Laos Earth's Wildest Waters: The Big Fish

The world's wildest rivers,

oceans and lakes.

A home to some extraordinary fish.

Eight anglers embark on a global adventure...

I have no idea what I'm going to be up against.

..in which they'll endure snow,

storms and sweltering heat...

..which will test everything they think they know about fishing.

Is that the clutch and the accelerator? I'm not quite sure.

On all kinds of water,

they'll brave some of the toughest places to fish on earth...

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

..hoping to reach the next leg of the expedition.

Oh...!

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

They'll be watched by international expert Matt Hayes

and some of the best fishermen from around the world,

who will judge who stays on to the next location.

All you've got to do is keep persevering.

Last time...

# Oh, what a beautiful morning... #

..the anglers went in search of some of the fastest fish in the world,

stalking the ghosts of the salt flats...

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

..and pitting their strength against the mighty tarpon.

I am so scared.

Oh...!

That has made my day.

Ripon and Phil were both in danger of being cast out.

Man alive!

Oh, gone again!

But Phil became the second angler to leave the expedition.

No worries.

This time, it's their most brutal adventure yet...

The heat is an absolute killer.

Oh, I feel faint.

..as the remaining six brave the ferocious currents...

This is really dangerous. It's like a washing machine!

..in Southeast Asia.

Oh, I'm in!

A remote wilderness between Vietnam and Thailand...

Laos.

The only landlocked country in south-east Asia,

made up of mountains,

forest and the Mekong River...

..which provides an essential lifeline for transportation,

irrigation and fishing.

Life here depends on it.

I think some of the anglers will be completely out of their depth,

because this is not a sport fishing destination.

It's uncharted with rod and line.

There's a lot of local fishing.

What we don't know is how effective our Western rod and line techniques

are going to be.

Fishing here is a way of life.

And no-one knows that better than Matt's co-judge,

headman of Baan Hangkon fishing village, Mr Mai.

Finally got to Laos.

It's been a good couple of days of travelling.

I mean, it's just spectacular. Unbelievable.

ENGINE DIES

-ALL:

-Oh...!

-Here you are, guys.

-OK!

OK!

ENGINE FIRES INTO LIFE

-Yay!

-I love it.

This is the hottest time of the year in Laos.

Winds from the Indian Ocean are due to bring heavy rainfall any day,

bringing relief from the blistering heat.

-There you go. Check that out.

-Wow!

This is just the most incredible place I think I've ever been.

We've got this amazing sun and it's hot.

Really drippy hot.

The rainy season means the river water will rise,

triggering an enormous migration of fish.

I'm absolutely buzzing. I can't wait.

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

But as the anglers arrive in Laos,

the much-needed rains have not.

Here we go...

Welcome to mighty Mekong River.

This is one of the richest fishing cultures in the world.

As you've gathered, it's quite hot here.

It's actually only 34 degrees, but it's 80% humidity.

This week's all about discovery.

Joining Matt we have our local expert Mr Mai.

There are a lot of fish here but, to catch them,

you're going to be using some special equipment.

Local equipment.

And I'm talking here about bamboo poles.

Now, they come in different lengths and thicknesses,

so you're going to have to make decisions

about which pole suits your fishing style the best

and, also, the water that you're fishing in.

The angler who catches the most species of fish is the winner.

You all have three hours.

Go fish!

-Fantastic. Thank you.

-This could be quite good fun, I reckon.

It's mental out here today.

This part of southern Laos is known as the 4,000 islands.

The Khone Falls are the widest rapids in the world,

forming one of the most productive

but intimidating rivers on the planet.

Let's see what the bait is, shall we?

Oh, that smells nice!

Oh, that's stinky!

-Liver, beetles...

-So three different lengths of rod.

As well as bamboo poles,

the anglers have different sizes of weights,

hooks, lines

and floats to choose from.

Yeah, it's pretty old school. I quite like it.

I'm looking forward to it, actually.

Essentially, it's a bamboo pole and a piece of line.

So, how different is each of their set-ups likely to look?

There are so many small intricacies

in how they can use their equipment with these poles.

Don't forget, the longer the pole they try and handle,

the heavier it's going to be.

They also need to think about the length of line

from the tip of the pole to whatever they're tying on the end.

Bait fishing uses a piece of food to attract the fish.

A weight takes the bait to the right depth.

And sometimes, a float is added to indicate a bite.

In a strong current, a heavy weight must be used

and the line cast well upstream, so the bait hits the desired spot,

once it's been carried to the bottom.

You see, it's really about the anglers drawing

on their pure fishing experiences and pure fishing skills.

This is the stuff that fishermen are made of, really.

I'm setting up two rods here.

I've got a slightly finer one with a float on,

so I can fish at various different depths in the slower water.

And I'm also setting up one to get a bait down nice and deep

and hold in the current, if needs be.

I'm going to go and see what I can do here with these bad boys.

Good luck.

-Tight lines.

-Tight lines.

Good luck, Jo. Go carefully on those rocks.

What kind of fish live in the Mekong around here?

How do you think they're going to get on here?

