- 5 months ago
River.Monsters.S04E01.American.Killers
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00:00I'm Jeremy Wade and during my angling career I've caught dozens of freshwater monsters from
00:00:11all over the globe normally I'm tracking them down in remote jungles but increasingly I've
00:00:21been getting reports of killer fish from an area I didn't expect the United States from giants
00:00:29every bit as big as their prehistoric ancestors I can see the individual scales on this thing
00:00:35is how big it was to killers silently prowling ready to attack now I meet the people who've
00:00:42encountered these fish I think that he would have grounded me I would have ate supper with Jesus
00:00:47that night the water around me just started filling with blood then I risk my life going
00:00:55after them we be pulled into the water and never be seen again oh that stupid thing to be doing
00:01:05could one of the most developed countries on earth that is a beast still have deadly monsters hidden
00:01:14in its rivers and lakes having been on the trail
00:01:44of monsters all over the world I've discovered that you have to expect the unexpected whether
00:01:51it's a huge beast in the middle of a city or in a drying out puddle in South America or even at
00:01:59the bottom of a raging waterfall in Africa
00:02:06over the past few years I've been hearing of stories and sightings from all over the states
00:02:14suggesting that there are freshwater monsters right in people's backyards
00:02:21so I'm going on a monster hunt to find out if there really are killers lurking in America's fresh waters
00:02:34my journey begins in Florida to investigate a deadly fish that's been spotted throughout the state
00:02:43and the reports that I've been hearing suggest that this potentially lethal animal is prowling unsuspected
00:02:52right under the noses of tens of thousands of people this fish was the inspiration for the most
00:02:59horrifying attack story in movie history jaws the film is about a great white prowling off the coast of New
00:03:10England but it's actually based on a series of bull shark attacks in New Jersey in 1916 two of the
00:03:19attacks didn't happen in the ocean they took place in a river 16 miles inland
00:03:25bull sharks are top predators in warm coastal seas around the world but they also trespass into freshwater
00:03:37they are the only common shark with this ability
00:03:44I'm hearing reports that bull sharks are stalking rivers in Florida
00:03:52I want to find out if these deadly animals really are prowling Florida's inland waters and if so is this a modern day jaws just waiting to happen
00:04:04although great whites have the bad reputation bull sharks are responsible for more attacks on humans than any
00:04:13other shark in recent years there have been several horrific attacks of Florida's coasts alone
00:04:19two in particular might give me some insights into bull shark behavior one happened off Pensacola in 2001
00:04:28eight-year-old Jesse Arbogast was spending the day at the beach with his family
00:04:35as he paddled just feet from the shore a six and a half foot bull shark attacked him
00:04:42first fighting his thigh and then his right arm
00:04:47Jesse's uncle dragged the shark by its tail up onto the beach
00:04:53but by then the shark had taken the boy's arm
00:05:00it takes your arm off it can take a leg off just in the blink of an eye
00:05:05that's major tissue damage
00:05:08it's gonna sever some major arteries and vessels so you know you bleed out quick with no blood to push oxygen around
00:05:15you know the chance of survival was real slim
00:05:20within minutes of the attack an air ambulance was dispatched with Chris on board
00:05:27initial contact once out of the aircraft was just to ask you know was he breathing or did he have a pulse
00:05:33and of course they said no
00:05:36while flying to the trauma center Chris found out that the victim's arm was still in the shark's mouth
00:05:46my comment to that was okay if he lives he lives without an arm
00:05:51while the helicopter was on route to the hospital a park ranger shot the shark four times
00:05:57and retrieve Jesse's arm from its jaws
00:06:02it was packed in ice and rushed to the O.R. so surgeons could attempt to sew it back onto Jesse's body
00:06:12against all odds and despite the massive blood loss Jesse survived with his right arm successfully reattached
00:06:20this year he graduated from high school
00:06:27this attack tells me that bull sharks can strike in the shallows
00:06:31unlike many big fish they are not restricted to deep water
00:06:35with so many houses on the canals around here
00:06:38they can literally swim right into people's backyards
00:06:43there's a second attack victim who's got more information to share
00:06:48Dawn Shorman was nearly killed by a 10-foot bull shark off the Florida coast in 1993
00:06:55I'm hoping that her first-hand account will give me insight into the ideal conditions in which to find one
00:07:05and I was probably by 25 to 50 yards out past the waves maybe in 15 feet of water
00:07:12and I just felt something slam into me
00:07:19I felt this burning in my hand and a burning in my leg
00:07:23I pulled my hand out of the water and it was just dripping in blood
00:07:26the whole water around me just started filling with blood
00:07:31Dawn wasn't just worried about her own life
00:07:34she was six and a half months pregnant at the time
00:07:37and I did start panicking and I think I remember just like calling out for my mom
00:07:43and just being really worried like I needed help
00:07:46and then no one was there but me so I just relied on me
00:07:49and that's that's the point where I gathered myself together
00:07:52the only thing she could do was try to swim to the shore
00:07:58the whole time swimming back thought for sure
00:08:03any moment I was waiting for that slam again
00:08:05that was the longest swim of my life
00:08:10she finally made it to safety
00:08:13Dawn was rushed to the hospital where her life-threatening wounds were treated
00:08:19her leg alone needed 85 stitches
00:08:22two and a half months later she gave birth to a boy
00:08:26he's now 18
00:08:29and he's born healthy and we named him McIntyre shark shaman
00:08:33since her near-death experience
00:08:36Dawn has gained an expert understanding
00:08:39as to what could have led to the bull shark attacking her
00:08:43you can make your odds go up
00:08:45by doing something like what I did
00:08:47swimming during cloudy murky water
00:08:50bait fish season
00:08:51if you swim in the early morning or late in the afternoon
00:08:54evening that's when the bait fish are coming through
00:08:57you know if you see a lot of fish jumping out of the water
00:09:00you shouldn't be in there because something bigger is chasing them
00:09:03so you can definitely lower your odds
00:09:06by avoiding all that
00:09:09the details of these two attacks on Jessie and Dawn have given me useful information
00:09:20I now feel better prepared to start trying to catch a bull shark
00:09:25and prove they're prowling Florida's fresh waters
00:09:28my investigation is going to focus around the Indian River Lagoon
00:09:34this is where I've been getting the most reports of bull sharks roaming inland
00:09:39in 25 years of fishing around the world
00:09:45I've learned that local knowledge is key to catching elusive fish
00:09:49so whether I'm in Papua New Guinea, the Congo, or in Florida
00:09:55talking with the locals is a must
00:09:58after some asking around
00:10:04I've been put in contact with Mike Palmer
00:10:07who's been catching bull sharks for over three decades
00:10:10he used to catch and kill
00:10:14but for the past 15 years
00:10:16it's been strictly catch and release
00:10:19Mike is going to help me hunt a bull shark
00:10:23but he only fishes from the shore
00:10:25without the security of a boat
00:10:27also unlike most of my normal fishing
00:10:31the rod will be attached to me with a harness
00:10:34if I find myself being dragged towards the water
00:10:37it won't be possible to let go
00:10:41for fishing on the river bank
00:10:43and hooking a 500 pound bull shark
00:10:45there's nothing like it
00:10:46sounds very, very physical
00:10:48potentially dangerous
00:10:49is that a correct summary perhaps?
00:10:52we've actually hooked fish
00:10:54and got pulled down to our knees
00:10:55and drug down to the water's edge
00:10:57and by some luck the line broke
00:11:00what could be the worst possible thing
00:11:02that could happen with this kind of fishing?
00:11:04we could die
00:11:07we could be pulled into the water
00:11:09and never be seen again
00:11:10I've fished for bull sharks before
00:11:13in Australia and South Africa
00:11:15but mostly this was from the safety of a boat
00:11:18which could follow the shark
00:11:20so the risk of being pulled in
00:11:22wasn't such an issue
00:11:24having my feet on the shoreline
00:11:26calls for a different approach
00:11:28because I could hook something over three times my weight
00:11:34I'm using some serious tackle
00:11:37from enormous forged hooks
00:11:39to the strongest line I've ever used
00:11:41and we use the best harnesses
00:11:43to take the load off our back
00:11:45how's it fit Jeremy?
