HALIBUT SPEAR, CLEAN & COOK: How to Spearfish CA Vol 21

[@OutdoorChefLife]

What a dive!!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

We gotta get back out in the water again soon man!

[@KP-AC]

I appreciate how respectful you are to Mother Nature, and how you are very conservative in what size fish you take. You clearly care, even throwing the carcass back in for the food chain. Good on you.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for the kind words

[@cattle_dog]

Wow. You and your dog are a perfect match. Two birds one feather. Well done.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

I really enjoyed this. Halibut is a great tasting fish. I like it fried in extra virgin olive oil, with sea salt and white pepper, until its a bit golden brown. Cheers! 👍🏻👍🏻✌️

[@dirkluoma9687]

I like halibut with garlic caper butter! Thx Dr Kev

[@jdl.1234]

Have you ever tried it fried like U.K. fish and chips? Much better than Cod and I like Cod lol.

[@ChrisPfish2]

looked like an awesome day in the water. Such cool footage of the halibut. They get such amazing colors on them camouflaging in with the reef vs the ones I am used to seeing getting pulled up from the sand. Thanks for sharing

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks buddy! I thought you might enjoy seeing them in their element like that! Let's get out for a collab this year!

[@jdl.1234]

Halibut is the best....Thanks for the beautiful adventure......❤❤❤Cute Golden Pup too.....

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@njblanco10]

You are a bad ass. Thanks for making this. You’re going to give me the confidence to give it a shot.

[@teresayao3218]

I did not know halibut had eyes on both sides!! The mental gap btwn the fish in nature nature and what’s on my place is real! Thanks for showing that connecting 😊

[@adamyoung480]

Aloha. They don’t.

[@troelssmit1]

Great running into you this morning! Another great video, thank you!!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Likewise! And thank you!

[@tj3589]

Love your content man keep it coming!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Much appreciated!

[@beardoodle9835]

Great video, and I love that you make a point of showing that you dispatch your catch quickly so they don't suffer.❤❤ Halibut is by far my favorite eating fish, I don't eat it as often as I'd like to, but it's so lovely in flavor and texture.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I agree that is is a fine eating fish!

[@titogreggy]

It was so cool to see that speargun at the street fair. Really cool meeting you! Keep up the good content

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Likewise!

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- Great dive my friend 🧡!! Cannot wait for more cool videos like this.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks!

[@paullago8345]

You Sir, amaze me with how long and how often you can hold your breath under water while actively hunting. Amazing and great video!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks!

[@spaceburger80]

That puppy makes me miss when my Penny was that size. Her whiskers were so long, they reminded me of a young seal xD

[@jayvto5992]

I have never tried a halibut or lingcod but i have caught barracudas and fillet them and fried them, simple flour salt and pepper they are my favorite fish to eat over rice. Barracuda to me might be better than red snapper. Love the videos.

[@IronmanV5]

Wow doc. Watching your videos makes me hungry. Good thing I have some flounder in my freezer!

[@elkhunter76]

Love the new pup!

[@richardso3226]

Another great one

[@gregharpo9369]

love ur videos! keep them coming

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you!

[@the_silver_liningg]

As always! This is an awesome video!

[@Thee_Sinner]

10:34 I miss this sound. I need to head out to the coast sometime soon

[@stephenboyd3321]

That was awesome.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! It was an epic dive. Stoked that the footage turned out!

[@alexizzarelli9122]

Yeah buddy! Nice vid!!!

[@tomatoconfit]

Awesome catch & video! Next time save the head & bones for soup stock. Halibut makes the best fish stock. Can make awesome seafood corn chowders, cioppino, miso soup & substitute for chicken stock when stir frying for example. Can also use as a base for classical French sauces using also wine, cream, herbs & butter to accompany seared scallops, salmon, etc..

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Dang, what time is dinner? Sounds great!

[@HadesTheWarGod]

oooh some sticky rice with it?!?! looks amazing

[@DdesideriaS]

Butts have gnarly teeth. I wish I knew that when I got my first.

[@kraziejavier]

Awesome vid brother

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks!

[@jaredbalke9540]

Great video. Thanks. I've lived in CA all my life. Due hard fishing channel catches them out of his yak all year long.

[@LazrCat0]

Was good to meet ya at the street fair! Lookin' forward to catching my own halibut ^_^

[@WOOD-BOOGER-lc4fl]

Awesome Channel ❤❤

[@yifuwang2269]

Great video, can’t wait for you to talk about shallow water blackout. With your video I can easily dive down and stalk some fish for a minute. Will properly weight myself and take first fish in the near future.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

It is such an important subject and will absolutely be a part of theis series soon!