You've seen the rapids out there

and the conflicting currents that the river creates.

Your ability to read the water

and imagine what's happening underneath

is absolutely key to being a good river fisherman.

This is going to be a huge mental challenge.

I'm not sure if this is going to work particularly well

with the current being quite as strong as it is here.

In this voyage of discovery,

the anglers will have to constantly change their tackle

to discover what works for the different fish,

as well as read the current to find where the fish are.

This looks like a really good spot. There's a bit of a back eddy.

The rig I've got, just plain and simple line all the way through,

with a split shot.

And all that does is it holds the lead.

If I need to move it, I just move the split shot out.

It stops the weight touching the bait.

It's the simplest of rigs you can use, but the locals here,

you know, they're not going to use anything fancy.

So I'll use just exactly what the locals use.

So you just chuck that into the water.

And, hopefully, let the water do its business with that.

Why did you pick this specific spot here?

Well, there's a little inlet here. It's quite quick out there.

So I'm just going on the off chance

there might be a few fish just milling about.

It strikes me today,

this is about as basic a fishing as you're going to get.

You speak to anyone, I guarantee you, when they were a kid,

they started with this method.

You know, so it's basically back to being a kid again.

This might be fishing in its most primal form,

but Dan is used to traditional techniques.

Coracle fishing is an old traditional way of fishing.

I can trace my family back 200 years.

Coracles were mentioned back in the times of Julius Caesar,

or a very similar craft.

So, if we go somewhere where there is a traditional way of fishing,

and I am hoping that I will understand that a little bit better

than the other competitors will understand.

We're using a little bit of a cocktail.

So are these grasshoppers or crickets?

And a bit of meat.

The Mekong is home to several species of catfish.

These fish feed at the bottom of the murky river and,

with very poor eyesight, rely heavily on scent.

So the way the anglers use their bait is crucial.

I'm using a piece of heart, which is probably quite an attractive bait

to many of the catfish species.

It's the scent that attracts the fish.

At the moment, seeing it's somewhere totally alien to us,

somewhere where you've never fished before,

you've got to try and ring the changes to see what's going to work on the day.

-Oh, Ripon!

-Oh, Rip, is that your bait?

Watch out, there's a few crickets on its way to you.

Thank you, mate.

-Have you got them all?

-Yeah, cheers, bud.

Back in the UK, Ripon is used to offering his local fish a free meal.

I almost feel like I have to take care of them, in a way.

Because, even out of season,

I still go there and I like to give them a bit of dinner.

Even though I know I'm not going to catch them,

I like to see they're doing OK.

I've decided not to take position on the rocks.

I've decided to come here,

because it just looks a hell of a lot more fish here.

There's fish here.

Oh, I've got a bite...

Yeah.

Oh!

Er, I lost it, basically.

It slipped out of me hands.

An hour into the fishing time and only Ripon has had a bite.

The heat is an absolute killer.

The weather is taking its toll on both the fish and the fishermen.

Just the heat and the rocks. It's not the easiest place to walk.

It's so tiring.

It is definitely as hot as it looks.

I'm not going to lie. It's brutal. But, hey...

If we're going to win this competition,

we've got to take it all on the chin, don't we?

So, Mr Mai, you've been watching all of our anglers.

What have you noticed so far?

I think it's too fast here to float, so I'm using a bottom one.

This time, I've gone for a bit of distance.

All I've done is I've put another hook on to double my chances.

So I'm using a small one for the smaller fish

and a mid-size one for the sort of, like, bigger fish.

There's a fish there.

All you're waiting for is a little bite.

You'll actually feel it. The rods are quite sensitive.

Oh!

That definitely felt like a bite.

This is pretty extreme weather to be fishing in, isn't it?

Yeah, everyone is really struggling to catch. It's so bright and sunny.

The fish are getting spooked away from the poles.

So they need to use a longer line so that it doesn't scare the fish.

But there's a limit to what you can do.

So they've really met their match in that respect.

To avoid casting a shadow in the shallow water,

Dan has abandoned his pole altogether.

I'm holding on to the line because I get better feeling through the line

of what's going on at the bottom

than I would from just holding on to that.

I've got a fish!

It's a catfish, I think.

My 100% record is still intact.

I've caught a fish in every challenge.

I'm glad someone's caught something.

It means we'll catch something else today.

I've caught the bottom!

Emma is also using a hand line to see how far out she can get her bait.

-Not very far.

-Emma, are you mumbling to yourself?

-I always mumble to myself, I'm afraid.

-Have you had any bites yet?

-No.

-Nothing?

I think the only way I got lucky in the last two rounds

was because there were lovely fly-fishing tasks.

You know, the rest of the guys are way more experienced

in a sort of wider variety of fishing than me.

-Is that a bite?

-I don't know.

Lovely. Really good.

Emma is far more at home with a fly rod

and shares that passion with her sons Jake and Harry.

My children think me absolutely mad as a brush.

But here I am, 53,

and I never thought I'd get a chance to do something quite as daft

as having a fishing adventure in some unknown place.

I will do my utmost to win it

and I can feel the boys cheering me on.

She is surprisingly good.

