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  • 4 days ago
River.Monsters.S08E03.Razorhead
Transcript
00:00I'm Jeremy Wade, biologist, angler and explorer.
00:08It's now 30 years ago that I hunted down my first river monster.
00:14And in that moment, my interest in underwater creatures became an obsession.
00:20Since then, my quest has taken me to rivers and lakes all over the world,
00:26including some of the most inhospitable places on the planet.
00:31Now it's time to take that unparalleled and hard-won experience
00:36and apply it to the vastness of the oceans.
00:43A domain still with no shortage of mystery.
00:47Like the terrifying report that recently surfaced
00:50from one of the East Coast's most popular vacation destinations,
00:55the Florida Keys.
01:01Something, it appears, is terrorising this coastal paradise.
01:08I want to find out what it is that's attacking both visitors
01:11and people who grew up here who know these waters well.
01:15And what is it that's triggering these attacks?
01:19But I don't think it's going to be easy.
01:25a free sun!
01:28And what was it that's gonna be
01:51Carrie Larson and her boyfriend Michael are kayaking through the maze of islands which make up the Florida Keys.
02:01It's an area they're familiar with, having visited here countless times before.
02:21Suddenly, something explodes out of the water, knocking Carrie from the kayak, smashing her ribs, ripping her open, leaving a gaping hole in her side.
02:34Blood pours into the water. The blow has punctured her lung.
02:42Carrie survives, but the horrific events of that day have taken their toll.
02:47It was completely out of the blue when it hit me and lifted me up and tossed me five foot from the kayak. I, I was, I didn't know what happened.
02:58It was over in seconds.
03:01We had just seen some sharks, so both of our thought was to get her out of the water because she was bleeding.
03:08So whereabouts exactly did it hit?
03:10It's right here.
03:11So that, so, oh gosh, so that is, that is the...
03:13The teeth just ripped the skin. The nose and snout exploded the rib underneath it.
03:20A fish which can torpedo itself out of the water is something I know about.
03:24Thirteen years ago, an arapaima struck me in the chest.
03:31Later tests suggested it might have permanently damaged my heart.
03:39But arapaima can't be guilty here.
03:42They're a freshwater species from South America.
03:45Carrie was attacked in seawater in a channel near Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.
03:56A chain of 1,700 coral islands that extends over a hundred miles from the southern tip of Florida.
04:04Splitting the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean.
04:08What on earth could it have been that caused such horrific injuries to Carrie, injuries that could very easily have been fatal?
04:18Clearly something fast, heavy, and was it teeth that cut her open or was it just the sheer force of the impact that broke the ribs and then it was the rib that punctured the lung?
04:29And whatever it was, it was out of the water.
04:32Michael and Carrie reported seeing sharks on the day of the attack.
04:43And I've investigated attacks in Florida before.
04:46Yep, that's something off.
04:47Where it turned out that bull sharks were responsible.
04:52Sharks always bring a shadow of suspicion.
04:56But Carrie's injuries are not the unmistakable signature bite of a shark.
05:03I start fishing in shallow water where Carrie was attacked.
05:11I want to start getting an idea of what carnivorous fish live in this water close to shore.
05:18Thing is, it's very shallow.
05:19We've got about three foot of water, something like that.
05:22Nice sandy bottom.
05:23It's actually very inviting water, the kind of water you might want to jump in and swim in.
05:27Tries of putting a line in, I'm going to put some chum in the water just to see if that smell and that commotion actually draws anything in.
05:37We've been here, I don't know, less than five minutes and there's two lemon sharks already right next to the boat, 10, 15 feet away.
05:56More than two.
05:57Sharks can detect a single drop of blood in a million drops of water.
06:05Although not to the same extent as bull sharks, lemon sharks can survive in fresh water.
06:10They grow up to 10 feet long and have been known to attack people.
06:17Coming towards it, coming towards it, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes.
06:21Oh, there's hardly any resistance on that at all, but there we go.
06:25That's what that shark just did, a clean bite out of the back of this fish and you can see the individual tooth marks.
06:33That's happened in a fraction of a second.
06:36Like it or not, sharks bring baggage.
06:40Two behind it, two behind it.
06:42If any shark is at the crime scene, its alibi must be rock solid before you can find them not guilty.
06:49With the lack of teeth marks on her torso, I'm quite sure it wasn't a shark that attacked Carrie.
06:57But even so, I wouldn't want to fall in this water right now.
07:01It's got the whole thing, got the whole thing, the whole thing.