00:11:47that feels good
00:11:48when we hook up on these big sharks here
00:11:50we have a spotter on the back of our harness
00:11:52we use the belts
00:11:53they have a little handle on the back
00:11:54so we hook up that first surge
00:11:56I mean you could easily go in the water
00:12:06during the daytime
00:12:07people use those little stretches of beaches
00:12:10in the river
00:12:11and people on rafts playing this and that
00:12:13and when the sun goes down
00:12:15the whole life ecosystem changes
00:12:18that's when the sharks move into the shallows
00:12:20they feed on stingray, they feed on mullets
00:12:22and it's a whole different world at night
00:12:32I want to get my bait out a couple of hundred yards
00:12:34into the deep channel
00:12:36I can't cast that far
00:12:38so the only option is to paddle out
00:12:40to where the sharks could be
00:12:41and drop it in
00:12:52once I get back to shore
00:12:57it's a waiting game
00:12:59to see if a bull shark will bite
00:13:02that is a fish hole
00:13:20that is a fish hole
00:13:22I'm leaning into this
00:13:32my reel is nearly on full drag
00:13:37but the fish is still able to swim off with ease
00:13:40this has to be a monster
00:13:43thankfully the heaviest line I've ever used
00:13:46is just about holding out
00:13:48I've got Mike hanging on the back of the harness here
00:13:53because I've got a very tight drag
00:13:58very strong line
00:14:00and as the fish takes off
00:14:03the weak link is probably me ending up in the water
00:14:07after a twenty minute fight
00:14:13I have the fish close to the shore
00:14:17when it finally breaks the surface
00:14:19I see something I didn't expect
00:14:24look at that
00:14:25I'm trying to catch a bull shark
00:14:38to see if these lethal fish
00:14:40really are prowling Florida's inland waterways
00:14:44ready to attack
00:14:46I have something weighing in the hundreds of pounds
00:14:49on the end of my mind
00:14:5130, 30, 30, 30, 30
00:14:55as I work it close to the shore
00:14:57it's clear I've hooked a giant
00:14:59but it isn't a shark
00:15:02fish's beach now
00:15:04it's a goliath grouper
00:15:09that is just a massive
00:15:11a massive grouper
00:15:13after a twenty minute struggle
00:15:16it should be worn out
00:15:17but there's still a lot of fight left in this beast
00:15:21as it thrashes around
00:15:34I have to watch out for the giant sized hook
00:15:37and be careful not to get impaled by the spikes on its back
00:15:41hook's out
00:15:43I'm off to something with a mouth full of big teeth
00:15:46big teeth
00:15:47but that is a beast
00:15:49that is a beast
00:15:52the length is
00:15:5383 inches
00:15:57about 69 inches
00:16:00that's just short of seven feet long
00:16:03and more than five and a half feet around
00:16:06at this kind of size it's going to weigh over 350 pounds
00:16:11they can grow even bigger
00:16:16to over 600 pounds and eight feet long
00:16:19I could feel it was a heavy fish
00:16:21and it was also taking line against a very heavy drag
00:16:24but what I was expecting to see when it came in close
00:16:27was a big dorsal of a bull shark
00:16:30and then these spikes break the surface
00:16:33it's a predator when that mouth opens
00:16:37anything that's swimming around even in the vicinity
00:16:39just gets sucked in
00:16:41there are stories of giant grouper grabbing divers
00:16:45by the arm and even by the head
00:16:49with a mouth this enormous
00:16:51I can well believe that this could be true
00:16:54although these are very tough resilient creatures
00:16:56it's probably time to put this back
00:17:00I want to get it into deeper water to release it
00:17:03but this giant isn't cooperating
00:17:06I think I'm knee-dipping water
00:17:21this fish's belly is still scraping the water
00:17:23if it's feeling anything like as tired as I do
00:17:30it will sink into a corner somewhere
00:17:32and just recover for a little while
00:17:35it's now 5am
00:17:38and while I have caught a monster
00:17:40it isn't the bull shark I'm looking for
00:17:42I'm going to use my daylight hours to find out what I can do to increase my chances of hooking a bull shark in Florida's fresh water
00:17:57I'm meeting up with Grant Gilmore
00:17:59an expert in bull shark behaviour
00:18:02the females entering every spring giving birth in the lagoon or in the downstream fresh water areas
00:18:09so they're 500, 600 pounds 8 and 12 feet
00:18:13then they leave
00:18:15the young stay for the first 5 or 6 years
00:18:18till the 5 or 6 feet in length
00:18:20you know a large predator by fresh water standards
00:18:23so at any time bull sharks could be stalking the water just feet from these suburban backyards
00:18:34Florida is criss-crossed with canals
00:18:37which give bull sharks access to just about any water in the state
00:18:42how many of them might be swimming around
00:18:45are we talking dozens, hundreds, thousands or what?
00:18:48are we talking about the whole walls?
00:18:50well certainly thousands
00:18:52I think they have to recognise we do have these very large predators
00:18:57that are right off your front door if you live on the water in Florida
00:19:07the Indian River Lagoon is over 150 miles long
00:19:11and has numerous rivers feeding into it
00:19:14it's also connected to the ocean by three inlets
00:19:19one of which is at Fort Pierce
00:19:26right up ahead there is the main way in and the main way out
00:19:29between the open ocean and these thousands of miles of fresh water canals
00:19:34so this is where at this time of year the 10 or 12 foot long pregnant females
00:19:39are coming in to drop their puffs inland
00:19:42this is also the same place where those juveniles
00:19:45those six, seven foot long sharks having spent five or six years inland
00:19:49are swimming out
00:19:50so this here you can see it's only a couple of hundred yards across
00:19:53is like a highway for sharks
00:19:55you know potentially hundreds or even thousands of sharks
00:19:58every year swimming up and down
00:20:00and it's just you know just right past all these people
00:20:03my plan is to meet up with Mike later on to fish through the night from land
00:20:15but after hearing about these bull shark numbers
00:20:18I can't resist dropping a line in the water while I'm here
00:20:22bull sharks go for both live and dead bait
00:20:35so I'm using one of each
00:20:37there's a balloon on the line above the live bait to keep it clear of the bottom where it's more visible to predators
00:20:50and to show me where it is
00:20:52there's about six foot of water here
00:20:54but we're right on the edge of two channels
00:20:56there's the main dredged shipping channel there
00:21:00then there's another side channel here
00:21:01so we're in a bit of a V between the two
00:21:04so this bait swimming around
00:21:06what I'm thinking is from time to time
00:21:08it's going to stray over the drop-off above the deeper water
00:21:12that's classic sort of bull shark ambush territory
00:21:24just giving the chum a bit of a work
00:21:26just getting some smelly oily fragments into the water
00:21:30this will create a scent trail hundreds of yards long
00:21:34to attract the sharks onto my bait
00:21:42after three hours I get my first bite
00:21:47drop it on the end of the rod
00:21:56it's round the other prop
00:22:03hey
00:22:04it's a tarpon
00:22:05a fish famed for its fight
00:22:07and it just spat my hook out
00:22:09that one was about 40 pounds
00:22:14but they can grow to eight foot long
00:22:16and weigh nearly 300 pounds
00:22:20a fish that size is capable of causing some serious damage
00:22:28just thinking about how that tarpon threw itself out of the water
00:22:31just the strength and the energy that they have
00:22:34there have been stories of people in boats being killed
00:22:37after being hit by a large tarpon
00:22:39as it jumps out of the water
00:22:45as night falls
00:22:46it's time to meet up with Mike
00:22:47and brace myself for another session
00:22:49going after bull sharks from land
00:23:00there are shoals of bait fish swimming through here
00:23:02just the thing that would attract a large predator
00:23:05and something seems to be chasing them
00:23:15I have to stay focused
00:23:16a take could come at any moment
