Jeremy Wade fishes for American “River Monsters” in Season 4 premiere

In the special two-hour Season 4 premiere of Animal Planet‘s River Monsters, premiering this Sunday, April 1, at 9pm ET/PT, host Jeremy Wade visits the United States to investigate various reports of freshwater fish that have grown to enormous — potentially human-threatening — size. His first stop is in Florida, where he searches for the bull shark, which has been reported to frequent inland canals and rivers (and which is also the shark whose infamous series of 1916 attacks in New Jersey inspired Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws). Wade does in fact find and catch a bull shark, verifying the reports that this fish, which is responsible for more attacks on humans than great whites, is indeed in waters just off of people’s backyards. But perhaps Wade’s most interesting catch in Florida is when, while fishing for a bull shark, he inadvertently hauls in a Goliath grouper, a simply massive beast weighing around 350 pounds (see video below).

Next, Wade goes to Texas to hunt for the alligator gar. He follows reports and eyewitness sightings that lead him to an isolated canal where he attempts to find the creature. Then it’s on to a dam in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, where reports of gigantic catfish (even bigger than the one pictured at top) are circulating — and where a number of bodies have disappeared in the lake. During his quest for the catfish, Wade also encounters the bizarre-looking but harmless paddlefish. Finally, in Oklahoma, Wade tries his hand at noodling — catching fish by hand — for the first time, in his ongoing quest for enormous catfish. He helps two expert noodlers as they compete in a noodling competition, and engages in the dangerous task first-hand.

Coming up in the rest of Season 4, Wade will visit Southern Africa’s Okavanga Delta, Africa’s Zambezi River, India’s Himalayas, Russia, Mongolia and Australia. He will also feature a special on killer sharks and rays, as well as a two-hour season finale on May 27 that looks at one of his most challenging expeditions, a visit to the jungles of Guyana.

Leading up to the season premiere, from 8-9pm ET on April 1, Wade will be holding a live online chat at animalplanet.com/monsterchat. Ever wonder how he caught the infamous Goliath Tigerfish, for example? Now’s your chance to ask.

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Photo credit: Alex Parkinson/Animal Planet

4 Comments

  1. Hey Jeremy, the next time your in Oklahoma . Please contact me as I am a noodler,I go grabbling every year and catch some really nice flatheads 30 to 40 lbs.I know a few places I go to here in town . I know of one spot I cant get to because the folks won’t let me on . But with your show I bet they would. I’ve seen fish swimming in there then that would have weighed 40 lbs or so . Now theres no telling how big they are. its been 10 years since I had permission to go back there on that creek.Just let me know. Good luck and good fishing.

  2. Wade is a great fisherman, but he’s wrong about the 1916 New Jersey shark necessarily being a bull shark. A juvenile Great White was found in the nearby harbor with human remains in its stomach, and that was almost certainly the animal responsible for the attacks in Matawan Creek. I grew up near there, and that creek is extremely salty during high tide. Also, the distance from the ocean is often exaggerated, because people don’t count the harbor as ocean, but of course the saline content is just as high as the open sea. A bull shark would have kept going down the creek–the 1916 shark turned back and returned to open water. Bull sharks return again and again to rivers–no bull shark was ever found in Matawan Creek. It was quite certainly a Great White Shark that killed several young men in Matawan Creek in 1916.

  3. im 16 years old girl and im one of your biggest fans when i get older i want to be a wildlife photographer i love animals i love going fishing and hunting i love watching your show because i learn new things from you and when i go fishing i use the things ive learn from your show. your a great fisherman and i hope one day i could meet you in person and go fishing.

  4. To; Jeremy Wade

    Having just finished watching your; American Killers episodes, I was; intrigued, curious, and entertained
    (somewhat) of the methods & dramatic freedoms shown.
    I would welcome an email from you regarding this
    subject, as I have (2nd hand info – sorry) regarding
    a location (specific) for Flathead Catfish at 60+ pounds.
    While technically savvy with computers (& other techno
    gear), I’m a traditionalist for communication. Social
    networks are too risky. Telephone/Cell Phone voice/text,
    email, postal, etc are preferred. Suggest you Google
    Search…Susquehanna River Catfish or Susky Flatheads.
    – Best To You – Howard “How” Nauss (angler)

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