07:05Trying not to, oh, trying not to get pulled out of the boat here.
07:09Got the whole thing, I'm not letting go.
07:11I'm making sure I'm well and truly waged here because there's fishes.
07:19Right.
07:23They're actually still circling, but I think I've seen enough.
07:27I was wanting to know what carnivorous fish there might be in these shallow waters offshore,
07:32and there are lots of sharks.
07:33Those are lemon sharks, sounds sort of quite friendly,
07:35but the damage they were doing to some of these bonitas, just a fraction of a second, huge lump,
07:41you know, couple of pounds, two or three pounds of flesh removed, just like that.
07:48Looking at the evidence so far, Carrie's injury is clearly not a shark bite.
07:54And these sharks didn't jump out of the water, even when whipped into a frenzy.
07:59So what did it?
08:01Having disturbed that sight, I move a little way down the coast to get a hook in the water.
08:07Choosing what to put on the hook is as much an art as a science.
08:11A mixture of experience and intuition.
08:14I start off using artificial lures designed to attract the attention of sight hunters.
08:21When the water hits that, it tips the nose down and it dives down a few feet.
08:27And then while it's doing that, it's wiggling nicely as well.
08:31So I'm going to just buzz this off the edge of the mangroves.
08:36By retrieving the lures quickly, I'm hoping to grab the attention of any predators that might be down there.
08:44There's a bit of a drop-off there.
08:46It goes from shallow brown water, that's why it landed in just then,
08:51into deeper blue water.
08:53And I'm trying to sort of drop the lure along the edge of that,
08:57because that's the kind of place where predators are going to lurk.
09:01When the artificial bait draws a blank, I switch to real fish flesh.
09:06Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
09:25That's serious?
09:27Wow, that is serious.
09:29Notice the loss of line?
09:31Right.
09:33This took a fish, so it's a predator.
09:37And from the rate it's going, it's quite a good-sized one.
09:40We're going to follow this.
09:50This fish is just not stopping.
09:57Getting some line back, we're having to use the boat.
10:00If we don't keep up, I'll run out of line.
10:04Erm...
10:06Oh, it's outrunning the boat now.
10:07Oh, it's outrunning the boat now.
10:08I'm in the Florida Keys, investigating what could have leapt out of the water and sliced open a kayaker.
10:30And I've hooked something that's big enough to drag my boat.
10:34Unlike in most rivers, this water is so clear, I'm forced to use thin, almost invisible line.
10:46And the lighter the line, the easier it snaps.
10:50The runs are getting slower, or shorter.
10:56Erm, I can see the clear leader now.
10:59Yes, there it is, a shark.
11:01An eight-foot bull shark.
11:05The triangular dorsal fin and stocky body are unmistakable.
11:09Yes.
11:18But just as I get it close to the boat, it bites through the wire leader.
11:25Bull shark.
11:27Erm, a well-known inhabitant of these shallow, warm coastal waters.
11:31I've caught bull sharks before, and part of me is relieved it released itself.
11:38Bloody hell! This is going to break the gaff! It's going to break the bloody gaff!
11:42It's definitely one that, if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, could make a very nasty mess of you.
11:47That's two locations now, and each time I catch sharks.
11:54Both lemons and bulls are toothy predators, easily large enough to break ribs.
12:00But as far as I know, neither species can jump clear out of the water, and all sharks leave an unmistakable dental signature.
12:07I head back to port to talk to local fishermen, to find out what else is out there.
12:15It's then I hear of a second attack on a guy named Bill Murray.
12:23Bill is working in his dock.
12:28He's cutting off some reinforcing bar that's jutting out from the dock wall.
12:41A half hour later, he climbs out.
12:51I wasn't in any pain or anything.
12:53And I looked down at my foot, and out of the centre of my foot there was two streams of blood coming out.
12:58It was down to the bone.
13:01Bill's foot has been sliced clean open, like a knife attack.
13:06Could it be that creatures from the open ocean are hunting in these man-made canals?
13:12The type of wound often gives a definitive clue.
13:16But this injury is like nothing on my radar.
13:19So what was the water clarity like, and what time of day?
13:22The water wasn't crystal clear by any means.
13:25I would say it had about 10 or 12 foot visibility.
13:28So anything like this that you're aware of happened in this area before?
13:33Still to this day, no.
13:35Could the same creature be responsible for the attacks on Bill and Carrie?
13:40Both were attacked in shallow water close to the shore, with the light fading.
13:50Which is when many large predators start to hunt.
