Battling vicious goliath tigerfish. Subduing 400 pound stingrays. It’s all in a day’s work for River Monsters host Jeremy Wade.
Interviewed by Yang-Yi Goh
For most people, fishing is a peaceful way to relax. Jeremy Wade — host of Animal Planet’s River Monsters — is not most people. The British biologist and extreme angler has spent more than 25 years chasing down the rarest and most fearsome freshwater creatures — from man-sized killer catfish to bloodthirsty piranha that could tear a human apart.
Last year, River Monsters quickly became Animal Planet’s best-performing series ever, thanks in no small part to Wade’s intrepid, freewheeling hosting style. The second season is set to premiere this Sunday, May 25th, and Wade promises it’ll be even more intense than the first. MJ caught up with the Bear Grylls of freshwater to talk about how to conquer fear, fish that “bite off the dangly bits of male swimmers,” and what to expect from Season 2.
Men’s Journal: You’ve spent most of your life studying and pursuing rare and often dangerous underwater creatures in rivers all over the world. What is it about freshwater environments and the fish that inhabit them that captivates you?
Jeremy Wade: Unlike the sea, you often can’t see into lakes and rivers. It really is another world down there, where predators locate prey by smell, vibration and detecting electrical micro-currents. Because of this, you often can’t find pictures of many of these creatures, and until now you wouldn’t have seen them on TV. The only way to see them is to cast a line into the water. It’s like being a cryptozoologist, but you actually get to see the creatures you’re investigating.
MJ: On River Monsters, you’ve come face-to-face with some pretty ferocious creatures. What goes through your mind when you’re handling such aggressive species? Have you ever felt that your life was truly at risk?
JW: I have feared for my life on fishing trips — I was once in a plane crash in the Amazon, for example, and I’ve been trapped in a sinking boat — but not when actually handling fish, although I have been injured by fish. Catching these fish is by its nature a hands-on experience, and great care has to be taken when unhooking a large bullshark for instance. In such a situation there is a degree of fear, but fear has a useful function: it concentrates the mind. And the appropriate reaction is to work to understand the thing that is causing the fear whether it’s a large fish or anything else. This way both parties are more likely to survive the encounter unscathed.
MJ: Of all the legendary fish you’ve encountered, including the “Amazon Nessie” and Giant Devil Catfish, which was the most fascinating or satisfying to come upon?
JW: The ‘Amazon Nessie’ turned out to be a malformed pink river dolphin, so not a fish, although quite fish-like in appearance. The most fascinating and satisfying encounter so far was the goliath tigerfish of the Congo. I first caught one in 1991, and then again while filming the second season of River Monsters in 2009. Its appearance is quite unbelievable, like a giant piranha, with inch-long interlocking teeth. They are said to bite off the dangly bits of male swimmers and they will even take lumps out of crocodiles. A few more people have heard about it now than 20 years ago, and many anglers list it as their number one desired species, but its home remains a no-go area to most outsiders.
MJ: Are there any species that have thus far eluded you? What are you hoping to go in search of next?
JW: Twenty-five years ago my two main target species were goliath tigerfish and arapaima from the Amazon. Each took me six years to track down and catch, over the course of three expeditions to the Congo and six to the Amazon. The number of large freshwater species is limited, and I don’t think there are challenges of a similar magnitude today. However, I would like to revisit some of the species I have caught — including the alligator gar and Amazonian piraiba catfish — and catch the bigger ones that I know are there. Also I’ve heard a lot of stories now about monster-sized catfish in US waters, scaring divers out of the water and the like, and it would be interesting to get to the bottom of these. In the meantime, I’m busy filming River Monsters Season 3.
MJ: What can fans of the show expect from Season 2?
JW: In some ways it’s even stronger than Season 1, in term of outsized and outlandish fish. This season, we’ve caught nine over 100lb — seven over 150lb, and four well beyond that. But it’s not all about size. I investigate super-aggressive snakehead fish in South East Asia and Florida. We go to Africa’s Rift Valley in search of Nile perch, visit the Congo after goliath tigerfish, hunt giant stingrays in Thailand, track down record-size bullsharks in a South African river, and uncover the identity of Alaska’s ‘Lake Iliamna Monster’ — North America’s very own ‘Nessie’.
MJ: Last year, River Monsters quickly became Animal Planet’s best-performing series ever. Were you surprised at all by the overwhelming response to the first season?
JW: I expected it to get some interest from people other than anglers, but not to the extent that it did. But thinking about it now, a lot of it makes sense. Each programme is essentially a detective story, which holds the attention because we want to see the shady culprit apprehended. And invariably they don’t want to come quietly.
