely is like a, a secret thing, but it's very difficult to do and there's a variable in that that you can't control. And that's the wind. So like, you have to know what you're doing and time it properly. But yeah, dude things like that I learned from YouTube and then I started catching a lot of fish, right? And I'm watching all these YouTube videos and like I mentioned in the other episode, I used to be a musician and like a big part of that is like the entertainment piece, right? I like to entertain people and I was like, man, I could do this. And I think I could do it equally as good, if not better if I try. I'm also very, very stubborn. I'm a person that if I think that I can do something, if I will it, you know, hard enough, eventually it will manifest itself. And that's been true with like, every endeavor in my life. Like if you had to ask me that I would be a pilot in my twenties, I would've laughed in your face, dude. Like, but I was like, was like, yeah man, I, I can do this dude. And it's hilarious. My first episode of our, our yeah. Slot studio or whatever, my first video that I made, dude, it is terrible. It's hilarious. And it got a copyright strike because I put a SpongeBob Squarepants song in it. It's, it's hilarious man.
Brian (12:09):
It's funny you say that because when I did the Bama Beach bu episode, he, he even mentioned that. He's like, dude, I go back and I look and I'm like, what was I doing?
Jesse (12:18):
Yeah, but you get better at it, man. The, the more the, the more that you do it, it's and it, it's constantly evolving too. Like the, the way the videos are made now. And I would say the difference between like 2016 and 2023, whatever we're in right now is people's attention spans and the way that we digest and process entertainment has become so drastically different now. Like TikTok and YouTube shorts. Oh yeah. People want the entertainment like, as frequently as possible and as easily as possible. Mad props to yapping with Jack if he's listening to this. I, I heard on his episode with you that he has TikTok videos that have like millions of views on it and it's like, dang dude, that's an innovative new creative thing. Like, it just takes a lot of effort and time.
Brian (13:07):
Yeah. Salt Scotch actually told me the same thing. He was just like, man, you, the hardest thing nowadays is long form content. Like that's what this podcast is, is long form content. You know, they're like, people don't want, they're gonna have to will themselves into long form content. You can't Yeah. If they're sitting down in the living room, scroll in their phone, they're not gonna wanna listen to long form content. They're gonna wanna see something in 30 seconds, 30 seconds under to get a laugh or a smile and then move on to the next. Yeah. So it's really a, a challenge with long form and short form. And you gotta be on your game. You can't go into the TikTok saying, oh, I'm gonna drop this massive video and it's gonna get like two simple hits and you're like, Hey, I got something.
Jesse (13:46):
And that's a classic mistake that a lot of YouTubers make. I I I hate to call it a mistake. Let's just say a lesson that's a better, a better way to put it. Yeah. Turn, turn a negative into a positive, right? I've made videos on how to do things and they're extremely detailed. And like, like an example is I have two videos where I run through from start to finish every aspect of filming and editing a YouTube video. It is the ultimate cheat code on how to do it. You know, how many views it has, like none. Cuz like, people don't want that, you know, they, they want short bursts of the thing that they want to see. Yeah. Like, they don't wanna learn, start to finish, how to make a video. They wanna learn how to edit a transition in Premiere Pro. That's what they wanna learn. Or how to tie a double drop a rig and they want it in the shortest, most entertaining way possible. And that's difficult to do.
Brian (14:36):
Oh, extremely. And then on top of that, yeah, you, you play into the game of algorithms like, all right, cool. I did this and one of the ones I hate. And yes, everybody, we are going into the weeds on this because this is important if you're looking at getting into these games, is
Jesse (14:50):
Yeah, a lot of your, your audience is content creators, dude. And if not content creators, it's people who are trying to be influential in the fishing industry. And all of these things are a huge part of that.
Brian (14:59):
The one thing I'd found with Facebook, and this actually was brought to me by Justin was anytime I did my weekly post, I had put normally a hyperlink in the description. Well, Facebook says, oh hell no, you're not getting off my, you're not getting outta here, you're outta your mind son. I'm not gonna push it out because you have a hyperlink that takes you away from Facebook.
Jesse (15:17):
Exactly, dude.
