Cuba Earth's Wildest Waters: The Big Fish

'The world's wildest rivers, oceans and lakes

'are home to some extraordinary fish.

'Across the globe,

'people must contend with the elements to catch them.

'And now, eight British anglers will do the same,

'battling the most extreme temperatures and wild waters

'in a fishing competition that spans the globe.'

Oh, yeah! Hit it, hit it! Lift up!

I think I've got Jaws on here.

That has made my day.

'All the while, they'll be watched by fishing legend Matt Hayes

'and some of the best fishermen from around the world,

'who will judge who stays on to the next location.'

I think I'm the only one that hasn't had a hook up, even.

'Last time, the anglers faced the frozen fjords of Iceland.'

My shoulders are burning.

'Sam and James shone...'

I think that might have won it. Get in!

That is what you come to Iceland for.

'..while Geoff...

'..Ripon...'

At the moment, my body is just obliterated.

'..and Jo failed to catch in the fly-fishing round.'

That was pants.

'And unfortunately for Geoff, his casting cast him out.'

Not good, is it?

'He was the first angler to leave the competition.

'This time, the seven remaining anglers take on

'one of the greatest sports fishing locations...'

My legs are shaking, my heart is pounding.

'..Cuba.'

Probably the hardest fighting fish I've ever felt in my life!

'Between the mighty Atlantic Ocean and the tropical Caribbean

'lies the island of Cuba.

'It might be most famous for its bustling capital Havana,

'with its classic cars, cigars and music,

'but that's not what the anglers are here for.

'It's one of the best places in the world to fish.'

As the largest of the Caribbean islands,

there's plenty of fish in these waters.

But a little like handling these boats,

they're notoriously tricky. Whoa!

'Cuba is surrounded by coral reefs

'and saltwater flats, lined with mangroves.

'These underwater forests

'are one of the richest marine environments in the Atlantic.'

They're going to have to cope with the heat, the humidity,

the variable weather and some of the spookiest,

most difficult fish to catch on the planet.

This might be one of the best sport fishing destinations in the world,

but let me tell you, these fish take some catching.

'Matt will be joined by Lazaro Vinola,

'legendary as a fishing guide in this part of Cuba.

'He's grown up fishing in and around these waters.'

I was ten years old when I catch my first fish.

After that, all my life, I enjoy it.

I know that Cuba is a fishing Mecca for a lot of people

and its a dream place for a lot of people to come here.

They've taken the Welshman out of his comfort zone here, eh?

This place is nuts!

If it's fly-fishing that we're doing,

I learnt a lot back in Iceland. I should be OK.

'Now, two hours' drive south of Havana,

'in the largest swampland in the Caribbean,

'the anglers face one of the most exciting fish in Cuba.'

The motley crew are back!

Welcome to La Salinas.

Today, you're going to be fishing for bonefish,

using a fly line on one of these skiffs.

LAUGHTER

These clear waters mean that the fish can see everything.

You have a great challenge today.

You don't make a noise,

because the bonefish, they hear everything around.

You need to try to make a good cast, in a good position,

and in the best moment.

We've put together a box of flies for you that imitate bonefish food,

so if you can work out what the bonefish are feeding on,

and give them a fly that looks pretty much like what they're expecting,

then you're going to get some success.

The guides on the boat are going to be our judges' eyes and ears.

They're looking for technique, seizing your opportunities.

This really is about precision.

It looks like the rain may be easing off a little bit, so guys...

Go fish!

ANGLERS: Cheers.

They've each been provided with identical fly rods

and a selection of flies.

The angler who catches and releases the most bonefish wins.

I think, stealth-wise, I'm not the quietest, I'm not the smallest...

James is as subtle as an earthquake!

This challenge is all about fundamental fishing skills.

So, here in Cuba,

a lot of the fishing is about stealth and caution and accuracy,

so we'll see how good they are

at the basic skills of finding and not scaring fish.

Good fishing today. Good fishing today, yeah?

'In the middle of the Caribbean,

'saltwater flats speckle the Cuban coastline.

'La Salinas is part of the Zapata National Park.

'These hot, shallow waters cover nearly 100 square kilometres.'

It's like a boyhood dream being here, man.

It's one thing I've always wanted to do.

'The mangrove forest acts as a natural living barrier

'that protects the young of hundreds of species.

'Shrimps, crustaceans and small fish

'attract the larger predators below and above the water.

'Many fish have failed to adapt to these shallow, salty conditions,

'but bonefish thrive.'

It's really a fishy game of hide and seek.

You seek the fish, but you hide yourself from them

and these are some of the spookiest fish that you'll ever come across.

The anticipation is incredible with this sort of fishing.

Just looking for those tails, that nervous water.

Comparing it to how we were fishing in Iceland for the trout,

this is all about tracking the fish down, stealthily finding them,

sighting your quarry and targeting an individual fish.

I feel like a meerkat at the minute, just trying to...

Almost the tiniest bloom looks like a huge fish. It's really weird.

There was a few fish over there, but I spooked them.

When they're feeding, they must be splashing -

but it's just trying to spot them.

-There, ten metres.

-Can't see him.

-Right there!

-Oh, yeah.

Oh! Just missed one, there.

You've got to be really, really there,

ready for the action at that split second.