00:23:19a lapse in concentration could mean losing a catch
00:23:23a catch
00:23:34it's a fish
00:23:36why are bull sharks thought to be more aggressive
00:23:40than great whites
00:23:42the answer right after this
00:23:44the highest levels of testosterone
00:23:45ever found in the animal kingdom
00:23:46have been recorded in bull sharks
00:23:47the highest levels of testosterone ever found in the animal kingdom
00:23:50have been recorded in bull sharks
00:23:51I'm fishing the fresh waters of the U.S. to find out whether there really are lethal fish lurking beneath the surface
00:23:52I'm currently in Florida
00:23:53I'm fishing the fresh waters of the U.S. to find out whether there really are lethal fish lurking beneath the surface
00:24:06I'm currently in Florida
00:24:07I'm hoping this is a bull shark
00:24:09there's a weight there it's just sort of pulsating it's not running
00:24:13but it's a solid old weight but I have got about a good 150 yards of line out here
00:24:18this feels like a good fish it's been taking line off the drag
00:24:19oh, oh, here we go
00:24:20after fighting with the bull shark
00:24:21I'm currently in Florida
00:24:22and I'm hoping this is a bull shark
00:24:23I'm currently in Florida
00:24:24I'm hoping this is a bull shark
00:24:25there's a weight there it's just sort of pulsating it's not running
00:24:28but it's a solid old weight but I have got about a good 150 yards of line out here
00:24:38this feels like a good fish it's been taking line off the drag
00:24:42oh, oh, here we go
00:24:46after fighting with a large fish for several minutes
00:24:50hold on, hold on
00:24:52that feels like it might be off
00:24:55my line suddenly goes slack
00:24:58there's a catfish on the bait but what I felt was definitely bigger than a catfish
00:25:06that's definitely a shark
00:25:09I can tell it's a shark from the bite marks and how half the bait has just gone
00:25:15that was a good fish on there that was taking line but
00:25:20got off the hook
00:25:24I'm guessing a bull shark about six feet long grabbed this bait
00:25:28not a catch but it's a start
00:25:32and the hope of another one taking my bait spurs me to carry on fishing well into the early hours
00:25:39but I get no further success
00:25:51the next day I fish from the boat again
00:25:54grabbing some rest whenever I can
00:25:57but I still catch nothing
00:26:00having the best local knowledge and the best gear doesn't guarantee success
00:26:09which is partly why I find fishing so addictive
00:26:12the lows make the highs so much more exhilarating
00:26:16as is often the case tracking down the myth is one thing but tracking down the flesh and blood behind the myth
00:26:24is proving a bit more complicated
00:26:26not a sniff of a fish at all today
00:26:28before going out night fishing with Mike again
00:26:32I pick up some special bait that has to be handled with care
00:26:37stingrays are just perfect bait for bull sharks
00:26:41but even though these are dead I'm taking the spines off the end
00:26:44because I've seen what these things can do
00:26:46and even if I was to just graze myself with one of those spines
00:26:51I could end up with sort of going numb down my arm or whatever
00:26:55so better to play safe
00:27:00I'm hoping this new bait will give me an edge
00:27:11night four brings with it another chance to catch a bull shark
00:27:35yep that's something on
00:27:38there's a very stop start
00:27:41run
00:27:42that's the fish on
00:27:45oooh
00:27:46oooh
00:27:47yep
00:27:49I can feel a kick there
00:27:51yeah
00:27:52there's a kick in the way
00:27:53kicking away
00:27:54there we go
00:27:55oh that's
00:27:56that's waking up
00:27:57no it's waking up
00:27:58it's a big fish claws
00:27:59so worst case scenario is
00:28:01I actually end up in the water
00:28:02finally the fin
00:28:04I've been waiting to see
00:28:06a little bit closer
00:28:19after fishing in Florida for days
00:28:23I've already caught one giant
00:28:26that was a beast
00:28:28but now I've finally hooked my first convicted killer
00:28:31yep that's something on
00:28:33yep that's something on
00:28:42to get a good look at it
00:28:43I need to put a rope around its tail
00:28:45and bring it up onto the beach
00:28:46without getting bitten
00:28:50this is the same size as the shark that attacked Jesse Arbogast
00:28:53and I have to be very careful as it could whip around to bite me
00:29:03it takes your arm off it can take a leg off in the blink of an eye
00:29:06you know you bleed out quick
00:29:15they go bigger than this but this is a respectable size fish
00:29:18this juvenile bull shark is about six feet long
00:29:23about the right size to be leaving the fresh waters around here
00:29:26and heading out into the ocean
00:29:29the hook has cut the sharks mouth
00:29:33but once it's released this will heal very quickly
00:29:37this sharks gums are concealing its mouthful of razor sharp teeth
00:29:43which are only revealed when they bite into something
00:29:52you can absolutely see how effective they are
00:29:55and you can absolutely understand how somebody even with a
00:29:58an exploratory biting away from an animal like this
00:30:01you know could just bleed out, lose a lot of blood
00:30:03and that could be a fatal encounter
00:30:07this fish could have spent the last five or six years actually in the inland
00:30:12waterways in the canals along with possibly thousands of others
00:30:16and that's certainly quite sobering
00:30:19you know if your paths crossed with a creature like this
00:30:22it could end very badly
00:30:24but I think the miraculous thing is
00:30:26is that most of the time
00:30:28bull sharks go their way, we go our way
00:30:30and actually nobody is any the wiser
00:30:33these bull sharks were suspected to be in Florida's fresh waters
00:30:37but now I've caught one
00:30:38it's clear they are swimming amongst us
00:30:41in rivers and canals only feet from human habitation
00:30:49until now attacks have only happened along the coast
00:30:53and I think the reason they have occurred is through mistaken identity
00:30:57not because bull sharks are specifically going after humans
00:31:00but because they are confusing humans with their usual prey
00:31:05fish and dolphins
00:31:11horror films and news reports have made people aware of the potential for shark attack in the ocean
00:31:17but it's in the quiet inland rivers and waterways where devastating encounters could be more likely to occur
00:31:24because most people aren't aware that these predators stalk these waters
00:31:30and as more and more humans and sharks share the same space
00:31:34an inland attack may just be a matter of time
00:31:37bull sharks growing up to 12 feet long make for a potentially prolific killer
00:31:45but 1,000 miles away from Florida another monster is reportedly stalking America's fresh waters
00:31:53a beast said to grow to 14 feet prowling the waterways of Texas
00:31:59this armor plated prehistoric beast has a giant skull packed with 500 needle sharp teeth
00:32:07recent sightings of this monster have come in from the Trinity River in Texas
00:32:14it's a fish I've investigated before
00:32:19the alligator gar
00:32:22that time I doubted whether the gar alive today still reach the massive sizes reported in the past
00:32:29but now I have reason to question that opinion
00:32:32when I caught alligator gar before along the upper Trinity I learned how dangerous they could be
00:32:47oh my god you got bit huh
00:32:50the largest I hooked then was six and a half feet long
00:32:54but now I'm hearing about a monster gar living 400 miles downstream in the lower Trinity
00:33:00I've hooked up with Eddie Garcia
00:33:08morning Eddie
00:33:09a fisherman who knows the area well
00:33:12good to go
00:33:16Eddie has fished here nearly his whole life
00:33:19catching his first gar when he was 10
00:33:24he's experienced the sharp end of the gar's teeth
00:33:27almost lost the pointer finger there
00:33:31I didn't have any gloves on I reached down and grabbed the leader
00:33:33and when I pulled it up there's a six footer on the end of it
00:33:36and when he come up he just come across the side of it
00:33:38hung the side of my finger and cut it all the way through
00:33:40this guy here?