Brian (15:18):
Which me off when they dropped Facebook podcast cuz I'm like, what the hell? I mean, you gave me, you gave every podcast or the opportunity to be right here. Same with YouTube, and you're, yeah. You click on these and it's like, well you can't upload this video, it's too long. It's like, well, you're not helping me. But the same thing happens with YouTube on these algorithms is you have to match the algorithm the right way, but you also have to post in a certain frequency. You have to post at a specific time. It's such a very, you gotta thread the needle
Jesse (15:43):
Very difficult. We, we could have a very complex long talk about this, but I, I don't wanna lose any of your, of your, of your viewers, but, you know a lot of this, I it's about entertainment, dude. That's, that's the whole deal is entertainment with some type of tangible endgame product. Like, people aren't watching YouTube for the same reasons that they watch Netflix. Right, right. Like, or, or like True Detectives is an, an amazing show and all the episodes are an hour and a half long. Like that's not what YouTube is. Youtube is a passive entertainment form where you can acquire a skill or knowledge or you know, a some something like that. Like Yeah. And everybody wants to be an artist. Right. And have like the creative freedom to like do what you want. Right. The problem with that though is if you do that, you're probably not gonna be very successful, unfortunately, unless your videos are just good.
Jesse (16:42):
And some peoples are man and but for the most of us, it's like, you gotta, you gotta play the game and it's not fun. Nobody wants to do it. But if you wanna be successful, there's some critical steps, especially in the beginning that you need to do to get the, the plane off the ground, if that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. And then once, if you're fortunate, if you put it in a time and you do it enough, the algorithm will pick you up. There's two ways to get huge on social media. One is having a viral video. And that doesn't happen to everyone. It, it has never happened to me ever. Like I don't have that many views total on my channel. But I have, if you look at the ratio of the number of views to the number of subscribers that I have, it's pretty remarkable.
Jesse (17:29):
So having a viral video is one. The other one is you just gotta make really good videos and you have to learn about searching engine op optimization and algorithms and how all that stuff works and it's boring and tedious. But if, if you wanna do anything with this, like you, you gotta do that. It's a necessary step. And I pride myself in that. The first time I ever talked to Perdido Blaine, actually he called me Fish Bytes. Brett recommended that I'd help him with his YouTube channel. And we talked about that for so long. I've had people pay me money outta respect for him. I'm not gonna say who, but another successful YouTuber was like, Hey dude, teach me what you're doing bro, cuz you're doing it right. It's, it's, it's a, it's a beast man.
Brian (18:10):
It absolutely is. We're gonna continue on this, but this is an important time for a bay check.
Brian (18:21):
This bay check is being brought to you by DS Custom tackle. That's right. Go ahead and take a look at all that rig stuff that you had done. Make sure your bait's good. Get it back out there. Head on over to ds custom tackle.com and take a look at all the stuff that they got going on over there in their shop. You need floats. Teasers, did you get the flea bag? I hope you did a lot of good stuff in there. Head on over to ds custom tackle.com. Get your order in today. Big piece you'd mentioned there is seo and I know this is gonna be more of a YouTube episode, which is fine. You know, I, I understand people if you don't want to hear in it, but if you really wanna see the magic behind the curtain here, you're definitely in the right place.
Brian (18:54):
SEO being such a key and all these other algorithms is just so many things. And the, the hard part, and I said this to a friend of mine who was like, oh, I think I'm gonna start doing podcasting. And I was like, okay, cool. What is your SEO plan? And they're like, oh dude, I've heard things. It's like you could have a master's degree in seo, you're still learning. Yeah. It's such an evolving piece and there's so many different facets to this game that you have to, I don't wanna say master, but you have to know and, and build and then grow off of. Cuz it's always gonna be a set of Legos. You're always gonna be adding another block, another step up, another block, another step up. And it's gonna create more time, but it's gonna generate something else in the end that backside.
Jesse (19:32):
So I agree with everything that you're saying, but you gotta put this on a chronological timeline. Right, right, right. You the s se the SEO stuff is critically, I'm talking the absolute most important thing that you can do when you're YouTube channel or whatever your website is when it's small. Right. But if you do it right, and this is why the consistency piece is so important, man, every YouTuber will tell you that the secret is putting out videos that are good and they don't have to be great. You know, they can't be bad. They just gotta be decent. Right. And do it consistently. Because if you play the s e game and you know, there's a lot of ways that people get their content out there in the beginning. And a lot of it's annoying. And I'm sure that half of you guys that have heard of me before span you probably 5,000 times. Right. And I apologize for that. it.
Jesse (20:25):
Yeah. eventually if you do all that stuff right, the algorithm will pick you up and at that point you don't have to advertise yourself anymore. The platform is advertising for you. And that, that usually happens right about the time where people are like, go full-time. You know, like they quit and then that's when they have the ability to start just pumping out content, man. Like a dude that I I listened to his episode with you with Bearded Bread. Like he quit his job and went full-time. And then that when you start pumping out content like that, the algorithm's like, copy that This dude is profitable, I'm gonna start advertising for him. And then your stuff shows up as suggested content and that's how viral videos get made. That's the secret.