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Season 2 of River Monsters premieres on Animal Planet this Sunday, April 25th at 10 PM.
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April 23rd, 2010 at 2:41 pm
This is a very engrossing interview, he must be a very brave man to try to track down and catch these animals.
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April 24th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
what kind of wristwatch does jeremy wade wear in the series?
that thing is amazing.
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Jason Reply:
May 27th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I have been wondering the same thing. I believe it to be an earlier model (out of current production) Suunto. But I may be wrong.
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John Reply:
May 22nd, 2011 at 11:40 pm
Its actually the new 2011 Sunnto vector white the yellow is old vector
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Heather Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Did anyone find out what kind of watch that is??
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Sasuke's girl Naoe Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
y would u want to know that?
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April 26th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
If I was Jeremy Wade, I’d be pissed about being called Bear Grylls in an article on the website of prominent Magazine
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Alli Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Josh, it says “the Bear Grylls of freshwater” — it’s a comparison (and a compliment), not a mistake.
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Josh R Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Yeah I read it again after I submitted the comment. I would have deleted it if given the option. Consider it rescinded.
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Jake Reply:
November 27th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
If I was Jeremy Wade, I’d be pissed about being compared to Bear Grylls. I’d hardly call that a compliment. IMO, BG is a fraud. Jeremy Wade is obviously a very intelligent & distinguished man.
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Simon Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 5:15 am
Iagree anything that has that morons name attached ( bear grylls) is a loser in our minds, he is a joke.
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May 5th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
I believe its a suunto vector, or a suunto regatta watch that he wears, definately a suunto
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May 27th, 2010 at 11:19 am
I was wondering if amyone knows where he gets the camo shirts that he wears in some of the episodes
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patrick Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
im wondering the same thing about his camo shirts
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May 27th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
I started watching River Monsters in 2009. As of late, I find myself engrosed in Jeremy’s adventures. I’ve been exposed to fishing before, but not in the context that Mr. Wade brings into his show…educational and full of adrenaline. I’m not a fisher-woman, but since watching the River Monster series, I have to admit that my curiousity/interest has been ever much more..especially towards Jeremy. I’m absolutely enamoured by him….I’m hooked.
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maria Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 1:35 am
I second that!! I love him and the show!!
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May 31st, 2010 at 10:07 pm
its a suunto vector i have one
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June 2nd, 2010 at 10:27 pm
i love Jeremy wade hes so cute. and the show rocks!!!!
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July 16th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Love your show! Thanks for sharing your personal adventures in Africa, along with some area culture, terrain, customs, things to think about, etc…
Would love to meet you one day while I am in Africa. You’re fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
Kind regards,
Kimberly Ott
Nursing Student preparing to live in Africa/volunteer/traveler
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July 18th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Jeremy, thank you for bieng on tv and being the man you are, i heard stories from my father as a little boy about the fish in arizona lakes, but untill i saw your show,they were just things that nightmares bestow. Thank you for your bravery and very direct handling of the fish you encounter, sincerly, robert
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August 6th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
what kind of hooks and sinkers and baits dose he use
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August 27th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Hi Mr Wade.
I so enjoy your show. They are facinating and enlightening. I read more and more now about these marvelous preditory fish. Until now I would never have imagined there were so many of these well-fed “monsters” in the rivers and lakes you have shown us. I hope there is more to come. Your excitment is clearly what makes this show so entertaining. I feel it through you! You are most certainly brave to do what you do. It is a bit scary.
I cannot imagine these fish would be found in the open waters, mainly because they would not be able to find their prey with such ease. Rivers and lakes changes the odds for they to grow so large. I am only guessing of course. I do know that Tuna becaome very large and they are in the open oceans.
I am not castegorizing them with the whales. These are fish. I’ll never look at another catfish agian without imagining these barborous beings.
Again, Thank you so much for bringing them all to light, literally!
A Fan,
Marian Wasser
8101 mcdonoghr rd.
Baltimore, Md. USA
waterworks27@yahoo.com
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September 11th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Jeremy Wade is hot, he’s my next door neighbor
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Marci Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Boy aren’t you lucky. Although I imagine he’s out fishing most of the time. But still, he seems like an interesting man (and yes, hot too). Is he as nice as he seems to be on TV? I kind of envision him as being a loner in real life.
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Callie Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 12:03 am
@Jessica, you’re so lucky! I find him really hot too and I’m only 16. =) I like how strong and powerful he is when catching those monsters and intelligent when he’s sharing his knowledge about the fishes. :”>
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BabyPhat Reply:
October 16th, 2011 at 1:41 am
He is definitely hot. But there are rumours of him being gay. Wonder if that’s true…(please say no!!) It just gets fishy when a super charming guy stays single for that long.