Erm, she is very good.

Mum going fishing around the world, it's just something else.

I mean, I am very proud of her. Very proud of her.

Yeah, absolutely!

The bigger species of fish can withstand the stronger currents

but, without the rains, few big fish have arrived.

So Sam has a different tactic.

It's desperate measures now.

I've tied on the smallest hook on the lightest line.

A tiny, thin sliver of steak.

There's some tiny, little fish on the edge here.

It's a species challenge.

If I can notch up a couple of species, I'll be glad.

Moving away from the fierce current

allows Sam to put some of his experience from home into practice.

What I'm doing is putting the float into the water.

The bait's suspended beneath it. And you let it run with the current.

And that's known as trotting the stream.

But I've only got a limited amount of line

fixed to the end of the pole.

So I can only trot it so far.

That was a bite there.

Dan is now using a 20-pound line

to target some of the mightier species of the Mekong catfish.

We've got a fish!

It's a little bit bigger than the last one.

That's two fish for the day.

Fish, fish, fish, fish, fish...

There we go.

OK, so, my little tactic worked.

I'm actually off the mark.

A tiny, little fish. But it's a species.

Obviously, that fish instinct that I've got is working well again.

But Jo, Emma and James...

Oh, dammit!

..are not fairing so well.

It's taken my bait.

I had two bits of bait on.

Now I've just got a hook.

Halfway through the day's fishing

and the remote location, basic equipment and searing heat

are making this the most difficult leg of the expedition yet.

Oh, jeez. I'm absolutely wilting.

Oh, jeez. I feel faint.

You forget about the heat when you're fishing.

And you get dehydrated.

If you're dehydrated, you make the wrong decisions and you're not thinking straight.

And it finally becomes too much for Emma.

Just go slowly. How is it?

Are you feeling light-headed?

No, feeling absolutely fantastic!

-OK, stay on your feet.

-I am so...

No, no...

I am such a...

God, I'm so sorry.

Please, stop saying you're sorry.

So poor Emma, she is with our medic Paddy now.

The weather has taken such a toll on everyone and on the fishing, really.

They tried some good things, but it's a really savagely hot day.

And, to be honest, I think we should call it off.

So how will that affect your judging, though?

You will have seen about an hour and a half of fishing from each of them.

-That's not a tremendous amount of time, is it?

-No, no. It's not.

But I have been able to observe the rigs that they've set up.

How they've approached the water. How they handled the pole.

Those who kind of erred on the side of caution

and went for small fish.

Other people took a gamble,

used heavier line and went for bigger fish.

So I'm not completely bereft of information.

OK, anglers, the judges are calling an end early.

Come and get some shade!

-Tough one today, huh?

-I thought you would have melted by now.

It's been a really difficult day for everybody.

The heat's been almost unbearable at times.

We'll have to see what happens when we go to judging.

-Nothing.

-Nothing?

-Nothing.

-How's Emma?

-Erm, OK.

-Is she all right? She was in a bad way.

-She seems a bit better.

-Hey, Rip.

Hey, man. How you getting on?

Guys, probably not the first day's fishing experience

you were expecting today.

I'm sorry that we had to call it early.

It turned into really debilitating conditions.

Incredibly hot.

Really, really humid.

And, of course, we did have someone fell victim to it.

So I basically felt we had to call it.

Unfortunate, but that's how it is.

Mr Mai, is there anything that they could have done differently?

There were fish out there.

We could see some of them hitting the surface sometimes.

-Well, as we know, Sam, you caught one.

-I did indeed.

Ripon, you lost one.

-Matt's counting it as caught.

-Thank you, Matt.

Dan, you caught two.

Technically, you're the three winners, if we're going for species.

And the judges have decided, unanimously,

Dan you are the winner of today's task. Well done.

Danny Two Fish does it again!

Dan, your prize for winning today's competition

is to choose the team tomorrow.

Hopefully, we'll have Emma back with us. It's been a hard one.

As the punishing sun sets on the Mekong,

the exhausted anglers can finally start to recover

and enjoy what the local restaurants have to offer...

There's a massive spider on that chair, so...put that to one side.

Quite a day, people.

-Cheers, everyone.

-Booyaka.

I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my entire life.

It's just been pouring out of me all day long.

Definitely the hottest conditions I've ever been in.

It's really different from back home, climate, environment.

It's testing.

It certainly puts you through a good test.

-Today was tough, eh?

-Really hard.

Let's just hope Emma goes home, has a nice night's sleep.

-What's your favourite type of fly, Dan?

-Mine? A dead one.

After an incredibly difficult first day of fishing

in this remote region of Laos,

the anglers head almost 10 kilometres south to the very bottom

of the Khone Falls, a completely different environment.

This deep, calm water forms the border with Cambodia

and is home to small catfish and carp.

The local people rely on them as a vital source of protein

and they're not the only ones.

This stretch of the Mekong is home to the rare Irrawaddy dolphin

who depend on the abundance of fish here.

Conservationists and local fishermen are working together

to protect the remaining population,

so whilst the dolphins live in the deeper waters, the anglers will be

in teams learning another traditional technique in the shallows.