00:33:41oh yeah
00:33:42it went all the way to the bone
00:33:44alligator gar are particularly hard to catch
00:33:47because of their bony mouths
00:33:49making it very difficult to set the hook
00:33:50also if you do get a hook in they put up a strong fight
00:34:00catching one is going to be a challenge
00:34:03I'm going to get two rods out
00:34:06one with a bit of cut buffalo carp on it
00:34:09nice thing about this it's fairly fresh
00:34:11that's going to be giving off scent smell into the water
00:34:15so I've got about 18 inches of wire
00:34:18a bit of lead to hold it down on the bottom
00:34:21so a running lead so that the fish can move off without feeling the resistance
00:34:25and I've got here just a bit of 30 pound line on
00:34:28with not very good knots
00:34:30normally I'll try and tie good knots
00:34:31these are not very good knots
00:34:33the idea is if that gets hung up on anything
00:34:35that's going to break
00:34:37the main line which is a 150 pound breaking strain won't break
00:34:38so simple rig
00:34:41but I'm hoping it will be effective
00:34:59a strong wind is buffeting the boat
00:35:02causing the anchor to drag
00:35:04maybe these ones up here
00:35:05okay
00:35:07good
00:35:09we decide to tie up next to the bank
00:35:12where the air is calmer
00:35:16around here alligator gar are considered trash fish
00:35:20they're believed to deplete the stocks of other fish
00:35:23and they're potentially dangerous
00:35:25so some people still kill them
00:35:30but Eddie sees something in these fish
00:35:32that most other fishermen don't
00:35:36you hear people call it a trash fish
00:35:38and nobody really
00:35:40grasped the fact that you know
00:35:42it is a top predator in the river as far as a fish
00:35:45and we do here in Texas hold some of the world's largest guard
00:35:49it's not everyday that you can get out in a boat
00:35:51and come down here into the river and see a fish that's almost as long as your boat
00:35:55you know that weighs more than you do
00:35:56while I'm fishing I'm actually looking at the water just to see if I can see any fish rolling
00:36:05but there was a not an alligator gar but an alligator probably about 10 yards behind me just now
00:36:09something has picked up my bait
00:36:20just a pull on this line
00:36:23I've got something taking line now
00:36:27let's pause now
00:36:28yeah
00:36:30the exact moment to set the hook with a gar is hard to judge
00:36:35yeah, wait a minute
00:36:37too soon and it'll drop the bait
00:36:39because it's only holding it lightly in its mouth
00:36:44too late and it'll swallow the hook
00:36:50yeah, yeah
00:36:51this makes it like no other fish
00:36:53timing is everything
00:36:54yeah, I think
00:36:55I know
00:37:00I've tried setting the hook too soon
00:37:05I bait and recast immediately
00:37:12maybe the same fish has come back for more
00:37:14as I get another bite almost immediately
00:37:17yeah, this one's going, this one's going, this one's going
00:37:19oh
00:37:25oh
00:37:30I'm in Texas investigating reports that monster killers are prowling America's waters
00:37:36I've already caught one potential killer
00:37:39a bull shark that's been stalking Florida's freshwater canals
00:37:43now I'm trying to catch an alligator gar that's large enough to be lethal
00:37:48yeah, this one's going, this one's going, this one's going
00:37:49this one's going, this one's going
00:37:56it feels good, it's
00:37:58there we go, that's it, that's it, that's the fish, that's the fish there
00:38:01there's still a risk it could spit the hook out
00:38:04so Eddie snags it with a lasso
00:38:05this one is four and a half feet long
00:38:07I've been bitten before, so I'm taking no chances with this gar's teeth
00:38:22I'm wearing Kevlar gloves for protection
00:38:25having a closer look, I think the alligator gar is far from ugly
00:38:30in fact, it's ancient design is actually quite beautiful
00:38:33interesting mark on here
00:38:36it looks like this has actually been attacked by an alligator at some point
00:38:40that's an indication of the strength of this gar's armour
00:38:44it can withstand being attacked by a large alligator
00:38:48and still carry on as normal
00:38:53it's not a bad start, but I'm looking for a monster
00:38:56that's what I like to see, fish going back
00:39:00nice and lively
00:39:06I carry on fishing
00:39:08but the monster is proving more elusive than I expected
00:39:13there are lots of people fishing the lower trinity
00:39:17and the likelihood that a gar would live long enough to grow into a real monster
00:39:21is looking pretty slim
00:39:23I need to explore some other options
00:39:27I received an email from a microlight pilot
00:39:30who said he spotted a giant gar while flying over a canal
00:39:31that was once connected to the lower trinity
00:39:47but for the past 44 years
00:39:49this canal has been cut off from the river
00:39:51and I'm told, hasn't been fished since
00:39:54a gator gar, similar to the one I caught earlier
00:39:57could have swum into the canal and become trapped when it was sealed off
00:40:02Ah!
00:40:08Alligator gar can live for over 50 years
00:40:11and in that time, can grow monstrous
00:40:16this unfished, quiet canal
00:40:18quiet canal
00:40:19could be the ideal place
00:40:21for a monster gar to hide
00:40:25ever since humans took to the air
00:40:28monster sightings have been on the rise
00:40:30looking down on the water offers the ideal vantage point
00:40:34for spotting extraordinary fish
00:40:39I'm reminded of my search for a lake monster in Alaska
00:40:43that's where we thought
00:40:46Thank you so much
00:40:48To find out more about the giant gar sighting
00:40:51I'm meeting the pilot who saw it
00:40:53Coda Riley
00:40:55Nice to meet you
00:40:57I've been flying for about 22 years
00:40:59and I've seen lots of things from the air
00:41:01and I know what things look like
00:41:03it's very distinctive
00:41:05He goes on to tell me exactly what he saw
00:41:09It was a nice still afternoon
00:41:12and I was in the microlight
00:41:13and I was back on some of the irrigation canals
00:41:17probably about a mile out across the fields over there
00:41:20and I was flying probably 50 feet off the canals
00:41:23watching fish shoot out into the deep into the middle
00:41:27and as I start climbing up
00:41:31I see something silver in color
00:41:33I'm looking down and I see this alligator guard
00:41:35and it's stretching across a good third of the canap
00:41:41it was really large
00:41:43What kind of length would that fish be?
00:41:45I would say 14 foot
00:41:49Gar have been proved to be this big before
00:41:52but that is from the fossil record
00:41:54back in prehistoric times
00:41:56I could see the individual scales on this thing
00:41:59is how big it was
00:42:01I actually sat there and orbited around this gar
00:42:04until he slowly sank out of sight
00:42:08Coda feared the giant fish would be caught and killed
00:42:12so he refused to tell anyone exactly where he saw it
00:42:16but he did tell me
00:42:18and because I'm the only other person who knows
00:42:21I've promised to keep the exact location a secret
00:42:25so you say you spotted it in a canal
00:42:27I mean is there very far it can go?
