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  • 5 months ago
River.Monsters.S04E04.Asian.Slayer
Transcript
00:00My name's Jeremy Wade. I've been fishing for over 40 years
00:05But I've never had an experience like the one you're about to see. Oh
00:10It began as an investigation into vicious attacks in India
00:16But somewhere along the line it crossed over into obsession
00:24I set my sights on a fish so elusive and hard to catch
00:30But it tested my patience to breaking point
00:34This is the story of how a fish said to be protected by the gods
00:39Took me to my limit and beyond
00:42He's come there he's come there
00:59I'm in northern India India is where my extreme angling career began three decades ago
01:06And it was where four years ago I caught one of my most shocking monsters
01:17I'm gonna have to go for a swim
01:22A 160 pound gooch
01:26Which proved there are man-eating sized fish in India
01:29Since then my search for fresh water horrors has taken me all around the globe
01:39And now fresh reports are emerging from India and Southeast Asia of something else attacking people in the water
01:46Something said to make the gooch look like a goldfish
01:49These reports speak of stealthy lightning-fast strikes by a cunning predator that appears to patrol near the surface
02:04Something blasting out of the shallows sometimes clean out of the water taking birds dogs
02:10Even children from the edges of rivers and lakes
02:12There are even reports of fish being cut open to reveal human remains in their stomachs
02:17This doesn't sound like the gooch a silent assassin rising slowly from the depths
02:25If these reports are true there must be something else lurking in these rivers
02:35Over the years I've learnt a lot about India
02:42Here reality is awash with mystery and magic
02:47And this bubbles through most powerfully in the rivers
02:54These rivers are sacred the gateway between this world and the next
03:01And the focus for devotion for millions of Hindus
03:10I've seen strange things happen in India's rivers and with the fish that lurk beneath
03:15I
03:17I have a background in science but out here that's not always enough to understand what's going on around me
03:28To solve the mystery of these new attacks I start with straightforward door-to-door inquiries
03:34I'm looking up a friend who I haven't seen for 30 years
03:38I'm wish
03:40Umesh car here
03:41It's not this one. It's a bit further up
03:48But word travels fast and umesh comes to find me
03:51I tell him why I'm back and about the monster I'm hunting
04:04I've heard one story about a spear fisherman out hunting at night
04:18Trying to spot his targets by flashlight
04:34But in the darkness this hunter became the hunted
04:37Jaws sunk into his leg with such force that the culprit had to be cut off him
04:57I need to get a line in the water
05:00Umesh suggests a place to start
05:02The water in this river is running shallow and clear
05:13A wary hunter in this water could easily see me before I see it
05:18So I need to adopt a stealthy approach
05:23To start with I decide to try fly fishing
05:25That's what I'm using on the end
05:32Now they call this fly fishing but that's actually
05:36Designed to mimic
05:38Small fish
05:39Particularly when it's pulled
05:41In through the water in jerks that makes that tail
05:43Sort of wave around a little bit
05:47This movement could trigger the attack reflex of any predator that's down there
05:51But I'm already at a disadvantage because I'm no expert in this technique
05:58The last time I tried fly fishing it landed me in more trouble than it was worth
06:02Okay, you can have the fish, you can have the fish
06:06Whoa
06:08And this time it's proving just as frustrating
06:11I need to keep my line aloft and untangled while I work out enough distance to hit my spot
06:32But that's easier said than done
06:34It's a flash of silver
06:37A very slight tap on the line
06:41And then nothing there
06:48But I'm starting to get the hang of it
06:50Hooking a fish should be just a matter of time
06:59Yeah, yeah, here we go
07:04It's actually coming up the current
07:15It's actually very small
07:17This is just a juvenile
07:18But it could grow into something much bigger
07:22Right, that's a very small fish
07:24A lot smaller than what I'm used to
07:25But this is actually
07:27A memorable fish for me
07:28This is my first Marcia on a fly
07:30I've caught Marcia before but not on a fly
07:32I'll get him out of the sun
07:34It doesn't look much
07:35But I've caught Marcia to over 90 pounds
07:39At that size they're a real muscle fish
07:42And one of the most valued sport fish in the world
07:47But even the giants pose no threat to people
07:50So this can't be the attacker I'm after
07:53Progress is being made you know notch by notch
07:56The mechanics of this fishing are slowly coming slowly coming
08:01My fly fishing is not pretty but it's starting to be effective
08:05I just hope it's a match for the predatory heavyweight I've come to catch
08:08I've heard rumors of another attack
08:15South of here on a lake that's harvested by commercial fishermen
08:19So I'm heading there to investigate
08:24At first it's tough going as the fishermen on the lake are tight-lipped and wary of outsiders
08:29But I managed to persuade one of them to talk
08:31So mostly good hockey leo almost is all fair funny nice what are they fair country?