Welcome ashore, everyone. Today you're going to be using cast nets.

Standing on the front of one of the local boats,

you'll have to get your balance and create the perfect circle,

and believe me, it's a lot harder than the locals make it look.

Mr Mai, can you give them a short demonstration

of how to throw the net?

-Just like that.

-Easy.

Although Mr Mai makes this look really simple,

it's probably technically as difficult as fly-fishing.

Not only to prepare the net for the throw but also the technique.

We are sadly missing Emma, who's hopefully going to recover

for the third part of this expedition.

Dan, you won yesterday's challenge so you get to choose your team.

First-team member is Ripon.

He said he'd been out in Bangladesh and thrown a few nets

a couple of times so I think he'd be a great asset to the side.

My second choice is Sam.

His knowledge of all types of fishing will be a great asset.

That leaves James and Jo as the second team. Good luck, everyone.

Go fish!

But before they can get on the water...

Good luck, guys.

..they'll have to get to grips with this traditional technique.

It's all right, you'll be ace at this.

How did he do it? Any ideas? Completely alien.

The net is thrown over a shoal of fish in the shallow water.

It should open in a circle and sink to the bottom,

trapping the fish underneath it.

The string is slowly pulled, gathering the weights on the edge

and bringing the small fish up inside it.

If you look at the net, it's held across the shoulder

and it looks a little bit like a dashing cape, some sort of pantomime

villain, but the actual action of throwing it is very important.

Great. Sam's the first one to catch today anyway.

-Caught myself.

-Can you give me a demonstration?

Bravo!

Very nice!

You have high expectations for our fishermen.

Much more optimistic about their chances than I am!

A bit more hip action.

Me back!

The most common mistake is that it all lands in a heap,

like a bunch of knitting, and it doesn't catch anything,

so I expect some of that to be going on.

The balance thing will be a major, major issue.

Presumably this is where Dan will really come into his own.

He's been going on, "Just give me a net, just give me a net,"

we've given him one, so let's see how he gets on.

-Just can't get that.

-Come on, coracle man. You can do it.

They look like they're struggling. Probably doing better than us!

Jo, that's great.

I was thinking strength might be a factor

but I don't think you have to haul it that hard.

I think it's just got to be smooth and accurate.

Oh, he's holding on with the left a bit more. Right.

Getting there.

Tension, releasing it at the right time and the right speed,

it's just so much to think about at the same time.

She's nearly done it.

Mr Mai. The man we need!

Nearly got you!

-Wow!

-A shot on the boats?

Let's do it, mate. This should be fun.

Good luck.

Thank you.

This time of year is crucial for the local people.

When the rains arrive, the river rises dramatically

and fish migrate here from as far away as Vietnam

and the South China Sea,

making this the perfect spot for the villagers to catch them.

Let's hope they catch more fish than they did

in their first part of the expedition.

Really, they're after quite small fish.

When they were practising on the beach,

there were differences between them but it was good.

-Can we... What was further out again?

-Haina.

-Haina?

Just a bit further.

Mastering this technique on the shore is one thing,

but to catch enough for their dinner,

in the next two hours, they'll need another skill.

Balance.

17 stone trying to balance is like having a hippo trying to do a high wire.

Whoa!

LAUGHTER

He taught them how to throw the net but he didn't teach them

-how to balance, that's the problem.

-It's really hard, isn't it?

It's like a Carry On film. I'm loving it.

The balancing, I could be better, but it's just because I'm so top-heavy.

It's really good fun though, and brings me back to my childhood.

Dad used to take us out with throw nets.

We used to have a lot smaller ones than these,

but still great, great fun

because you don't know what you're going to get.

I'm in!

LAUGHTER

Me coracles aren't stable and this thing is just mental.

You lean that way.

Scaring off my fish, guys!

Jo makes it her job not to scare the animals

in her role as a veterinary nurse in Suffolk.

I don't see many fish down at the veterinary practice.

I think they're just fascinating,

there's so many different types of fish

and some of them are just beautiful.

I like to see the fish up close, to actually look at it

and see the colours for myself.

You see them in books but it never really does them justice.

Oh!

Yes!

We are off the mark.

Trying to keep your balance is a nightmare,

and your technique right, thinking of everything at the same time.

-Yes, get in!

-Yes!

So I'm trying to feel that it's hitting the bottom

and not retrieving it until I'm pretty sure that it's down

and then pulling it up really slowly.

Bring it up too fast, they'll escape.

There's one.

As a team, Jo and James are starting to catch.

I'm happy with the way it's going at the minute.

I don't know how the other guys are getting on.

Sam, Ripon and Dan...

-For goodness' sake.

-What are you doing?

..are determined to make a splash.

Ripon's spending more time in the drink.

When I've done it before, I've mainly done it from the land,

so I'm just going to have a go while I'm in it.

Didn't work as good, did it?

I've been in once and I don't want to go in again.

Sam is the all-rounder of the group

but his experience hasn't prepared him for this.

I guess I was probably six or seven years old when I first started

fishing on lakes and rivers, a little bit of sea fishing.