I wouldn't normally be fishing in this way at all.

But I'm ready for the challenge.

'Last week, Phil gave a solid performance,

'but this time, he's under pressure to achieve his dream.'

I would really love to have a go at bonefish.

They say that the fight of them on a fly rod is unbelievable.

My competitiveness in fishing comes from a friend of mine,

who is no longer here, unfortunately.

He was a superb fisherman and he taught me to never give up,

because you only want one to take and its made your whole week -

just that one fish.

Fish over there.

'Creeping up on the fish is just the first hurdle.'

Spooked again.

'Then, they've got to cast to them.

'Fly-fishing involves casting out a line with an artificial fly,

'designed to mimic an insect or small fish.

'The fly must be securely knotted to the end,

'to ensure it remains attached when a fish bites.

'The cast must be carefully controlled,

'so that the fly lands gently on the water without a splash,

'to convince the fish it's real.

'Accuracy is crucial.'

Bonefish never stop. All the moments, they are moving,

all the moments, they are looking for food.

It's a moving target.

You can't cast directly at the fish where you see it,

you've got to work out where it's going and put the fly there -

close enough so it sees it, but not so close that it scares it.

It's really tricky. It's a steep learning curve.

Argh. Nope.

It's difficult to get it in dead the right place.

It's all about that fly presentation, though.

If you don't get it in the right place, you will just spook them.

Too short. Spooked them.

'Emma and James are the most experienced fly fishermen here.'

What I'm trying to do is

put the fly in front of the fish, by about two yards.

'Ripon has only been fly-fishing for three months.

'And after a shaky start last week, he has his work cut out for him.'

I'm in the tree again.

Getting too excited when they're coming past

and I cast like an idiot, really.

'But Ripon's not the only one struggling with the mangroves.'

I see that Dan is stuck in the mangrove, there.

This is very much "spot the fish and cast for them".

And that's where I'm going to struggle,

because my cast isn't as tidy as a lot of people's.

I've been a coracle fisherman for 18 years now, down the River Teifi.

Especially for my family and a few other families around here,

it's a way of life.

A fly fisherman will tell you

that they use more skill to catch their fish.

A coracle man will tell you that he puts more into it.

A lot of the people who are on this competition

are probably very good rod and line anglers,

whereas I'm the netsman entry in a rod and line competition.

Whoa, what?

'Once hooked, the fish fight back.'

By far, the strongest fish I've ever felt in my life!

'In such shallow water,

'strength and speed is their only means of defence.

'They can swim up to 40mph,

'which makes them one of the fastest fish on the planet.'

Pick it up, pick it up.

'Their initial run is so strong and so fast...'

-That's unbelievable!

-.. '..that the line could snap.'

Bonefish picked up the fly, streaming out the line,

straight down into the backing, fantastic. My heart is pounding.

Trying to play this fish. It's getting stuck in the mangroves.

It's really, really difficult.

Look at that.

My first bonefish on the flats, fantastic.

OK, I can see him.

Great. Absolutely super.

Yes. Yes, you beauty.

You little beauty...

Go on, go on, go on!

And we're in again. Boyhood dream come true.

There we go, we're into another one.

Blimey, all over the shop around these reefs.

Absolutely beautiful.

First ever bonefish. I'm going to release him now.

I am out of breath.

It's the adrenaline and everything else.

And all you want to do now is really just catch another one,

to be honest with you.

That's all right, nice boney... You little beauty.

'Emma might be far from home, but the fly-fishing is familiar.'

I love fishing, mostly with a fly rod.

Somebody said the other day, "Describe yourself.

"Are you a woman angler or a wangler,

"or are you a fly fisherwoman?"

and either way, it doesn't really sound right.

I think "wanglers" is great, but I love it

and it just is something which, if I'm doing it, I just come alive.

'Over halfway through their bonefishing challenge

'and only Ripon and Jo are struggling to hook up.'

I'm trying not to think about what the other people are up to,

because I'm trying to keep my head in the game here.

It's bit worrying to think other people have been catching

and I might be, again, the only person that doesn't catch anything.

OK, two nice fish there.

'And despite catching early,

'Phil's struggling to cast accurately.'

I was casting onto the fish too much.

You've got to cast a couple of metres away from them.

It's no good casting right on the fishes' nose,

because you'll spook them.

This is really, really difficult fishing

and it's all about producing that fly in the right place at the right time.

'Ripon might be hooking fish, but he's losing them.'

RIPON GROANS

No fly.

I had a run, finally managed to hook one, but he slashed me straight off.

These are the knots I use back home and these have never let me down.

My hands are shaking, because that was just mental.

-That just rips off line.

-I'm panicking a little bit.

It's all a bit... Once you see the fish, it's all very much go, go, go.

It just isn't happening.

Is she in again?

Emma's caught four fish today.

So, she's on fire today. I just wish I could get one.

That's not where I wanted it to go.

We're longing to get close enough to Jo,

because what's happening is, she's casting really well,

but then, after she's casting,

instead of having her rod tip near the water,

her rod tip is up, like this.

FISHERMEN WHISTLE

-Rod tip down.

-Rod tip down? What, after I cast?

After you've cast, just chill.

If I had a gin and tonic,

I'd give you a huge gin and tonic now, and a hug.

Just have an imaginary gin and tonic and go catch a fish.

