Hook, Line & Dinner - Episode Guide

Ben Sargent and his bike roll into the heart of the Bayou, Breaux Bridge, a place that bills itself as the "Crawfish Capital of the World." He joins the local debate as to which is best -- farm-raised or wild-caught crawfish. But Ben's seafood adventures extend beyond freshwater crustaceans to include another staple of the bayou, catfish. Post catch, Ben and local mayor Sherbin Collette drop in on Cafe des Amis, a culinary institution, for some Zydeco music and Cajun catfish with crawfish au gratin sauce.

Straddling his trusty motorcycle, Ben Sargent travels back in time from cosmopolitan Miami to rustic Everglades City, Florida. Whether harvesting spiny lobster in the Atlantic, catching stone crabs in the Gulf of Mexico or "gigging" for frogs in the Everglades, the host of Hook, Line & Dinner discovers that the state's largest city and the country's largest subtropical wilderness have more in common that you might think.

Ben Sargent discovers the foundations for Charleston's current culinary renaissance is the region's rustic lowcountry cuisine and its seemingly timeless union with all things fresh and aquatic. He experiences firsthand the essence of that union in rustic institutions like Bowens Island Restaurant, a local marsh-side oyster house where it's a monumental understatement to say the amenities are sparse. Whether pan-searing sheepshead fish at Husk in historic downtown Charleston or preparing stuffed blue crab at T.W. Graham & Company in nearby McClellanville, Ben's ingredients are nothing if not local.

Ben travels "South of the South" to the urban center of Louisiana -- New Orleans. What's more, he does so when the city's pulse is at its quickest -- Mardi Gras. Whether making gumbo with Leah Chase, the "Queen of Creole Cuisine," shucking oysters near the Hayne Boulevard levee or blackening Gulf fish with the Big Easy's most beloved jester, Jacques Leonardi, Ben explores the city's 400-year-old mishmash of culinary traditions with gusto.

Ben follows the footsteps of celebrated adventurers Lewis and Clark as he navigates the Columbia River with the Yakama Nation of Native Americans during their annual sturgeon catch. The locals' reverence for nature and all it provides extends to more recent residents of the state as well, including locavore chef Eric Bechard, who was thrown in jail after a fight broke out over the origins of a pig, after it was determined that it was from out of state. Post catch, Ben pan-sears ling cod at Thistle in McMinnville, as well as preparing crab cakes and crab cocktails at Saffron Salmon in Newport.

Ben's visit to San Francisco is a seafood pilgrimage of sorts. After all, this is the place where the 'locavore' movement got its name. But long before the term was coined, seemingly countless local restaurants served local seafood to generations of local customers. The crowds at institutions like Tadich Grill and Swan Oyster Depot support the claim that people in the Bay Area eat seafood at a rate roughly double that of the national average.

When it comes to seafood the very best is that which is caught locally. 'Buy Fresh, Buy Local' is the locavore movement's mantra. As Ben finds out in California, marine habitat destruction, depleted fishing stocks, and strict government regulations don't always make it easy to buy locally. But in Santa Barbara a growing number of restaurants like Brophy Brothers, Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, and the Hungry Cat are part of a sustainable seafood program that is shifting the community's consumption to more viable sources.

San Diego is a city where life is lived outdoors, and - as Ben can attest - people who live much of their lives outside also eat seafood every chance they get. Hook, Line & Dinner's host works up his appetite by lending local fisherman a hand during the annual sardine run, as well as diving for sea urchins, and spiny lobster. Away from the fruit of the sea, but still in the water, Ben goes surfing with the owner of Bull Taco, Greg Lukasiewicz. From Greg's humble - but gourmet - fish taco, to the slightly more exotic raw sea urchin, Ben enjoys every moment of his seafood diet under the southern California sun.

Ben heads out to the eastern tip of Long Island, Montauk, to fish for striped bass. Ben fishes for striped bass three ways: from a boat, with fly fisherman Amanda Switzer, from the shore, surfcasting with Gary "The Toad" Stephens, and from the water, skishing with Paul Melnyk. Chef Todd Mitgang of South Edison, grills the bass in his upstart eatery. Ben then goes out with Captain Jamie Quaresimo aboard Miss Montauk to catch porgies, which he brings back to Chef Jennifer Meadows, owner of Fishbar, to help her make a classic grilled whole porgy dish.

