Zambia Earth's Wildest Waters: The Big Fish

Eight anglers travelled the globe...

-Is he stuck?

-Has he got it?

Wow! This place is nuts.

..in search of the world's most extraordinary fish.

-I think I've got Jaws on here.

-Wow!

And only three have made it to the final.

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

One thing I've always wanted to do.

My, my! Check that out.

I've never experienced anything like this in my life before.

Which will test everything they've learned...

The conditions are shocking!

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

It is definitely as hot as it looks. I'm not going to lie, it's brutal.

Now it's their last destination,

and their final frontier - Zambia.

Zambia in southern Africa.

This is Africa at its wildest.

Local people live side-by-side with dangerous animals on land

and in the river.

The Zambezi stretches over 1,500 miles.

Gentle rapids give way to the thundering waters of Victoria Falls.

The Zambezi is amazing. It's one of the great rivers of the world.

It's absolutely huge. There are hippos all over the place.

There's elephants wandering around on the banks

but you've got to put all that aside, put it out of your mind,

because in the water there are some magnificent fish,

and some of them have got really, really sharp teeth.

We're down to the last three. It's going to be tough

but they've got to concentrate on what they have learned,

put it to good use, because there can only be one winner.

-This is outstanding, boys. Look at where we are, Jimbo!

-I know, mate.

For the final, Matt will be joined by Charles Tembo,

an experienced sport fishing guide

who's grown up fishing on the banks of this immense river.

I started fishing when I was about six years old.

It's going to be tough.

I'm just looking forward to see them using their skills

to face the challenge they are going to find on the river.

Oh, ho-ho! This place is just amazing, man.

Being in the final is totally amazing.

You need to pinch yourself. Your head's going 100mph, thinking,

"What am I going to be catching? What am I going to be seeing?"

I'm a bit overwhelmed, to be honest!

The fish here have adapted to survive in these dangerous waters.

The anglers have just one week to prove they have the courage

and the skills to do the same.

For me, fishing is very much a mental challenge

as much as a skill-based, physical challenge,

and now I've actually got a chance of becoming the champ,

being here, I'm going to take that chance

and give it a really good shot this week.

I never thought I'd see the final but here I am,

we're all in with an equal chance of winning it

and hey, why can't it be me? Why can't it be that netsman from Wales?

Welcome to the final.

Well done, guys. You have come a long way.

Six countries, four continents

and it all comes down to this last expedition.

Now, for the first part of this journey

-you're after the mighty vundu catfish.

-Yes!

Like all catfish species, vundu are mainly caught on bait.

Vundu can grow up to 100 pounds and it's going to fight quite a lot

and you have to be strong enough to bring it in.

We are looking for the fisherman to catch the biggest vundu.

-Are you ready for it?

-Yeah.

-Go fish.

-Cheers, guys.

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

-Good luck, mate.

-Good luck, mate.

-Good luck, Danny boy.

-Good luck, son.

The anglers have just six hours with a guide,

who will be the judges' eyes and ears

as they explore this intimidating stretch of river.

-The adventure starts now.

-Ho-ho!

The Zambezi runs through six different countries

before spilling into the Indian Ocean.

The anglers are fishing in the Lower Zambezi National Park,

so they will be releasing everything they catch.

This part of the river is one of Africa's unspoiled wildernesses

and underneath the surface

this murky river is home to a vast number of fish,

including the vundu catfish.

Charles, we've obviously got quite a big river here.

-Where are they going to find these catfish?

-Normally with the catfish

we tend to fish in non-moving water,

so it's just a matter of reading the water.

How are they going to know they've got a vundu on their line?

A vundu won't even try to nibble on a bait.

A vundu will just grab it one time and start moving.

There's a lot of distractions for our anglers here.

-Their senses are going to be in overdrive.

-We have crocodiles,

we have hippos as well on the river.

This is so fascinating, you know,

because where we come from,

the worst thing that can happen on a bad fishing trip

is that you get really wet,

but the chances of getting eaten by a crocodile in Dudley or something

are pretty slim.

It's so quiet here. Everywhere we've been there's been boats

whizzing round or other things, planes going over. It's so...

You've just got to remember what's in the water.

Everyone's a novice to this river and this species,

but Sam was absolutely buzzing

when he heard about what we're fishing for today.

He is a very clever, clever man

and he knows a lot about species and locations.

From my gut instinct, thinking we're going to be fishing for vundu,

a catfish, I would be looking for somewhere off the main current,

somewhere the water's a bit slower.

They're lazy fish at the end of the day, aren't they?

-They don't want to expend energy unless they have to.

-Yeah, for sure.

Water moves fast on the outside of bends, and slower on the inside.

Obstructions in the water

also distort the speed and direction of the current,

creating seams or creases.

It's here, where fish find shelter,

that the fishermen will do best to cast their bait.

You can see there's a current line

coming off the end of this bank here, the current obviously

hits the bank and you can visually see it looking down there,

there's a line in the water.

You got the slower water to the right-hand side of it

and the faster water to the left,

and it's these current lines and seams which are where the fish sit.

It's like the highway, you know,

they know they can sit just off the main highway,

everything else is going past them.

When they want to, they can dive in to feed.

With a background in course and lure fishing,

Sam has consistently done well in the rod and line challenges.

My legs are shaking, my heart is pounding.

Dorado! Dorado!

Look at that!

Sam has been fishing since he was a young boy,

having been taught to fish by his grandparents.

-Oh, Sam, I didn't know you'd still got this.

-Yeah, there you go.

That belonged to my father.

It's very, very thrilling to us...

Well, I know it was to my husband, and to me, to think that

he's still doing something that we started him off on.

Oh, I'm so proud.

You couldn't understand...

Sorry...

He's my boy.

