On this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation Ryan Callaghan heads to the Zumwalt Preserve, which is 37,000 acres of bunch grass prairie that look like heaven at first glance. Owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy, bow and rifle hunting are used as tools in the elk management plan. Hunters move elk around the prairie to prevent overgrazing and mitigate the presence of invasive weeds. Although Cal is the only hunter on the preserve with a bull tag—open terrain and large wary herds make hunting these elk more like hell. In the end he puts the pieces together and earns it the hard way.
In this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghan heads to Tennessee to see how the recent addition of invasive Asian carp to the ecosystem is affecting fishing, recreation, and the environment. With the help of the TWRA, he meets with biologists, commercial processors, outfitters, and even tries his hand at noodling for flathead catfish. When it’s all said and done, they put this invasive newcomer up against two southern favorites—crappie and flathead—tune in to find out which fish wins the taste test.
In this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghan and Eric Siegfried of onX navigate around the crowds and into a hard to access piece of public land in Montana for a mule deer rifle hunt. Eric uses his E-scouting expertise alongside Cal’s river savvy to get to a spot that would be unknown and possibly forgotten without the public land data provided by onX—also a canoe, they’ll need a canoe.
The grizzly bear population in Yellowstone is at an all-time high. As the states of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho ready themselves to assume management of the species, Cal joins Idaho Fish and Game for an inside look at the science of grizzly population dynamics.
Cal joins Idaho Fish and Game as they tag rainbow and cutthroat trout on the South Fork of the Snake River as part of an effort to give native Yellowstone Cutthroat trout a fin up on the biomass ladder.
Cal joins Captain Gjuro Bruer to take part in a little citizen science by catching and tagging Atlantic tripletail. He then rolls inward to meet up with Jared Serigne to hunt hogs and "cajun pheasant" while getting a locals look at the effects of land loss and saltwater intrusion.
Cal heads out to Maine to check up on Shiloh Pond and see what "access" means in Maine. He hunts grouse and woodcock in the nasty, thick regenerative growth of Maine's Northwoods with Brent West of the High Peaks Alliance.
This week, Cal heads to a waterfowl mecca – California’s Sacramento Valley. He’s joining his friend Sean Doherty and local guide Scott Feist for a mixed bag hunt in the heart of the nation’s largest agricultural area. The rice fields they’ll be hunting provide habitat for migrating waterfowl outside of the planting season. The conservation efforts involved have allowed native ducks, geese, and shorebirds to return to the area without removing the need to grow food and make a living. Questions remain for the imperiled salmon that once swam the Sacramento floodplain, but the same water that grows food and brings in birds could very well bring back the native fishery too.
This week, Cal goes deep spearfishing for White Sea Bass. He’s joining Joel Oelnik and Ryan Moore in Southern California's kelp forests. A once depleted fishery, white sea bass are back on the rise due to 70+ years of mixed conservation efforts and fishery regulations. Join Cal as he follows white sea bass from the egg to the kelp forests off Southern California's coast.
This week, Cal is back in California's Sacramento Valley. This time he's dropping below the surface of the Sacramento. At first it may look obvious that Salmon are at odds with stripers, but could that just be what's on the surface? Join Ryan Callaghan as he fishes for Salmon and Striper while diving in deep on the water issues that have plagued this area for decades.
This week, Cal is at Doug Duren's farm outside of Cazenovia, Wisconsin hunting deer and talking Chronic Wasting Disease. Home to our good friend, Cazenovia is also ground zero for CWD, a 100% fatal and highly transmissible prion based disease. Join Cal as he hunts with Doug to see first hand how CWD is changing Wisconsin whitetail deer hunting traditions.