00:42:30I think all in all it's somewhere around 4 to 6 miles of canal
00:42:34and he's landlocked
00:42:36he's been there a long time
00:42:38it's very obvious he's been there a while
00:42:40everything seems to check out
00:42:43so I'm going to investigate this further
00:42:45but first I need the layout of the landlocked canal
00:42:49to the main feed canal which is locked off with gates
00:42:52so you know here's a road here, here's a road here
00:42:55right here in this crook area
00:42:57is where I spotted the alligator gar
00:43:03this is exciting
00:43:05because Coda's sighting was only a year and a half ago
00:43:09and with no way out of the canal
00:43:12the gar can't have gone far
00:43:13I want to get in the air to look for it myself
00:43:19a helicopter will offer an advantage over Coda's microlight
00:43:23because I'll be able to hover over one spot
00:43:26if I see anything
00:43:28when I think about all the monster sightings I've heard about
00:43:32this one really stands out
00:43:34normally it would be a bit of a waste of time to go back to the exact spot of a sighting
00:43:38but this fish lives in such a confined space that from a good viewpoint such as this
00:43:43there's a very real chance that I could see something myself
00:43:50I can see something, I think it might be a log
00:43:52I can see something, I can see something in the corner
00:43:56unfortunately it is just a log
00:43:58the problem with man-made canals is that they tend to be the same with the same depth everywhere
00:44:07in other words no real features to attract the fish
00:44:11so when it comes to putting a line in the water
00:44:13it tends to be a bit of a random affair which I don't like
00:44:16but the interesting thing about Coda's sighting
00:44:18is that this fish was lying right next to about the only features there are down there
00:44:24a junction and a culvert
00:44:28I haven't spotted anything from the air
00:44:31so I'm going to have to hunt for this monster the old fashioned way
00:44:34by getting back on the ground and putting a bait in the water
00:44:40the levels are a few feet down at the moment
00:44:43so I've met up with local fisherman Mike
00:44:44to put a boat on the water and check whether this depth could actually hold a monster sized gar
00:44:59Mike's propeller is in the mud
00:45:02clearly there's not enough water here to support a monster
00:45:08a large fish there, I think half its back would be out of the water
00:45:10and if it's sunk out of sight even if it's on the bottom you're still going to see it
00:45:14so I think with the water the way it is now
00:45:18I possibly have to move that way a little bit
00:45:21until I've got sufficient depth for a large fish to feel comfortable
00:45:29After polling along the canal we finally locate a stretch of water deep enough to hold a giant
00:45:34This may be a man-made and manicured canal but dangerous wildlife is everywhere
00:45:48I'm just keeping a bit of an eye out into this strip of woodland here as well
00:45:52it's not just the large creature in the water I've got to keep in mind
00:45:55there's also wild hogs in here
00:45:57there are alligators
00:45:59the fact that I can't see them doesn't mean they're not here
00:46:00they've been spotted here including one quite big one about ten foot
00:46:04I fish for three days all along the four mile stretch of canal where the monster gar could be trapped
00:46:17but I catch nothing
00:46:21finally on my last night I get a bite but it's a tiny one
00:46:27there we go, the hook's come out
00:46:34well that's a gar
00:46:38this is a different type of gar from the one I'm searching for
00:46:42this is a long-nosed gar
00:46:45the alligator gar I'm pursuing is well over ten times the length of this fish
00:46:51nice to see this, there are gar in here then
00:46:54this could possibly even be food for the big one
00:46:58that's a result of some sorts, I've caught a gar from this canal
00:47:03I'm disappointed to be leaving here empty handed
00:47:08but I have little doubt that Coda saw a monster gar in this canal
00:47:13maybe it has died since it was spotted
00:47:15but all is not lost
00:47:22evidence that they can still grow monstrous
00:47:25may instead lie in a taxidermist's freezer
00:47:33there's the skin
00:47:34there's the skin
00:47:38this is the skin and head of a gator guile netted from the Mississippi River
00:47:49so what actually were the figures for this?
00:47:52the fish weighed 327 pounds and is eight and a half feet long
00:47:58one the size that Coda saw would be adding nearly six feet to this length
00:48:03and its weight could be nearly three quarters of a ton
00:48:07the gar I caught a few days ago survived being attacked by an alligator
00:48:11with this skin in my hands I can really see how impressive their armour plating is
00:48:16that looks quite a thickness there, and how did you open it up?
00:48:19we used a sawzall, an electric or battery powered saw
00:48:25you can't cut through it with a knife, we used the sharpest knife we had
00:48:29I mean it wouldn't even go into the skin let alone cut through it
00:48:33it's not the size of the monster Coda saw
00:48:37but it shows me they can still grow massive
00:48:40the teeth on this gar are big enough to cause serious injury to a human
00:48:45on a 14 foot monster I believe they would have the potential to kill
00:48:53this skull and skin was used as a mould for this
00:48:58an exact model of the outside's gar
00:49:06just look at the length of this animal
00:49:09just enormous, and not just the length, this massive girth
00:49:16so what I've got here, I mean it's not a story, it's not an old black and white photograph
00:49:20this is real concrete proof that the monsters still exist
00:49:24this gator gar is huge
00:49:30but if left untouched in a secluded water
00:49:34it might have reached 14 feet in length
00:49:37maybe such monsters are still out there
00:49:41just waiting to be found
00:49:43like canals, dams can give fish the opportunity
00:49:58if left undisturbed, to grow to monstrous proportions
00:50:00just like the giant wells catfish I caught from a dam in Spain
00:50:10recently I've been getting lots of reports about one dam in south central Missouri
00:50:16the Bagnell dam
00:50:19which is at one end of the lake of the Ozarks
00:50:21I'm told commercial divers have seen catfish big enough to swallow a man
00:50:29fish so large that some of them have refused to go back in the water
00:50:34it's a treacherous place
00:50:36the lake behind the dam is, according to the US Coast Guard
00:50:40the third most dangerous stretch of water in the United States
00:50:43it's a deep liquid black hole where bodies regularly go missing
00:50:50could the giant catfish and the high number of unexplained disappearances be linked?
00:50:57I begin my investigation by meeting up with local historian Michael Gillespie
00:51:02no one really knows how many bodies have been lost in the lake and never recovered
00:51:10but the best known incident involving that sort of thing was back in 1954
00:51:14it was a boating accident involving an excursion boat called the Grand Glaze
00:51:22the Grand Glaze left Bagnell dam
00:51:28just in front of a large thunderstorm that was moving in
00:51:31it was Memorial Day weekend
00:51:33the boat went out across the lake and about 2 or 3 miles up the lake
00:51:37when it hit the leading edge of that storm
00:51:39just as it turned into a cove to escape the worst of it
00:51:45a strong gust of wind capsized the boat
00:51:53fifteen people went into the water
00:51:57one of those fifteen, eight were drowned
00:52:00three of those eight bodies were never recovered
00:52:03one of the victim's fathers
00:52:05actually out of his own expense contracted to have
00:52:09have divers search for his drowned daughter
00:52:12they never did find her
00:52:16it's possible the bodies sank to the bottom
00:52:19and were consumed by catfish
00:52:23it's a grisly scenario I've encountered before
00:52:26the gunch catfish in India is thought to have grown gigantic
00:52:31by eating semi-cremated bodies in the Kali River
00:52:33maybe something similar is happening here
00:52:38I know there are large catfish in here but there's possibility there are some giant catfish in here
00:52:48by giant I mean fish as large as myself maybe more so
00:52:54drowned corpses being eaten by catfish could explain why some people have never been found
00:52:59but not whether they were killed by them in the first place
00:53:04to find that out I've got to catch one
00:53:11I'm hoping the local fishermen can offer some advice
00:53:15but in this tackle shop I'm told a story confirming what I've heard about scuba divers
00:53:19seeing man-eating sized catfish in the dam
00:53:25I was actually fishing on the upper side of the dam under a bridge
00:53:30and some inspectors were down there diving
00:53:33and I ended up talking to these guys myself
00:53:35they said there's fish down there that I would never bring in
00:53:38and one of the guys thought he would never dive there again