It looks quite sedentary and sedate, what we're doing, which it is,

but I can assure you, my brain is ticking over,

constantly watching the water, thinking about what I'm doing.

To make the most of their time, they need to be proactive,

seeking out the very best places to fish...

The big bait has been out for a long time.

-I think it's time we had a little wander.

-I'd agree with that.

Go and have a look somewhere.

I would definitely try to find another spot.

-..and manage two different rods at once.

-There was a take there.

But the fish dropped it.

That's the problem with having two rods and too much going on,

you've got to concentrate.

Unless it was a hippo.

The thing to do is not to panic.

It's a competition but you've got to enjoy it.

That's what fishing is about.

Throughout the expedition, James has shown technical skill

and a real passion for all kinds of fishing.

Boyhood dream come true.

And all kinds of fish.

That's the most amazing fish I've ever seen.

But there is no fishing like home,

where he is a proud member of the local fishing club

that he joined as a boy.

I've known James for at least 20 years now.

He joined the club as a junior. He was coming into my shop

and asking me, "Oh, I've got this and I was doing this."

I just gave him a little bit of advice

and we'd be standing like idiots in the shop

pretending we were casting rods and he just picks it up naturally.

He's naturally gifted that way. If James wins, I'll be very proud

and I know he's got it in him to do it.

He could definitely do it without a doubt.

Two hours in, and no fish have been caught.

HIPPO GRUNTS

I know, my thoughts exactly.

Yeah, you've got to be patient.

Hold your nerve, that's what it's about in this game.

But holding their nerve isn't always that easy.

I wanted to go over there because you could see feeding birds,

both fish-eating birds. The only problem is that

Mr Crocodile has now gone and sat in between those.

80% of the crocodile's diet is fish,

so that croc has just chased off our fish.

The best thing to do is move from here

and then I can set the rod up over the other side.

We're off. We've got a good one. Let's get away from this snag.

We've got some action. Fantastic.

We've got a catfish!

Here we go.

Look at that.

He's in the net. Fantastic! We've got a catfish.

There we go. Vundu catfish.

Quite a bizarre-looking fish.

Very, very ugly, but all the same,

it's the first vundu of the day so I'm chuffed to bits with that.

I think we'll get this one back, then try and catch another one,

maybe go for Plan C by that other snag.

OK. There you go.

Ha-ha! Fantastic!

Just over an hour left to catch the biggest vundu of the day.

And Dan is still competing with the locals.

Now, that croc has just been up and sunned itself here.

I think it's time for us to move on to another patch. I'm a croc magnet.

Dan comes from a traditional net-fishing background

and has the least experience with rod and line,

but he's managed to catch some of the biggest fish of the competition,

often in the final moments.

I've seen big fish before, but nothing like this.

This is one of the greatest achievements of my life.

After my kids and my wife, you know, this is one of the greatest moments.

I think fishing now has become even more a part of his life.

He's learnt so much in the process.

I'm really proud of Dan, I really am.

He's done so well. Yeah, really proud.

I'm slimming my bait down,

because it might be that I'm fishing with too big a bait.

It's a lot more open here but there's a nice patch of quiet water

over there, which my bait is going to go into straightaway.

Had a bite?

Definitely got one here.

Come on, my man, get this catfish into the net.

It's not the biggest catfish in the world but it's a catfish.

Proud moment, caught a vundu, my biggest catfish to date.

I'm going to put him back in the water now,

-so just let him go back in?

-Yeah.

And off he goes.

If there's one thing I've learned

through my whole time on this adventure, it's never give up.

How many times have you seen me catch a fish late on in the day?

How do you think you'd sum up our fishermen?

Heart, mind and soul for me.

I look at Dan, he's got a latent talent

and now he's starting to develop it,

so fishing's in his soul, if you like.

Then I look at someone like James.

He's about heart, he's really loved this experience.

Wow, look at the size of him! Ho-ho! Prehistoric!

Let's get away from him!

Different environments, types of fish, techniques,

and he's absolutely loving it.

-Could we have a go near, guys?

-There's another croc there.

Oh, crocodiles.

The mind part is Sam. Sam is very technical.

This looks like it's worth a drop.

Yeah, there's a great big snag in the river here,

but they like hanging out in the snags, the vundu.

That sounds like playing with fire, that does.

He does as much research as he can, so he does everything by the book.

Let's see what we can do.

And then there's the element of luck and whichever way you hang it...

-Oh, oh!

-Yeah, yeah, that's a bite.

I think you've missed your chance.

That's because... I told you not to talk to me now, Matt!

-How many times did I tell you?

-Yeah.

-I can't multitask.

I'm so sorry, I just thought that you were now so experienced

-that a moment like that would not...

-Do you know how big that fish was?

Just 30 minutes left.

Just trying a bit above that tree and I'm not going to cast,

we're just going to throw it in, cos that looks like another good spot.

James is the only finalist not to have caught a vundu...

We need to catch one today. I need to catch one today.

There's nothing going on here at all.

It looked like a fantastic spot but nothing.

..whilst Dan and Sam have landed one each.

Coming back to the spot we had some success at earlier.

What did we have? One fish and two good bites,

so come back here to see if there's still a few more vundu at home.

Everyone is desperate to catch the biggest of the day.

I really want to catch a bigger one.

Really, really, really do want to catch a bigger one!

This is proper shaded, we've got a lovely little back area here.

I'm going to stick the smaller rod just out there

where there's hardly any flow at all

and we're going to catch a big catfish.

See, this is where we were getting the bites earlier, you know,

where there's a lot of reeds,

and it just seems, I don't know, safer or...

-Oh, fast, fast!

-Dodging hippos for fun.

Today has been tough. My brain has been going overtime.

You've got the pressure of the competition and the time as well.

It's not like a fishing holiday.

When this is all over, I'm booking myself a fishing holiday!