Since then my interest has grown to just about every aspect and discipline.

The experience I've had landing myself in a foreign destination

and having to work everything out from the ground up,

I think that's going to give me an edge.

The fact that many times when I've been travelling,

we've had to catch to eat,

so it's a case of sink or swim in many respects.

I think I've caught 13, now.

-Oh, I'm catching you.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-Good job.

I think it's nine or ten.

It's pretty wobbly this, actually. I have to say.

It takes a fair amount of balance.

I'm not going to fall in just to make our anglers

feel happy about themselves.

Preparation. It's all about the preparation.

Like this and

we go, "Catch us."

Oh, that's quite close.

I think they are catching all the fish, that's the problem.

'With only an hour left to catch enough for their dinner,

'the anglers' competitors streak is finally coming out.'

Getting tiring, isn't it?

-How many are you up to now?

-No comment.

They are catching fish over there. We're not catching anything here.

'Dan's team might not be catching,

'but at least now they are staying on their feet.

'Whilst in the shallows,

'Jo and James are catching more than they bargained for.'

Oh, caught.

Oh, no.

If you throw the net over deep water, all the fish will shoot out

underneath before you can actually catch them,

so you've got to try and target them in relatively shallow water.

The other thing that they need to look for are snags on the bottom.

Oh, no. Look.

My net got caught on the bottom and now I've got a massive rip in it.

It's, like, huge so if I do get it over fish that's just going to

be an exit hole for them.

'So, whilst Jo heads back to shore for an emergency pit stop,

'James is left to keep their team afloat.'

Joe has caught more than me at the minute, so we need her back ASAP.

Hah. It's fish.

My 100% record, as you can see, is still intact.

It's only a small one but it's a good one.

I've got a fish in the net.

'Finally the boys are making a comeback.'

Lovely jubbly.

Yes. Got another one. Excellent.

Oh, yes. Two at once.

'With time running out, and Dan's team rapidly catching up,

'Joel rejoins her team.'

It's good to have you back.

'But not for long.'

We are going down here.

I've got a pretty major leak in the boat.

It's floatable enough to finish the challenge, I reckon.

At least the water is warm.

I'm going to rip that.

It's kept getting caught on my button on every cast.

I thought you were turning into The Hulk there and just bursting out of your top.

No, no. I'm going to in a minute.

It kept getting caught in my button.

I must have ruined about five or six casts with it so I just ripped

it straight off. Right.

'In the last few minutes, every cast counts.'

Yes!

Yeah, that's good, huh? Look at that.

Got the last little silver collection there.

Yeah, I've caught more fish than I've fallen in,

so that's a good stat.

Yes.

Yes.

OK, anglers. Time up.

Come and get dry.

HE GREETS THEM IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE

'The winning team will be decided by dividing the number of fish

'caught by the number of team members.'

We've done all right, boys.

For a bunch of novices.

What a difference a day makes.

Not only have five of you actually made it through the whole day,

you have smiles on your faces.

I'm sure even out on the water you could hear Mr Mai's laughter.

MR MAI SPEAKS IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE

THE ANGLERS LAUGH

Ripon, would you like to reveal the contents of your basket?

-15.

-Dan.

-17.

-Sam.

We've got 12 in there.

-Jo.

-I got 22.

-James, can we see how many fish you caught?

-Yep.

It was 14 for the day.

So the winning team, with an average of 18 fish per head,

is James and Jo.

-Well done, girls.

-Girl power.

But, of course, we also want to have one overall winner today

and that winner

is Jo.

-Well done, Jo.

-Thank you very much.

You're the first person today to be throwing a really nice loop or circle.

-Thanks, Matt.

-Very good.

-Well done.

Mr Mai invites the anglers back to his village on Baan Hangkon island

where he is the head man or mayor,

to prepare the catch with his family.

They cook in the traditional way in the cooler air

under the stilted houses which line the Mekong river banks.

Whoa. Fishy.

-She's got that down to a T.

-Smells lovely and fresh.

Good wash-out.

Did you see the size of them? Where were they today?

-Maybe we'll be fishing for something like that tomorrow.

-Hopefully, mate.

-Dinner is served.

-Oh, look at that.

-There it is.

-This is mine.

-Thank you very much.

Right, guys, let's raise a toast to Emma.

Here's to her joining us again tomorrow.

Oh, my word.

That is rocket fuel. Ooh!

COCKEREL CROWS

'After a week of gruelling mental

'and physical challenges,

'the anglers' final test looms ahead

'in the very heart of the falls.'

For the final part of their expedition

our anglers are going to have to use

all their fishing knowledge to fish here in the white water of Khone Falls.

'The local people here depend on the river to survive,

'trying ever more daring ways to reach the best fishing areas.

'They have over 30 unique methods for harvesting the river,

'including bamboo traps that will catch the schools of migrating

'fish once the river rises.'

Hot this morning. Really, really humid.

The rains are a couple of weeks late.

They've worked it out, on average over the last 20 years, the rains

have been here by now, but they can control everything bar Mother Nature.

