Albies, Access, and the New Rules: An Evening with Capt. Tom Roller

This month we're hosting Capt. Tom Roller of WaterDog Guide Service, one of the busiest and most experienced light-tackle and fly guides on the North Carolina coast. He runs premier charters out of Beaufort and has been at it since 2003, when he graduated from Duke and decided a poling skiff beat a desk job.

Every fall, false albacore turn Cape Lookout into one of the best light-tackle fisheries anywhere. For years they were also completely unmanaged, a fishery everyone loved and nobody protected. That changed this year, and Tom was a big part of making it happen. He'll take us inside the new state management measures for false albacore: why they were needed, how they came together, and what they mean for anyone who chases these fish. This is a rare look at how a fishery actually gets protected, told by a working guide who was in the room, not a press release.

Along the way he'll talk about his operation, how he runs his albie program out of Beaufort, and what 200-plus days a year on the water teaches you about a fishery that most of us only see a few weekends each fall. His conservation résumé runs deep, including years of volunteer work with the Coastal Conservation Association.