08:36But check
08:44Mahin biz was tells me of a boy who was waiting in the shallows searching for worms to use as bait
08:50But something else was lying in wait
09:15In India, I'm hearing of a vicious attack on a lake
09:20It sounds like the fish actually took the whole the whole hand in
09:37The child was bitten
09:38Actually pulled his hand out of the water and the fish was still attached
09:42The child's mother had to come and prize the jaws open to get the fish off
09:47He tells me the attacker was a catfish
09:50Known as the serang
09:58Mr. Biswell said you know a big serang a 40 50 pounder
10:02He said he's got jaws big enough to almost grab it around the waist
10:06This isn't your usual bottom feeding catfish
10:10Going under many aliases the serang is a formidable predator
10:13Explosive speed flows from a streamlined muscular body
10:18And jets of water shooting through its gill slits
10:22Banks of needle sharp teeth bristle in its jaws
10:29And it's been reported to grow to the size of a man
10:32The unprovoked attacks i'm hearing about make it one of the most aggressive hunters i've ever come across
10:40But it's reputation doesn't stop there
10:47Mr. Biswas tells me that hindus also believe this fish to be untouchable
10:53I
10:57I want to start fishing but mention of the serang has touched a superstitious nerve
11:04I can't ignore local beliefs
11:07And the lakes fishermen have asked to speak to me
11:09Is this a fish that fishermen are are afraid of
11:21It seems the serang is the subject of a religious taboo
11:27Before i return to the water i need to seek an audience with a hindu holy man
11:32I am a scientist my investigations deal with hard evidence and deduction
11:48But for many fishing is a superstitious game
11:57And i've done this long enough to understand the power of belief
12:02This holy man may be more than just a detour
12:15Part monk and part magician he lives in a cave high above the holy river ganges
12:22It's said that he can levitate and even inhabit the bodies of animals
12:27I ask him about the serang
12:32It's a big fish it lives in the river it lives in lakes
12:39And it it cleans things up it eats dead matter it eats dead animals
12:45And according to the holy man this fish also eats dead people
12:49When a hindu dies a funeral pyre is built beside the river
13:02The corpse is brought down to the water's edge
13:05As the pyre burns down the remains end up in the river
13:19As easy pickings for the serang
13:21But it's not just the body it's eating
13:32This is a fish that not only eats
13:36The physical part of people it also takes human souls to the gods
13:40Hindus believe in reincarnation
13:45When you die your soul leaves your body
13:49The serang swallows this soul and carries it to the gods
13:53Who in turn see it reincarnated into another body
13:56This is a fish that shouldn't be eaten but beyond that it's actually a sin
14:06To kill it
14:07Um babaji uh
14:11I'm a fisherman and i'm here to try and catch a serang
14:14The holy man warns me that trying to catch this fish will bring nothing but bad luck
14:23This fish is actually the gods gift to people
14:27And not only is it a big fish with big teeth
14:30It also has some kind of divine protection this is a fish that you mess with at your peril
14:36A killer instinct formidable weaponry supernatural powers and divine protection
14:44I'm starting to wonder if i'm out of my depth
14:53But if i just catch examine and release this fish perhaps i won't incur the wrath of the gods
15:00Even so i'm nervous as i prepare to go fishing again
15:06Then i hear there's bad news
15:08I was planning to go out on the lake with Mr Biswas today but
15:12There's been a little bit of bother um
15:15Somebody was fishing the lake unofficially and the people who've got the contract there actually gave him a bit of a beating
15:21So this guy came around to the lake with his family
15:24Starting to kick off he's saying do you know who i am my family's important the police are going around today
15:29And so that the people are doing the fishing there they say don't come today there's going to be some trouble
15:33Are the holy man's warnings already coming true
15:40Adding together all of my fishing trips how much time have i spent in india
15:45How much time have i spent in india?