00:53:40really
00:53:41and speaking of catfish
00:53:43and that's that's a story that I know first hand from the guy that was in the water
00:53:47normally these stories it's always at several removes you know who were these divers who've got a name or whatever
00:53:52but you actually spoke to a diver
00:53:54who said he would think twice about getting back in that spot
00:53:57yes
00:53:59that's interesting
00:54:00it really does seem as if there are seriously large fish in the water behind that dam
00:54:09and what's interesting to me is that this is not some
00:54:12tropical jungle
00:54:14we're talking about a body of water here that is right in the heart of the developed world
00:54:20I want to start fishing as soon as possible
00:54:23I meet up with Steve Brown who knows these potentially dangerous waters well
00:54:28the dam here is known to contain three types of catfish
00:54:34the flathead blue and channel none of which I've caught before
00:54:39two of them can grow to well over a hundred pounds
00:54:43and could potentially be man-eaters
00:54:48both those fish are predatory so two of the baits are live baits
00:54:52shad about sort of six seven inches long
00:54:54and also a couple of bits of fresh cut shad on the bottom most fish are opportunistic
00:54:59I've taken the unusual step of fanning out four rods to maximize my chance of catching a monster
00:55:06at this spot the lake bed is flat and the waters only six feet deep
00:55:11but that's still plenty deep enough to hold a monster
00:55:14actually got interest already which is a good sign
00:55:21some of the rods starting to kick it's interesting it's the dead bait rods that are going
00:55:27that's really bouncing that I think that's coming this way
00:55:33how many cemeteries were flooded to create the lake of the Ozarks when the bagnal dam was finished in 1931
00:55:44the answer right after this
00:55:46to create the lake of the Ozarks over 60 cemeteries were flooded holding a total of some 2800 graves
00:56:02only around half the bodies were able to be exhumed and relocated the rest are now underwater
00:56:08I've fished for monsters in the most remote parts of the world
00:56:16but now I'm in America to find out if freshwater killers are here too
00:56:24I've already been on the hunt for lethal sharks and monster sized gator gar
00:56:30now I'm in Missouri to see if there are giant catfish here that have grown fat on the bodies of people who've inexplicably disappeared
00:56:42and I may have one on the end of my line
00:56:47not a giant but it's the first blue catfish I've ever caught
00:56:52it's a very sort of fit looking fat fish
00:56:55fat fish
00:56:58they go a lot bigger than this
00:57:01they have been known to weigh close to 150 pounds
00:57:05and are one of the strongest freshwater fish in America
00:57:08so bringing a big one in will be a real struggle
00:57:13after my first catch it all goes quiet
00:57:18so I move to a location where the underwater landscape is different
00:57:21this looks like a place where large catfish could be lurking
00:57:28the fish certainly seem to be in abundance here as it's not long before I get another bite
00:57:39that's a little it's a little bit bigger
00:57:42so this is a channel catfish
00:57:44this is actually quite a good day for me
00:57:45I've not caught a channel catfish before and apparently this is not a bad size for here for a channel catfish
00:57:52the largest these grow is around 50 pounds
00:57:56although smaller than the blues they make up for that with aggression and energy
00:58:02that was a channel catfish
00:58:07aside from potentially giant catfish there are large paddlefish in the dam here as well
00:58:14and everybody on the water around me is trying to catch one
00:58:18because they only feed on plankton they can't be caught with a bait
00:58:23instead the method for catching them is to drag a line with very large bare hooks through the water
00:58:32the idea being that you'll eventually snag one
00:58:36although they aren't my target species I still want to take a look at this strange fish
00:58:41American paddlefish first appeared around 400 million years ago and can grow to seven feet long
00:58:52they're related to the now extinct Chinese paddlefish that was the largest freshwater fish in the world
00:58:58growing to 23 feet
00:59:00overall length of that is about what five and a half foot something like that
00:59:02yeah
00:59:05despite the size of that mouth there's no teeth in there this fish actually feeds on
00:59:11microscopic
00:59:14food items in the water
00:59:16and it just filters them through the through the gills there
00:59:19so it's not actually harmful it sort of looks pretty outlandish
00:59:23but it's not going to be any danger at all to people
00:59:26this is a really sort of unusual and special beast this
00:59:29anchoring up and fishing hasn't yielded a giant catfish yet
00:59:36so I'm going to try drifting instead
00:59:39this constant wind that's blowing will push the boat along and I can cover a lot of water
00:59:45we've got 150 feet out on the center rods 125 on the other ones
00:59:50they're fanned out it's a bit like a farmer plowing a field
00:59:53and we've got a drogue out the back of the boat it's a bit like a parachute
00:59:56it's slowing us down and doing about one mile an hour something like that
01:00:01and the idea is we're covering a lot of water
01:00:04hoping that this will bring us a bigger fish
01:00:12using this method I get a barrage of bites
01:00:15but keeping track of four active rods is a challenge
01:00:23we just want to find a bigger one that's all
01:00:37we just want to find a bigger one that's all
01:00:45see how greedy these things are
01:00:52still well short of the size we want
01:00:54I'm going to call it a day it's just one fish after another the same size
01:01:05these blue catfish go a lot bigger over a hundred pounds
01:01:09but they're not on the move today
01:01:11so I'm going to get a good night's sleep and come out again tomorrow
01:01:14I haven't given up on my search for a man-eating catfish
01:01:30but after seeing the paddlefish in its capacious mouth
01:01:34it makes me wonder if some of the divers who have seen monsters
01:01:38actually witnessed one of these instead
01:01:40I'm hoping to get an answer to this and to the question of whether catfish are eating human bodies
01:01:51from a salvage diver who's got a lot of experience with the fish in this water
01:02:00Tim McNitt has clocked up thousands of hours diving around here
01:02:05most people who dive they're diving in nice clear water
01:02:07you can see for a nice long distance what what's it like here on the bottom
01:02:14it's a cold dark lonely place to be
01:02:18three and a half feet visibility that's about as best it gets
01:02:25I've dived in claustrophobic conditions like this before
01:02:29where it's almost impossible to identify a big fish looming out of the darkness
01:02:33so as well as boats and things that people have dropped
01:02:38I mean are you sometimes retrieving bodies out of the water
01:02:41I've recovered eight bodies in my lifetime
01:02:43sometimes they're in branches or trees under water
01:02:47sometimes they're in vehicles under water
01:02:50have any of the bodies of the tree had ever had anything partially feeding on
01:02:55I have seen bodies of that nature
01:03:00many catfish are scavengers and will eat just about anything
01:03:04all over the world there are stories of them ingesting humans
01:03:09Tim confirms that some of the bodies disappearing here could be because of catfish
01:03:15but it still doesn't prove they're also big enough to kill
01:03:19and so far I don't have a reliable first-hand account of a man-sized catfish
01:03:24living in this lake
01:03:26what's the biggest catfish you've seen here?
01:03:28probably at least a six footer, six to seven footer
01:03:30close to 280, 300 pounds
01:03:33head on them, about that big
01:03:35bigger than me, heavier than me
01:03:37this is a breakthrough
01:03:38a first-hand account from somebody who has seen a giant catfish in the dam
01:03:44morning
01:03:46and if it was this size, it could easily be a man-eater
01:03:52after hearing what Tim has said, I have renewed enthusiasm
01:03:56I get back onto the water and start fishing for a monster
01:04:00yeah, that's a good fish, that's a good fish
01:04:11shallow water is dashing, it can't go down, so it's going side to side
01:04:16that was within minutes
01:04:19seconds even almost of putting the bait out
01:04:22keep it away from that other line there, getting some side strain on it
01:04:26unlike yesterday, it seems that the big fish are now on the move
01:04:31this, this feels exciting, this is
01:04:33good size, I can see, oh it's through the flank
01:04:35oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
01:04:45I'm travelling through America, looking for freshwater killers
01:04:50and now I'm in Missouri, investigating whether there are man-eating catfish in the dam here
01:04:55yeah, that's a good fish, that's a good fish