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September 21st, 2010 at 10:15 am
hello. jerermy wade i think you should try to catch a mud fis i cought one this summer that was 27 inches long a 15 pounds. i would really like to see you catch one.
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September 21st, 2010 at 10:21 am
I also think you should have a contest and whoever win’s gets to go catch a river monster with you please consider this!!!
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October 14th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Hola, soy fan de Jeremy Wade y me gustaría poder contactarme con él. La dirección que dejan en su página es errónea. Agradezco toda la información que me brinden.
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December 23rd, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Mr Wade Sir .
You I think has the coolesst job in the world. I watch all your shows. you are amazing. I am 49 years old and retired I spend alot of time fishing. I think it would be fantastic if you ever needed help. Im not looking for any glory here it is just very much a passion of mine. More like a dream. to go and catch some of these species of fish that you go after. I fish alot of muskie , pike and salmon it would be like a dream come true to actually be there in person to watch this or even wet a line. Please keep your series going its fantastic. Thank you . Paul Cave
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January 12th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
to Mr.Wade;
I have been watching your show on tv. I am amazed at what there is out there. Nature is awesome thanks for educating us, please show us more and more. Look forword on seeing your new programs. Have you thought of doing dvd’s about your adventures (worth buying).
JKubik (Canada)
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January 20th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
I think Jeremy Should do a show on the Oklahoma Octopus
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February 15th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Wanted to find out some information about the show. Just stumbled upon the show on netflix. I have to admit, I do like watching river monsters to oogle Jeremy Wade and ofcourse to watch him catch the fish. Im 24 and find 50 year old Jeremy Wade apealing.
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March 19th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
Your show is really awesome. When does season 3 start? I’m 9 years old and a huge fan!! I have your book and season 1 and 2 on dvd. I catch huge fish like you do except they’re only bass and 16 inch catfish. Can’t wait to watch the next season.
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April 11th, 2011 at 3:27 am
I have my doubts about him. Seems to me he only does this for the fame and fat paycheck from Animal Planet. He claims to be one of the best fisherman in the world, yet he makes the stupidest mistakes in his work. Don’t get me wrong he’s got some good credentials but I feel he’s way overrated. Example: When he was pulling in the giant freshwater stingray in Thailand he was using a rod used for fishing Marlin and special line, which is a good choice, for Marlin and Giant Stingrays weigh around the same. However his horrible mistake was after the stingray gave in to the fight, he reeled it in and tried to lift it out of the water. YOU DO NOT DO THIS! Always wait to get a net around the fish and use the net to haul it in. Those lines and rods are meant to reel in big fish, not lift their dead weight out of the water. As a result, his rod snapped in half and he could have easily injured himself or someone else on that boat. When fishing rods and line are made for these large fish they take water density, object mass, and buoyant force into consideration. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know an 1800 pound fish doesn’t weigh nearly as much when its in the water. If you want to get technical, a 100 pound man with 10% more density than water would weigh 10 pounds underwater. This isn’t the only completely stupid mistake this guy has made. I can’t go out and catch a wide range of big fish around the world and say I’m a Big Fish Angler Connoisseur. There’s a science to it that means you have to study the animals characteristics, feeding habits, living conditions, and many other factors none of which this guy does. All this guy does is hear an old wives tale about fish, go and ask the people in the area if they heard anything, and then he starts fishing until he catches something that fits the description.
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claude Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
@Luke…did you really just take the time to write that?..seriously?..you’re going to critique the way the guy fishes?..hobby time for you..
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Robin Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 3:45 am
Luke,
You might want to go back and rewatch the episode about the Thai stingray. If you listen to the commentary you’ll be able to tell that he was not trying to lift the fish out of the water. After the fish gets away, he talks about how he was just trying to hold it in the water while the others got the net around it and the rod snapped before the helpers finished getting the net around it. If you watch other episodes you’ll see that he always takes a large fish to the shore to pull it out and rarely ever tries to pull a large fish in a boat and I’ve never seen him ever try to pull anything heavy out by the line alone. Also, you wouldn’t know it from watching the Thai stingray episode, but he admits the mistake he made while catching the stingray in a different later episode, he admits to fishing for the stingray with borrowed gear that wasn’t up to the task.