[@yifuwang2269]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 Hi Doc, I pole-speared my first fish yesterday, it was some type of flat fish laying around 5 meters of water.

[@MarkAustinKelton]

thanks for another great one

[@JoSt5646]

Fantastic. 🎉

[@MrBigdaddy2ya]

Great video looks yummy

[@floydb9100]

cute pup

[@dcro9903]

Thank you.

[@HideshiIzu]

Vis that good for a hali spot is wild

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Yep. Gotta dive when you can and the seas permit it. Lol make you think there's tons of flat fish at most beaches that we will never see since conditions rarely settle out enough for a hunt. Let's catch and cook something sometime!

[@wr3add]

Ty Dr Science Food Man👍🏿

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Honestly I kinda love this handle

[@wr3add]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 you teach me science and local food, ur a man and then also I think u said ur a phd.. also you seem very kind🤘

[@CarterTroughton]

Way to locate all those halibut and get it on camera very cool footage

[@kayb4995]

I caught quite a few halibut on my 20 dollar sport chalet polespear. Haha. I’d just shoot them and stay down and pin them to the sand until they stopped flopping and try to get my hand under them. Amazing eats. I have much more gear now but those 20 dollar pole spear days I had some real good ROI going let me tell you, haha.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Nice!

[@redpepper70]

awesome video! i would love to dive with you master!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! I really am no master, but I will own the title "Dive Bum!"

[@kenmorrill3774]

Great job on the videos, I just found them. Vis is great, are you north of SF?. I sure miss ab diving on the north coast.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! Closer to Monterey and Santa Cruz. This spot is only like this a few days a season. Its usually murky as heck and not divable.

[@kenmorrill3774]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 That vis would be epic for the north side of the Bay. If we can see past the end of our gun it is a good day! Monterey is like Hawaii compared to SC.

[@joehavin1]

South of Big Sur for sure 😉 I wish Halibut would eat sea urchins like SheepsHead do!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

If they did I don't think it would help since they love sand and sea urchins don't seem to like sand at all. But yeah, it would be awesome if something in CenCal and NorCal decided to start eating a lot more sea urchin. For now I guess it's up to us!

[@joehavin1]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 Good point... Do you ever use a Kayak to access different dive spots? I mostly shore dive as well but i been wanting to the ocena kayak thing for while.

[@ThatFlipKidxD]

This looks like Monterey!

[@LasagnaLover9]

What part of cali is this?

[@92bagder]

If you ever get Miso a brother, you gotta call him Shiso

[@cattle_dog]

Also, the underside of the fish is white because when they swim, and they do, the white from their underbelly looks like the sky above. Many fish are dark on top, so from the surface looking down on them they blend in with the blue abyss and from below them the white belley blends in with the surface. When I learn about nature I'm always amazed how much more perfect their design and how brilliant evolutions is.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

That makes total sense! Thanks for chiming in. And I 100% agree about how incredible our natural world is both above and below the waves!

[@MadMax-zc4kv]

i looked at how you made your spear fishing float with the bag and took my old foam sushi board and tied a bag to it. i made one for zero dollars and the bag was insulated and seagull proof. i also got a rope for a float line.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Nice! Make sure the rope is not too flexible though. Some folks use thinner ropes that are sure to get tangled on divers on one end and the reef on the other end and you do not want that happening when you are headed to the surface out of air.

[@chinoyhealingfoodstravels8888]

Greetings from Redondo Beach 🇺🇸🇺🇸Very informative and nice underwater video. May I know what camera you use?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

The underwater footage was shot on a GoPro Hero 8 black.

[@chinoyhealingfoodstravels8888]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 Thank you for the info.🌷🌷

[@sandcrab805]

Wow that's a lot of flatties. They're so mellow too, they seem to spook so easily where I dive. You can make some good stock out of those halibut skeletons it that's your thing. enjoyable video thanks

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! Yeah they were pretty mellow this day. I though about soup stock as well but I prefer lower trophic feeders for making my stock since we eat a ton of fish.

[@spaceburger80]

Non-spear fisherman here with what is likely a couple dumb questions. Absolutely adorable golden pup, by the way : ) 1. How concerned are you about attracting predators after you've injured/bled a catch? 2. This water is fairly murky, looks like 10 ft visibility, maybe a little more. I can imagine that when you drop down your vision is hyper-focused looking for critical details. How do you maintain 360 situational awareness for danger?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

These are common (and not dumb) questions. Truthfully there is no way to maintain 360 degree awareness as the mask-skirt is essentially working like blinders creating tunnel vision or predator vision. With lower visibility anything could be hanging out 20 ft away that you do not know about. The reality is that people dive and surf every day which offers some comfort. Sharks are definately out in the ocean though and we are the slowest seals on the block. I just try not to think about it just like I do when I am hunting in the woods. If a mountain lion wants to sneak up on me it will. It's a harsh reality that many do not like, but it is part of entering the wild food chain (not as an abserver but as an active participant). I try not to think about it but keep an eye out. I also trust my instincts and if I get an off feeling I move shallow or get out of the water.