'The anglers will be fishing on the remote island of Don Phapeng

'and even getting there is a challenge for them.'

Save the rods.

I'm so glad to be back.

The last two days have been a write-off and I'm going to have to

really pull something major out of the hat to stay in the competition.

This is a bit of an epic backdrop.

I've never ever fished anything like this in my life. It's ridiculous.

'Having spent time fishing the local Artisan ways,

'the anglers must now use their own knowledge

'and Western sport fishing equipment to discover what

'lies beneath the fierce currents of the Khone Falls.

Rods in hand, all six fishermen triumphantly walk out of the forest.

This is the final part of your discovery expedition.

For this stage, you're going to have to combine all your fishing

know-how with everything you've learned this week.

You're going to have a choice of four different rods

and you're going to be fishing here in the white water of Khone Falls.

The angler who brings in the biggest fish wins.

Are you ready for it? ALL: Yes.

-Go fish!

-Thank you.

-Not sure your coracle is a good idea here, Dan.

-No, mate.

It would be quite a special achievement to stay in it here.

'The anglers have ten hours to fish the heart of the falls.

'They've been given four different sport fishing rods

'and Matt will expect them to use all their experience from home

'and apply it to this monster river.'

They've got lots of different decisions that they can make today.

-What do you think they should be going for?

-They've got a fly rod set-up.

That's not likely to deliver the biggest fish

but it could deliver a fish or two.

They've got various spinning equipment, light and heavy,

but my money is on ledgering a bait near the bottom

and I think I would go big because we are after some of these bigger

catfish and carp that we know live in the water.

'Ledgering covers a range of techniques

'and rigs that use a lead weight.

'A traditional ledger weight is shaped to cut down through a strong

'current so that it reaches the bottom.

'This can help the cast go further

'and keep the bait still in rough or fast-flowing water.

-People don't sport fish here.

-You're right.

Actually, that's quite an exciting thought.

This place, the potential is absolutely huge.

Actually having our modern lines, stronger weights

and everything else, it might just give our anglers an advantage

that the local guys don't have.

In this journey of discovery, to uncover

what lives in these murky depths, innovation will be key.

The water is moving through a bit too quick to use the flies or

the lure tackle so I'm going to stick a big bit of smelly bait on

and try for a catfish. I'm going to use these stones I've tied up.

I've put a little swivel on the top to use for weight to keep

it down in the current.

That's my first prong anyway, give the bait a try.

I think it'll be pretty tricky to fish any other way here.

If nothing smells that, that must be crazy.

If that doesn't catch anything, I don't know what will.

All of the anglers have chosen to start with bait fishing.

Each hoping to target one of the larger species of carp

or catfish that this river is famous for.

This river is littered with different catfish species.

The biggest species is the Mekong catfish which

I believe can grow to 300 pounds.

The water is really fast here so I've opted for stone on the bottom.

It's just a straightforward ledgering system.

This is proper hillbilly fishing, I call it.

The key is keeping your bait on the bottom.

The first challenge,

the first little catfish I caught were right on the bottom so if

the little ones are down there, the big ones will be down there as well.

As the flow comes down the waterfall, as it slows down,

it circles around in here so I'm hoping if anything,

they will be waiting in this area here.

I got a bit there now.

That was a bite.

There was a few knocks there.

I just had a little bite.

I'm going to see what it is.

I've got something. I've got something.

It's got stuck on the bottom!

There's something sharp down there.

Oh, you're joking me!

It was bound to happen here, mate.

This place will be festooned with snags.

Yeah, lost it all. It's a shame, I liked that rig.

I thought it was a fish

but I think it's just where the current is just taking it.

Even stones as big as that aren't holding the bottom.

None of the anglers have ever faced water like this.

But there are principles from home they can apply to read this river.

You might be thinking, how on earth can I fish in such powerful water?

But river currents are strange things

and alongside every strong current,

there's usually a slightly weaker one

and if you look at where the anglers are fishing,

you'll notice that on the inside, there is much steadier water.

The area the fast current meets the steady, we call a crease.

Certainly Ripon will be very familiar with the potential

of creases for catching fish.

This is what I'm good at, this is what I'm used to.

The gear is a bit stepped-up, a bit different

but it's the same principles.

I thought I'd come and try here.

You've got the fast current, the back area which I'll be fishing in

and you've got a flow there so the fish will be out in the fast current

and will be sitting in here. This is really dangerous. Crazy!

It's like a washing machine.

As they wait, with still no sign of the promised rains,

and the temperature at almost 40 degrees...

Just having a little cool off.

..Emma takes some time out in the shade.

My hands started shaking and my knees.

I've obviously got this silly heatstroke thing

and it's not going to go away too easily.

Oh, you know... oh.

Few people have ever fished here with modern fishing tackle.

After three hours, the anglers are still coming up empty-handed.

For the first time, James is struggling to catch

and he's feeling the pressure.

Any fish will do today.

It's going to be hard. This is really hard to fish in.

So why aren't they catching any fish right now?

If the rains had come and the migrating fish had come in,

we'd dealing with a lot more fish

but it's the resident fish that's the problem.