16:0212 and a half months
16:04I made my first trip here at the age of 26
16:07In northern india i've been warned that you tangle with the serang at your peril
16:16As an outsider i'm not even allowed to fish for this sacred predator
16:21I was planning to go out on the lake with Mr Biswas today but the people are doing the fishing there they say
16:27Don't come today there's going to be some trouble
16:29But maybe i can get a look at a serang at the fish market
16:32This is not what i'm looking for but something else has caught my eye
16:45Okay i've just asked if i can grab one of these
16:48This bucket of catfish hides a nasty surprise
16:51I've got to be careful because they've got spiky
16:54spiky fins
16:56That's what i'm trying to avoid there
16:58Don't want that in my finger
17:00But they're not the apex predator i'm looking for
17:09That's heavy that's a 20 pound fish easily so you know cause of death i think is a is a spear
17:20It's a snake head i'm used to fishing waters where this thing is the top predator the top dog here is just bait
17:26I've caught snake heads before some have a violent reputation
17:33But they don't grow as large as the serang and they have very different jaws
17:38It seems these traders are also wary of the serang and they too have a story to warn me off
17:55They tell me of a fisherman who was bringing in his lines at dusk
18:08On one of his hooks was a serang
18:12The fish spooked snagging the line tight around his legs
18:16The next day
18:25The man's lifeless body washed ashore
18:28Fear of the serang runs deep
18:31It's immensely frustrating to be denied access to where i want to fish
18:35I need a plan b
18:36I head to a place that's quieter with fewer people
18:49It's a forested valley bordering a wilderness reserve called corbett national park
18:57But getting in means trekking miles with full kit through hostile terrain
19:06And it's out of the frying pan and into the fire because here the man eaters aren't just in the water
19:19I need to keep my wits about me
19:22We've got a sort of a palm print and then one two three four
19:28Here again palm one two three four so going
19:33That way tiger there is actually an active man eater around at the moment about i think it's five people in the last couple of months
19:42But this is where i have to fish
19:48This water is actually very different from the water i was expecting to fish down the lake it's muddy it's still
19:54Here it's shallow moving fast and clear now fly fishing is one method i was going to use down there
20:01But here i don't know it's possibly the most appropriate so that's what i'm trying
20:06There's a record of a 70 pound serang that was caught from this river and there might just be another giant lurking here
20:13But i need to outsmart them by presenting a lifelike lure in all the likely hiding places
20:21That was a fish
20:25But while i'm intent on the river other dangers are patrolling the shores
20:31That's a couple of elephants that have just gone past behind here very quietly
20:45very quickly
20:46In india elephants kill more than 400 people each year
20:51I'll need to keep my distance
20:53Don't really want to see them too close and when i'm fishing i tend to be very much normally focused on what's in front of me but here
20:59It's definitely a case that you need eyes in the back of your head
21:05If this pair charged they would be on top of me in seconds
21:14I push deeper downstream
21:18I'm 20 miles from the nearest town
21:21If anything goes wrong out here i'm on my own
21:24But my luck may be about to change
21:34Yeah yeah yeah
21:40Still where
21:42Yes it's still there i can feel it
21:43I'm in india hunting the serang and i've got a fish on
22:01Down below it yes it's still there i can feel it
22:03It's off it's off it's off
22:15And i think tactically i should have just let that fish clear the rapid it's not going to you know
22:18There's no danger in that rapid just clear to the quiet water down below then i can make my way calmly down
22:24And uh and land it but um
22:28Mixed feelings mixed feelings
22:30I'd normally say that was just poor judgment
22:34But could it be more of the bad luck the serang is supposed to bring
22:41I try to apply some clarity of thought
22:43I've spooked my fish in the run so i turn my attention to the pool below
22:53Planning to put a bait on the bottom i rig with heavy line
23:03But i'm tired and starting to lose my focus
23:13Even with gear i'm familiar with i'm starting to make mistakes
23:22Sometimes we use line that's too thick
23:24Bird's nest on the cast
23:26That line in the current and just pulls it all out of position
23:30It seems that everything is starting to unravel
23:34Might even be snagged no it's not thank god
23:36A bad cast
23:42Bird's nest on the reel getting that off
23:45The current takes it down pulls it out of position
23:48It's snagged on a rock
23:50You get all that trouble making up a leader you get it snagged it breaks you're going to start all over again
23:55You know it's just it's just ridiculous just bloody ridiculous
24:00It's not just the gear my temper is fraying too
24:03I have to get this situation back under control
24:11That means getting into the water to recover my gear
24:26I'm putting my feet potentially very close to whatever is in there
24:33This fish has got me pushing my luck making bad calls and taking unnecessary risks
24:55What's more no fish is going to be hanging around after all that disturbance
25:03The fishing is starting to feel futile
25:06The fishing is starting to feel futile
25:13I don't know what the answer is
25:15Man-eating tigers wild elephants lost fish snags and now this
25:35Last year my crew narrowly survived a direct lightning strike on a river
25:48I can't risk that happening again
25:50What else is going on?