FLAMINGOS SQUAWK

'With time running out, Jo is desperate to use Emma's advice.'

Yes, yes!

Good girl. Good girl.

Not too much pressure.

Yes, yes!

We're coming up on some fish now...

There was a couple of fish there, right under my feet,

but it's difficult to get it in dead the right place.

There's another one. Whoa!

And another one.

I'm shaking.

There we go.

Oh, not again! Ugh.

Frustrating. Normally, my knot skills are all right,

but I think it's more that I'm panicking here.

Ah, yeah! Yeah, he's on, he's on.

Look at that beauty.

I don't think one fish will be enough, to be honest with you.

This is a nice fish.

Oh! Not again, surely?

Yeah... Go.

Man alive!

Yes!

There he goes.

Oh, that was disappointing.

Coming back empty-handed is a bit...

Could be another fine line again.

Obviously worn out. The fish have worn us out.

Never caught anything like it in my life.

Not happy today.

The fish were there, I seemed to fluff the casting quite a bit.

'Over the four hours, 16 fish were caught.

'Only Ripon failed to catch anything.'

There was a huge number of fish out on the flat today,

so I expected you to catch fish.

It was all about stealth and presentation

through accurate casting.

Some of you fared better than others.

Ripon, you hooked three fish - but sadly, you lost them.

-You need to learn to tie knots better.

-Do you know what, man?

I use this knot back home, day in, day out -

and today, it's let me down three times.

-On to Phil.

-You got opportunities, caught one.

We've talked about speed with bonefish

and the need to cast quickly, but you also need to take a moment

to work out where you should put that fly.

-Wait for the best moment.

-Exactly.

And you were trigger-happy, mate.

'Jo and Dan each caught two bonefish

'and Sam caught three.'

We actually technically have a tie,

because both Emma and James caught four fish.

You did it all today, Emma.

You got the stealth, you got the precise casting,

demonstrating the ability to make cast in different directions.

And onto James.

I think you know your fish pretty well. You're a strong caster.

At times, you were stripping the fly too slowly,

and missing the opportunity to hook the fish.

So, the judges have debated between themselves,

taking into account technique, using the opportunities, sportsmanship...

The winner today...

..is Emma.

APPLAUSE

Your prize is that for tomorrow's task, you will choose your team.

Fantastic. I was not expecting to win at all. I'm really chuffed.

I'm really, really, really pleased.

I don't think I could have done any better. I tried as hard as I could.

It's been amazing, absolutely amazing.

Boyhood dream come true,

caught the fish which was at the top of my list,

that I always wanted to catch, and I've done it.

I was gutted, I really wanted to land one - just to hold it.

Hopefully, something will be in my favour in the next two tasks.

I think I've really got to man up now, in the next couple of days,

because if I don't, it's going to be serious.

So, I've got to man up.

'As the first day in Cuba draws to an end,

'the anglers stay in the homes of local fishermen.'

The fishing we've been doing today, for the bonefish -

-have you done that before?

-Yes, yes.

-Did you catch a lot?

-Yes, yes.

-More than us?

-Yes, yes. LAUGHTER

What do you say in Cuba? Salud?

-Salud. ALL:

-Salud!

-CHEERING

In Wales, we say "iechyd-da".

LAUGHTER

That went down like a lead balloon, didn't it?

'Dawn on their second day in Cuba

'and the anglers arrive at the infamous Bay of Pigs.

'Just an hour from where they were yesterday,

'it could be another world.

'This iconic bay is a completely different marine environment...

'..home to ancient caves,

'coral reefs

'and hundreds of species of fish.

'The local Cubans fish here by boat,

'or by any other means they can.'

-Good morning, anglers.

-ALL: Morning.

Not a bad place to wake up to in the morning. Welcome to Paradise.

Today, you're going to be fishing as the locals do.

You may have noticed, I have a tyre inner tube here -

and this, a reel known as a yo-yo.

This is Lazaro's local fishing turf, Playa Larga.

This is very easy to find here.

They use it every day and when they have chance, they go fishing.

It's very easy to try to fish in this type of bay.

"Easy"!

LAUGHTER

No excuses today. It's full of fish out there.

You might catch yellowtail snapper, red snapper...

If you're really lucky, you might get something like a bonito.

Emma, you won yesterday's task.

Would you like to come and join me over here?

You get to choose your team.

There's no person that's more of a teamsman than Phil.

Jo, please will you come and give us some girl power?

And Sam, I think you fish with so many different things,

I think you'd be great.

-Right, go fish!

-Good luck, guys.

All right, team. Here we go.

Let's go and get some tubos.

OK, tubos...

'They have just 30 minutes

'to build their rafts and assemble their rigs.'

It reminds me of me and my good friend Roger.

We used to buy old barrels

and there was this little stream by our houses

and there was a few summers where we were trying to perfect this raft.

We sank in them as well, so that wasn't fun.

In some ways, this is sort of a Cuban coracle. It's round...

It's black, and I've got my net at last.

It's just a shame I can't use it to fish with, isn't it?

I hope I never get stuck on a desert island.

'The local Cuban way doesn't involve a rod at all.

'Instead, a fishing line is thrown in and pulled out by hand.

'A lead weight sinks the line into the water,

'with hooks knotted on at different depths

'that are baited with sardines, to attract the fish.'