It's the last few minutes, you are on edge, you go,

"I don't want to miss this!"

That's it, time up, everyone! Rods up.

HE SIGHS

Hey, guys. You look a bit like three naughty schoolboys!

That's how we feel!

Matt, how do you think they did as a group?

Generally, I think you did fairly well.

I would like to have seen a few more vundu catfish caught,

-if I'm brutally honest.

-Charles, how do you think Sam got on today?

Sam, for the fishing, was great.

Your choosing of the spot, it was perfect.

You came out with a very nice vundu catfish that weighed 17.5 pounds.

There was one moment that summed up for me that you were at home.

You flicked a bait close to the bank and it was very precise

and very deft, and it showed that you were totally comfortable

-with the tackle that you were using. Well done.

-Thanks, Matt.

I think, James, the fishing went fairly well.

You certainly selected some sensible spots.

-Unfortunately, you didn't catch a vundu.

-No.

One thing which I also noticed is that his cast,

he wasn't too far away, then on that, maybe you have to improve.

-On to Dan.

-Yeah, I thought it was an interesting performance from you.

Certainly, your choice of spots

instinctively was pretty good. You genuinely embraced the challenge.

You caught a vundu that weighed five pounds.

It wasn't an enormous vundu, but nonetheless,

it was the target species.

So, I thought it was a good performance, Dan.

Thank you very much.

Well, as you probably worked out,

-the winner of today's fishing expedition is Sam.

-Well done, buddy.

-Congratulations, Sam.

-Thank you so much.

Because this is the final, you don't get to choose a team for tomorrow.

From now on, it's each man for himself.

Get some sleep after that - early start tomorrow. Shall we go?

Well done.

To start like that in the final

and have comments like that, pretty cool.

It's been a good day.

It's nice not to finish bottom of the pile.

It's going to be an interesting couple of days,

I'm looking forward to it.

I know it's irritating, but all you can do is take each day as it

comes and see what tomorrow brings.

It's an early start for the anglers,

as they journey an hour and a half upriver

to the area where Charles grew up.

This village is outside the National Park.

For the local people, the Zambezi is a powerful lifeline -

for cooking, cleaning, watering crops and, of course, catching fish.

But with it comes risks.

The locals are used to facing

the dangers of this river on a daily basis.

Women tend to fish from the banks,

where the men use these mokoro canoes.

I'm not going on one of them!

There is not a chance in hell I'm going on one of them!

That's exactly what you're going on, I'm sure of it.

I'm nervous.

I just don't want to be in any little boat in that water, like!

-Morning. ALL:

-Morning.

Welcome to the village.

On the way down the Zambezi this morning,

I'm sure you saw plenty of locals.

For them, they have to face the dangers of this river

on a daily basis, and today, you will be braving it,

too, as you join the locals in their dugout mokoro canoes.

You are going to do the traditional way of fishing.

So, you are going to fish with the long bamboo fishing rod.

There is something very pure about fishing with a pole

and a simple line, and I think this challenge is going to tell us a lot.

The angler who brings back the most fish is the winner. Ready for it?

-Yep.

-Please stay in the boats!

THEY CHUCKLE

-Go fish!

-Good luck, guys.

The one thing I don't want to do!

-Let's go!

-Good luck, mate.

-That croc there, watch him, James!

-Whoa!

Stripped of all the modern fishing kit

that they are used to, the finalists have just an hour and a half

-to catch as many fish as they can.

-Are you stable?

Yeah, I'm OK.

Fishing here is a survival skill.

The locals must learn to catch fish to feed their families.

So, the bigger, the better.

But the bigger fish are tough to catch and land

on such light equipment.

Right, mate, let's catch some fish.

The set-up we've got here is about as simple as you could

possibly get, it's very Huckleberry Finn-esque, this sort of fishing.

When you get back to the basics of fishing, with a pole and line, that

is quintessentially the most pure form of sport fishing that there is.

I grew up in this area, you know, most local people go to the river

and try to fish, like, chessa, kupi and even tiger fish.

It would be more interesting to see them fishing in our local

tradition type of fishing.

A fishing line is attached to a simple branch or pole.

A float is made from the pith of a reed,

which can be moved

up and down the line

to set the bait at a chosen depth.

Sitting on the surface of the water,

it will dip to indicate a bite from below.

It's all quite close quarters,

but a couple of metres can make a hell of a difference.

The main thing with this sort of fishing is,

just be patient, wait and watch.

As soon as that float goes down, strike into the fish.

The float is just an indicator to tell you you've got a bite,

otherwise you are fishing blind, totally.

You can't see the fish - they are definitely there.

Well, deep down, you hope they are there!

HE CHUCKLES

The judges are looking for pure fishing skills -

watercraft, delicate presentation of the bait and stealth.

You have to be quiet, though. Ssh!

Important, yeah? Come on, fish! Oh, little twitch, did you see that?

Tch-tch!

-Lots of small fish down there.

-Smaller.

Yeah. Come on, fish!

Aha! That's weed.

That's the problem with fishing here,

you're fishing in a lot of weed.

But that's where the fish are feeding and hiding.

Just changing spots, because it was a little bit shallow there.

-Oh, he's got one.

-Yes!

Coming through. How are we getting on, Dan?

-Not as good as him over there.

-Any bites?

-No, just small ones.

Just mosquitoes!

Half an hour gone and only Sam has caught a fish.

Well, Ben is out there fishing, look, paddling down in his canoe.

In the history of British seamanship,

you've got people like Sir Francis Drake, Horatio Nelson...

-and there he is, the latest, Admiral Fogle!

-Exactly.

-I can hear that!

THEY CHUCKLE

Just waiting for that flow to go under.

Ah!

Tried to bite there, didn't get a good hold, though.

Oh!