25:51We're going to have a lightning
25:52We're going to have to move it back off to the river for a little help
25:56The annual monsoon storms have arrived unseasonably early
26:00These rivers will soon be in full spate and unfishable
26:07But this might just be the break I need
26:11An excuse to escape these waters swirling with superstition
26:16There are other places to catch this fish
26:18Soreng attacks are known across southeast asia
26:25In malaysia and thailand they are believed to devour small children
26:30So while the monsoon rages in india i'll continue my quest in thailand's far south
26:36I've fished in thailand before for enormous fresh water stingrays
26:41I think we've got it
26:41I think we've got it
26:43And vicious giant snake heads
26:46And i've heard of a lake here that's legendary among anglers
26:49For being home to the strangest cocktail of monster fish in the world
26:58It's a fresh water freak show
27:00Where rare giants from across the globe have been released to swim with native species
27:05Including the serang
27:10There must be more river monsters here than in any other lake in the world
27:17It's a long way from my normal fishing
27:22But after my struggles in india this could be the change I need
27:25I know they're in here and here in thailand the fish doesn't have the supernatural power that it's supposed to have in india
27:35So i'm back to what i'm used to just me against the fish
27:39But even here i'm not taking any chances
27:42I'm fishing like i've never fished before with four heavy rods
27:49Bomb proof line professional fishing guide scott and electronic bite alarms
27:54It's like an angling midlife crisis
28:00The bait has hardly hit the bottom
28:01But it's working
28:04It could be an asian redtail
28:06I must be doing something right
28:11I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to catch a fish
28:15It is a red tail catfish
28:17Not what i came here to get but
28:18An interesting fish to see this is a native of these waters native of southeast asia
28:26A large native catfish swimming in the same waters as the serang
28:31It's tantalizingly close to what i've come to catch
28:47That looked like a catfish of some description
28:50It's an amazon redtail i think
28:53The fish are getting bigger and this one is proof that i'm fishing a unique aquatic sanctuary
29:00Amazon redtail catfish are actually quite different the asian redtail has a smoother skin
29:06And a slightly different shaped more deeply forked tail
29:10I'm used to seeing this in the amazon halfway around the world and here it is thriving in thailand
29:16This lake it really is a place of surprises
29:22After all the frustrations in india part of me feels like i've died and gone to angling heaven
29:30But another part of me wonders whether hooking a serang like this is cheating
29:38Has my goal of catching this fish turned to an unhealthy obsession
29:43But as the next day dawns the promise of a serang and all the other remarkable fish in this lake
29:53Is too much to resist
29:59What is that?
29:59Lovely
30:07Those are very very rare fish
30:09Scott tells me there are over a hundred serang in this lake
30:13But only eight of these
30:15Is this a chinese seer fish?
30:18This fish is so unusual i know next to nothing about it
30:22I don't know i'm going to have to look this one up
30:24I don't know exactly
30:25What it's related to?
