How to FREEDIVE-SPEARFISH CA (Vol. 19): ISLAND SCALLOPS

[@Bluecloudandrew]

Your favorite professors favorite professor back in action.

[@bobhidley9037]

Very well done: photography and dialogue! You had me drooling for those sushi rolls.

[@Bufs.]

I look forward to all your videos you have so much to teach with such serenity !

[@nipz8053]

I'd like to see that process of making a spear gun.

[@92bagder]

Also a sling spear

[@FishingMachings]

Sick

[@rachelmarylani]

Yay!! I didn't miss the street festival! See you tomorrow

[@VanNguyen-sp1no]

I love you,catch and cook 💖💖💖

[@MUDSUX]

Yeah braddah let's see that speargun build! Just found your channel. Shoots 🤙

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Welcome! I will schedule something with my brother asap!

[@dustinelster1232]

Yes please show the speargun build!!

[@mingrui1862]

Yes! Please consider a DIY speargun video!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Will do!

[@alexmacdonald258]

Ah, sheepshead! the poor man's lobster😁 Wrap it in tinfoil with some butter, garlic, a splash of white wine, and some crab or lobster shells, and it's difficult to taste the difference. We used to do that when we had a lobster dive out of Ventura, (where nobody caught any lobster). You guys are livin` large!! We used to do this regularly every time we went to the islands. That limit-boat limit? We (I) worked for Brawley's School of Skin & Scuba in Monterey in the `70's and when we chartered something, we always slept on the boat, one of which was the Truth, if memory serves! Lots of great memories.

[@Dstick1Spearfishing]

Loved the video bro, hello from Aussie, I have been lucky enough to dive and spearfish there. This brought back many memories. Cheers for sharing the video, great entertainment, awesome adventure! Dive safe, have fun! 👍🐟🤿🤗🍻

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for the positive feedback and for tuning in from across the world!

[@stanf9898]

We need a highlight reel of Dr. Kev's food reactions. HAHA

[@benn2133]

Lol when i was overseas in Japan i had real wasabi and I remember the first time i tried it ... a little goes a long way 😆...edit that made my day friend ..!

[@JTSkiffer]

Great catching thanks for the Scallops info !

[@jasonbeals42]

I just bought my first kit and am headed out to Scorpion for my first real dive ever! So stoked! Love these videos man- so glad I discovered this channel. Just saw that you posted this two weeks ago- that bodes so well!! We’ll see if I can pry off some orange lipped scallops! 😁

[@mikeygomikey]

Welcome back! Glad for another excellent video. I’m a spearo near Monterey and have learned a lot of good techniques from your videos. Thanks.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Stoked to hear that!

[@josephmarciano2584]

Hi, What's that drum music intro you used on some older videos? Very catchy and familiar, but can't place. BTW: As a CA hunter, I very much appreciate your 360 degree approach to Foraging. Gathering, fishing and hunting while showing reverence for what you take. Suggestion for a future hunt: The invasive wild pig.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestion Joseph! The music is Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, "Inu Shobu." My friend's taiko group!

[@ktc5151]

I really liked your quality in videos. Graphical quality, your infos about sea and camping. You dont overshare everyting or undershare. Just in dose, thx for these videos

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you!

[@mdevil12]

I agree 100% that Rock Scallops are the best wild food! Sooooo good!

[@rileyjones650]

Excellent work, thank you!

[@dwaynewladyka577]

What a great adventure. I love the view from under the ocean. So colourful. You made some amazing food. Cheers! 👍🏻👍🏻✌️

[@benjovi7007]

love your vids . thank for the internment .😁

[@stanf9898]

Dr. Kev, I like to slide my ab-bar into the opening of the scallops before they close. I started doing this with the tricky ones where leverage is hard to get, and now I do it with all of them. The trick is to recognize the flat part of the scallop, scrape along it as you go in separating the adductor in one swoop, losing almost no meat (when performed on the flat shell side). Then pry to break the hinge, leaving an open-faced scallop with only one shell half. The only downside is it limits shelf life if you plan to store them. I have a near 100% success rate with it. Give it a shot sometime!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Smart!

[@melchorpardo20]

Do you ever spear Halibut? Would be a cool video.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

On occasion. I will keep that in mind!

[@hanseoulohh9913]

Yes on the spear gun video

[@Jenniferlsweet]

great video! thanks

[@thedigitalnomad7270]

This series got me out spearfish and doing it safely! Definitely want to see the speargun build.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I am always happy to hear that!

[@rbo350]

Kevin, I first saw you with Taku from Chefs life

[@thehmongoose]

Kevin. I’m delight to see another video from you. Never done spearfishing diving and never seen the bottom of the ocean in person in my life. Guess I’ll never get to do it since I’m planning to move out of CA to Florida. Great stuff, brother!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Florida also has good diving opportunities!

[@thehmongoose]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 For sure, but the underwater environment and fish will be tropical and different species. Not like CA

[@digdug1577]

Love your channel, what a wonderful underwater universe, scallops are my favorite of all seafood! How common is that water quality, is it only a function of the wind waves and current? Better certain times of year? Magical! Scallop sashimi!!!!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! Those conditions are rare but more common on the islands. Those are the main factors though plankton blooms and rivers sediments after storms also contribute.

[@gregharpo9369]

love ur content. love your commentary . best wishes

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you!

[@pursuitoffish]

Thanks for making this video I've been really curious about spearfishing the channel islands

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for watching!

[@ffichera9]

Best Channel Brother. 🤙🏻🥇

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks!