Brian (21:10):
Yeah. I, I've noticed ever since I've messed up my knee, I've been having nothing but time. I'm sitting here dealing with social media and all these pieces and the traffic has completely changed. Adding all these pieces all, all matter. So hopefully if you guys are looking at doing any of this part of the game and into anything with Phish or YouTube podcast, whatever it is. Yeah. Hopefully this is a class that helps you here. Cuz this is a lot of good stuff.
Jesse (21:31):
Yeah. I would say them, like if I'm, if I am I'm gonna make an inference right here that the a a lot of your people audience Yeah. A lot of them are fishermen, but a lot I bet a lot of your audience also is people that either own a business Yeah. They're trying to network, they have a website, a Instagram, whatever, like all the things that we're talking about. It's the same as different flavors of it, but it's the same process.
Brian (21:56):
Yep. And I, I, I will be the first one to tell you guys this because I, I believe it from many, many years ago as a we little Lance corporal back in the day, if you don't know, you gotta ask and if you're outta your depth, it's okay to ask for help. And I did. Mm-Hmm. , I, I won't drop her name here because I don't have her permission, but I reached out to somebody and I was like, Hey, I need to know how to do this cuz I'm screwing this up and I know you're a wizard. And she was like, oh yeah, you need to adjust this, this, and this and you're golden. And it was those little pieces of just asking for help. And if somebody, you know, if they have the time, obviously give them that respect. But that stuff, someone, an outside set of eyes is going to give you a perspective that one of your customers, listeners or your, you know, you're following might not give you because they don't feel happy about giving you bad news. You know, no one likes bad news, so they don't really want to critique you, but it's okay to ask the word. Like Go ahead. Just, you know, I I told her, I was like, look, just tell, I know the baby's ugly. Just tell me the baby's ugly and let's get past it and
Jesse (22:55):
Move on. Yep. Yeah. I think that people in the military are very comfortable with that. Like, every training that you went to was probably a series of you failing over and over and over and over and over again until you got it right. It, it is just a series of failures until finally you, you fail better and then you get better at it. You know what I mean? Being humble and just being a student of life really is like a, a very important thing in this regard because if you try to do it, man, I think the magic time to do this was around 2016 because there wasn't a lot of people now, but, or sorry, then now it's flooded with people trying to do this thing and people's time is extremely value Oh yeah. Valuable. And how they spend that time. Like, I'm truly honored that somebody likes to watch me catch Phish. Like, that concept is insane, that people are willing to spend minutes of their life watching me do that. And I make money doing it. It's, it's crazy. But I did it for about four years for free and spent an absurd amount of money to get that going, you know? Right. it, it's hard, it's hard to do, man.
Brian (24:01):
Yep. But when you hit it, it's like, ah, this is great. And you, you raise a great point there about time because I mean, all of you guys listen to this podcast. You, you know, I, I thank you every episode for this time because whether you listen to me on the beach, in your car, on the g at the gym, wherever you are, I mean, your time is your money. And I appreciate, we all appreciate anything that you're gonna give us to let us share and come into your life. Well, no matter what you're doing so seriously, y'all are awesome and thank you for bringing that up. Let, let's back it up here into your channel a little bit more. What what has always been the goal of your channel?
Jesse (24:33):
It changes and I'm fortunate in the sense that I have a, a decent career, so it's not about the money for me. And that gives me a lot of leverage to like, be able to do and say what I wanna do. And there were times where that got a little shaky. Like when you get your first taste of a sponsor or like somebody's gonna give you something for free, it could change things real quick. But anyway, like I said earlier, I started the YouTube channel just for the sake that I knew I could do it and it looked fun. Right. I had no idea that I like that I would actually accumulate 20,000 subscribers as close to what I have now. Like, that was, I had no idea dude. Right. But then I started doing it and it was to catalog my fishing trips with my three brothers.
Jesse (25:12):
That's the whole concept of slot city fishing is me, my brother Ethan, and my youngest brother Nick. It was just us going out with GoPros and basically just filming us being goofballs, like fishing and having fun, you know, and, and those early videos, they both didn't have kids at the time. And I lived in Pensacola that summer of 2016 was one of the best summers of my life. And there's videos of all that. And I, I cherished those memories. But then once it got a little bit more successful and once I saw the potential that I could actually, you know, make some money doing this that changed it. And I do as, as silly as this sounds, I'm 35 years old, you know I'm a pilot in the Navy. When I retire, I wanna be a full-time YouTuber. As crazy as that sounds. That's my, that's my dream is to have my pension and be able to fish for a living. That's what I wanna do.