01:04:57shallow water is dashing
01:04:59and there's something big on the end of my line
01:05:01there we go
01:05:03this, this feels exciting, this is
01:05:05good size, I can see, oh it's through the flank of that, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, lovely, lovely
01:05:09slack off the drag a little bit
01:05:12where's the net
01:05:15oh
01:05:17lovely, in the net, in the net
01:05:21this one weighs in at 58 pounds
01:05:25oh
01:05:27oh yes, oh
01:05:28gosh
01:05:32people think catfish are ugly, slimy scavengers, but I mean this fish is just a muscular predator
01:05:40and this fish took within a couple of minutes of getting the bait out
01:05:43and in shallow water, that's interesting, shallow water, again people think big fish, deep water, not always the case
01:05:47I'm so pleased with that, that's what I wanted to see, a big catfish
01:05:50and there's a big mouth on here, very capacious mouth, and there's no teeth as such, but I can feel, well it's like lots and lots and lots of very close set points, they're for gripping, if they do grip something they don't let go, but yeah, lovely fish
01:06:08these rows of tiny teeth would be ideal for gripping onto a human corpse under water
01:06:16and like alligators, catfish can spin, which would allow them to rip flesh, or even limbs, off the body
01:06:24if we went over the back
01:06:26if we went over the back
01:06:29close to four feet
01:06:31eight inches across the head
01:06:34a good six inches
01:06:38scaling this up to the size of catfish that Tim saw, the mouth would be big enough to take in somebody's head
01:06:44There are big fish in this lake, that would be frightening, to actually bump into that in low visibility, you know, you literally don't see it until you're a couple of feet away
01:06:59From what I've discovered at the Bagnall Dam, I'm convinced that divers here have been seeing giant catfish that would be able to eat human flesh from drowned bodies
01:07:09but I have to try something else to conclude whether or not they can kill
01:07:20in my quest for answers, I sometimes find myself doing things that make me really uneasy
01:07:27like the time I sat in a pool of piranhas to prove they don't always attack humans
01:07:32this case calls for something that makes me equally nervous
01:07:36but it's the only way I'll truly experience the full force of a catfish
01:07:44I'm going noodling
01:07:47this is an ancient form of fishing from before when rod and reel were invented
01:07:54it's done when catfish are spawning, building nests in holes along the rivers and in the lakes
01:07:59to catch the catfish, you dive underwater, putting your arm or even your whole body into the nesting hole
01:08:08this is to get the catfish to attack you as it protects its eggs
01:08:13the theory is that when it bites your hand, you grab hold of its jaw and haul it out
01:08:18to put my money where the catfish's mouth is, I'm travelling to Oklahoma, where noodling is popular
01:08:32I feel exposed without any fishing gear and will be way outside my comfort zone
01:08:39I'm normally happy using bait to lure a monster, but when I'm the bait, it's a different matter
01:08:48I've done this before when fishing for eels in New Zealand, and I was terrified
01:08:54look at that, look at that, look at that
01:08:57noodling, like many sports, is entertainment mixed with an element of danger
01:09:01To find out just how much danger, I'm meeting up with noodler, Bobby Sparks
01:09:07And we were going along, two buddies of mine
01:09:10and they were quite a ways in front of me and I
01:09:13I stumbled over this hole
01:09:15and I thought, hey man, this is a good one
01:09:18I started into this hole
01:09:20I got kind of about half the way down in it
01:09:23and he come up and hit me real hard
01:09:24This fish was possibly breaking a hundred pounds
01:09:30He come up completely over my army boot, size 12
01:09:35all the way up to nearly my knee
01:09:38The fish had the bottom half of Bobby's leg in its mouth
01:09:42and wouldn't let go
01:09:44And he clamped down and he started shaking
01:09:47and spinning
01:09:49I didn't know whether I was up or down
01:09:50I was almost to the top
01:09:53I couldn't get my nose above the water
01:09:56and he was pulling me down
01:09:59I thought he was going to pull my leg completely off
01:10:05That last pull, because he was pulling me down in
01:10:09when my friends finally got to me and caught me and pulled me out
01:10:13and I didn't know if I'd had the strength to fight back
01:10:16enough to get out of that hole
01:10:18If your friends hadn't been with you on that day, what do you think would or could have happened?
01:10:24I think that he would have held me there and drowned me
01:10:29I really feel that I would have ate supper with Jesus that night
01:10:37There's so much power, there's so much strength in that fish's body
01:10:42that's their domain
01:10:45and I have a full respect for them in their home
01:10:55Clearly, I need to learn how to noodle correctly
01:10:58I won't attempt to do this on my own
01:11:05Plus, if I get into any trouble while I'm underwater
01:11:07I'll need people to help me back to the surface
01:11:11I've managed to hook up with Nate Williams and his friend Dylan
01:11:17both very experienced noodlers
01:11:23I'm already apprehensive about the dangers
01:11:26but adding to this is the fact that I'm joining them
01:11:29halfway through a noodling contest
01:11:30when only the biggest catches will do
01:11:33Each team has its own noodling spots
01:11:36and the group with the highest combined weight of its top three fish wins
01:11:41After the contest, we'll release the fish back into the water
01:11:47Nate's spot is a stretch of isolated river
01:11:50I have to keep the exact location secret
01:11:53in case other noodlers muscle in
01:11:55Here, I'll have the chance of catching a flathead catfish
01:12:00the type I've failed to get back at Bagnell Dam
01:12:03and one that's capable of growing to man-eating proportions
01:12:09I've done extreme fishing, normally with a rod
01:12:12Fish on!
01:12:14It normally feels like you're in pretty direct contact with the fish
01:12:17Whoa!
01:12:19This is real hands-on, isn't it?
01:12:21I can imagine that gets pretty intense
01:12:24Yeah, this is a very different form of fishing
01:12:27It's one of the most extreme and dangerous
01:12:29methods of fishing that you're going to find
01:12:32You know, you reel in a fish for 45 minutes on a pole
01:12:35even if he's very large, the same size of these fish
01:12:37he's going to be tired by the time you actually get him in your hands and handle him
01:12:39These fish have every bit of fight in them right now
01:12:42You're going to stick your hands in there, you're going to feel a full force straight on your hands
01:12:46without ever wearing him down
01:12:47So I mean, it's pretty, pretty intense
01:12:51Right, okay
01:12:53I've already established that catfish with their pads of teeth
01:12:58can rip the flesh off drowning victims
01:13:01But what will one do to my arm if it gets hold of it?
01:13:05You want to keep that grip as tight as you can because they can sense weakness
01:13:07and when they feel you just loosen it, that's when they'll try to do their death roll
01:13:11Got that bottom jaw, it's a big handle
01:13:14If they slip past that, they'll get up here and they'll just go to spinning
01:13:17And they'll just kind of wear grooves in your arms
01:13:19See like that? Sometimes they'll come way up here
01:13:21I mean, they can really get you anywhere in here
01:13:23And they'll come up and that's what they do, they just wear around your arm
01:13:27If his mouth is closed and he's bolted himself up where he can't actually fit out
01:13:31then you're just going to be stuck
01:13:34And they can hold you down there every year if people die noodling or drowning
01:13:38Sometimes their head's close to the surface and they just can't quite get there
01:13:41It's clear ahead and don't panic, isn't it?
01:13:44Right, okay
01:13:46Let's go and do this then
01:13:52Before having a go myself, I'm content to let the experts try it first
01:13:57We've found a concrete tube that is a perfect place for a catfish to nest in
01:14:05The opening under the water is silted up, leaving only a tiny gap for entering
01:14:11The plan is for Dylan to stick both his legs into the hole
01:14:15When the catfish attacks, he'll pin it against the side
01:14:18But to do this, he has to be totally submerged
01:14:21Seeing Dylan about to offer his body as bait in part makes me understand why America is called the land of the brave
01:14:37There's definitely a big catfish in there
01:14:40Got him?
01:14:42He's in the middle of my legs
01:14:44Dylan has a catfish pinned against the opening, but he's now wedged in
01:14:47Luckily, he can get his head just above the water to breathe
01:14:52Get your, go under his legs
01:14:54What I'm gonna do, I'm gonna get my head under you and try and get that gill
01:14:56Okay
01:14:57Right, ready?
