Flip Pallot, one of the most beloved anglers in the nation, passed away in the last week of August during complications from surgery.
On August 26, 2025, the world of fishing and the outdoors community lost one of its most iconic figures—Philip “Flip” Pallot, who passed away in Thomasville, Georgia, following surgical complications. At 82, Flip left behind a legacy as profound as the Everglades where he grew up, his life a rich tapestry of guiding, storytelling, conservation, and friendship.
A South Florida Childhood Forged in Waters and Woods
Born and raised in the low-lying lands between Biscayne Bay, the Everglades, and the Florida Keys, Flip’s was childhood friends with Chico Fernandez and Norman Duncan, both to become famed in the fly-fishing world. Flip spent his school years chasing tarpon, snook, and dreams across muddy canals and salt flats. His upbringing in that unique triangle shaped him into the total outdoorsman he would become—at home equally to waters and woods.
I first met him when he was returning from guiding a duck hunt on the St. Johns River near Puzzle Lake, where I had been chasing shad and shooting snipe. We looked at each other’s gear and harvest and immediately sensed kindred spirits. This was before Flip became really famous with Walker’s Cay Chronicles, but I was still amazed at his knowledge of the area and his willingness to share trade secrets with a kid he had just met.
From Banker to Guide to TV Pioneer
After serving as a linguist in Panama with the U.S. Army (1963–1967), Flip returned to civilian life and spent “way too long” in banking, supporting folks living their dreams while watching his go unrealized. He eventually embraced his calling—first as a guide in the Keys and the Glades for over a decade, until Hurricane Andrew devastated his home and gear.
Undeterred, Flip relocated to Mims, Florida, nestled between the St. Johns River and Mosquito Lagoon. There, he launched The Saltwater Angler on TBS, followed by the Emmy-winning The Walker’s Cay Chronicles on ESPN (16 seasons), Quest for Adventure with Glenn Lau, and Fishing the Keys on VERSUS. His TV presence was mostly about storytelling, sharing—and connecting people to the wild.
Flip Pallot was a great story teller and on-air personality as well as a great friend to all who met him.
A Legacy of Conservation, Writing, and Influence
He was a writer as well as a great angler. He authored Mangroves, Memories and Magic, produced insightful DVDs—such as All the Best: A Conversation with Flip and Lefty Kreh—and wrote Lefty Kreh's biography. More than a storyteller, he was a devoted conservationist—his concerns over shrinking wildlife populations and dwindling habitats were a repeated theme in his many interviews.
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) described him as a pioneering outdoorsman whose guiding, writing, television work, and innovations in gear design inspired countless anglers and elevated the soul of sportfishing.
Anchored in the Outdoors
From guiding trips to writing, from hunting with a longbow to appearing on prime-time TV, Flip embodied an ethos that blended humility with curiosity. He was a lighthouse—not flashy, but brilliant. His presence shaped generations of anglers, his stories dragged youth and veterans alike toward salt-scented marshes and twilight whispers.
Flip grew up with Chico Fernandez, who also became a famed angler and outdoors personality.
There must have been somebody, somewhere, that didn’t like Flip Pallot, but I never met them. Maybe there would be now, since we have professional “haters”, but I doubt it.
He once reflected, “I’m a fisherman, not a rock star,” but to many, he was both—a master angler, storyteller, mentor, and friend. Whether on-screen or by the campfire, with a fly rod or at the workbench refining gear, Flip drew people in. He taught us that harvesting stories and friends from water and wood, and passing them forward, is the greatest catch of all.
— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com