Brian (26:05):
You mean you can't achieve it unless you set goals and that's a goal that the hell Yeah. Man, that's freaking awesome.
Jesse (26:10):
Yeah, that's what I wanna do. I wanna retire here in the panhandle, probably in pace and just fish, dude. Just,
Brian (26:18):
Well I'm looking forward to watching you do it cuz I know I'm gonna see you for the next few years. So that's a super win.
Jesse (26:23):
Yeah. I have short, you gotta make short term and long term goals too. And your goal's gotta be real realistic as well, you know, smart. It's something like
Brian (26:31):
The smart the smart goals. Yeah. Yeah. Achievable
Jesse (26:33):
Or how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You ever heard
Brian (26:37):
That thing? Yeah. Yeah, I've heard that one. So, but that's the key. I mean, a lot of people lose sight of that with it comes to goals is you, you know, you can't just say, my goal is to hell catch do the hun the catch a Florida Memory 100 Life list. Yeah. I'm gonna do that in this year. And it's like, okay, slow your roll. Yeah, that's a hundred feet.
Jesse (26:55):
Good luck, brother. Like start with the, start with the inshore slam first Brother .
Brian (26:59):
Right, right. I mean, scale it and then that's the key of goals is scaling and they, and then yeah, like we talked about with failure, failure is okay, it's not bad, that's good. But the biggest one is good for you. Fail forward. Okay, that didn't work. Now I'm gonna try this and seek advice. I mean, it's not gonna hurt you. Yeah. So yeah, the, the, that piece right there is always important when it comes to doing these games. So running on that. Yeah. That is,
Jesse (27:22):
I would say also, man, like what I hate is I see some people get a little bit of success and it changes their personality. Oh yeah. And they get cocky and like, I don't claim to be an expert on any of this dude. Like, this is just the way that I did it and it, and it worked for me. And I'll share that. And I don't even have a giant following man. Like, just be real with your audience. And I, I think that that's a huge part of my success is I, I I just try to be myself, dude, and just be a, be a good dude. Help people. That's it.
Brian (27:50):
Could you ask for anything better? I mean, let's be honest with that's what this whole thing is about. I mean all, all the influencers, I hate that word, but all the people in the game that do all this stuff, it's to help. It's not for, it's not for us. It's, I'm share you're sharing the knowledge to get people out there to find that same passion that you do and that enjoyment. It's, it's, it's a sharing game.
Jesse (28:11):
Yeah. I definitely would say though that like, even if your intent is to not be an influencer, you are like Brian dmo, you are an influencer bro. Like,
Brian (28:22):
I hate that word, don't I? You
Jesse (28:24):
Hear me out, hear me out. If you recommend a product, like I am inclined to go look at it, dude, like you influenced me. And that comes with a lot of power and it goes to some people's heads, man. And then if you change it to where you're trying to do this for a living, like just please just keep doing it. And the honest good way. And I, you know, I've seen it a bunch of times where I was like, diehard loyal, like this channel is the best and then it changed and I'm like, I don't even like this. Yeah. Anymore. I'm gonna watch something else.
Brian (28:56):
A lot of times you can't change the secret sauce. I mean it's Oh yeah. The, I mean, but
Jesse (29:02):
I also have mad respect for the people that do get to do this for a living. And I'm not in any way, shape or form you know, shaming those people for doing what you gotta do to make money and make a living. Like I respect that like a hardcore respect that you do your hustle, man, whatever you gotta do. And, you know, if, if you get to fish for a living, dude, you're a very, very fortunate man or woman. Yeah.
Brian (29:25):
Yes. A hundred percent. Yes. Well this, yeah, this actually works. This next question perfectly works in line with what we just talked about. What has been the biggest lesson learned after running your channel?
Jesse (29:35):
I would say the way that I approach making videos. So I don't have the time that other people commit to YouTube. I wish that I did. Cuz I, I do believe that if I did have the time that I, and energy that I want to put into this, that I would be drastically more successful. But I can't just quit the Navy, right? Quit. That's not an option. . You know what I mean? But the, the formula for how to make a good YouTube video, like that has been a process that like I've refined and watching you can really nerd out on this stuff. Like the analytics, like how your videos and views and all that stuff. How they perform, like the frequency and volume, at which point you're accumulating all these views. There's metrics for all that, but tweaking how I make videos and watching like, okay, that worked, that worked real good.