The stocks have been depleted.

Do you think the locals still have the upper hand

-because of the knowledge?

-Of course they have.

They're fishing with traps, they're fishing with nets.

They know this water like the back of the hand.

We're on a journey of discovery.

Now, it may well be that this is the first seed

that starts off an interesting sport fishing

and if it does and it grows and it's nurtured,

maybe one day by having a thriving sport fishing industry

and more protection for the fish, the local people will be better off

because they've got more money to spend and everybody is happy. Maybe.

Can I tell you the one thing I think they need

before sport fishing takes off here?

-Go on.

-Fish!

I've come to my second spot and I'm going with a smaller hook.

Just to see whether I can whittle something out.

Dan is not the only one changing tack.

I'm now just going to chuck out a weight and a hook.

That's what I saw a local guy using just down there.

It was very simple. I'm going to try it on my rod to start with.

If I'm having no joy with that, I might switch to hand lining.

Having caught the least fish cast netting,

Sam is trying everything to catch something.

I think I'll try spinning.

I've used spinners on various rivers like this in the past.

It has snagged me the occasional fish.

Not usually the biggest but you've got to try

so I'll give it a few goes.

If there's nothing going, I'll go back to the bait.

Keep ringing the changes today.

Ripon is aiming to double his chances.

What I'm doing is just setting up another rod.

This one is going to go in the middle

and I'm just going to roll the bait along the bottom hopefully.

I suppose this is what we call extreme course fishing?

It really is extreme.

You fall this way, you're going to hurt yourself quite bad.

Fall this way, you could potentially die.

We've seen locals, there's a guy over there. It's obviously worth the risk.

The fish are here, aren't they?

The fish are here, it's just getting to them.

I can tell you're frustrated though.

Yes, it's just annoying.

It's the current. If someone could just...

-Shall I just go and switch it off?

-If you could!

Having had half their time in the blazing heat already,

and with no bites to show for it...

Nothing happening.

Where's the fish?

...it's time to pull out all the stops.

I am the bearer of fish food.

Everyone's got the same amount.

You've got a mixture of fish, sweetcorn and rice.

-Good luck!

-Thank you.

I'm just baiting up at the moment.

With new bait comes new options.

Dan, James and Sam are using swim feeders.

Two empty capsules.

All we do is take the caps off,

stuff the fish in, that sits on the bottom

so there's lots of extra smell in the water and the idea is,

the fish follow the stench out up to where the feeder is

and there's two hooks on with bait on it

so they've got a choice of two morsels to eat.

That's for the bigger fish on the bottom

and that's for the slightly smaller fish just off the bottom.

Ripon is also using his initiative.

We do have swim feeders but the rice is too sticky.

It won't flow out so I'm going back to basics

and I'm just wrapping the rice around the lead.

I will bury that in there so hopefully when they're in there,

they'll break it up and then they'll see something different.

Hopefully that'll be a fish. This is mainly a carp tactic.

It's so lovely to be fishing again.

I've got a completely different kit to the others.

I have a really lightweight piece of kit on, a little jelly wobbler.

You'll get the biggest fish of the day, Emma.

Emma! How glad am I to see you today?

-So am I.

-You've caught the bottom again?

Every time I talk to you, I catch the bottom.

Look at this man here.

You've seen what lengths they go to to catch fish.

He was pulling on a line so he must have a huge net.

I thought he was going to bring out something enormous.

Well, that sounds bad!

Grab a bit of bait and drop back in down there,

drop it in the quieter water.

Still no fish caught and the anglers are using every trick in the book.

Down the bank, just about every option we have

is being tried at the moment so if I keep my eyes on them

and I see something starts to work, I can make a change.

Just going round through my head the different options.

There's a little pond up there I've seen little tiny fish in.

I've been fishing from the main current

and no-one's caught anything. This is a completely different change.

From one extreme to the other.

The water is a lot slower, there's a nice calm bit here

but the fish will be lying in this fast water.

This is a really, really lightweight fly rod.

This is what I'm at home with.

Even if they're that big, one fish, that could win the day.

I think the locals are a little bit shocked with what I'm doing.

He's like, "What the hell's going on here?"

I think that has totally spoiled the fishing now.

The local people have used the same simple methods for hundreds of years

and they're completely out-fishing the hi-tech Brits.

It is like a bream/carp, really.

Hey, catch all my fish, man!

Can I have a look?

Unless I've got a net, I'm not going to catch anything.

I haven't seen a single person use a rod.

SNAPPING

HE LAUGHS

Snapped my rod.

It's a new type of rod, it's called the right angle.

This is how you fish it.

Like that.

There you go, you don't even need to pack it up. Bam!

Just 30 minutes left.

Oh, hit the rock.

I've seen a couple of fish splash

but I think the majority will be a little deeper.

All you've got to do is keep persevering.

Jo, did you get a few bites?

I'm just tying another hook on the line now.

The way things have been going today, anything is worth a shot.

There's tiny little fish here.

I think they're probably the baby carp.

There's so many of them. If only I had a net.

I'm going to get one, you know. I'm trying to catch them in my cap.

