8 episodes · 28th November 2022
The white sand beaches and emerald green waters of Destin, Florida are the setting for the "World's Luckiest Fishing Villages." Beneath the water's surface, it's a different story...one of the most formidable species, the lionfish, has been wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem for decades. The ecological advantage of the lionfish is its venomous spikes, used to corner prey and protect itself from predators, and giving it an advantage over native fish. Luckily, local conservationists and fishing captains discovered years ago that lionfish are as tasty as they are dangerous. Yia joins local biologist Alex Fogg as he works to mitigate the lionfish's damage by harvesting them one buttery, flaky bite at a time.
The feral hog is one of the most formidable species on the planet. Possessing a unique combination of high reproductive capacity, size, and adaptability, the feral hog absolutely decimates entire ecosystems. With pork chops on his mind, Yia travels to the Florida/Alabama border to join Jennifer Bearden and Zack Franks who are doing their part to help control the rampant feral hog population menacing Florida.
If you asked experts what the most prevalent predator species in the United States is, without hesitation, the answer would be the Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. Growing up to 26-feet long and weighing as much as 200 pounds, the Burmese python has completely altered the ecosystem of the Everglades by eliminating over 99% of the native mammal population. To save the 'Glades, the hunter has become the hunted as Dusty "Wildman" Crum has made it his mission to eradicate this species. Luckily for Yia, python is considered a delicacy in many countries, and Dusty believes these constrictors should be restricted to life on a plate, which helps take a bite out of the problem.
A once sought-after pet, the green iguanas escaped their terrariums in the 60's and found the Florida eco-system to be a much more hospitable environment to call home. Free to roam the canals, parks, and suburban neighborhoods, these pets-gone-feral have exploded in both size and population, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage a year in Florida. Urban hunter Michael Onega is doing his part to clean up the environment by removing as many iguanas as possible, limiting their population spread. The singular goal - to make sure the iguanas never establish a healthy breeding population in the Everglades. Yia joins Michael and his trusty Labrador Scout on Michael's mud boat, as they patrol the canals in Michael's backyard. The only thing better than Scout retrieving the fallen iguanas, are BBQed iguana and iguana tacos cooked up in Michael's backyard.
In the land of ten thousand lakes, Leech Lake stands out, because it's the third largest lake located entirely within the state of Minnesota. Known as a destination for walleye, pike and muskie fishing, Leech Lake attracts fishermen from all over the Midwest... and that's where the trouble began. Fishermen from the Ohio River Basin brought rusty crawfish up to Leech Lake as bait... and when done fishing, they released them, inadvertently giving the rusty crayfish a new home. Now, the rustys are pushing out the native crayfish, and destroying the weed beds the muskie, pike and walleye depend on. Fishing guide Phil Bauerly sees the destruction daily. To combat the rustys, Phil regularly throws lakeside crayfish boils for family and friends... and Yia just received his invitation to join.
Common carp are one of the most widely introduced species of fish in the world. However, most people in the U.S. won't eat them, referring to them as a "trash fish." Bowfisherman and fishing guide Curt Cich will tell you otherwise, as these fish are fun to bowhunt, have plenty of fresh meat, and are delicious smoked. These fish are so plentiful, Curt runs a year-round, full-time guiding service targeting only carp.
In the crystal clear lakes of Northern Wisconsin lurks a peculiar creature... the Chinese Mystery Snail which gets its namesake from female snails giving birth to young, fully developed snails that suddenly and "mysteriously" appear. Utilized for its high protein, low fat content in China, the mystery snail is a food source believed to aid in treatment of digestive disease. Eager to explore this feral snail as a food source, Yia travels to Clear Lake to meet up with Wisconsin Fisheries Specialist Titus Seilheimer, who's seen first hand the explosion of these snails at his family's lakefront resort.
Yia travels to Texas to hunt arguably the tastiest of all deer. Native to India, the Axis deer were introduced in Texas in 1932 as a prized game meat for ranchers. The Texas hill country turned out to be the perfect habitat for Axis deer, who quickly escaped their high fence ranches, establishing a healthy wild breeding population. Now with over 150,000 Axis deer roaming the hill country, these deer are competing with native white tail deer for resources. Local rancher Chris Hughes has a solution- a mobile harvesting trailer where he culls wild Axis deer from overpopulated farms. Chris will show Yia how harvesting this species has become a full-time business and delicious solution.
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