13:57I'm at the spot where Bill was attacked at the same time of day.
14:01Maybe whatever went after Bill is still down there.
14:07There's actually lots of fish down here.
14:11I'm remembering a gruesome detail I learned while river fishing for Paku in Papua New Guinea.
14:18Tribesmen there, who were once cannibals, told me that human flesh tastes like pork.
14:23So for a fish that's attacking humans, I'm using pork as bait.
14:38I stir up the bait fish, hoping to attract something larger.
14:45But nothing.
14:46So, low light levels, poor visibility.
14:54I think whatever bit Bill mistook his light-coloured foot for a fish.
15:00And whatever it was, it had to be pretty serious size.
15:04It had half of his foot in its mouth.
15:06Now, I've looked in the water up and down here, and I can't see anything bigger than the bait fish that he was describing.
15:12So, what on earth could it have been?
15:17Whatever attacked Bill has not been seen in the canal since.
15:21So, perhaps it has now moved back into the open ocean.
15:27The next day, I head into unfamiliar waters and start applying what I know.
15:33In rivers, predatory fish like to hunt around structure.
15:38And one common form of structure out here is the many boats that have run aground in these shallow tidal waters.
15:44We're drifting by this wreck here because it's the kind of place where you might get predators lurking, using that as a sort of, you know, a background to hide against.
16:01Oh, there we go.
16:02I'm in the Florida Keys investigating two gruesome incidents, trying to discover what is attacking people in these shallow coastal waters.
16:22And I have a bite.
16:24A long, streamlined fish.
16:28Is that a baby barracuda?
16:33Those are big teeth on a small fish. Good heavens.
16:35My first barracuda. There's no doubt about that being a predator.
16:40Long and streamlined, that helps with the speed. Big tail.
16:43And that sort of mirror finish, actually in open water, that is really good camouflage.
16:48The other thing that's very obvious, big eyes.
16:49So no doubt that this thing's a sight hunter.
16:53But I am just drawn to those teeth.
16:56Even on a small one like this, those are wicked teeth.
17:00They seem to be pointing backwards.
17:02So anything that gets in there and tries to pull away is actually just going to sink those teeth deeper.
17:08I've never caught a barracuda before, and I've not heard of them jumping out of the water.
17:12But if they do, one this size would not have the power to knock an adult out of her kayak.
17:21I need to see what a bigger barracuda is capable of.
17:25So I head to deeper water to find a larger wreck.
17:31So we've found more structure.
17:35There's basically quite a big wreck under the water here.
17:38And based on what I know so far, I'm now working a lure across the wreck.
17:51My casts yield nothing.
17:53So I fish deeper.
17:55And switch from lures to bait, which I drop around the wreck.
18:03Oh, there's one after it, there's one after it.
18:08Here we go, look.
18:20So I had a bite, but nowhere near the hook.
18:23It actually took half of the fish.
18:25So this is what barracuda does, just clean bite through the flesh.
18:28The fact that you've got something that size with teeth like that in this water, lovely clear water, nice sandy beach over there looks all quite benign.
18:37But stuff like that in this water.
18:42I try again with another whole bait fish.
18:45I try again with another fish.
18:51Oh, there it goes.
18:53No, it's the same again. Look at this.
19:07Look at this.
19:10Look at this.
19:15This is carnage.
19:19That wasn't a hookup.
19:21Seeing that, you know, you really appreciate that you don't want to be anywhere near those teeth, whether you're a small fish or even a person.
19:26Could those teeth be what caused the injuries to carry and bill?
19:33I need to find out more about barracuda.
19:38There's an inner row of large teeth.
19:42Barracuda expert Dr Evan D'Alessandro of the University of Miami talks me through their hardware.
19:48So it not only cuts through the flesh, it cuts through the bone as well.
19:53Flesh, bone and everything.
19:55Based on the skull size, we're looking at a five-foot barracuda.
19:59I mean, these ones in the front are interesting, aren't they?
20:02Because at first sight they look as if they've just got a point, but they've actually got a...
20:07There's a blade on the leading edge, isn't there?
20:09Yes, and that's very characteristic of a barracuda attacking something.
20:12It's very precise and almost surgical in the way that it cuts its prey.
20:17And also at high speed they can actually cut without the barracuda even doing much biting action.
20:23Just by ramming something they can actually cut it.
20:25That explains the clean slice on my bait.
20:28And I wonder whether it also explains the slice on Bill's foot.
20:33I was talking to somebody who was in one of these canals doing some work to his dock.