Jesse (30:30):
Holy cow, this video's going like mini viral. I, I would say that. And then the, the phishing is a huge part of that too, because unlike other YouTube channels, like say if I was reviewing like a, a piece of technology gear or whatever, I can do that at any time. I can do that at home during a hurricane. Like it's not a factor. The, the fishing is the content and you can't just make that right quick. It has to be a skill. Like, it, it's difficult, man. So I would say just evolving, like getting better at fishing and then just, you know, trial and error. Like figuring out what works for me to make videos and anybody who follows me or you see me on the beach, dude, I will be 100% glad to share any of that information with you. And I, I, I hope that other dudes that follow my stuff and have talked to me would reciprocate that, that you know, I, I don't mind doing that.
Brian (31:21):
It's one of the reasons that while I'm out fishing, I actually fly my, my flag, I'll fly the America flag and I fly in the, I fly the fine and demo surf fishing and it's on a 15 foot pole. So, I mean
Jesse (31:31):
Yep. I got the same thing, bro.
Brian (31:33):
Yep. Exactly. So it's like, Hey, yeah, I'm right here. You please come up. Say, hi, let's talk. I mean, that's the fun stuff right there.
Jesse (31:39):
Well, another cool thing about it too is throughout this whole experience that I've had, I've been doing this for going on like six, seven years now. The, the people who are like me and you and other folks that are listening to this podcast I would say nine outta 10 of them are very ambitious, visionary type people with goals, you know, and those type of people gravitate towards each other, right? That's like, like the, like chip dude, like me and him, dude, it was like, I had known that guy my whole life, the very first time that I hung out with him. And dude, I talked to him like almost on a daily basis Now, same thing with fish bikes. Brett, dude, I hadn't seen him for over a year and I went to his shop the other day and it was just like, you know being back with my good old buddy, but you'll make those connections and everybody wants everybody to be successful. As long as you, you're kind and you do things like the appropriate way. Well,
Brian (32:32):
Yeah. So we, we nailed a lot of this stuff here. Let, let's get into the last question about the YouTube world. What's the future plan for your channel?
Jesse (32:39):
So we talked about goals. I have two big ones for while I'm in Pensacola. And we talked offline about this a little bit. I have roots planted in this area already. Like I think I have a a lot of skin in the game in this area and I, I have a little bit of, of following now, right? Yeah. I'm hoping to take it to that next level where my videos start getting lots of views. I'm fortunate, I do get lots of views, but I, I'm talking about like a lot, like, I'm gonna try to grow up big. So my goal is by the end of my tour here, I hope to have over a hundred thousand subscribers and I wanna be on the Hopi kayak fishing team. I've been trying to do that for so long and I get so close. If, if y'all are listening and y'all are affiliated with Hoby in any way, dude, like, I'm trying, bro.
Jesse (33:26):
Like, here hear me out. But I would love to get on their, on their team. The reason that I haven't is because I, I'm travel so much like the brand ambassadors for that company are affiliated with a specific shop, and up until now, I just haven't been able to do that. But yeah, that's, that's the goal, man. And really, dude, the big goal is the last couple years of my life for my family has been unhealthy level stressful. Yeah. Between me being an instructor pilot and deploying and all that stuff. And my wife, she was an emergency room nurse. And Jax you know, I like to think that I have done some cool stuff that I can't talk about on, on here for the record, I'm not speaking on behalf of the Navy at all. This is all my opinions. Yep. My, my wife dude, she is a beast. Like, she has saved people's lives and also been the the person to go tell that their loved ones have pasts. Like I, I have so much respect for her and I love her, but just to have a good time here in Pensacola, that's my ultimate goal, bro.
Brian (34:25):
Hopefully get that silver plaque real quick. That's, that'd be,
Jesse (34:28):
I hope so, dude. I think I, I'm fired up about it, man. I didn't fish the past like year and a half just because of life, you know what I mean? But I'm here, dude. Brian Collette just built me into this big B surf cart, man. Like, I'm inspired to go out and make videos again. I can't wait. Dude,
Brian (34:46):
That cart looked great, dude. I love Brian stuff, dude. I really do.
Jesse (34:51):
He's a very nice guy too. Very nice guy. I went there and I had to tell him, just like I'm telling you, man, if I'm talking too much, dude, just tell me, shut up.
Brian (34:58):
No, you're golden, brother. I'm loving it. I mean, you, you gotta love that puddle pirate. And you know, again, if you're military, you understand the, the reference there, but it's, you know. Yeah. Such a great dude. His wife is phenomenal. The whole family is great. Yeah. He, he will happily like he listen to you talk with you, and then if you got an idea, he'll happily work with you through it if he's still, you know, if he's able to build your card or something like that. Really great dude.