It's really important to get the knots right at this stage,

because yesterday, it was kind of a schoolboy error, really.

I've got to prove to the judges I can tie knots,

because that's pretty much a basic thing to do.

Hello, hello. Have you had a bit of a chat about your distances?

There's a clue out there, with the line of boats.

I believe, out there, there's a reef.

And the reef are where the snappers

and where the other fish like that are going to be hanging out.

Heath Robinson, that's the way to do it.

I feel quite comfy in this, bobbing about.

-Oh, yes.

-OK, guys. You've got your rings, you've got your yo-yos.

Remember, the winner will be the team who catches

the greatest average weight.

Once your rings hit the water, you've got two and a half hours.

-Go fish!

-Come on, guys.

-The Bay of Pigs, here we come.

'The local fishermen have just two rules.

'Any fish smaller than your hand must be released.

'Anything bigger is despatched humanely and brought home to eat.'

Imagine if now, it just went psssh!

PHIL CHUCKLES

For these sports fishermen, used to their hi-tech equipment,

this is back to basics.

LAUGHTER

-I haven't even got off the beach yet.

-Come on, guys.

How far do you think they need to go?

They can go around 200 metres.

Is it much deeper, further out there?

-Where the boats are, is that the drop-off area?

-Yeah.

So, it's going like this - shallow, shallow, and then...

-Somebody going to start here?

-Yeah, do you want me to?

-I don't mind.

-Can I go in the middle?

'As soon as they can, Dan, James and Ripon make a plan.'

I think we're going to stagger where we go.

One's going to be slightly closer and one's going to be a bit further out.

So, when one starts catching fish, we know where to go.

'Along with their hand line, they have a 12 metre anchor rope.

'They can use this to moor themselves

'above a good fishing spot,

'as well as to test the depth of the water beneath them.'

I'd be looking for rocks on the bottom, because I know

that fish love to hang around rocks and structure. They find food there.

Yeah, that is good.

And the other thing is, they have to use the anchor,

because if they go too deep, then the anchor doesn't have line.

You can use the anchor like a weight on the end of a line

and you lower it down and if you don't need much rope, it's shallow.

If you have to let a lot of rope down to hit the bottom, it's deep.

So, they actually have got a primitive echo sounder.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Let's hope they use it.

One, two, three...

I think we should go a bit deeper.

It's only about two or three metres deep here.

'Whilst the boys edge a little further out,

'Emma's team are taking the plunge.'

It's getting deeper. We're about two thirds of the way.

Keep going. It'll be worth it. They're out there for a reason.

We've got to exploit that.

It's hard on the arms,

because you've got these very short paddles and it looks like

Emma's team have decided to go out

to where all the other fishing boats are.

Wait for me!

So, I think we're probably nearly there,

because I don't think we want to go that much further,

otherwise we're going to use up all our fishing time.

A little further, maybe. It's worth the effort.

We could catch some really good fish out here.

-Sam, I think you should start fishing. I really do.

-Nearly there.

-Emma, you OK?

-Yeah, but I think we should start fishing.

We could go on paddling for hours and use up all our fishing time.

Another 50 metres, 60 metres?

Let's hope our anchor ropes are long enough.

'Back in the shallows, the boys have already begun fishing.'

A bit of a change of colour in the water, so I think it's gone deeper.

There's a little bit of structure around me here.

Obviously, we're using hand lines that we use for crabs back home,

but it's just keeping the weight dead on the bottom

with two hooks just above it.

Literally, all you're waiting for is a ding-ding-ding. It's like...

This bit looks quite good, because it's quite rocky

and it's in between the deep bit there and this bit here.

There's quite a few rocks,

so I'm hoping the snapper hide in these bits.

Ripon got some coarse fishing experience with bait,

freshwater in the UK. I think that will stand him in really good stead.

For the some of the others, who haven't got that experience,

it will be a little bit alien.

I think this fishing is quite similar

to my family's fishing, back in Bangladesh.

Really rustic, really old school, but it does work.

My family's from Bangladesh

and most of it's rice land and flood plains,

so your main source of protein is fish.

Dad always used to go fishing, back home when he was in Bangladesh,

but that was obviously for the dinner plate.

He showed us the basics and you just run with it, you keep going.

Just had this little thing.

It's not massive, but I caught a fish. It's fine.

Years ago, I used to work for a tyre company, back home.

I used to repair these things and stick them back in the wheels.

Now, I'm sat on one, fishing in the sea!

-Maybe you repaired one of these yourself?

-Well, you never know.

-And here we go.

-There you go. What have you got there?

Double hook up. So, they look like grouper.

I've got a fish. I'm happy that I've managed to get one.

I think this is a snapper.

I'm in, Dan!

Oh, that's better.

Found the little ones, anyway.

'Almost halfway through their fishing time,

'and Emma's team are finally mooring up.'

We're just here. That's it. We'll start fishing.

-You want the good news, or the bad news?

-What's up?

Our anchor ropes aren't long enough. It's not on the bottom.

So, we're out too deep?

Unfortunately, our first bit of the plan is scuppered,

so we're going to row back in a bit - and we haven't fished yet.

It's going to cost us a lot of time.

A bit of a schoolboy error there, I think, by us.