They're tormenting me!

Sometimes, just twitch the rod very slightly and the worm moves in

the water and it gives it a kick and sometimes that can induce a bite.

Oh! Oh-ho-ho! Missed that one!

-Oh, yes! That's a fish!

-Whoo!

-That's a tiger!

-Tiger fish.

-Good job!

Oh, me first ever tiger fish! Ohh! Get in! So happy.

That's a great catch for a worm.

(There is fish here. Ssh! Stay here!)

These margin areas are where the smaller species,

like this tilapia, this is where they hang out, in the vegetation,

because you've seen the tiger fish that are in this river.

James just caught a small one, there are huge shoals of marauding

tigers in here that chomp their way through all sorts of small fish,

so they stay in the margins, where they are hidden

and out of sight, just in the cover, because they feel safe and secure.

I'm just not moving much, I think

that's the key to staying balanced in these boats.

If you move around too much, there is

every chance it is going to tip over.

But if you are going to be a traditional fisherman,

you really should do it properly.

Or at least try to!

Mm-hm. Can you hold my hand?

OK.

Then you do it like this.

-This, come, come on a bit.

-Through there?

Fish from there, where there is good stuff. Now...

OK.

-How's that?

-Well, I can see better.

It is a bit risky, but, you know, live on the edge.

If the crocs want a bit of Welsh rump, fair play to them!

-CHARLES:

-I saw him standing in the mokoro,

meaning that it is more comfortable, you know, fishing on this river.

Back in Wales, he fishes from this coracle boat, they are quite

unstable, actually, so it is a great skill to steer the...

I think he feels at home.

-Halfway...

-Ohh! Oh-ho-ho!

..and Dan is the only one not to have caught.

Time to go for a move now.

There is no fish where I was there, so we're going to go up,

-we are prospecting!

-Let's go down a bit. Just after that bent tree.

-Hey, how is it going?

-Here's me good luck charm!

How much pressure is there on you now?

A lot of pressure, because I didn't catch a vundu yesterday,

and obviously, the two guys did, so there is always pressure on.

How are you getting on with the mokoro?

It's fine, I'm just getting a bit numb.

It's just making sure that you are nice and steady.

-There we go.

-There is a fish! Yes, fish!

-There is a fish!

-Ah! What was I saying? Good luck charm, mate!

You can fish with me any day!

With two big fish in the boat, James is going for quality...

Got fish!

-..whilst Dan...

-I've just had two fish

-straight after each other.

-..is all about quantity.

But while Calvin was having a look round, I just decided to put

my worm in here, and as you can see, that's three fish within 30 seconds.

Instincts, you know, just do what you're here to do.

If your line is not in the water, you're not going to catch any fish.

-How's it going, Sam?

-I got a tilapia, fairly early on.

Oh, a little bite there as well! Oh, nearly missed a bite right there!

What do you think is teasing you there?

There is a lot of smaller fish around,

-so I'm getting a lot of bites. There we go.

-Oh! Does that count?

-That definitely counts, it's heads of fish today, isn't it?

-Hold it up.

-They all count today.

-Sorry, I shouldn't laugh!

That's one of the smallest fish I've ever caught.

But, boy, does it count today, huh?

Time is running out in their last traditional challenge.

No, I don't say that I've had a fantastic day today,

but I've got three fish in the boat, small fish,

-but it's headcount, it's not size today.

-Is it the last five minutes?

-It's flown by!

-A lot of small fish under here.

When you saw the size of that last one I caught,

I would love to catch another fish right now

in the last few minutes, that would be fantastic.

I think it will be a close run thing today, that's for sure.

I think we are in the last 30 seconds, so come on!

I think that's five times I've had them drop off!

Oh! That was unlucky.

Time, anglers! Lines up.

That's it.

I've caught fish, we'll just see how the guys have got on.

Being a traditional fisherman myself,

I've come out and I've caught fish traditionally again.

I didn't catch many, but, hey, I'm not going back empty-handed,

I've got something to chuck in the pot tonight.

It would be fantastic to win the first two

challenges in the final, you know, that would be going

into the last challenge totally confident, that would be fantastic.

The anglers return to the village

to find out which of them has caught the most fish for dinner.

All right, boys?

Lovely. Hey, buddy.

-Afternoon. ALL:

-Afternoon.

First of all, I want to thank you for not becoming crocodile lunch!

You all stayed in, I thought you were great in the mokoros.

Dan, your coracle experience obviously shone through,

I think you were the only one to stand up.

Yeah, I had a little bit of help with my balance, so it was good.

-Sam, can you show us how many fish you caught?

-Certainly.

I caught two fish.

I think I need to be issued with a microscope to see one of them!

Um, you were obviously using the equipment quite well to

present the bait, you were pretty deft at flicking out your float,

-I think it was a pretty neat performance.

-Thanks, Matt.

-James?

-I caught two.

-Very nice.

I know that you took the result with the vundu pretty hard,

but you picked yourself up and you caught two nice fish there,

they are both visible to the naked eye, seriously, that is

pretty impressive, to land them on that light equipment, good for you.

-Cheers.

-Dan, can you show us what you caught?

-I had three fish today.

It's a little bit embarrassing...

-THEY LAUGH

-..because that is what I caught!

-Can you confirm there were three for us?

-Yeah, there are three in there.

We did ask, you know, for the number.

Even though they are quite small fish.

What would your wife say if you brought that back for the table?

My wife would say that,

you know, for even one person, it won't be enough!

On any other day, it may have come down to weight,

but Charles and Matt set it as the greatest quantity of fish.

And on that basis, Dan, you are today's winner. Well done.

-Sorry, lads!

-Good job.

I'm just going to double-check, is there definitely...

Yeah, it is definitely a fish! Cheers, Matt, thank you.

Thank you all very much.