Jesse (35:21):
Yeah, man. The, the moment that I saw him, he, he showed me all his cards like we were talking about. I was like, dang, that's cool man. And then we swapped some stories. So we had a lot of stuff to, to talk about, man. Really, really cool dude.
Brian (35:32):
Yeah, absolutely. He is. Well we're gonna move into the next section here, but before we move, move into the next section. You gotta do something before you move.
Brian (35:46):
It is your second bay check of the episode. This bay check is being brought to you by the sinker guy. Head on over to the sinker guide.com and take a look at everything at chip's got going on in the sinker guy garage. Need to get your hands on some sputniks. Well, yeah, he's got 'em. Whatever weight you need from the old lightweight up into some heavies, if you have a customer special reach out to Chip. He might be able to hook you up. It's always worth the conversation. Or he is got Rigs, the Bruno rig, super rockstar rig on the East Coast right now, and definitely kicking in through the panhandle. I have seen it quite a bit, doing some catching to mention, I talked about it in the other episodes. The mortician rig, one of my favorite rigs to utilize. Again, head on over to the sinker guy.com, take a look at everything. Quick shipping. Great customer service. Well, now that we're moving into the final pieces here, this is the, the, I don't know if it's the beginning stages or what, when it comes to the education piece. I've never really pushed a, a good idea for this title, so we'll get right into it. What knowledge would you give to a brand new angler?
Jesse (36:39):
Yeah, there's so many directions and avenues that you could go with this. I would just say be observant, because there's a lot that goes into this, don't get me wrong. You can go to Walmart right now and buy a a pin fierce combo, you know, 10 foot and buy some pre-made rigs and stop at your local shop and get some shrimp and you will catch fish. And like, it's a lot of his coincidence and luck and timing and you could have no idea what you're doing. My youngest brother, Nick's first time surf fishing was exactly that. I think he went to half Hitch or wherever and bought a, a combo and he caught a Lemon Pompano very first time. And he butchered them. Fileting them, you know. But that's, that's part of the, part of the process. Just be observant and be willing to learn and watch. Dude, YouTube has changed the world in that aspect of, you know, you have access to what, before the internet was, would be decades of knowledge passed down and you just get it for free. Like, yeah, just, just learn and just have fun, I guess. Be respectful, learn the regulations and stuff like that. That's very important.
Brian (37:53):
Always very, very, very important. They, this company doesn't sponsor the show, but I tell anybody that's asking, I'm like, make sure you download fi download Phish rules. That way you always have like, all right, cool. I know what size it is. It helps you with identifying if you don't know, it's always good. Yeah, I need Go ahead.
Jesse (38:09):
Go ahead. I need to do that, bro. Because like, the, the regs are different on the East coast and they are here. Like, I don't, I don't know what a keeper Pompano is over here anymore.
Brian (38:18):
I think it's, without looking off the top of my head, it's 11 to the fork, I believe.
Jesse (38:22):
Yeah. But that just hammers home your point of like, have access to the, to the regs, man. Cuz you can get yourself in a, in a pickle real quick. Mm-Hmm. . And it's expensive.
Brian (38:30):
Speaking of that, with apps too, I mean there's, so, my gosh, there's so many apps. I I, my Phish app folder is ridiculous in my phone. My wife's even see, she's like, wow, that's a lot. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I use a lot of these, but all these pieces together, you know, if you're brand new to the game there, there's a lot of references out there. I've got 'em on different episodes and on different hyperlinks, but that one being key, that that's good stuff right there. Yeah.
Jesse (38:52):
Another great one. If you don't, if you have no idea what you're doing and you just wanna go catch some fish, watch how to do it on YouTube and then download the app Fish Bring and it will show you spots with dudes catching fish. What time of year they caught 'em. Like it's the cheat code man. It's good.
Brian (39:08):
Fish brain has become the, I don't, I don't wanna say quiet underdog, but it has seriously become a really good reference. I mean, you could use fishing points and all this other one, but Fish brain, fish brain turned it up a couple notches in my opinion.
Jesse (39:22):
You know, who's really winning, and this is a weird concept, but I've never really heard anybody talking about, have you fished tournaments where they have G p s rules where you have to take a picture of where you caught your fish. Have you ever done that before?
Brian (39:34):
We do that with Perdido Blain's tournament the spring and fall. Pompano, you have to take a picture of where you're at in a 360 degree circle.