Without anchoring up, we're not going to do any good at all.

-A bit frustrating, Jo?

-Well, yeah.

We paddled out a fair way to get to where we thought the fish were,

because of where the local fishermen were fishing,

just to find our anchors weren't long enough to reach the bottom,

which is a bit pointless.

We won't be able to fish over a reef that way,

so we're having to paddle a bit further in,

to be able to get our anchors down.

Well, I can see that Ben's just about caught them up now,

but they seem to have gone quite a long way over.

Are they in the right place?

Perhaps it is a mistake, because they tried to go very deep,

-and they moved so far...

-That was a mistake.

Yeah, because they moved too far.

The other group was a little more intelligent, they're fishing closer.

-They have more time.

-It's funny you should say that, actually,

because I'm looking at James...

I actually think he's got a fish.

I'm on again.

Yeah, it's another good one.

It looks like a yellowtail snapper, maybe.

That'll be good eating tonight.

The thing is, James is ticking over with the fish count for us.

I'm catching fish, but I'm catching a lot of small ones, you know?

If we could get another nice, tidy-sized one like James had,

then we'd be laughing.

That's your 30-minute call.

30 minutes, anglers.

-OK, that's us down, mate.

-You down?

After wasting almost two hours getting into position,

Emma's team can finally start fishing.

I think where we went right out in the beginning,

-that may have cost us valuable fishing time.

-It was too deep.

Now we're trying to make up for lost time.

-For the moment there's not a lot going on.

-Fishy, fishy, fishy.

Any moment now a giant grouper could come along and snaffle our bait.

Are you jiggling it or leaving it still?

No, I'm just leaving it still.

I think the motion of the water with us bobbing up and down

is jiggling it enough. I can feel something tugging.

Oh, there it is again, look. It's a...it's a...it's a...

not an octopus, it's a squid.

Oh, it's all gone wild!

-I'll leave him in the water.

-You caught a squid, that's fantastic.

After such a slow start, every second counts.

You know, just keep trying right up until the last minute,

that's all you can do.

Two minutes, mate.

Yep.

Well, Sam, I don't think we're going to crack the case today, do you?

-I don't think so, mate.

-Yep, I'm on, I've got another.

Time's up, everyone!

And he's gone.

Oh!

Me rear end's numb, from sitting in there.

One word to describe that, I'd say disaster.

-Fiasco. I can think of some others.

-Maybe some others.

Yeah, complete and utter embarrassment.

I've got a lot of respect for the locals because

it's not the easiest thing in the world.

It's not like you've got a proper paddle.

Against the elements, it's a real challenge.

Gracias!

-Let's have a look.

-Let's grab hold of this fish.

Let's go and look at the bad boys.

With Ripon, James and Dan each having caught fish,

they all head back to face their judgment.

You are looking like a rather ragged band of Robinson Crusoes,

-washed up on the beach.

-We're feeling like that.

-How do you think the boys did?

-Yes, I think you worked well as a team.

-That much is fairly obvious.

-You have a good plan.

-They just go not so far and they use the time for fishing.

-OK.

And then on to Emma's team.

Sadly the fishing plan didn't quite come off.

I know that you went for deep water and it didn't pay off.

They made a plan to catch deep fish, that don't work.

Let's see how you did.

Let's check your box over here.

-12.

-12!

THEY LAUGH

You sound shocked. Can we see how you did?

That's it? That's it?

Well, I think the winning team there is perfectly obvious.

With 12 fish, it's the boys.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-Very good.

Ripon, I was pleased to see that you used your coarse fishing

knowledge and you came in with six fish. Well done.

James, you caught some good fish, I think

you caught four smaller fish and one bigger fish.

A good result, well done.

Ripon, you caught six fish, but this was down to weight.

James, you caught five,

but your fifth one was a monster compared to the others.

You got the greatest weight. You are the winner. Well done, James.

-Very good.

-Finally won something!

Absolutely over the moon. Over the moon.

Do you want a hand up?

You know, I got the most fish, but mine were all small, so he was...

Today's challenge was on weight, so, you know, I was second place.

I'm really happy with that.

Good effort, but not quite. Close, but no cigar. Yes.

We had a plan, took a gamble, I kind of took the helm, as it were,

and chivvied everyone along and we had the plan to go out and try

for the deeper water and it didn't work for us, backfired on us.

We spent nearly an hour paddling out to where we thought

the fish were going to be. It didn't work.

I've got to do well tomorrow or the next day.

Else I will be on a one-way flight home.

Hey-hey. Hey-hey.

Chow down time, people. Chow down.

Oh, it smells good. Oh!

Look at that. Look at that!

-Try a bit.

-It is perfecto.

-That's nice.

-Does it taste extra good cos you caught it?

Yes, it's always better when you caught it yourself.

The anglers leave behind the Caribbean coast

and head to the Atlantic, on the northern side of Cuba.

In deeper waters, anglers from all over the world

come to this part of Cuba in May

to fish for one of the most spectacular game fish in the world.

But a freak cold front has made temperatures plummet.

No longer a fishing paradise, the anglers face treacherous conditions.

-Be careful.

-I don't want to fall in, no.

The weather is shocking.

It's just like being back at home.

Everyone told me Cuba was supposed to be nice and hot and sunny, but...