'All of the fish caught, both large and very small,

'are prepared for dinner.'

A little bit embarrassing on the size of the fish,

but they said it was down to count, and I had the most.

So, even though it's a little bit of a cheeky one, I'll take it.

Does your husband bring back fish this small?

THEY LAUGH

So close, again!

When I'm saying so close, that was the size of the fish that beat us!

-Thank you very much. Are you ready? Ta-da!

-Oh, yeah.

I've made a really good start in this final competition here in

Zambia, so I've just got to go out there and sock it to 'em tomorrow.

That's lush.

-I don't know if that's going to last me the whole day, but...

-No, no.

I think I need to pull it out the bag tomorrow,

if I can win, that means each one of us will have won a task.

If you want to win this, you've got to have a big day tomorrow.

And I'm hoping that I can have a big day tomorrow

and be in with a shout at the end of it.

HIPPOS GRUNT

It's the final challenge of their worldwide expedition.

The remaining three anglers must use all the skills they've learnt

in one last chance to impress the judges,

who have been watching their techniques closely.

All three of these guys have got different qualities.

In Dan's case, I've seen huge progress.

But it's his sheer instinct that's actually his biggest asset.

What Sam's really good at is the tactical side of things.

He's strong on the bait fishing side,

strong on the lure fishing side, if he's got a weakness,

it's probably his fly fishing, but he masks it very, very well.

I knew that James would be good at fly fishing.

I think spin fishing has become something

he's very much at home with,

the bait fishing may still be a little bit of a chink in his armour.

But he has learnt a lot, amazingly fast.

I'm looking for the complete angler. But I know it's going to be tight.

Good morning.

-ALL:

-Morning.

Well, for the final part of your worldwide fishing marathon,

you are after one of the most ferocious game fish here in Zambia.

It is often described as Africa's piranha.

It's the tiger fish.

I knew it!

Because our judges are looking for the complete all-rounder,

we are looking for the fisherman

who can catch the tiger fish on the fly...

..on bait, on the lure.

-Are you ready for this?

-Absolutely.

You will be fishing over the next two days for your chance to be

crowned our fishing champion.

-Go fish!

-Cheers, mate.

-Let's go, boys. Good luck, gentlemen! All the best.

-Good luck.

Good luck, guys.

I'm really, really excited about today.

There we go, we are off.

The anglers face the biggest test so far, to combine everything

they've learnt across six countries and 17 challenges,

to catch one of the most fearsome fish in Africa.

Got it all to play for today!

Big day, big day.

Tiger fish are powerful swimmers.

With sharp, interlocking teeth, they are highly effective predators.

I've always felt an affinity with tiger fish,

because they have got a dentistry like me!

But they are seriously the fish of your nightmares.

They've got a mouth like a steel trap.

It's a fish which can tend to fight and jump when you catch it.

Making it about three disciplines really opens it up,

because it is harder to get lucky three times.

If you can catch a fish on each method, for me, that's

a bigger achievement than just getting one big fish on one method.

They have learned quite a lot, it's whether they have learned enough.

I'm looking to cast around this submerged structure.

This is where the small fish are hanging out and where the tiger fish

are laying, waiting to pounce on their prey.

It really is about getting as tight in as you can to the structure.

Got to draw them out from their lair.

The first tactical decision to make is which method to start on.

I'm most comfortable with the lure fishing equipment.

I'd rather get one on the lure first,

then change to fishing with the fly.

Not worried about what everyone else is up to, you just get distracted.

I'm going to stick to my game plan.

-Look at that, right into the bank.

-Perfect casting!

Thank you, mate.

I feel at my most confident when I've got a fly rod in my hand.

Just being active, covering new water,

trying to entice these tiger fish. Where's the tigers?

Whilst James and Sam have both chosen to start with their strongest

method, Dan has other ideas.

I'm just having a few practice casts, you know,

so I can see the fly, see how it's moving.

I think I'm going to surprise a few people.

I'm fly fishing first,

which I consider to be my weakest discipline.

Fly fishing, it's the most difficult one.

You know, to tell you the truth, if I see someone, you know,

catching a big tiger fish on a fly rod, it's like the most challenging.

For me, I'd be thinking about a tiger fish in the shade,

down near the bottom, so you've got to put it close to him,

you've got to do that quickly, you've got to do it quietly

and you've got to do it efficiently.

Oh, we're into a snag.

We're fishing with sinking lines -

if the fly's not coming up every now and again with weed on it,

then you know you're not in the right place.

I'm trying to cast over towards the bank over there.

I'm hoping there's some prey fish or something going to be there.

Something to switch the tiger fish onto.

Oh, fish, fish! Oh, it's dropped it!

It was a tiger, I saw it. Tiger fish.

Exciting stuff!

That's why I love fishing.

The net, please.

It's not the biggest fish in the world,

but that it is a tiger fish on the fly.

-Got it!

-And there you have it.

That's probably 250 grams.

Who's to say I can't win this with a tidy fish?

That must really surprise you about Dan.

It's not a big tiger fish, but, um, superb achievement.

And, really, he's got the most difficult thing out of the way.

Fly fishing is James' thing.

Dan will be doing it cos he feels

he wants to get the difficult bit out the way.

James will probably be embracing it

and thinking, "Well, this is my best shot."

But he hasn't caught one yet,

and, I mean, Dan has totally put the cat among the pigeons, totally.

I've caught a fish

on what I consider to be my weakest discipline.

I'm going to give it another 20 minutes

to see if we can get a bigger one.

Two hours gone,

and Dan's tiny tiger has put him in the lead.

That's Jamesy boy coming on, there.

Why, aye, man! How are you getting on?

Er, not too good.

Have you caught a tiger fish on the fly yet?

No. Have you?

-Aye.

-You've had one?