Also, he doesn’t claim to be one of the best fishermen in the world. He is called the “greatest angling explorer of his generation” by someone else and ranked the number 1 fisherman in the world by Angling News- which I’m guessing conducted a poll of their readership to come to that conslusion. Here’s a quote where Jeremy clearly states that he doesn’t think he’s the best in the world…
“I don’t see myself as a particularly expert angler,” he says. “But what I am able to do is get into the kinds of places where outsiders don’t normally go, with enough energy left to put a line in the water. Teaming up with local fishermen is vital to success, and what’s great about this approach is that you get to see beneath the surface of diverse human cultures too.”
BTW, if you watch the Wells catfish episode and others he is aware and does talk about that difference between weight in the water and weight on land. I’m not saying I don’t agree with you that he makes some mistakes and does some crazy dangerous stuff but when you are pumped up with adrenaline, fish for 24 hours straight with no sleep, or fight a fish for hours and are exhausted, even very experienced fishermen get tired and try to rush things and make mistakes.
I for one believe that he is very passionate about fishing and would fish for these fish regardless of whether Animal Planet paid him anything or not. Bringing along the camera crew is very practical. Traveling around the world on these month-long fishing trips has got to be expensive and writing about it and making a documentary of the journey is a clever way of covering your expenses. In my opinion, anyone whose spent years as a high school biology teacher is not likely to spend their whole life too terribly motivated by money alone.
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Zar Reply:
December 7th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Hey Luke..What channel is your show on? Would love to PVR it? Yup didn’t think so!!! LOL!!!
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May 3rd, 2011 at 11:29 am
I like the River Monster show and would like to know where to purchase the bag scale and supplies that Jeremey Wade uses on his show.
Thanks
Tim
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May 8th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Luke- you obviously don’t watch the show. He does all of the background investigating you claim he doesn’t. He’s not some guy with a fishing rod who asked cameras to follow him around. He’s a biologist; hence an intelligent man. What are your superior credentials ? You sound somewhat jealous to me.
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May 28th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
I absolutely LOVE Jeremy Wade and River Monsters. His dedication and passion for what he does are wonderful qualities that make this show all the more addicting. Not to mention the amazing fish that he catches and the stories they make headlines in. I have the biggest crush and admiration for him (I’m only 20 but a girl can dream). I make sure I am planted in front of the TV as soon as the show starts. I can’t wait to see more. It is truly refreshing to see shows that are informative of not only fish, but also different cultures, while still being very entertaining to watch.
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June 30th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Shut up, Luke! Jeremy is a huge stud (oh and a great fisherman too!)…jealous, much?
Jeremy, you can fish in my bathtub ANYTIME!!! xxx
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July 20th, 2011 at 9:17 am
MY GRANSON WATCHES EVRY SHOW THANKS JEREMY IS THE GREATISH
AN HAVE THEY TALKED ABOUT DOING A VIEDO GAME FOR RIVER MONSTER
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October 2nd, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Dear Jeremy,
Will you please come to LA to do season 4……..it will be my dream for you to catch the worlds biggest marlin.Please reply.
Your fan,
Jimuel
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December 8th, 2011 at 8:56 am
The dude is awesome…He IS….”The most interesting man in the World”
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January 22nd, 2012 at 8:31 am
Wow. Is everyone in love with this fraudster? I just watched SE E7 – What a joke. Nice camera tricks. Fake villagers, fake attacks, lol super fake scene where the crew gets hit by lighting bolt , then in the final minute catches some small 2 foot long bass which morphs into a tame 3 foot long wolf fish seconds later in the boat.
Just use use the pause and next frame button on your PVR or netflix. What a sham. My 8 year old kid could out fish this guy.
Great editing.
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February 4th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Partha, are you f— kidding me? You sound like a jealous moron, first of all. Jeremy Wade is no fraud. He’s college educated, has taught school, traveled the world since his 20′s (and until River Monsters took off, he was doing it on a shoestring budget — didn’t even own a car, let alone a house); is a huge conservationist, a great role model for young adults, speaks Portugese fluently (and for all I know, other languages), has caught fish that most of us haven’t even heard of in places most of us will never travel to, is a self-taught author who has overcome his own personal difficulties over the years to write a best-selling book (read his book!), has a TV show that is more realistic than anything I’ve ever seen on TV, has a huge following of fans who would give anything to go on a fishing trip with him…and seems like a really nice person. For you to tear him down just because you think he uses theatrics during his show — ugh, you sound like a jealous, bitter (man, woman??) who is not very happy with their own life or else why would you even bother to write such a stupid comment? I feel sorry for your child to have such a bitter parent. And I’m sorry to break the news to you, and nothing against your child, but I’m pretty damn sure Jeremy Wade could out-fish him (and you and almost any other angler on the planet)!
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