After some rough weather, Ben finally lands in Sitka, Alaska where he fishes for halibut and takes part in some offbeat local traditions. After going out with Linda Behnken and her family to fish for halibut, Ben is off to Ludvig's Bistro, run by Chef Colette Nelson, to help prepare the fish featuring locally picked huckleberries. Later, Ben visits the Alaska Raptor Center and also takes part in a Sitka tradition, the "Running of the Boots," before sampling a local delicacy, black cod tips, made by President of the Sitka Local Foods Network, Kerry Maclane.

Ben travels to British Columbia and fishes for chinook (king) salmon and spot prawns. He begins in Vancouver, heading out with fisherman Steve Johansen of Organic Ocean, and Chef Robert Clark, founder of the Canadian seafood watchdog Ocean Wise, to catch spot prawns. Ben and Robert cook up the super fresh prawns at Robert's seafood eatery, C Restaurant. Next, Ben heads out to Vancouver Island where he attempts to get into the local Tyee club by landing a chinook salmon of 30 pounds or more. Ben then joins Chef Joe Volk at the Angler's Restaurant to prepare our fish with a pistachio crust.

Ben heads down to Islamorada in the Florida Keys - the Sport Fishing Capital of the World. Thanks in part to the romantic imagery of Ernest Hemmingway, the crown jewel of sport fishing is the swordfish, and Ben teams up with Richard Stanczyk - owner of Bud n' Mary's Marina - to hook a big one. Returning to shore, they grill it with sundried tomatoes and shallots with house chef Kevin O'Hara. Ben also targets the cero mackerel, a fish with a reputation for its blazing speed. Ben and his mackerel head to Lazy Days Restaurant, where chef Lupe Ledesma shows off his favorite recipe involving panko breadcrumbs, sauteed fresh tomatoes, and scallions.

Off the mainland of Maryland, Ben travels to Smith Island and Tilghman Island, homes to longstanding family fishing businesses. On Smith Island, Ben heads out with the Marshall family for some early morning crabbing and spends the afternoon helping to prep Mary Ada Marshall's famous crab cakes. Over on Tilghman Island, Ben meets Buddy Harrison and his son Buddy Jr., whose family has lived on the Island for five generations. They take Ben out fishing for rockfish (striped bass), which Buddy Jr. then grills with stewed tomatoes, an old recipe of his great grandmother.

On his home turf of Brooklyn, New York, Ben shows off his favorite local spots and activities including surfing and a tour of the Acme Smoked Fish Corporation. There's also coverage of his Fishing Derby. Ben goes fishing for carp across the border in Queens before returning to his Polish Brooklyn neighborhood where it's cooked up in a traditional Polish holiday dish. Ben then heads out east to help Fisherman Rob Williams haul in 40 pound scallop traps. Ben witnesses the scallop's journey from one end of Long Island to the other as Williams harvests the species in the Great Peconic Bay and then sells the catch at a Brooklyn market to Chef Jaques Gautier of Palo Santo, who prepares the scallops in his Park Slope neighborhood eatery.

Swimming with sharks, tackling an environmentally damaging invasive species, and dining on a potentially tainted fish all adds up to Hook, Line & Dinner's "adventure" episode from the sunny Bahamian islands of Bimini. Along the way Ben meets one of the island's most colorful fishermen and cooks, Bonefish Ebbie, who serves Ben a dish of barracuda, which may or may not be carrying poison. Then Steve Kessel of the local biological research station shows Ben how to hunt for the invasive lionfish, before personally serving up the species to the sharks.

Ben goes fishing for arctic char and silver salmon. After flying to Crescent Lake with Mark "Badger" Barajas and witnessing a bear eating a salmon straight from the water, Ben and Badger catch a silver salmon that they cook up right on the banks of the lake. Ben then meets up with Mark and Mike Tuhy, twin brothers who run a fishing camp, Tower Rock Lodge, to go fly fishing for dolly varden(arctic char), which they bring back to Mike's wife and mother-in-law to cook a unique Thai-style seafood dish.

Ben arrives in Seattle to catch some species as quirky as the city itself: geoduck and sea cucumber. Joining Brian Phipps of Taylor Farms, Ben goes on an overnight geoduck harvest in the Puget Sound, almost getting stuck in the mud before bringing his catch to Ethan Stowell at Anchovies and Olives where they make a geoduck crudo. Ben then dives for sea cucumber with Michael Ellis and prepares sea cucumber salad with Chef Hajime Sato, the owner of Mashiko, Seattle's only sustainable sushi restaurant.