-Good luck, anyway, pal.

-Cheers, mate.

I'm happy with me casting, it's in the right spot.

I think I'm using the right fly,

I think I'm using the right technique.

I'll get one when I deserve one, when I'm ready for one.

Can we go to the far side? It's too shallow here.

Right, then, boys and girls, let's go lure fishing.

There's a bit of a back eddy there, looks perfect.

Oh, there we go! There we go!

-There's a tiger?

-Yeah.

That's a good fish, that. Oh, please!

Fight is unreal, and very acrobatic.

Oh, no, no, no.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Idea is just to let the rod do all the work.

Perfect - if he wants to take the line, he can take it.

What a fight on this rod!

Oh, he's a beautiful fish.

Please don't come off, please don't come off, please don't come off.

Yes! What a fish!

What a fish. Oh, my God.

-If you can actually hold that...

-Hold it...

and then by the tail?

-Yeah.

-Under like that? Oh, my God.

Look at that for a fish! I'm over the moon!

Oh, my God, I've always wanted this - what a cracking fish!

A proper tiger fish.

It's a great fish to catch on a fly rod,

it's miles bigger than Dan's.

Yeah, it's a massive, you know, tiger fish.

So, on my opinion, it's like he has just, you know, hit on the target.

-JAMES:

-A take like that, acrobatic jumps,

is totally amazing.

I'm absolutely lost for words.

Already halfway through their first day of tiger fishing,

and all three finalists are now using a lure...

I'm just going to chuck a couple of spinners in there,

just cos of the trees and the water and stuff, and it just looks...

it looks quite nice.

Yeah, where there's fish eagles, there's fish.

Oh, there was a take.

First hit of the day - about time, too.

..but, for Sam, it's still his first method.

How are you getting on, Sam?

I'm all right. I've had one hit, but nothing to the boat yet.

Still using the lure, spinning?

Yeah, I'm starting with the lure rod, I'm going

to try and get one on the lure, move on to the fly, and then the bait.

I've got my strategy, just going to work my way through it,

rather than chop and change all the time.

-It's been pretty tough so far.

-OK. Fingers crossed.

-Good luck, Sam.

-Cheers, Ben, thank you.

On a river with so many ways to get their line snagged...

Need to get tight to that bank, underneath the cover.

..casting a lure accurately is key.

My casting's pretty spot on.

It's just practice - it's something I've done most of my life.

If you practise it, you get good at it,

and you get good at placing the spot and working out how much

effort you need to put into the cast and what have you.

-DAN:

-There's little grooves in the bank.

We're just trying to get them in those little grooves.

I didn't do a very good cast, there,

I need to be a bit more accurate with my casting.

Needs to be right in those Vs.

-The spinning, it's all about precision.

-Yeah.

Right in that eddy.

In a way, I feel in my element.

I don't know, it's nice - I'm on a river.

I sometimes spin for salmon when the water's too high,

so it's not too far away from what I do, in a way.

With James and Dan already off the mark,

they're feeling pretty confident.

We're in. Oh, it's off, it's off, it's off.

Fantastic spot here.

Yeah, yeah, fish on. Definitely.

Oh, it's come off!

Definitely my fault. I need to keep my rod down.

-I keep my rod up too high.

-Yeah, that's it.

That's weed.

Oh, no, it's a tiger fish!

Oh, it's off. Oh, no!

So, the plan is to go downstream.

We've hammered this three times, so, I think,

trying to find some new bits.

We're going to stay in this area for a little while now.

I know I'm doing the right technique to catch them,

I just need to get the technique right to land them.

This area here looks spot on.

James might be at the perfect spot,

but he's not the only one that thinks so.

Oh... Looks like we've got a bit of an audience now, so...

Are they going in?

Cheers, guys.

Absolutely ruined me fishing.

HE CHUCKLES

Whilst James and Dan persist with the lures,

Sam reluctantly moves on.

Decided to change and have a go with some bait fishing.

Got a nice little spot here,

we're going to soak the bait for a little while while we're down here.

Give it a try, see if that is a successful tactic today.

I think it looks like a very good spot for bait fishing,

-but, so far, Sam hasn't caught a fish.

-Yeah.

He was convinced he was going to catch some spinning,

he knows he's still got the fly fishing mountain to climb -

that's his hardest discipline.

I think he could be very frustrated.

One thing which I've also noticed,

the sinker he's using is quite heavy.

-Yeah.

-That sinker will...

-You think that's too heavy...

-Yeah.

..and the fish will actually feel the weight of the sinker

-and maybe drop the bait.

-Exactly.

Sam's done quite a lot of course fishing,

-and should be very familiar with the concept...

-Yeah.

-..of balancing the size of the sinker with the current.

-Yeah.

So, actually, that's quite a surprising error.

90 minutes left of their penultimate day of fishing.

In their epic quest to catch on all three methods,

Sam is the only one not to have caught a tiger fish at all.

Oh, you've always got to be optimistic, as a fisherman.

Eternal optimists.

James and Dan are still on their second method.

-Yeah...

-Got something.

-Oh, a tiger fish!

-Just got to get it in the net.

It's... It's pulling all right.

Yeah.

Oh, I missed it again.

Kept the rod tipped down, that time.

With these tiger fish, you will lose more than you'll catch.

Ohh...

Gutted. He was on for a second. Look at that - minced.

Let's have another cast, see if there's any more down there.

There we go - we're on. We're on. Get the net, quick!

Get in! Yes!

Push on - here it comes.

Yes, come on!

They look like something you'd find in a sci-fi movie.

Best feeling ever, that's totally amazing.

That's one on the fly, one on the spinner.

We're going to put him back in the water.

That's a great relief - I've had one on the fly, now,

I've had one on the lure.

Doing a little bit of lure fishing, as well,

with the bait soaking there.

