Outside’s Insiders: John Calagaz on Building Fishing Chaos and Modernizing Tournament Culture

In this episode of Outside’s Insiders, LandTrust founder Nic DeCastro sits down with John Calagaz, founder and CEO of Fishing Chaos—a platform powering thousands of fishing tournaments nationwide and helping modernize a sport that’s long been stuck running on outdated systems.

John is a lifelong “tech junkie” who built his career at the cutting edge of innovation. Before smartphones were even a thought, he landed a software engineering job by remotely controlling a light bulb using an old Motorola phone—an early example of what we now call the Internet of Things (IoT).

That momentum carried him into leadership roles in the smart home space, including time as CTO at Centralite, where he helped build connected systems used by major brands like Samsung, Comcast, and Lowe’s. But in 2018, John decided to bring that same technology-first thinking into one of the biggest—and most misunderstood—outdoor industries in America: fishing.

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From Connected Boats to Tournament Tech

Fishing Chaos didn’t start as a tournament platform.

John originally launched the company with a hardware vision: building a “connected boat” system that applied IoT technology to boating and fishing, much like the smart home industry had done with thermostats, lights, and security. The prototypes were ready, and the plan was clear.

Then COVID hit.

Supply chains collapsed, electronic components became nearly impossible to source, and chip manufacturers required minimum orders in the millions—something no startup could realistically pull off. So John and his team pivoted quickly and leaned into something they already had built: a digital tournament management module.

That shift ended up defining the entire future of Fishing Chaos.

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The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo and the “Chaos” Behind the Scenes

John shares that a major lightbulb moment came while watching one of the biggest tournaments in the Gulf Coast—The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo—operate behind the scenes.

This event has been running for over 90 years. Thousands of anglers compete, and the weigh-in is an enormous operation involving dozens of people, multiple species categories, and a constant flow of fish being measured, recorded, and ranked.

And despite its size and legacy, much of it still relied on paper-based systems and a simple Microsoft Access database. Fish that weren’t close to winning often weren’t even entered into the system—which meant valuable data was lost entirely.

It was the perfect example of what Fishing Chaos was built to solve.

As John puts it:

“The biggest competitor for the weigh-in was chaos.”

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COVID and the Rise of Virtual Fishing Tournaments

Some of the biggest growth for Fishing Chaos came from a place John never predicted: college fishing.

During the pandemic, Auburn University restricted club sports. That meant the Auburn Bass Team couldn’t compete in tournaments—and they turned to Fishing Chaos for help running qualifiers virtually. It worked so well that the Auburn team put out a post about hosting a nationwide virtual tournament.

Within 24 hours, everything exploded.

In just one day, 46 colleges across 22 states signed up. Fishing Chaos suddenly became the platform that made remote tournament fishing possible.

John describes it simply:

“During COVID, we became the Zoom of fishing tournaments.”

And while plenty of older anglers had historically resisted fishing technology, John believes COVID accelerated adoption by at least five years.

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A Massive Sport That Still Runs on Pen and Paper

Nic admits he grew up fishing but never competed in tournaments, so John breaks down just how large—and outdated—the tournament ecosystem really is.

There are over 57 million anglers in the U.S.—nearly twice the number of golfers. Yet fishing gets far less cultural attention than other mainstream sports.

John estimates there are at least 60,000 documented fishing tournaments annually in the U.S., and likely far more that aren’t tracked at all because they still operate manually.

That’s why one of Fishing Chaos’s biggest competitive advantages is also its most surprising:

“Our biggest competitor is pen and paper.”

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How Fishing Chaos Helps Anglers Improve Over Time

For anglers, Fishing Chaos offers far more than a scoreboard.

Every tournament submission becomes part of a private catch log. Over time, anglers can track their history and learn patterns without manually journaling or trying to remember conditions weeks later.

Because tournament photos often include metadata, Fishing Chaos can help anglers understand:

• location and time
  
  
• tidal movement (saltwater)
  
  
• dam schedules and water data (freshwater systems)
  
  
• conditions tied to successful catches
  
  

John points out that fishing trips often cost hundreds—sometimes thousands—once fuel, ice, lodging, gear, and time are factored in. So anything that helps anglers fish smarter adds real value.