After exploring the Islands off of Maryland, Ben heads to Baltimore where he briefly joins the pirate ship, Fearless, and fishes for white perch and the invasive snakehead. Ben goes out with Captain Don Marani to catch some white perch in the Inner Harbor that he brings over to Joe Lancelotta, the chef at Conrad's Crabs, a well-known local seafood carry out, where they cook up a grilled white perch puttanesca. Next, Ben visits Chad Wells, a fisherman and chef who hunts snakehead, a fish that is required by law to be killed before reaching land, and serves it at his restaurant, Alewife. Ben then becomes obsessed with hunting down a snakehead of his own, going out multiple times to see if he can achieve his goal.

Ben is in the Big Apple, out to prove that New York City is one giant fishing village. Ben heads out into its waters with Dave Pasternak of Esca and Eataly fame, where the duo fish in Jamaica Bay. Then Ben and Dave head to Il Pesce in Eataly to prepare one of his favorites, striped bass. Ben travels to Chelsea next, where he meets Alex Guarneschelli, chef at Darby/Butter. They head over to F. Rozzo and Sons to meet Chef Guarneschelli's fish guy and pick up some ingredients before heading back to the eatery to cook up the "catch."

Ben heads to Key West to fish for hogfish and mutton snapper and also learns about an ancient Japanese art of fish rubbing called Gyotaku. Ben goes to Hogfish Bar and Grill, where he meets the chef and owner, Bobby Mongelli, who takes him out to the marina to catch some fresh hogfish for their wildly popular hogfish dish. Ben then goes fishing for mutton snapper with Tyson Veach and after one snapper fights hard enough to break a rod, Ben successfully catches some snapper to bring back to shore. Doug Shook, the head chef at Louie's Backyard for 25 years, cooks up the snapper with some mango salsa, all in a banana leaf wrap with some key limes.

Ben is in the gateway to the Bahamas, Bimini, where he meets Ansil Saunders, a bonefishing icon, who has guided Martin Luther King Jr. and met Queen Elizabeth II. On HLD, Ben and Ansil will try to catch and release a bonefish for sport, and procure a mangrove snapper off the flats for dinner. Bimini Big Game Club Chef, Alvarez Bastian, cooks up some pineapple-encrusted snapper. Ben then goes for lobster with a local diver, Jackie Rolle, before the harvest is brought to local restaurateur Fabian Stuart of Conch and Lobster Shack, where Ben will sample the best lobster salad on the island.

Follow Ben across thousands of miles to beautiful Oahu Hawaii where he surfs, farms seaweed, pounds poi in a loincloth, and hunts for octopus. The episode culminates in an exciting cooking challenge with a local award winning chef in this amazing island paradise.

In Oklahoma, Ben Sargent takes part in a catfish noodling competition where a local expert teaches him to fish with just his hands. Once Ben learns the art of "noodling," he challenges a local legend in a high-stakes team battle that includes great catfish cooking.

Ben takes us on a tour of his home away from home... Puerto Rico, where beautiful surf, great friends and fantastic food all meet for an exciting show. He catches local grouper in a crash boat and braves blue water hunting with a speargun and shark wranglers culminating in the creation of authentic Puerto Rican dishes Sofrito and Mofongo.

Join Ben on the idyllic island of Maui with a world champion spearfisher Kimi Werner as she and her family introduce Ben to all the types of traditional Hawaiian fishing. He learns how hard spearfishing really is, and promises to catch a whopper with Kimi's dad all while making great local favorites like grilled Uhu, Nabetta and Hawaiian Chowder.

It's Lobster Lobster Lobster as Ben travels back to trace his roots as an underground lobster roll king. He joins a seasoned local Maine lobsterman out on the water pulling traps as best he can, and convincing folks to sample some city style lobster rolls in an underground bar in the backwoods of Maine.

With a crafty recluse in the Catskills on the Delaware River, Ben rebuilds a weir and learns to fish for and smoke eels. He searches the local area and takes his catch to a savvy farm to table restauranteur at the Beautiful Andes Hotel where he prepares an amazing Chowder and Provencale that make eel something everyone will want to eat.

Ben heads to the beautiful Colorado Rockies and gets back to nature on a fly fishing adventure with Chef Kelly Liken where he not only fishes, but herds cattle and prepares fish by fire. He strips down fly fishing and makes it accessible to everyone. Ben also embraces the idea of surf and turf.

Ben travels to Michigan to track the origins of one of his favorites... smoked whitefish in a competition of Lake Huron Vs. Lake Superior. Each of the lake locals claim to have the best smoked whitefish, and it's up to Ben to decide the winner and he even build the actual trophy. He sneaks a quick trip between lakes to go salmon fishing on the Au Sable river with a world class guide to round out his trip.