I think I've been sent to the wrong country.

Welcome to the north coast of Cuba

for the final part of your fishing expedition.

You're going to be going for a fish

I've no doubt is on many of your bucket lists.

-It's known as the Silver King, the tarpon.

-Yes!

-Get in!

-Excellent.

I'm sure you all know this is a stunning fish.

Around here they grow to 2½ metres in size.

The winner is the angler who catches the biggest tarpon,

but don't forget our judges are looking for technique,

your choice of lure and, of course, how you handle the fish.

Go fish!

Oh, my God, that's so exciting.

Jo, don't forget, the Silver King always needs the Queen.

The anglers have just one day to track down

one of the most sought-after sports fish in the world.

I'm not going to say I'm as nervous as the day I got married,

but it is pretty close to the nervous excitement I had that day.

I did quite well at the bone fishing at the beginning of the week,

but then totally flunked it on the rubber ring challenge.

I should have done better, really.

I think there's a statistic like, you will hook ten

and you'll land one. This is how hard they fight.

Catching such an enormous fish can be daunting

and Emma has the least experience with this kind of fishing.

I am so scared. This is really crazy.

I've never caught anything really very big.

Everything everybody's been telling me about these fish,

and about the ferociousness of the take.

Um...I got my...

I got myself into a bit of a state about it

and I really don't want to scupper this.

The tarpon is one of the most formidable predators

of the salt flats, growing up to eight feet long.

They are one of the few fish that can gulp oxygen

at the water's surface, giving them an extra burst of energy and speed.

It's a giant herring-like fish really, with huge, polished,

mother of pearl scales, like a coat of armour.

It's immensely strong, hugely acrobatic.

When it jumps, it throws water like a fire hose.

It can play every dirty trick in the book from

dogging it out on the bottom, running under the boat, jumping,

throwing the lure - it's got the lot.

It's one of the world's greatest sport fish.

Let's just have a quick look at our lure selection here.

Maybe this one.

The anglers will be using very heavy rods and lures

to catch these huge tarpon, with a technique known as spinning.

Spinning's a form of fishing that uses a lure on the end of the line.

This is cast then pulled rapidly through the water.

The lure is an artificial fish with hooks.

They're each designed to behave differently in the water...

..to resemble a real fish and attract a predator.

I would err more towards the smaller lures that they've got

in the box because I know that a lot of these tarpon eat sardines,

so you bring it back carefully and then you flip the lure.

Really put a bit of imagination into the way you move the rod tip.

After all, what you've got there is a piece of wood or plastic

and until you move it, that's all it is.

It is quite a fun way of fishing.

Also as well, these have got a fair bit of weight

so hopefully I'll be able to chuck that out quite far.

The lures are attached to the rig by knots which have to be

strong enough to withstand the pull from one of the most powerful fish.

The knots I've been using are just based on what I'd use

back home, but I've upscaled them.

It's a lot harder to do with the thicker line cos I usually use

12lb line and this is 80lb line, so it's a hell of a difference.

Previously let down by his knots, Ripon's not taking any chances.

I'm using superglue on my knots

and this is just purely just to strengthen the knot.

Oh! OK, calm down, girl, calm down.

Steady. OK, so far, so good.

Nerves are still there, but definitely getting better.

Well, I've got all the confidence in the lure,

just waiting for the fish.

You'll see how the lure moves in the water.

All we need now is for that to go through past the fish.

Oh!

It's not good casting at the moment.

The lure is a bit light to get any kind of distance

and it's raining and its windy.

It's not amazing conditions.

The weather's thrown all the worst things it possibly could at us.

We've got a cold front come through.

This puts the fish down, it sends them into deeper water.

If the fish are down deep, we've got to fish deep.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Oh, there's some weather.

The weather not only affects the WAY they fish,

but IF they can fish at all.

Oh, man.

We are in relative luxury here on a larger boat,

we've got a bit of shelter, but they are close to these elements.

This weather is changing all the time.

We've got a horrible cold front swirling around us.

We could have three or four foot waves in ten minutes' time.

# Oh, what a beautiful morning... #

-That is Jo, I seem to think, over there.

-Is she actually fishing?

Back home, it's never been as bad as this.

You look at your window and you don't feel like it, you just stay in.

It's days like this that make you realise the true love of fishing.

-Lightnings.

-Lightnings.

-We've got to stop.

-We'll go under the bridge for a while.

Yes?

It's... I might die, basically. With the lightning.

This is getting dangerous.

We've had to come under the causeway here, because although it's raining,

we can live with the rain, but we've just heard a clap of thunder

and we've seen some lightning, and when you're fishing with

a carbon rod, that's not good news at all.

It doesn't look good for the rest of the day, to be fair.

I mean, the fishing seems to be a write-off.

After sheltering for an hour, the weather lifts

and the anglers head back out onto the water.

But, with no idea how long this weather will hold,

every minute matters...

for everyone.

I want to get a tarpon.

I want to really surprise Matt. It can't be THAT hard.

Yeah!

We've hooked into a fish.

I don't know what it is, but... you'd hope that it was a tarpon.

Yeah!

Oh, snapper. Dramatic fishermen there, he says,

"feels like a good fish," and it ends up being a three-pound snapper.

Fighting hard, so I think it...

No. It's a bloody snapper!