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What Tournament Directors Gain From Going Digital

Fishing Chaos is also built for tournament directors—many of whom have historically relied on outdated software, paper entries, and manual data transfers.

John explains that some legacy tournament systems were built decades ago and still operate like it. The risks are obvious:

• data loss
  
  
• inaccurate scoring
  
  
• delayed results
  
  
• payout disputes
  
  
• tournament-day chaos
  
  

Fishing Chaos modernizes all of it through a cloud-based platform, making it possible to manage operations remotely, speed up weigh-ins, and reduce errors—especially important in tournament ecosystems where payouts can exceed $100,000.

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How Brands Use Fishing Chaos to Reach Real Anglers

Fishing Chaos has also evolved into a powerful marketplace tool for outdoor brands through its enterprise suite, Link Enterprise.

John explains that brands can run tournaments, promotions, memberships, surveys, and community initiatives directly to verified anglers—often with better engagement than traditional digital ads.

One of the biggest benefits is location-based insight. Brands can see where their anglers really live and fish, helping them adjust marketing spend and product placement more effectively.

He shares a striking example: tournament data revealed an unexpected hotspot for bass fishing in Phoenix, Arizona, leading brands to rethink targeting strategies.

John also describes how Walmart used the Fishing Chaos community for rapid feedback—getting 1,200 responses from real anglers in under 24 hours for a promotional product question.

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Some of the Coolest Tournaments on the Platform Right Now

Fishing Chaos isn’t just enabling traditional tournaments—it’s also helping brands and creators run highly creative community-driven events.

John highlights a few standout examples:

Southern String Hat Company

After releasing a “redfish hat” that anglers didn’t think looked accurate, the brand ran a charity tournament using influencer teams, leaderboards, and national participation.

The Red Clay Strays

The band hosted a regional online tournament benefiting Camp ASCCA, followed by an in-person tournament and a three-day sold-out concert run at The Wharf.

John says these tournaments have become powerful customer acquisition engines because they spread naturally through communities, influencers, and shared competition.

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The Business of Fishing Is Changing

As Fishing Chaos grows, John and Nic zoom out to talk about how quickly fishing—and outdoor business in general—is evolving.

They discuss the increased presence of private equity in fishing and the broader outdoor space. John notes that one positive shift is that sponsorship spending becomes more accountable, since performance and engagement measurement matter more.

But the downside is that decisions can become short-term. If something doesn’t perform quickly, it’s cut—even if it’s building trust and authenticity within the sport.

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The Hidden Hurdles of Tournament Tech

John also shares that building technology for tournaments comes with challenges most anglers never think about—especially when it comes to payments.

Because tournaments involve entry fees and cash prizes, they’re sometimes misunderstood as gambling by processors and automated systems. That means platforms like Fishing Chaos have to be proactive about compliance, transparency, and maintaining strong relationships to keep events running smoothly.

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A Platform That’s Getting Bigger Than the U.S.

Fishing Chaos now supports tournaments in 13 countries, and John explains that competitive fishing is growing globally—including events tied to the PanAm Games, where fishing is being discussed as a potential future Olympic-level sport.

It’s one of the moments in the conversation that makes it clear Fishing Chaos isn’t just solving a tournament problem—it’s building infrastructure for an entire sport.

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So… Where Does AI Fit Into All of This?

Toward the end of the episode, Nic asks John a question everyone is asking right now: How does AI change what you’re building?

John explains that Fishing Chaos experimented years ago with fish recognition and machine learning, but at the time it felt more like a novelty than a tool anglers truly needed.

Now, AI is finally reaching the point where it could become genuinely useful—not as a gimmick, but as a guide. Instead of replacing skill, it could help anglers interpret their own history and identify patterns in their catch log—almost like a digital coach that improves over time.

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The Common Thread

Even though John’s background is rooted in technology, the heart of what he’s building comes back to something simple:

Better days outside. Better experiences on the water.

Fishing Chaos is proof that innovation doesn’t have to pull people away from nature—it can support the communities that already live for it.

And as John shares, the team continues improving the platform relentlessly—often shipping updates almost every Tuesday.

Because when you’re building for the outdoors, the goal is always the same:

Spend less time managing chaos… and more time fishing.

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