01:14:58I've got to put my fears aside
01:15:00It's time to go down there and get it
01:15:01I'm in America, investigating whether there really are lethal fish in its waters
01:15:20Right now, I'm in Oklahoma, seeing just how dangerous a big catfish can be
01:15:25I'm attempting to noodle, to determine if the fish are powerful enough to be lethal
01:15:36I've got my first catfish on the end of my arm
01:15:43Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait
01:15:45It's a real team effort
01:15:47As soon as I get it to the surface, Nate puts a stringer through its mouth and out through its gill flap
01:15:51So it can't escape
01:16:02This is a flathead catfish
01:16:05Who would suspect a river like this, so shallow
01:16:08You know, you'd think there's nothing in here, maybe there's stuff a foot long
01:16:11But there's some real monsters in here and they're hiding very, very close
01:16:14But boy, it's work to get them out, it's short, but it's very intense
01:16:21But you've got this protruding lower jaw and you've got these needle-like teeth forming very big pads
01:16:30And that's basically what I'm trying to get hold of there
01:16:33You've also got crushing pads at the back of the throat
01:16:36Your hand can even go beyond those, it's a bit like a sphincter
01:16:38Your hand can go right past into the gut
01:16:42The other thing you've got to watch out for on these is you're trying to reach in and just get on the gill flap
01:16:48But the gills are protected by those very sharp gill rakers
01:16:52And if you get one of those getting near your fingers and the fish starts to thrash and try to spin
01:16:57You know, those are going to sort of create a bit of an injury as well
01:17:00So it's quite a formidable mouth that can do a bit of damage
01:17:05This one weighs around 40 pounds, a big fish by anybody's standards
01:17:12But Nate thinks it's too small to enter into the contest
01:17:16So we let it go
01:17:18I'm not sure I'm ready to catch something bigger
01:17:24Training is over and I'm taking the lead on the next one
01:17:27We move further down river
01:17:35Along the way we keep an eye out for footprints
01:17:39Signs that a rival team has got here first
01:17:42Taking any potential prize-winning fish
01:17:49We arrive at a hole where Nate has noodled some massive catfish before
01:17:53I'll try to get you a little mental image of it real quick here
01:17:58Basically we're going to come up to this hole and say this is the surface of the water here
01:18:03Bottom of the river is going to be about four foot
01:18:05And the sand at the bottom of the river is where the bottom of the hole is
01:18:07Then the clay bank is eight away like this
01:18:09Now it's about two people wide
01:18:11You're going to be about here
01:18:13You're going to be about chest deep water
01:18:14You're going to have your feet in the hole at first when we first get there
01:18:16Keep the fish from swimming out
01:18:18Me and Dylan are going to get on each side of you
01:18:20We're going to put our feet in the hole and basically make a wall
01:18:22He's going to come up and he's going to find you
01:18:24You don't even have to find him
01:18:27This is going to be more complicated than the first hole
01:18:30Because all of us are going to have to block the opening
01:18:33Otherwise any catfish in there could escape
01:18:35Time for discussing tactics is over
01:18:44Before going underwater it's essential to build a mental picture of the layout below the surface
01:18:50If I don't I could panic if I come across something unexpected
01:18:57After feeling around I've worked out that there's a flat shelf that then drops down to the riverbed
01:19:02In this vertical face is an opening that goes back into the bank
01:19:07In here is where a catfish could be hiding
01:19:13At the moment I can't tell how far the hole goes back
01:19:18I'll only find that out by sticking my arm in there
01:19:21I'm just going to fill him up
01:19:23If you get in there far enough he's going to be right here
01:19:25And you're just going to be able to manoeuvre him however you want
01:19:27If you get in there far enough it'll be no problem
01:19:29Know that you've got people here to help you if anything goes wrong
01:19:30And basically as soon as you hear anything go in you're starting to pull me out anyway
01:19:35So yeah
01:19:51If there is a catfish in there
01:19:52I'm going to feel the full force of what it's like to be attacked by one as it defends its nest
01:19:59I feel around for what seems an eternity
01:20:03But there doesn't appear to be anyone home
01:20:10My lungs are starting to burn
01:20:12I get the feeling I'm maybe not in there far enough, is that the idea?
01:20:19Yeah, you have to keep going there as far as you can
01:20:22Yeah, I'm getting...
01:20:24I haven't reached far enough into the hole
01:20:28As we feel around the opening
01:20:31Something rams our legs
01:20:34Woah woah woah woah woah
01:20:35Yea you just swallowed my whole foot
01:20:39We have to make sure that the hole is totally blocked
01:20:42So it can't escape
01:20:44I submerge again
01:20:47This time I go head first into the hole
01:20:49Which just keeps on going and going
01:20:51When I'm in it as far as my thighs
01:20:54Something bites me
01:20:55Something bites me. Hard.
01:21:09I've travelled the world searching for freshwater killers.
01:21:15Now I'm in America, hunting a monster in a way I've never done before.
01:21:19I'm noodling in Oklahoma, and I've just dived into a hole head first.
01:21:26Visibility is zero, and as I feel around, something bites my hand. Hard.
01:21:35Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
01:21:37I managed to get a good hold of it and bring it to the surface.
01:21:41I've landed my first catfish, noodling style.
01:21:44Oh, well that fish was lying there, boom, bit me once and let go.
01:21:50And then I sort of fumbled around and then actually reached into its mouth.
01:21:57It's a creepy feeling. I'm putting my body in there.
01:22:00Dylan's feeding me in, pushing me in, head first into a hole under the water.
01:22:04There's something that's going to bite me in there. It's dark. I can't see anything.
01:22:06What a stupid thing to be doing. You know, just ridiculous.
01:22:09But I mean, as fishing goes, it doesn't get much more mad than that.
01:22:14As Nate promised, the catfish is still full of fight.
01:22:20It tries to do a characteristic role.
01:22:23If we can't control it, it has the strength to break my wrist.
01:22:27Oh, that's doubling my...
01:22:31Luckily, it decides to let me go.
01:22:34Big flathead catfish. I mean, well named. That head is flat. That lower jaw poking up as well.
01:22:43But just, just what a beast.
01:22:47It looks a bit sort of torn up. It's got some battle scars.
01:22:51That adipose fin here should just be a normal clean lobe.
01:22:55And that's been split. It's got a bit of a lump on it.
01:22:57Tail's a bit torn. One possibility is these things move into beaver holes.
01:23:00And if there's a beaver already in residence, you know, the beaver probably takes exception.
01:23:04And so, you know, these things have a bit of a tough time.
01:23:06They've got to compete for real estate down there.
01:23:10At over 50 pounds, it's a strong contender for the contest.
01:23:14Also, having felt the full force of one of these on the end of my arm,
01:23:19I now completely understand how close Bobby came to being killed.
01:23:22When I first heard people talking about North American catfish as being fish that can potentially kill people,
01:23:29my first reaction was, this is a bit unbelievable.
01:23:31This is something I've got to look into.
01:23:33But now, having actually tried this form of fishing where what you're actually doing
01:23:37is trying to provoke the fish to bite you and then hang onto you while you're under the water, in the dark,
01:23:42with just one lungful of air, I can really, really appreciate how these fish can potentially cause human fatalities.
01:23:48Time is running out for the contest.
01:23:53We have to load up our three biggest catfish and get to the weigh-in.
01:24:04All the teams are coming back from their various noodling locations from all over the county.
01:24:12It's a tense time, as everybody gets their catches weighed.
01:24:16Pressure mounts as lots of people have recognised me.
01:24:23My reputation for catching monsters is on the line.
01:24:30It's our turn to weigh our catches.
01:24:37Hopefully our third fish will be at least 50 pounds.
01:24:41Last to be weighed is the catfish I pulled out of a hole.
01:24:50I'd say 53.
01:24:5153 pounds.
01:24:55Are we ready to pick him down?
01:24:58This gives us a combined weight of 155 pounds.
01:25:01We'll have to wait and see if this is enough to win the contest.
01:25:06Third place goes to the team of Michael Gill.
01:25:11The second place was the team of David Walker.
01:25:16First place goes to the team of Nathan Williams.
01:25:19Thanks to the skill of Nate and Dylan, my inexperience as a noodler has passed unnoticed.
01:25:30And my reputation as a monster catcher remains intact.
01:25:35After taking our prize, it's time to release these three catfish back into the river.
01:25:52I came to America to see if there are killers in its fresh waters.
01:25:55I found potentially deadly bull sharks prowling Florida's canals right under the noses of thousands of people.
01:26:04An exploratory bite and I could just bleed out, lose a lot of blood.
01:26:10And that could be a fatal encounter.
01:26:11I searched for lethally large alligator gar in Texas and landed a prehistoric giant I hadn't expected to see.
01:26:21And I uncovered that there are man-sized catfish in a Missouri dam, which could be feasting on human corpses.
01:26:29Head on them, about big, big old flat head. Bigger than me, heavier than me.
01:26:34And after going noodling, I'm in no doubt that a catfish of that size would also be capable of drowning somebody.
01:26:42As I wrap up my adventure, I leave convinced.
01:26:46Even in the 21st century, America's rivers, lakes and canals are still home to potential killers.