Oh, I thought my luck was in again.

Not what we came for.

Beautiful looking fish, though.

Look at that dorsal.

I like that. Right, time to let him go.

Hopefully where there's snappers, there's tarpon.

-Yes!

-Hold it there, hold it there, hold it there.

Well, Mr Fogel, you've caught your first jack crevalle,

it's one of the strongest fish pound-for-pound in the ocean, this.

They go around in packs, bullying the sardines.

-He's gone.

-There she goes.

-There he goes.

-Swim well, fish, that's my first Cuban fish.

Ripon and Dan have finally found fish, just not the right ones.

Every cast counts if anyone's to catch a tarpon now.

I've still got a feeling someone's going to get one, you know.

Someone's got to, man.

Well, I just decided to have a cast

and a really big fish came up quite near the boat.

It was as if someone had turned on about

ten washing machines under the water.

Is this reassuring for you that the fish, there are fish around.

Well, I've only had a couple of casts. I've got a response.

Me too.

THEY LAUGH

-It's so easy, this fishing lark.

-Oh, man.

I'm getting fishing lessons off Fogel now, I can't believe it!

Oh!

It didn't hook right.

Oh, that's so frustrating!

He was big, weren't he?

Once hooked, a tarpon's instinct is to leap out of the water,

causing the line to go slack.

This is the most common way to lose a fish.

The rod should be kept pointing down to keep the tension on the line,

not as easy as it sounds.

That's done it, that's done it.

Oh!

Got one.

I've just had a fish hit the lure.

-Monster fish.

-Monster fish.

-It's gone. Oh!

-I want to cry!

It is not fair.

I want to cry.

Oh, that is so disappointing.

Almost defeated by today's freak weather,

there are only minutes left.

One last gasp, then call it a day.

Yes, yes, yes. Yes!

Yes! Tarpon! Tarpon on!

Here we go.

Almost literally the last minutes of the day.

Look at that reel go.

My heart is pumping.

Jeez! Holy Moley!

What a fish.

That's got some power, that has.

Everything, my legs are shaking, my heart is pounding.

There you go, look at that on the surface, look at those fins.

Getting it to the boat is a fragile moment.

Uh-oh, it's going under the boat.

He doesn't want to come up.

Off again. Just when you think they're beat,

another searing run.

These fish just hang on and hang on.

That is why they're one of the world's

prized sport fishing species.

-Oh, well done, sir!

-I got it!

-I got it!

-Well done, well done!

-I got it!

Hang on there, hang on there.

What a fish! One metre 24.

OK. Fantastic. Thank you very much.

OK, you're welcome. I'm very happy to help.

Now, that, that is the Silver King.

Megalops atlanticus.

You can see why people come

all around the world to places like this.

There she goes. She's kicking. There she goes, for the release.

I am beaten.

That has made my day.

Oh, man.

After a day of unseasonably bad weather

and with a better forecast today,

the judges have allowed the anglers just one more hour on the water,

and one last chance to catch a tarpon.

The sea's absolutely flat calm, so hopefully

we'll have a better chance of actually seeing the tarpon.

I hadn't caught a fish yesterday, I really need to get one today

to take me out of the danger zone hopefully.

But sadly, one angler has caught something else.

Got, um...

Got the worst sickness I've ever had.

I am feeling absolutely ill, shocking.

I'm most gutted about missing the fishing today.

I'm devastated. I'm devastated.

I feel so much better today,

you can literally see straight through the water as well.

There you go, look, they're going crazy.

The calmer water allows the anglers to see the tarpon clearly

as they come up to the surface to breathe.

You can see these big flashes of silver in the water

as the fish are coming up and looking at the lures.

You can eyeball the fish eye-to-eye.

There's a lot of big fish around the boat now. Loads of big fish.

-Look at all these.

-There's tarpon rolling on the surface here.

-Right there.

-Got another one. Jeez.

This is nowhere near my kind of angling.

This is like spinning for monsters.

Now that they can see them, the pressure's on to land them.

Bowing the rod will be more important than ever.

Oh!

Oh!

Got a tarpon on.

There's not one in the boat yet.

If I land it,

that will be the biggest fish I've ever caught.

Oh...

HE SIGHS

Yes, tarpon.

Cast again, cast again.

Forget that, forget that. Cast again.

Fish on!

Oh!

Big fish, that.

Massive tarpon.

I'm quite conscious, I think that

I'm the only one that hasn't had a hook-up even, yet.

But Emma has gained some rather unwanted attention.

Oh!

-Shark?

-No, remora.

There's a bigger one down below.

I think Emma's on, but I don't think it's a tarpon.

Here's another one trying to take it. I don't want to catch you.

Can we go to another place, maybe, where there's not quite so much...

There we go.

Someone's got a tarpon on the line.

Yes!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Although the weather is better, their luck hasn't improved.

You've got to keep going right up until the very last minute,

the last second,

because you just never know when one's going to grab your bait.

One fish now could make all the difference.

We've got about ten minutes.

Yes, just got a tangle.

You can't afford to have a knot in it with fish this size,

because it will just break.

Don't lose your confidence.

No, no, I never lose confidence.

Last minute.

All the fish seem to have disappeared.

The last Cuban cast.

First or last gasp, get a fish.

Time up.