Just to get anything right now would be fantastic, you know?

Yep, fish on.

Oh, thank goodness for that, we got one.

About time, too! There we go.

First one I've ever caught - pretty chuffed with that.

Beautiful fish.

Couldn't have come at a better time, huh?

-Yeah, very fine.

-Fantastic.

Right, now let's go and catch one on the lure.

Phwoar! It's hard work!

Last cast.

Gap there.

Game over.

Day one.

The finalists have put everything they have

into getting to know this enormous river...

and for James, the novelty still hasn't worn off.

Look at this! Doesn't get much better than this.

You've got hippos, crocodiles -

look how close we are to this elephant.

That is absolutely amazing.

What an end to a perfect day.

Does it get any better?

Oh, my God.

Cheers, guys. See you tomorrow.

-Danny boy.

-How's it going, guys?

-Jamesy boy.

-How did yous get on?

Two out of three ain't bad.

-Good job.

-Same here.

-Fly and spinner.

-Same here!

-Nothing on the bait.

-Any good?

-One of them.

-Just the one?

-Just the one.

-Yeah. It's...

-It's been a hard day.

There's not many places you can go in the world

and have wild elephants, hippos, crocs...

-Yeah.

-Outside your back door. It's surreal.

-Oh, yeah.

-Really.

-You're continually pinching yourself.

-Yeah.

-So, a toast...

-Cheers!

-..to all of you -

your final night in Africa.

-Good luck tomorrow.

-Cheers, guys.

-Good luck tomorrow, guys.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers.

Their final day in Zambia -

and on their global expedition.

Here we go again.

-Good luck.

-Good luck, mate.

-Good luck.

-Good luck, guys.

-See you later, boys.

-Are you ready for this?

-Yeah.

Pressure's on today, man.

Got to play catch-up.

Just half a day remains to catch a tiger fish on all three methods...

All right, let's do it.

I really need to mix it up today with the fly and the lure,

so I'll be using both.

The other boys are probably going straight onto their bait,

seeing as they caught with lure and fly already.

What I'm going to do is double my chances,

set up two rods. Both with bait.

At the moment I'm just thinking about bait, bait, bait.

..but the judges know it's going to be a close race...

This is a crucial moment, really,

and this is about finding the complete package.

These three guys have fished their hearts out.

We owe it to them to debate every cast,

every fish to the nth degree, until we are satisfied

that the person that we crown as champion is the best fisherman.

-SAM:

-I'm not panicking,

just going to fish as best I can.

A few months ago,

I would have said bait fishing is my weakest out of the lot,

but I do enjoy it, I know how to rig up...

Yeah, just pushing the bait down, he is.

That's his tactic this morning.

We've tied up, James is drifting.

You always want to keep a look

and see what's happening with the rest of the guys.

Dan looks like he's anchored up.

You'll know when you've got a bite.

Literally, you'll know when you've got a bite.

That looks like a bite there.

Obviously, sometimes, with the static bait,

it's easier for the fish to home in on it,

but you're covering a lot more fish here.

..and it's not just James that Dan's keeping an eye on.

With him spinning, I'd say he still hasn't had one on the lure,

which, for me, is not a bad thing.

The clock is ticking, and I know I'm doing everything right, you know.

That's the frustrating thing - I'm in the right places,

I'm landing that lure exactly where it needs to land.

Sometimes you do these casts and you're like,

"Oh, yeah, that deserves a fish."

I kind of feel like I deserve a fish.

I've fished so hard for two days now.

Two hours gone.

Heart is going ten to the dozen at the moment.

Dan and James have just one method left to catch on -

bait.

Yep. There's a tiger.

He's coming up, this time. Are you ready?

He's coming up. Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Oh, yes!

Yes.

Oh, right, that's the hat trick done.

Gorgeous fish - we'll get him straight back in the water, though.

Yes!

Ohh!

The pressure just feels like it's gone.

It's not over yet, though.

So, they've got just under and hour to go.

I can't imagine the pressure they must be under.

James is obviously out on top right now.

He's already caught his three fish, one on each technique.

He's marched up that mountain, put his flag up there

and said to the others, "OK, now come and get me."

And then we've got Dan - still to catch one with bait,

but nonetheless, he's still in there with a shout.

And then we've got Sam - very methodical.

He's been a really consistent performer

through all the other rounds -

however, the wheel's fallen off a little bit,

and that happens in fishing,

because sometimes you get the luck factor,

or was it some bad decisions?

Be under no illusions, he will fish till the very last second.

This is still wide open.

-SAM:

-Still not hooking up.

And that's just the way it is - I've got to keep casting.

It's all I can do, really, is just keep doing what I'm doing.

Sam is throwing everything he has into catching on the lure and fly.

It's just that positive hook-up is all we need.

Ooh! Might've been a tap.

Here we go. Something's on.

Yep. Yes! Ooh...

It's a tiger on the lure.

Oh, thank God for that!

I worked so hard for that fish, and I knew I was doing everything right.

I'm so, so relieved to have got one on the lure at last.

Fantastic. I'm happy with that, I tell you.

Right, let's get it back - I've got to get one on the fly, now.

I'm on a level par with the boys when they left this morning.

If I can take one on the fly as well, then...

I think I'm still in with a good chance.

Sam's now only one catch behind James -

and he's not the only one.

I'm going to do a bait fishing, but it's going to be free lining,

where you just throw a bait over the side on a sinker

and let that drift down with you.

See if we can try and get a take that way.

There's only 30 minutes left of the whole expedition.

There's not long left.

I keep thinking about the other guys, but then I think I'm just...

I've done what I set out to do - I just wanted to top,

and now I want to get more fish on the boat.

Aware things could change in the blink of an eye,

James is trying everything he can.