Jesse (39:42):
So not saying that he's doing this, he's, he's a great guy. I don't think that he would, but the person who has access to that information, just like legendary, like for instance inshore fishing is exponentially more difficult than surf fishing. To me. That's my opinion. You legit gotta know what you're doing. You gotta know the tides, you gotta know the species, what they do under water. Like when they feed, like it's, it's a art form, right? Fishing those tournaments in, on the east coast of Florida, and I'm talking specifically like Jacksonville that's hard. But those people who have access to that information from those tournaments that like, I would pay a lot of money to get that
Brian (40:27):
. Well, the cool thing with Blaine's is the only person that sees the picture is Blaine. No one else gets that. So, and we don't database it, but Yeah, with the, I'm
Jesse (40:36):
Talking about he has that power though. I'm just saying like, I'm not saying he's doing it. Use, use your, use your powers for good. I saw it before. It's just a crazy concept how the sport has evolved.
Brian (40:47):
Yeah, man, it's crazy. Especially with his social media world too. And pictures and geotagging. Yeah. Geocaching data tagging. So I mean, that alone is like three episodes of talking when you get into that stuff.
Jesse (41:00):
Yeah. So, and then Facebook groups, Uhhuh, and spots. That's man, people fight over that stuff, dude.
Brian (41:06):
Yeah. . Yeah, it's pretty ugly.
Jesse (41:08):
Like make, make, make enemies from that. And I've, I've, I've experienced that firsthand, dude. Like there's a group, I'm not gonna say who, but it's in Jack's. And do they despise me? And I'm like, what did I do ?
Brian (41:22):
You blew up one in spot or something.
Jesse (41:24):
Yeah, something like that. Which is hilarious because right now if you, if the stranger were to ask me what's the best places to go fish in Pensacola, I would be like, dude, just Google it because I'm probably gonna tell you the same ones that is gonna tell you on the internet. Yeah. Like, it's not a secret, you know? And then it doesn't even really matter. Like there are residents fish that are localized in specific areas, but it's not like they own a house there and they lived there like they've moved, you know?
Brian (41:53):
Oh, for sure. And it's one of the things like in the Facebook group, I'm one of the admins of Panhandle surf fishing. You just click, click the picture link, and then once you click that mm-hmm. Just start clicking. Right. And you're gonna, you're gonna recognize things. Or you watch somebody's video, you look, you know, like, oh, I know that house. Or that it's, the beach is so big, there's plenty of room. I mean, it's different than the in shore. You can't, I can't go into this canal and like, you know, Billy's over there in the same canal, you know, we're both fighting for, we're elbowing for room here for that one grass line. You know, it's not like that for us. So we got that huge advantage.
Jesse (42:26):
Everything that I just said about like the fish moving, all that stuff insure that's a different story. Oh yeah. Like there's spots for sure.
Brian (42:34):
. Yeah. Everybody's honey hole. Well mm-hmm. , before I ask you this last question, we're gonna go ahead and do one more bait check here. But this last question is always the one that I love asking. So I hope you guys are ready cuz it's about to come.
Brian (42:52):
It is your third and final Bay check of the episode. This bay check is being brought to you by Ninja Tackle and on over to ninja tackle va.com. And take a look at all the great equipment that Matt has going on there. Ninja dagger, seven foot, all the way up to 12 foot. Maybe you need the Buies stick. They're back in stock. That's right. They are. You can get them there. Maybe you need a reel or some bait. Got you covered if you're into shooting. He's also got Ninja tactical optics and other sub-components for your other firearms clock. A couple others won't get too far into that, but you can go find it. That's right. Got on over to ninja tackle va.com. Get your order in today. So the last question, what's next for you?
Jesse (43:29):
I think I kind of hit it already, man. You did,
Brian (43:31):
You nailed it bit. I didn't know if I was missing some though.
Jesse (43:34):
No, no. Yeah, man. Ultimate goal for at least the next few years is just to reclaim some time and peace, if that makes sense. I just wanna enjoy my time with my family and make new friends while I'm down here. And you two, it is a part of my life, but it's not my life. Like, it's actually a very small portion of my life, you know, I do that with a full-time career in the military as a lieutenant, you know, like it's, that's a lot on its own, on its own. But yeah, dude, just, just having a good time and kicking it with people down here and just, you guys are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. The only place more beautiful in the United States, at least that I've been to than specifically like Novar, it would be Hawaii.
Jesse (44:24):
Like, yeah. Novar is so beautiful, dude, on, on that sunset when the sunset sets and it hits and makes that green flash, dude, and the water's just, you know, electric blue, clear. It's a magical place, bro. I, I love it Here. Let, let me tell you a funny memory fishing and I didn't know what I was doing. It was at Fort Pickens. You know, I've been known to drink a beer or two for anybody that knows me personally I had a cooler full of beer and we went out to Fort Pickens and it was me and my wife. I think my daughter was with my mother-in-law or something, but it was one of those days where the Pompano were on fire, bro. And me and my wife caught a limit of Pompano and I caught a pretty nice buzz.