No more fishing.

No fish today.

Beaten by the Silver King.

The take wasn't, you know, like a boom! Like a pike take,

it was quite, it's quite a gentle take,

but then once it realises it's hooked,

it's just phenomenal, like, wow!

Just absolutely wow!

Today, again, has been another really hard

man-against-fish challenge.

I mean, even if you hook one of these monsters,

you've still got to get it out.

After two very different days on the water,

the judges discuss the anglers' performance with their guides.

Welcome back, everyone.

Not necessarily the experience you all expected.

For the first time in your lives, you're up against a fish that

can not only beat you, it can actually humble you,

and that, guys, is sport fishing. That's what it's all about.

I think it was a very good experience for them

because they had a very bad day at the beginning

and then today they have a good morning

and then they have a chance to come put right everything.

We wanted the angler who caught the largest tarpon.

We were, of course, looking at technique, how you handled the fish,

but, I think for this task,

you'll all agree the proof was in the pudding.

-We bow to the king of the Silver King - Sam.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers, guys. Thank you.

-Well done.

-It was a great day.

Well, Sam, it was the 94th minute in injury time,

you were under immense pressure really to land that fish

because it was the chance and you took it. Your focus was fantastic.

It was amazing, absolutely amazing experience.

Obviously this was our final task, one of you will be going home.

We'll be back shortly, OK.

-Well done, guys.

-Cheers.

-Well done.

We've covered the three main areas of fishing, really, this week.

We started with fly fishing, for bonefish, we had bait fishing

from tyres and obviously finishing off spinning for tarpon today,

so, actually, with the three tasks,

we're going to get a good idea of the all-rounder.

This has been a really good test.

It's got skill and stealth, strength.

It's been a veritable assault course of challenges.

Bonefish is more presentation.

Here is more casting but power,

it's a little different.

Obviously James, absent today,

what are your thoughts on his overall performance?

He really is a very good sportsman.

He had a good day for fishing, for bonefish.

The casting and the movement and everything was good.

You know, sometimes it's quite hard to see the chinks in his armoury.

Ripon did terribly in the bonefishing.

He was the only one to not bring a single fish.

Well, you say that, but, actually, here is a guy

who has had very, very little fly-fishing experience.

He is not bad, he tried.

He learned to cast a little.

He saved himself a little bit out in the bait fishing.

On a day when most people struggled,

he brought back six keepable fish.

A good performance. He had a couple of chances with tarpon.

He also had contact and brought to the boat one decent snapper.

-Moving onto our Silver King, Sam.

-Sam took that chance.

It was very, very impressive.

Under that pressure, he still had to keep it on the line.

-It was a very, very impressive performance.

-Let's move on to Dan.

Well, here is a man who is actually living on great instinct.

He's been very steadily pegging away in this one.

He didn't get a tarpon, but he did get a snapper.

Emma, of course, she won the bonefishing.

Yes, she was very, very good on the bonefishing,

did some very good casting.

Didn't catch any tarpon but, hey, she had a very strong start.

I mean Phil wasn't amazing, he caught one bonefish, he had several chances.

He was actually not really waiting to see

where he needed to present the fly.

And, of course, tarpon fishing, I'm assuming

had he actually brought that fish in, he'd have cleaned up.

Yes. Basically a nutshell, yes.

That's how cruel it can be,

but you've got to take your chances.

Jo performed and delivered in the bonefishing.

-Mmm...mmm.

-Er...

She hard work.

What seems to happen with Jo, and it's happened again in this one is,

a bit of a slow start and then she picks up momentum.

What I would like to see with her is for her to hit the deck running,

then we'll see what she's about.

OK, I'll leave you guys to discuss.

-I'll see you a bit later.

-Thank you.

I feel your nerves.

We have thrown everything at you this week.

Rain, sunshine.

Food poisoning.

-Welcome back, James.

-Cheers, mate.

After much deliberation the judges have decided...

..there are two of you...

who risk going home.

Ripon.

Phil.

The judges here have debated long and hard...

..and they have decided the angler who leaves us here is...

..Phil.

-I'm so sorry, Phil.

-No worries, guys.

-Well done to the rest of you. You're carrying on.

-No worries.

I didn't have a particularly good week here, to be honest.

If I could have only got one of those fish I hooked this morning,

it may have been a different story, I'm sure it would.

I will definitely continue fishing, yes,

I'll be out next week probably, one of the evenings after work.

And I'll be on the bank thinking, "I wonder where the guys and girls

"are this week, and how they're getting on."

I think the pressure's on now so I really need to pull my socks up

and hopefully this time have a bit of good luck, cos over the last

two locations, I've just had bad luck following me every time.

Phil, we're going to miss you. We'll miss you heaps.

Really looking forward to the next fishing adventure.

As we found out, it could be literally anywhere,

we could be doing literally anything.

Of course I want to know where we're going. Come on!

Next time:

Deep in south-east Asia, the anglers head to Laos...

I'm absolutely buzzing.

I think that we're going to catch some interesting fish.

..fishing the widest rapids in the world...

Never, ever fished anything like this in my life.

It's ridiculous.

..and braving the extreme heat.

Oh, Jeez, I feel faint.

The competition reaches breaking point.

Snapped my rod!

I think my 100% record is going to disappear today.