20:39He's just getting out of the water.
20:42His foot is about two or three feet under the surface and something hits it.
20:45Is this a possible candidate?
20:48I'd say it's a very high likelihood that it could have been one of these because his foot dangling in the water probably mimicked a small fish.
20:55And the barracuda probably saw that as prey.
20:58One tooth with a sharp edge moving at speed is just going to...
21:02Yes, absolutely.
21:03I ask about the attack on Carrie.
21:06There was a woman I was talking to who was kayaking in the mangroves.
21:11Something leaves the water and then impacts the side of her chest.
21:16It broke a rib, punctured the lung.
21:18Is barracuda a possibility for that?
21:21Barracuda can jump when they're chasing their prey.
21:23So even if the teeth don't actually make contact, the fact that you've got that mass and that momentum and you've got that pointed shape, if that impacts you, even that can cause a lot of damage.
21:39Absolutely.
21:43So at last, a big predator that can jump clear out of the water.
21:48To underline his point, Evan tells me about another bizarre incident.
21:52John Zieleff was fishing with his buddy.
21:57Nothing could have prepared them for what was about to happen.
22:01They've hooked something big and it's taking off at speed.
22:06Suddenly, it does a 180, heads straight towards the boat and leaps out of the water straight at John.
22:14The barracuda's razor sharp teeth slice through his arm, right down to the bone.
22:23I tracked John down in Key Largo.
22:28I really thought that I was going to die.
22:31You don't realize how fast they come.
22:32I mean, it must have been coming 30, 40 miles an hour.
22:35Because it jumped out of the water from 30 feet away and was on top of me before my brain could process what was happening.
22:42So at that point, all I could do to keep him from hitting me in the chest was put my arm up and just deflect him off of me.
22:48Well, it's now clear to me that Barracuda could have carried out the attacks on both Carrie and Bill.
22:57The question is though, do they really get big enough to knock somebody out of a kayak and smash their ribs?
23:03Barracuda are fast, explosive predators armed with three rows of razor sharp teeth, two rows in the upper jaw and one in the lower.
23:15They are said to grow to six feet in length and weigh a hundred pounds.
23:20But can Barracuda get this big in these shallow coastal waters?
23:27That is what I need to find out.
23:29Having spoken with Evan and caught the juvenile Barracuda, I know these visual hunters are fast, both in the water and out.
23:40Time to adapt my fishing and catch one big enough to knock a woman out of a kayak.
23:47I suppose a big difference between what I'm used to, fresh water and this, is that salt water tends to be more open.
23:54So it's all a lot more about speed.
23:56So small fish, if they're in open water, they're going to be often travelling fast.
24:01And if you're a predator, you keep an eye out for that and you travel faster.
24:06So my lure needs to behave like a fleeing prey fish.
24:14Despite there being hooks on there, you can sort of drag that through the shallows, can keep it just in the top few inches.
24:27Suddenly, I see a Barracuda sweep in.
24:31Oh, yes!
24:32What is the origin of the name Barracuda? Find out right after this.
24:47Before the break, I asked what is the origin of the name Barracuda?
24:51It's thought to be of Spanish origin.
24:54Baraco is Catalan for snaggletooth.
25:02I'm in Florida, trying to find out if Barracuda grow big enough in these coastal waters to knock someone out of a kayak.
25:14It's thrown the hook.
25:24Well, that was exciting.
25:26That wall, what happened there was, um, it was a Barracuda hit very soon after the lure hit the water.
25:32And what I've been trying to do is, is get, uh, get to the point, get my casting so that, uh, as soon as that lure hits the water, I've got a tight line to it and it's moving immediately.
25:44If you don't do that, if it's dead in the water for even a fraction of a second, it's going to clock that it's just a piece of plastic.
25:49Ah, I thought that was well hooked, that.
25:51Off we go again.
25:52So they're here anyway.
25:53We found them.
25:54Oh, good grief, that was a big one.
26:00That fish there, I mean, my heart is still going, it was pretty close to the boat, and, um, probably four and a half foot long, 25 pounds, something like that.
26:21I found something like that. I saw the head, I saw this black head and it looked like the head of a dog coming out of the water.
26:29I've certainly came close to hooking up with some big fish, but they just seem very skittish, very canny.
26:40It's not just happening. There is a fish down there with my name on it, but I'm not quite sure yet how to catch it.
26:51I'm thinking what I need to do now is get in the water.
26:58Now, in a river this would normally be a waste of time, but here the water's clear.