[@heckolo1122]

I love your videos man! I’m super eager to learn how to spearfish!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you! Hope you can join me sometime!

[@pose5488]

plz make a video on the making of the gun super cool to witness

[@SeaFrenchie]

Just bought my first speargun(riffe euro 75), and cant wait to use it when the conditions get good by me

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Nice!

[@idriveabigtruck2]

Another great show. I went on my second dive yesterday. First dive in the ocean. I went near west port. It was difficult to get out through the breakers and then when I got way out there the visibility was three feet. I couldn’t see my hands. Baby steps.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

That area is like that often unfortunately. Try a little further south in Fort Bragg or Mendocino as the vis is typically a little better. Happy to hear that you got out and back safely though!

[@idriveabigtruck2]

Maybe I’ll go to big river Mendocino next?

[@marcomontemayor2990]

About to move to Santa Cruz and will absolutely be enrolling in some of your classes!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Stoked to hear that!

[@airpu4490]

Please show a video on the homemade speargun!

[@ktc5151]

Are you making sushi on island, wow!!! you are awsome

[@wdinarte]

Man, you moved my camping strings as that is what we do as family and we love the outdoors. The last little triangle wrap thing that you used, my kids love that thing to take to school full of some seasoned rice. I don’t eat shellfish but if I was around you, probably you will be missing one and I would blame the little 🦊 😂😂 Did you share the meal with the family that was around you guys on the last portion of the video?😂😂😂🫵 Always good to tag along with you on the videos, blessings to you buddy. *** I am going to do my homework now as the “sheepshead” that I know here in Texas is more like tilapia and with stripes on it.👀🦊😳

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for watching! Actually there were two other families in the campground all diving for scallops and feasting as well!

[@k4x4map46]

nice!!

[@actrojan]

Yup on the spear🔫 vid.

[@haroldtakahashi8875]

💛...how much does distortion affect your choice of target?... i've heard that in gold sniping what looks giant nuggets in the water is just pickers...also, it's not just divin', it's >d (it's the hat)...

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I pass up a lot of fish that are likely legal but I don't want to risk them. It does take a while to get a good feel for magnification underwater. I recommend that people start with fish with no minimum size limit and spear what they think are 15-16 inch fish. Opaleye are a good one to experiment with. Then when you bring what you thought was a 15" opaleye to the surface and measure it you will start to get a good idea for how much fish seem to shrink as they near the surface. Once you are confident, you can then move on to fish with minimum sizes like calicos.

[@haroldtakahashi8875]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 ...thank you...good advice...

[@stitchyaj1989]

Wow 😲 all those yummy uni

[@7peannut]

Do you feel that taking sheaphead are increasing the urchins? after sheaphead, they have no more predators. We have no kelp forest left in so cal from urchins

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

We only take them on occasion. I took one a few years ago and have not taken one since. I told my buddy on this trip that I would not take one if he took one. In the vid and on this dive weekend we passed up so many sheephead that I lost count on the first dive. Also, spiny lobsters eat purple urchin too so there are other checks and balances in play in SoCal that we do not have in Nor Cal right now. We also take a lot of purple urchin! Good question though.

[@juliemanarin4127]

Do more crabbing and how about lobster? I also love scallops

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Just dropped some crab content in my video yesterday. As for lobster, I did a lobster dive vid a few months back if you search my vids. Thanks for watching!

[@spearroad]

Does the charter out of Ventura allow you to bring your own kayak or do you have to rent them?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Island Packers allows you to bring your own but you must arrange it with them ahead of time.

[@Kushy4702]

I hope you spent some time diving in the amazing MPA so you can see what the underwater world should look like without overharvesting. Yes, I harvest also but it is extremely important for us hunters to understand the detrimental impacts we have on a ecosystem we really should not be a part of. Best...

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

We did dive the MPA after we were done hunting. I will add some of that footage and discussion in my next video. However, I wrote my dissertation on the earliest stone tools in CA associated with the Island Paleocoastal Tradition (from these islands) and the Indiginous makers of these tools were maritime-adapted peoples who thrived on the resources that they hunted and fished from the sea in this area. In other words, since the end of the Pliestocene California's Channel Islands have always been home to people who fished and hunted these waters. Therefore, the entirety of the Holocene (including the establishment of the warmer water species we now see thriving there) occured with humans as active participants in the oceanic food web. I agree that we need some MPA's, but fundmentally disagree that the ocean is an ecosystem "we really should not be a part of." Based on many converstations that I have had with Chumash peoples who still call that area home, I also very much doubt they would agree with you. Thanks for watching.

[@Kushy4702]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 I agree somewhat, but remember the native peoples weren't populating the local area by the millions, did not have gps, did not have motorized vessels, did not have weather forecasts, all of these things make resource taking much more efficient. Please note that most of our fisheries or rather fished species with only a few exceptions are well below half their original populations before technology began being used to harvest resources. Also, I recommend not speaking for others and generalizing their beliefs. I will look forward to seeing your MPA footage and clear description of the giant male sheephead in the MPA and how these are indicative of a healthy ecosystem, as well as the large and many lobster and the dramatic difference of sea urchin abundance inside vs outside (they are notably less abundant in the MPA and imagine that there is lot of macroalgae inside the MPA). Thank you in advance for allowing people to see the differences. Keep up the educational work and don't fall for the shifting baseline in reality of the sea...

[@mollusketeer]

Please show the DIY speargun video!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I will arrange it with my brother ASAP!

[@g.e.1432]

Forget the fish, just give me scallops, cooked, the bigger the better, those are huge, they look as big as sliced scalloped potatoes.

[@skang3368]

Cool vid