Author: Mike Murciano

As a kid I worked at El Pescador Fish Market in La Jolla, CA, which is where I met Lauro Saraspe for the first time. Lauro would come in through the backdoor, a bear of a man standing in the 6’4″ range, he’d wrangle in swordfish and lay it on the ground and begin to ice down the giant animal. Once his duties were done, he’d help himself to a big bowl of our Cioppino, as you can imagine after hundreds of bowls of Cioppino he knows a thing or two about it. Since those days, I’ve had the privilege…

In Southern California, Lobster Season coincides with the kick-off of Fall and more importantly the Holidays. Whether you’re diving, hoop netting or supporting the local commercial fleet to get your lobster, make sure it’s on the menu this Holiday. Make sure to impress your guests with this Lobster Roll recipe, as shared by Tanner Saraspe.

When it comes to Holiday recipe’s I think we all look to get “wowed” in some fashion whether robust smells and scents, an assortment of textures, and story of the product from sourcing to plate, in this case, WATER TO PLATTER. Even the biggest naysayers to oysters will have a hard time resisting this dish. Come along as the Tanner Saraspe breaks down an irresistible approach to oysters as a perfect Holiday dish.

As one of our key species of gamefish in Southern California, Bluefin Tuna is at the top of our list especially around the Fall Holiday timing. We often get Bluefin well into November and some years even into December, allowing many of us to pull a bait and switch on turkey for tuna. It just so happens that tuna plays beautifully into a Holiday menu and with a little fine tuning you’ll be admiring the taste as well as the adornment on this Holiday dish.

Let’s be honest, it can’t all be Lobster and Swordfish, but there’s some secrets in the most basic of ingredients that can get a rise out of our taste buds. In this recipe Tanner Saraspe uses a most basic item, canned tuna and for those who took to jarring tuna this is also a great application. Don’t judge, just follow Tanner’s lead on this dish let your taste buds do the talking.

For the Southern California Bight, Fall and the transition to Winter means the Holidays but for many of us more importantly it means Swordfish season. The yearly migration of Swordfish into the Bight allows for some of the best table fare around. Who better to break down a tasty recipe on Swordfish than Tanner Saraspe, who’s family have been in the Swordfish catching business for over 50 years.

Take of all fish and shellfish is immediately prohibited from Huntington Beach to Dana Point in Southern California, including the shorelines and offshore areas and all bays, due to the Huntington Beach oil spill on Saturday. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has determined that a threat to public health is likely by fishing in the affected area or consuming fish or shellfish that may have been affected by the spill. OEHHA recommended this fishery closure to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The CDFW’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) Administrator, Thomas Cullen, signed…

On the second day we landed two fish of a lifetime, a 230 and a 250-pound yellowfin tuna, with an assortment of cooler-filling 70 -100-pounders. Little did we know the following days would decimate this accomplishment and make for a collection of memories and firsts for almost everyone on the boat. On December 30, 2018 I received a call from a friend and Captain Rene Monteagudo from Shogun Sportfishing. The Shogun is a Ted Dunn built long range fishing vessel with every amenity and tool necessary to explore the furthest reaches of the ocean with the end goal of experiencing…