27:02And what I really want to do is have a look around some of these wrecks and hopefully see a big barracuda.
27:08I'm hoping that if I can see how they attack, that's going to help me figure out how to catch a big one.
27:15But it's not going to be easy.
27:18Top predators tend to be suspicious and they're hard to get close to.
27:30So, I'm going to be going into underwater stealth mode using this closed circuit rebreather unit, which doesn't give off clouds of bubbles.
27:38So, in theory, I'm going to be able to get much closer to Barracuda.
27:45But this is a trade-off, as rebreather diving is highly technical.
27:50Unlike normal scuba diving, this bubble-free system is computer-driven.
27:55So, if something goes wrong, the results could be catastrophic, unless I take action.
28:01But if I'm to get my quarry, then I must go the extra mile, unnoticed.
28:07The USS Spiegelgrove is a 510-foot warship, which, after decommissioning, was sent to a watery grave.
28:19It's now an encrusted metal reef in 135 feet of water.
28:25It's a maze of rooms and corridors, ideal for ambush predators like Barracuda.
28:32But this makes it more dangerous for me.
28:36Eight divers have died on this wreck.
28:39Some lost their way inside and never found their way out.
28:45Barracuda have been known to attack divers, their teeth tearing through dive suits and into flesh.
29:02The visibility deteriorates the deeper I go.
29:09Barracuda!
29:15Just look at that streamlined body and the shape and area of the tail.
29:22The Barracuda really is the perfect predator.
29:28I'm wondering if there's some sort of territorial thing going on.
29:33They will stand their ground.
29:35I think the thing is, this wreck is a piece of prime real estate.
29:40They are sort of defending their interest to it.
29:50Suddenly, it heads off into open water.
29:53Which is when I spot them massing above me.
29:59There is just a stack of Barracuda here at about 30 feet.
30:04Lots of fish, good-sized fish.
30:09Perhaps they're gathering to protect themselves from a larger predator that I've not seen.
30:14I'm now actually holding formation with a squadron of Barracuda.
30:24Suddenly, I'm surrounded by thousands of razor-sharp teeth.
30:29I'm in the Florida Keys, planning to dive with Barracuda.
30:46I'm hoping if I can see how they behave, I can figure out how to catch a big one.
30:54I put on chain-mail gloves, protection against a fish that shows no fear.
31:00And that is literally armed to the teeth.
31:05Then I head down with a bucket of bait to draw in the fish that Barracuda eat.
31:09And start chumming the water.
31:17Wondering what is lurking out there.
31:29This vibration and movement in the water is definitely calling in the predators.
31:34And there's one here.
31:42Does it intend to attack my bait?
31:45Or me?
31:49There's one out here.
31:54Here's my bait.
31:56Here's my rod.
31:58Normally I've got a reel and some line.
32:01Today I've just got the bait attached to the rod.
32:14A vigorous waving of the bait seems to get its attention.
32:18Here we go.
32:31Barracuda definitely coming in.
32:33There's definitely sort of a cautious approach going on.
32:46This fish is wary.
32:48Assessing the danger before striking.
32:50That came in at a rate of knots.
32:59It just lopped on.
33:01And it was coming at speed.
33:03Just fearsome.
33:05Absolutely fearsome, these things.
33:07Just a little,
33:09little rain of scales in the water.
33:10I'm really getting an understanding of how they lock on and how they attack.
33:27Barracuda, it hits.
33:29And it hits straight on.
33:30It's not like a sideways movement like you get with some fish, like sharks.
33:41Didn't take the bait.
33:42It just sliced the end clean off.
33:47I didn't, I scarcely even saw it.
33:50That's what must have happened to Bill's foot.
33:54For a moment there, I wasn't looking at a fish getting nailed,
33:59I was looking at a human foot.
34:01And I can absolutely imagine now
34:03what must have been going on underneath the water
34:06when Bill got attacked.
34:24I've learnt so much about Barracuda.
34:29Just seeing them feed right in front of me.
34:32I can certainly now visualise much better
34:36what's going on out of sight under the surface.
34:41Now it's time to put this experience into practice.
34:45With Rod and Line.
34:54I head out with skipper Brad Nowicki.
34:57He was born in the Keys, so knows these waters well.
35:01So how big is this wreck they're going to?
35:03This one is one of the biggest wrecks we have.
35:06And do you tend to find, you know, the bigger the wreck, the bigger the fish?
35:10Yes.
35:12So if I'm after big Barracuda, I mean, this should be a pretty good thing.
