John "Toast" Oast, a native of Portsmouth, Virginia, is a life-long outdoor enthusiast and fisherman. After having competed professionally in both skateboarding and tennis, Oast returned to his childhood pastime of fishing, when he began kayaking and canoeing in 2000. Occupationally, he is assigned to Community and Media Relations with the Richmond City Sheriff's Office in Virginia. He is a certified American Red Cross and Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services instructor, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Criminal Justice.

Oast, a member of the Johnson Outdoors and Ocean Kayak Pro Staff, co-founded the Williamsburg kayak fishing Association in 2005, and is the webmaster for Fishyaker.com. His kayak fishing do-it-yourself videos are one of the most popular kayak fishing series on Youtube, and his kayak fishing exploits have been featured in various publications, and on the Kayak Fishing Machine podcast with Alex Hill and Dean "Slowride" Thomas. Oast is proficient with both fly and conventional tackle, and can often be found fishing for any of the Chesapeake Bay's abundant species of fish, or floating Virginia's rivers and lakes for bass and crappie.