Jesse (45:04):
And we're walking back and this dude, you know, I'm smiling ear to ear and he's like, did you catch me fish? I'm like, yeah, bro. I opened up the cooler and he sees all these empty beer cans in a lemon of Pompano. And he was like, you had a great day, . And I was like, yeah, . But yeah, dude, that I wanna recreate that moment, you know just having fun down here. And then if the YouTube thing works out, you know, like that, that would be cool. Like I said earlier we're about to end the show, so thank you to everybody who's listened to me talk. It's like remarkable that I have people that even wanna listen to what I gotta say as funny to me, but extremely valuable in the same light. Like, thank you for doing that.
Jesse (45:44):
But again, shameless plug for me, if you would like to support my dream and what I do, you would like to learn about fishing cuz I, I share every stitch of knowledge. I don't keep any secrets. I'll tell you the spots. I try to answer every comment that I can. I'll, I'll tell you everything I know, man. But yeah, thank you guys. If, if that is you, then please subscribe to my channel. We'll have a good time and also hit me up. Dude, I take people fishing all the time. If you look at my YouTube channel, I have several videos kayaking subscriber meetups. That's how I met Chip is I was like, Hey, if anybody wants to go fishing, and Chip was like, I'll go fishing with you. And I had no idea that it was gonna turn into that, you know, relationship that I have with him. So this, this hit me up, man. I'm just a regular dude, just like anybody else. Man I'll, I'll come out and fish with you.
Brian (46:32):
Excellent stuff. And if you guys want go on back to the website finding dmo surf fishing.com. And on this episode, you'll be able to get to all the links to get in touch with Jesse for all his Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all the links back forth, and hopefully, you know, get some meetups and good fun stuff there with your people out here. Man, I think that's gonna be some cool videos and some great times.
Jesse (46:52):
Yeah. I am going to be one of the sponsors for the Pop Showdown, so I'll be there. I got stickers and stuff I'll give away. I don't sell any products is the, the product is the YouTube channel. But I'll be down there with a fish bites hanging out, and I haven't decided whether or not I'm actually gonna participate in the tournament. Documenting things like that is very fun to me. Like making videos, like sharing that experience with the participants is very fun for me. I've done that a lot filming other people catch fish and then sharing that with them, that way their families can experience it and new people to the area. I love that. I love doing that. So that's probably what I'll end up doing.
Brian (47:35):
Yeah. Good stuff. And I look forward to seeing you, man. I know we'll both be there. Yeah. So it's gonna be a good time. Well, thank you so much, Jesse, for coming on, brother. I appreciate you so much. Lots of great knowledge. Great. Everything between both episodes of last week, this week. Seriously, a lot of fun and great stuff. Thank you so much for all of it.
Jesse (47:52):
No, man, thank you, dude. Like like I said before, we started recording this thing and the, the pleasure is mine. And you have started a cool thing, dude, for anybody if you're stumbling upon this, and this is your first time hearing one of his podcasts. I made that drive from Pensacola to Jacks moving about four or five times, and I listened to the Finding Demo podcast for the entirety of those five and a half hour drives, multiple legs, and I don't think I watched half of 'em, and I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. So follow Brian's stuff too. It's good stuff. I'm not, I'm not, he's not paying me to say that. And I, I mean it like I contacted him to be a part of this is cool stuff, man. Thank you for allowing me to be on your show, dude. I appreciate
Brian (48:32):
It. I'm sure we'll have more, more, more opportunities, more time and we'll definitely link up, brother. I will talk to you soon. Thanks again so much.
Jesse (48:38):
Hey man. Thanks dude.
Brian (48:39):
Yes, sir. All right, ladies and gentlemen, two weeks. I hope you enjoyed these back to backs, man. These, these were fun. I really, really enjoyed it and I hope that you got a lot of knowledge out of it from last week's episode with all the pieces on how I'm fishing and then this week really getting into the weeds on YouTube and social media and the growth here, all that stuff. Again, we said it throughout the whole episode. It's not for us, it's for you. We're trying to help the community. We're trying to grow, we're trying to do great things all together and we can only do that if we try and share. So always try to do that. You've been listening, finding demo, surf fishing. Thank you so much for all your time and I appreciate you and I know Jesse, I appreciate you too, checking out all this stuff now. We will see you next week and yeah, I am outta here.