35:14This should be a good wreck to be on.
35:19Right, just having a good look at the gear I'm going to be using.
35:20It's scaled up a little bit from what I was using on the flats,
35:23but you can't go ridiculously heavy because in clear water,
35:27fish with good eyesight, they can see sort of, you know, wire cable.
35:31It has to be quite delicate.
35:32And what we're going to try and do,
35:34because there's lots of sharp bits of metal down on the wreck,
35:36what we're going to try and do is bring the fish up off the wreck
35:39and then once they're hooked, don't let them get back down.
35:41Once out of port, we travel southeast from Key West,
35:51to where the shallow coastal waters drop off into the deeper ocean.
35:55Well, we're here. This is the wreck.
36:07Not that you would know it.
36:09As with all open ocean fishing, the surface gives little away.
36:13Without Brad I would never have known that a 500-foot wreck is only 40 feet below me.
36:18While diving on the Spiegel Grove, I saw Barracuda hanging out above the wreck,
36:26so I'm trying to position my bait there.
36:29My goal is to hook one large enough to knock someone into the ocean and break bones.
36:34Here we go. Something there.
36:40This time I can picture what's happening under the surface.
36:44Within seconds something's running with my bait and it feels big.
36:49Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
36:50Yes, yes, yes, yes.
37:02I'm fishing for Barracuda.
37:05First cast and there's something big on my line.
37:09Where is it? Where's the line? Where's the line?
37:11There it is, there it is, there it is.
37:13There's the fish.
37:20Well done, exactly.
37:25So...
37:29Oh, this fish has still got so much strength.
37:32First cast straight away on this deep wreck, so it just goes to show more water over their heads,
37:37just how much more confident they are.
37:40Those teeth are just unbelievable.
37:43I'm very careful to stay clear of this fish's jaws.
37:46Nice sized fish, but I think what I really want to do is get this back.
37:51I'm after a big one. Get this back, get another bait out.
37:53See if we can get one that might even have this one for dinner.
37:57Size matters.
37:59I'm here to prove that Barracuda not only have the equipment,
38:03but also the sheer weight and power to commit the attacks I'm investigating.
38:08I quickly hook another.
38:10Another.
38:17And another even bigger.
38:22You know, everything stabs and everything cuts.
38:25If you're on the receiving end of that, very, very bad news.
38:32The Barracuda just keep on coming, each one bigger than the last.
38:36Fast and furious action.
38:42I feel like I'm casting into the pack of Barracuda I saw while diving.
38:47Oh.
38:49There's a better sized one.
38:51Here we go.
38:53Just one after the other, these fish.
38:56And look at the size.
38:57It's not just about individual big fish.
38:59These are all serious sized fish.
39:03And they seem to pack more or less in fish of a similar size.
39:07But I still don't feel I've caught one capable of smashing somebody's ribs open.
39:13Then something nearly pulls the rod out of my hands.
39:18It was going deep, which had me a bit worried.
39:21This one feels different, definitely bigger than the others.
39:26I don't know if this is a Barracuda or it's feeling possibly slightly different.
39:32I hope it's not a shark.
39:35This feels like a good sized fish.
39:42I'm guessing it's about 30 foot down.
39:46And I'm struggling to bring it any nearer to the surface.
39:51Oh, it's still hanging.
40:03You can see the leader.
40:04So there's the fish.
40:06There's the fish.
40:08There it is.
40:10It's the proof I needed to see with my own eyes.
40:14A huge Barracuda.
40:16The size of this.
40:24It's been, I've been thinking I've been catching big ones.
40:29One after another after another.
40:31And along comes this.
40:33No, those aren't big ones.
40:34This is a big one.
40:36It's just unbelievable.
40:37The teeth, the power, the streamlining.
40:40This would absolutely lacerate a limb.
40:42And I reckon one like this.
40:44At speed, out of the water.
40:46Hit you in the side.
40:48Perfectly possible this could break your ribs.
40:51It's a tired fish as well.
40:52I want to get it back in the water.
40:55I came to Florida in search of a creature capable of inflicting life-threatening injuries.
41:01And it wasn't the shark that most would assume, but another of the ocean's super predators.
41:06It rams its prey at speed, with teeth that slice at the merest contact.
41:13But perhaps most remarkable, it can do this both below and above the water.
41:19I know that Barracuda don't deliberately target humans, but these high-speed predators slice through the same warm shallow water where people play.
41:29So in the Florida Keys, I'm now very wary of the other jaws below the surface.