[@spaceburger80]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574Well said, sir, and that rationale and acceptance of reality is commendable. You’ve certainly inspired me to take a deeper look at this. Separate note: you’re a fantastic advocate. Your genuine respect and appreciation for the bounty of nature paired with your personability and warmth are sure to positively impact those who come across your channel. Well done and thank you.

[@Gudrunst123]

Do you take the cheeks off the halibut too or are the cheeks too small for that size?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

On the bigger ones I do

[@rl44237]

Wonder what that blue thing was at 9:05

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Iridescent seaweed. Pretty cool huh? It reflects all kinds of light spectra that we see as pink, orange, blue, green, etc.

[@ytdeathninja1057]

i want to know where this is because i want to spear some halibut also

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

There are spots up and down the CA coast that are loaded with halibut right now. Look for calm, clear waters and sand channels between rocks south of Santa Cruz all the way to San Diego and start diving the sand. Move very slowly and look for an eye or the edge of a fin as your first indicator. I do not give up specific locations to help safeguard the sustainability of the resources and spots. That being said, doing your own research and jumping in the water to scout is half the fun of the hunt and makes the payoffs that much more rewarding when you finally land that fish! Good luck, have fun and be safe!

[@andrewsincek2373]

does anyone know if there are any halibut in table top reef

[@dustingoodroad]

How do you mitigate the fear of sharks!! I love Spearfishing jetty’s and all that but can’t bring myself out into open water

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Honestly I try not to think about it. They are out there and we are the slowest seals on the block. We do a lot of diving in the shallows which helps. But there are times where my insticts tell me to head back in when I am out deeper. I also remind people that we could have easily died on the drive to the dive or on the toilet like Elvis. We all gotta go some way some time. But I really would prefer that doesn't happen to anyone.

[@brandonkeach3344]

how long can you hold your breath?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

My record was 6 minutes but that was just sitting on the couch. Most dives I do on the channel are between 1 and 2.5 minutes I would say.

[@dfishingoc]

What beach was this?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I do not disclose specific locations in order to safeguard the sustainability of the resource. Thanks for watching!

[@Master_Baiter_007]

Is this in Cali ?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Yes

[@79istp]

Did you say what county this was? Thanks

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I did not but it was less than three hours from SF

[@dominikstefanov4803]

Wait looks like you might be north of point sur lol idk?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

There are hali's in abundance from Santa Cruz south but dive conditions permitting a hunt are rare north of the Monterey Area. My experience is that they are far more abundant in divable waters/visibility in SoCal.

[@bdskee]

wow fackin a mate good job !

[@bobjohnson3247]

Don’t throw away that halibut carcass! Make stock from it, but go no longer than 45 minutes or it will taste bitter. Once you have the stock, reduce it, add some white wine and reduce that, and thicken with butter and heavy cream. Put that over the poached halibut and enjoy.

[@vorpalbits7720]

how deep? Breath holding is a skill that requires practice and commitment. nice job

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

These fish come in relatively shallow during the warmer months so these were only 10-15 feet deep.

[@sethheinrich1420]

Get the cheek meat halibut cheeks are the best. Even from a barley legal fish it’s like 2 scallops

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I will keep it in mind next time

[@sethheinrich1420]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 love your videos you definitely inspired me to start free diving

[@EzikielD]

Man i need to get out with you. I have yet to spear anything

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Its a darn good time!

[@EzikielD]

Its what you said towards the end, "long drive back". This is what gets me Kevin. East Bay to a good spot is a journey 😅

[@jovanlopez1660]

1:11 right in front of you there Is a halibut.

[@stanf9898]

Bro... I just want to eat with you... Preferably something delicious so I can see these faces in person. Haha

[@ryanzaragoza2789]

You don’t have the birds mess with your catch on the board

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Only at super popular spots. I prefer to dive more remote areas and in those areas the birds are less inclined to get close to people. Even when they do, they typically just take the eyes. If it becomes a problem though, I switch the fish from the top of the board to a stringer underneath and that keeps the fish cooler and too deep for gulls to reach. Thanks for watching!

[@chichibangbang3667]

You can hold your breath a long time. You give the pup enough food so it ran off. jk

[@oMDK1]

Amazing shots of the halibut(camera and spear)!!! You really are putting out some great content!! Is there a better way to contact you besides email and instagram? I sent an email a couple weeks ago to inquire about a trip.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! My apologies if I did not reply. Please give the email a nudge as it likely got buried