Cal heads to Tall Timbers in the Florida Panhandle to hunt Eastern’s and learn more about the benefits of fire. Fire has been a tool used by hunters for thousands of years, and only recently have people begun to fear the flame. But in Northern Florida, land managers along with annual lightning storms keep the habitat burning on a steady rotation. Join Cal on this episode to see how fire helps ground nesting birds and how sometimes even mediocre calling can bring the toms in close. Presented by YETI
Feral or wild? Cal puts his cowboy skills to the test when he joins professional wild cattle wrangler Cody Fahrion on a public land round up in New Mexico. Presented by @yeticoolers
Ryan Callaghan visits Aberdeen, South Dakota for the state's festive pheasant season opener. Cal and Weatherby's Luke Thorkildsen join Pheasants Forever's habitat guru, Matt Morlock for some action packed opening weekend upland hunting. Cal talks with local ranchers and members of The Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition to learn about the importance of habitat that ultimately drives in the bird hunters that supports their local economy. Presented by @yeti.
Ryan Callaghan and "It's Alive" host, Brad Leone join professional butcher, Brian Merkel, for an in-depth, science based approach to making elk and goose sausage. Cal and Brad follow Brian's masterful and highly approachable steps to making the finest wild game sausages from the grinder to smoker. Presented by Benchmade.
Ryan Callaghan travels to Hawaii to surf fish for giant trevally. Local anglers, Jordan and Stephen Kilkenny show Cal the local's way of slide baiting for GT's along the rugged coastline of the Big Island. After a few casting lessons and spearfishing octopus and eel for bait, the group set their lines for a long night of targeting bird eating behemoths. Presented by Weatherby
Ryan Callaghan teams up with First Lite’s, Casey Hawkes, to hunt wigeon and mallards on the big water. The skies and rivers are full of ducks, but it’s the end of the hunting season and the birds are call and decoy shy. It's up to Cal and Casey to find the best spot, present the best decoy spread, and make the shots count on this heavily hunted public water. This is public land waterfowl hunting at its finest. Presented by First Lite and Yeti
Chef and host of “Makin' It”, Brad Leone, joins Ryan Callaghan in an Idaho wheat field for some winter honker hunting. After an early morning of gearing up, Cal shares with Brad his techniques for decoying, calling, and taking down incoming geese. With a plentiful number of birds in the sky it doesn’t take long for their barrels to heat up and the team to limit out. But what the heck do you do with goose meat? Presented by First Lite and Yeti
Ryan "Cal" Callaghan hits the Idaho hard water with Fritz aka @old.time.hawkey in search of "Cascade Gold". After exploring the ice on snowmobile the angling duo team up with Jordan Messner and Mike Thomas from the Idaho Fish and Game Fisheries Department to learn why Lake Cascade is home to world record yellow perch. Hockey, cold pops, perch roe donuts, and fisheries management. There ya go buddy! Presented by Yeti
In this episode, Kimi Werner trades in her speargun for a rifle and joins Cal in west Texas to hunt aoudad sheep. Cal and Kimi are accompanied by guide and world renowned Navy Seal sniper trainer, Terry Houin. Before they pound the hills for sheep, Terry gives Kimi a methodical hunt-style shooting lesson to help her acclimate and mold confidence. Terry's training and guidance ultimately brings a sheep to the smoker and a new found passion towards rifle hunting for Kimi. Presented by Weatherby
Ryan Callaghan hunts The Big Island for turkey and peacock with Danny Bolton. Danny hosts Cal on his family's farm which is home to a portion of Hawaii’s plentiful Rio Grand turkey population. Wet weather slows down the midday turkey game, so Cal decides to pursue another recently added game bird to the island - peacocks. Soon after Cal jump-shoots and takes his first peacock, Danny bags a turkey roaming in the coffee beans. Their plumage may be drastically different, but to find a contrast in flavor between these two fowl, a side by side taste test of smoked breast meat from each bird is on the menu. Presented by Weatherby
Ryan "Ol Cal" Callaghan travels to Wyoming with a few in antelope tags in his pocket. Upon arrival, Cal breaks down the highly contested corner crossing debate that originated not far from his hunting spot. With pronghorn aplenty, Cal can be patient and wait for a golden opportunity to fill his freezer. After a successful hunt, Cal shares his appreciation for the delectable meat with a simple and fresh way to indulge in speed goats. Presented by Weatherby