30:28You know it's almost like this place is mocking me here's a rare fish here's another rare fish
30:32The one i want is just deluding me and there are more of those in here than there are things like that
30:41Those indian warnings are still playing on my mind
30:46Could serang bring bad luck even here thousands of miles from the haunted himalayas
30:54This is even starting to feel like india
31:06But as the rain clears i'm into a fish
31:11Good size fish
31:13And this one feels different
31:17Just going going going
31:18I've just gained a bit of line the first bit of line i've gained
31:28Gently gently gently
31:34Oh
31:37Silvery fish jumping out of the water
31:40For a second that looked like a serang
31:43But it sliced straight through my super tough leader
31:48So i was hoping that here i wouldn't get
31:54These sort of random things happening but something's bitten that through
32:03But i might just have a second chance
32:05I've hooked another fish straight away
32:11Oh massive bubbles over there i think that was that was it or another fish
32:16Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes could this be the one i'm gonna come over there i need to come there i need to come there
32:23Oh
32:34My quest for the fish that has become my nemesis
32:38Has led me from the haunted himalayas
32:41To a lake in thailand boiling with monsters
32:43And i'm locked into an epic battle
32:48Wait i'm gonna come over there i need to come there i need to come there
32:53At this angle the fish will snag my line
33:00With no room to maneuver i have to get into the lake
33:13This is a hell of a fish if this is hooked in the mouth
33:29I'm not sure if i'm playing the fish or it's playing me
33:32After a full half hour finally it begins to tire
34:02Oh gosh
34:06Incredible fish
34:09This monster is a catfish
34:12But the wrong one
34:13Mekon giant catfish
34:22It's still fighting me it's still fighting me this fish
34:25Mekon giant catfish
34:27This fish is known to grow
34:30Over 600 pounds only 650 pounds is the biggest one
34:33Authenticated but this one actually rose and took a piece of maize
34:37Dangling under a float took something about the size of my fingernail can you imagine
34:42Turned into a fish like this
34:44Incredible strong fish
34:48After all this intense fishing catching everything but the serang
34:52It's dawning on me that by coming to thailand all i've done is run away from my problem
34:57Which is with those gods back in india
35:04If i'm ever going to catch this fish i need to face my demons and make my peace with them
35:10I've got a new plan and i'm taking it back to india
35:21If i can somehow make it clear that i mean the serang no harm
35:25That i just want to catch it examine it and let it go
35:29Perhaps the gods will let their guard down
35:31First stop is a temple dedicated to the river gods
35:49This temple is on the confluence of two rivers now in hinduism rivers are sacred and confluences are
35:56Doubly sacred now
35:58I'm not sure i totally sort of buy into all the belief but certainly with all these people here
36:02You know you don't get this amount of smoke without some kind of fire
36:07It's time for me to make a leap of faith
36:12Pilgrims flock here seeking blessings and good fortune
36:15I'm here to lift the serang's curse of bad luck
36:27The priest gives me a blessing and a bag of sacred rice
36:32An offering to the gods and the fish in the river
36:45And where before these indian rivers seemed empty
36:53Suddenly they spring to life
37:04If i'm here to make friends with the local fish it seems i'm doing something right
37:10This is what fish do if you leave them alone and if you feed them occasionally
37:13You know the water just teams with them
37:16Compare that to what rivers are normally like you know you're normally struggling to see fish but
37:21Here we are very populous part of india and they leave this fish alone and the water's just full of them
37:26But can this charm offensive translate into a serang on the end of my line
37:31I head back to the river now swollen by monsoon rains
37:50The weather's actually brightened up which is nice to see but the effect of all that rain has been to make the river rise a bit
37:56But more to the point it's very very colored very murky now so i'm about to change tactics again improvise dig into my
38:03equipment box and fish something static on the bottom where something at least has half a chance of finding it
38:17A predator won't see my bait but i'm using rotten fish so it will smell it
38:26I take my place in the middle of this playground of gods and spirits
38:49I can't shake the feeling that i'm being watched
38:56Yeah that could have been a knot
39:04Something actually knocked the line then it could have been a fish it might have just been shifting in the current
39:09There's a very turbulent sort of whirlpool down there
39:14Was my leap of faith at the temple enough to let me finally catch the serang
39:19Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that is something
39:35Yeah, that's a fish
39:49I'm back in north india and i've made my peace with the river gods
39:54Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that is something
39:56And this feels like a monster
40:00Yeah
40:19That's gone wherever it was
40:35135 pound line sliced clean through on a rock
40:41I've never seen anything like it that was a fish and that took
40:44Moments after the bait was in the water
40:50I think the bait was actually in a shallowish bit of rock it bumped down into the depths and then there was a real knock knock knock knock
40:57And then the line tightened and that was a real weight on the end that was a sizable fish
41:02I was really leaning into that and that's just
41:04It's a fish gone
41:09After all my traveling planning and weeks of fishing maybe i've finally met my match
41:17That could be
41:19The net result of my return to india a broken line
41:26Perhaps i'm just not worthy of catching an instrument of the gods
41:30Or maybe it's something else
41:36Either way my battle with this enigma that swims between this world and the next and through holiness to violence is far from over
41:49It took me 25 years to catch my monster goons
41:54And the same time to land that goliath tiger fish
41:58Now those teeth
42:03Some river monsters are worth the wait
42:11For behind the scenes stories fishing games and more go to animalplanet.com slash river monsters