Nice to see Emma out again today.

What have you noticed amongst the six fishermen?

Well, they are definitely trying different tactics.

Emma, I've noticed, maybe her mind is not quite on it.

She's using very lightweight stuff. If you look at Sam on the end there.

He's fishing with a boulder.

Well, this is the cauldron, isn't it?

He's on the end where the current is at its strongest.

He's using a rock this big to hold bottom.

That's not a bad thing to do. Ripon has done quite a smart thing,

he's got some rice and he's moulded around his ledger weight

and he'll have adapted that technique

from something that we do at home.

Dan whacked a bait across to the far side where there is a big pool

and I really like the look of it.

He's trying the right things.

Everything is against us.

I think we've just got to take it on the chin

that the fish are not feeding at the moment.

A few of us in danger of going out today.

I caught a fish in the first round.

Didn't do so good in the local challenge.

Today, no-one's caught anything.

There's a few of us that have got a bit knock-kneed.

It's been really hard today.

Everyone has tried absolutely everything.

The pressure is on now.

We've tried fishing lures, fishing flies, up in the water, down deep.

Fishing meat baits, fishing fish baits, fishing corn,

fishing rice, using swim feeders.

We really have tried just about absolutely everything

and it's been pretty fruitless.

I might move my fish trap.

Oh, something was nibbling.

I'm running out of things to do but I think what I'm doing

isn't the wrong way of going about it so just got to hold on, really.

Try the deep diving,

that's the only thing left in the box I haven't tried.

I'm not giving up. Never know.

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

OK, your time is up! Bad luck, guys.

Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear.

Yeah, what can you do?

I think this is the first challenge

since the beginning where there hasn't been one fish caught.

I think everyone has tried hard today and the fish aren't biting

and you can't catch them.

I'm concerned that I think the judges may think

I wasn't taking it seriously enough.

I haven't had my competitive head on, perhaps,

to the extent that I should have done.

In the battle of man versus fish,

for the first time in our global adventure, the fish have won.

The anglers must face Matt and Mr Mai empty-handed.

Well done, guys.

That was a hard, hot few days of fishing.

Obviously this is an expedition of discovery

and you didn't discover very much.

Ripon, I think you've caught something else there.

A stick insect there.

There we go.

You've caught something, guys! Well done!

You know, you really did, between you,

go through the full deck of cards, I think.

You tried ledgering on the bottom,

you tried spin fishing in its different forms.

You tried all kinds of rigs.

You tried using stones instead of ledger weights.

Small hooks, big hooks, small baits, big baits and unfortunately,

no-one came up with the answers.

Obviously the aim of this task was to catch the biggest fish.

There were no fish.

On that note, the judges have to go away and discuss how you performed

over the last week and decide which one of you is going home.

We'll see you all shortly.

Mr Mai, Matt, that was a tough few days out there.

Obviously different skills on each day, requiring different techniques.

How do you think Ripon got on?

I thought this might be more in his court, this venue.

It's freshwater, which he's used to, and fishing for quite a lot

of bottom feeding species, which is what he tends to fish for at home.

So, not great. Probably scrape through.

Onto Jo, the only one of our anglers not to

go into the water in the cast netting.

Throw netting is a real skill.

She threw that net beautifully time and time again.

It just played into her hands. It was really nice fishing.

Now onto Dan.

Can't take it away from him, he got that bamboo rod,

he caught two catfish, proper fish.

A reasonable performance again from Dan.

What about Emma, that's a really hard decision.

She did fish most of the first day and then had today.

The anglers know that this is going to be a challenge.

They also know that, at times, they will be tested.

For Emma, this was one of those times.

She was very bad with heat exhaustion.

I did see enough, I think, on the first day

and then today I think she was intimidated by the river.

She reverted to fishing the small side stream.

I thought she spent too long at it. It was all a little bit too safe.

What did you think about Sam?

I think Sam is at his best when he's got clear in his mind

what he needs to do and I think there were points in this

when he realised that actually,

he wasn't going to just breeze through it.

-Moving onto James?

-He was great in the cast netting.

I think he struggled with the pole fishing

and I think he also struggled with the rod line fishing,

to quite a large degree actually.

-So, who is safe?

-I think Jo is the most cast iron this time around.

Dan, probably, but the rest...

Thank you, anglers, for throwing yourself into this week.

In most cases, into the Mekong.

The judges have analysed everything from technique to catch,

all the information they could glean this week.

They've decided that the person going home...

...is Emma.

I'm so sorry, Emma. We have loved your enthusiasm.

Good innings, girl.

Oh, dear. Really sad not to be carrying on.

It just has been such fun and I've met some amazing people.

I tried to get my head around some quite extraordinary fishing.

Emma brings so much to the group.

Just the way she brings everyone up, that smile she's got.

She's going to be a massive miss.

I think I just keep getting bad luck, really.

It keeps following me around.

Hopefully it changes next week.

Costa Rica! I've always wanted to go to Costa Rica.

Next time...

The anglers are bowled over by the local way of fishing.

And get to meet the rock stars of the ocean.

Hee-hee-hee!