I've put one of the bait rods down, left one out,

and I've put me spinner ordinary out again,

just to try and get numbers on board.

I'm hoping that, you know,

maybe with a bigger chunk it'll sink down to the bottom a little bit.

I haven't managed to catch on the bait fishing today.

We'll see what happens now.

Had some action on the bait here yesterday -

it's a nice little spot with a feeder stream - worth a try.

At the moment, you know, time is the problem,

we're down to the last 15 minutes,

so just got to keep fishing hard and hope for that pull.

Bait the trail up a little bit.

Hopefully try and get something interested.

I'm covering water - if there's a hook in the water,

you've got a chance. Might get lucky, you never know.

If I could pull a bit of last-minute luck out the bag,

that'd be fantastic.

Just need one bit of luck.

Yeah, got a fish on here.

True to form,

Dan hooks up in the last few minutes.

I think it's a catfish.

It's a catfish.

You know, it's the way it goes.

But, you know, I also did catch on bait -

so, I've caught on all three methods.

Two minutes to go, got a bit of a tangle blowing up in the wind, here.

There's no point in panicking.

One last cast, fishermen!

All this time's come down to this.

Come on, guys.

Come on!

Three we go - that's it.

That's the competition over.

-Time's up.

-Time is up.

-All right.

-Yeah, I'm sorry, man.

What an epic, epic journey.

One of us gets crowned champion - I hope it's me.

You know, I've put my heart and soul into this.

The anglers' final test is over.

Welcome back, anglers.

-Hello.

-How's it going?

What a competition you made this,

with the efforts of the last two days.

You can all be proud of making this a terrific final.

It was an epic challenge, you know, for you,

you know, for the past few days, so I say congratulations, guys.

We asked for each of you to try and catch a tiger fish

using the three different techniques.

Sam, the fish that you caught were on lure and on bait,

and they were very nice fish.

It's just the fly-caught fish that prevented the perfect sheet -

but nonetheless, it was a fair old effort.

Thank you, Matt. Cheers.

James, you went out there and you did it.

Fly, spinner and bait.

The fish that you caught on the fly was not far off eight pounds,

and that's a belting tiger fish.

I'm actually quite jealous.

Boyhood dream, mate.

Dan, you scored very early with a fly-caught tiger fish.

-It wasn't a big tiger fish...

-No.

..but it was a tiger fish on the fly.

You had a nice two pound-plusser, on a lure -

-unfortunately, the fish you caught on a bait was a catfish.

-Yeah.

That's a shame.

Well done, anglers.

I really know how much effort you put into this -

but the judges wanted the angler

who could perform in all three techniques,

so the winner of this last challenge here is James.

-Eventually.

-Well done.

-Cheers, guys.

-Congratulations.

You've done an amazing, amazing job, guys.

-We'll return shortly.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers, guys.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

What a few days it's been out here!

Three very different challenges, and each of them has a win.

It's been an incredible final.

It's got everything we need in it.

All the fishing skills have been on show,

and we've got a really hard choice to make -

but we have enough information to make that choice.

Charles, what about Dan, then?

On the vundu challenge, he caught a five-pounder catfish,

and for the second day, he caught some small, small tilapia.

But I actually think he was fishing a very pure, stealthy technique.

I think it's every bit as good as catching a big vundu.

And then, of course, on Dan's third and final challenge,

he caught fish - not necessarily the fish we wanted him to catch.

Unfortunately, a vundu catfish came in on bait.

On the fly rod, he managed to land, you know, a tiger fish,

but that was, you know, about one-pounder.

But it was on the fly rod -

you're always impressed catching them on the fly rod.

I was impressed, but, you know, I'm trying to look

and maybe make the judgment.

James, you know, for the first day, he didn't land any vundu at all.

Then, when we went to the village, the second day,

he landed, you know, some decent fish.

He did start quite slowly, but then all of a sudden,

when he gets to the two-day event,

he puts in a meteorically strong performance at the end.

He managed to land that big tiger fish - eight-pounder -

on a fly, you know.

It's something which, you know, it makes me proud.

Sam came into this week, Mr Consistent -

won the first challenge.

Yes, 17.5-pound vundu - it was the biggest fish by a mile.

And then what about with the local challenge?

He landed a decent, you know, tilapia, and also a small one.

It wasn't so bad.

And then we come into the third challenge - failed on the fly.

-Bit of an

-Achilles

-heel.

Three great contenders -

none of them should reproach themselves for what they've done.

They have given it their all.

What a journey we've all been on!

It began all those weeks ago in the rain and hail of Iceland,

and it finishes here on the banks of the Zambezi under the African sun.

Our judges had a really, really tough decision.

They haven't taken it lightly,

but based on this incredible week's fishing here in Zambia,

the winner of our worldwide fishing adventure...

is...

-..James.

-Yes!

-Well done, sir.

-Well done.

Well done, well done.

-How do you feel?

-Shocked.

-Well done.

-Extremely well done.

-Thank you.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

Well done.

The champion - hold it up!

THEY LAUGH

Crying like a big baby!

Oh-h!

Still trying to take it all in.

I'm lost for words.

I can't believe it.

CORK POPS

Whoo-hoo!

-Here's to an incredible experience.

-Cheers!

I was close, but no cigar -

but I'm really, really pleased for James.

He's a good guy. Good, good guy.

He's become a very, very good friend of mine.

Cheers, champ! Nicely done.

Being given this fantastic opportunity

to come and see all these amazing places,

and to experience the things we have,

that's it - really, really lucky bloke.

I've always loved fishing, but taking part in this,

it just grabs hold of you,

and reminds you of what fishing is about.

Taking part, making friends,

experiencing things like we've gone through -

it's been one hell of a journey,

but it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

-Well done, mate.

-Yeah, well done.

-Cheers!

Really pleased for you, dude.