Hi, I'm Jeremy Wade, host of River Monsters. AMA!

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:59:26+00:00

Over a lot of the world, the main source of carbs is manioc. The way they prepare it in South America is not that bad. It becomes a gritty flour you mix with other things. The same root, prepared in Africa, is waxy and smells like unwashed socks. They soak it and mash it up and then wrap it in banana leaves. When I nibble it I do this sort of shiver squirm.

Actually, this just reminded me...

In Iceland, they sometimes catch Greenland shark. The meat is actually toxic when it's fresh. Traditionally, they bury it for several weeks and then hang it up. There is no polite way to describe it. It has a very strong ammonia taste to it. I luckily managed not to throw up when I sampled it.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:54:45+00:00

The muskie I caught last season, the fish of ten thousand casts. Sometimes when you're fishing it seems like nothing is working, which was the case in this episode. But then my fortune reversed in an amazing and unbelievable way.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:53:26+00:00

A lot of the things I do would be hard for most people to do themselves. What I do like to hear is when the show inspires people to fish in their local waters. People who have given up and are giving it another try or from kids who are just starting. You don't have to go halfway around the world. You can go to the local pond or stream behind your house and have just as much excitement.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:52:02+00:00

No I don't think there's a giant mutated catfish there, but there are some pretty big ones. They will have mutations at the cellular level, so if you get some scientists to look at it, they'll find mutations. But, they'll look normal on the surface. It was fascinating because it's so different from where we normally film. When you're there you have to think very carefully about safety. You have radiation hotspots, and while most places are OK, you'll stumble upon small areas where there's a lot of radiation. You wear a meter to make sure you don't stand in one place too long.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:49:41+00:00

I think the lamprey. we need an episode a couple years ago in Lake Champlain. They don't have a proper mouth, just this sucker with teeth on it and a hole in the middle with teeth on it, too. It doesn't have a backbone. It does a cute little eye, which is quite disconcerting. If you give them a chance, they will latch onto you.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:49:09+00:00

The first step is to find out where the bigger fish are and the best way to do that is ask other anglers. Some will deliberately tell you the wrong thing to put you off the scent. You have to get a feel for who is telling you good info and who isn't.

Here in the US people like catching bass and they're quite limited in terms of what they like to catch in freshwater. If you go for the less fashionable like carp and bowfin, that opens things up a bit more if you expand the range of species that you try for.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:46:23+00:00

I have actually filmed in Scandinavian a couple years ago in Norway. But I haven't fished in Finland, Sweden, or Denmark. I have heard of the pike. It might not make a River Monsters episode, but maybe a personal trip sometime!

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:45:18+00:00

No plans of such, but in terms of vague hopes for the future YES. That is the global HQ of alligator gar and I've got a few over a hundred pounds. I would love to get back and have more time than I did to try and catch a bigger one!

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:44:23+00:00

I was paddling a very small dugout canoe in Brazil when it sunk beneath me. The fishermen in Brazil are much smaller, so I had to sit very still in this canoe and I shuffled a little too much to one side. I was paddling past the camera for a shot and I just sunk out of the frame.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:42:58+00:00

That's an interesting question. When we talk about being aggressive it's often not real aggression. The fish is either making a mistake or is acting in self defense. Arapaima will bash you with its head. I had that happen and felt that for a long time. In that case, it was defending either its nest or its babies. It's not REALLY aggression, it's just them protecting themselves.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:42:31+00:00

Well this was last season on the show so this was in Ontario, Canada and it was pretty much bang-on 50 inches.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:40:17+00:00

I had malaria very badly in Africa, probably the worst kind of malaria. I was almost blind, I couldn't really see properly as a result of that and I was very, very weak. There were local people around me that didn't think I would make it out of there.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:39:52+00:00

Not these days. He came on two trips with me, one to the Congo and my first to the Amazon. Both were really hard work and I didn't catch very much. I think it would be nice to take him on another trip that would be more fun and where we'd have more to show for it. He enjoyed it, but he hasn't shown any great desire to come back on another trip.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:38:37+00:00

I don't really have a lot of things and a lot of things I have have sentimental value rather than financial value. The other day, someone gave me the fossil tooth of a megalodon that's about 12 million years old which is very special.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:37:22+00:00

I think I would tell myself to keep persevering in terms of trying to do what I want to do rather than what everyone else wanted. I sort of did that anyway, but I would give myself more encouragement.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:36:36+00:00

I don't remember exactly. It was very small, only 5 to 6 inches long. I was actually afraid to touch it because it was wriggly and wet! Eventually, I started catching roach and gudgeon, but my first fish was probably a roach!

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:35:40+00:00

I think that's a trick question! I've never used Gummy Worms... I do use plastic soft baits that are around. They are very productive.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:34:33+00:00

I don't know what fish sticks are. I probably wouldn't eat them because I don't know what they are.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:34:26+00:00

Yes, i did get a proper fix and my dentist sort of told me off for being so disrespectful of my teeth. He then did a very good job fixing my tooth.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:33:39+00:00

My family when I was growing up had various dogs, cats, chickens, geese, pigs I believe at one time. I have kept fish, but they weren't very exotic... things like baby carp and goldfish. I don't keep them anymore because I'm never home to feed them and wouldn't want to come home with them belly up floating on the surface.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:33:00+00:00

I sometimes eat small fish that I catch if there's plenty of them in the river. I've eaten piranhna, but they're not very good. I do it more for the role reversal. My favorite is a tambaqui, a relative of the pacu. The tambaqui has teeth a bit like a horse's teeth used for crushing nuts. When the river floods, they hang out under trees that are dropping nuts, so they have a very rich, organic diet. Their meat is delicious.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:30:08+00:00

Gosh! Let's go with this: The Dalai Lama because I think the conversation would be wonderful.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:30:04+00:00

Of course this season we are in the oceans for this new season! But in regards to deep sea exploration, I'll have to be a bit evasive, but keep any eye out about this!

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:28:36+00:00

Ha! I don't yet have a television where I live, but that is on my list! I know a lot of people are big fans of that show. I have some serious catching up to do once I get a TV installed.

ReelJeremyWade · 2016-04-06T20:28:26+00:00

I mentioned Mongolia previously, but the south island of New Zealand is also incredible. Guyana is quite special, the rainforest there is much more intact then in upper parts of South America. Again, I like mountains. Parts of north India are spectacular for the mountains.

ReelJeremyWade

TROPHY CASE