The second series of Jungle Hooks – Jungle Hooks: India, exclusive to Discovery Real Time, sees adventure fisherman Jeremy Wade once again tackle extreme fishing as he takes on his biggest challenge yet; to catch some of the largest, most bizarre and most dangerous fish he can find.

 

Victorian ex-pats in the service of the British Empire told of supercharged monster fish in the Himalayas – tackle-busting giants that put even the largest salmon to shame.  Equipped with 21st Century tackle and no small amount of scepticism, Jeremy sets out to discover whether any of these stories hold true today.

 

This is NOT fishing for the fainthearted.  Across this dramatic five part series Jeremy’s quest sees him search for the mighty golden Himalayan mahseer, the carp-like rohu, the serpentine ‘latchi’ catfish and the vermin of the water – the hideous ‘goonch’ catfish.  Trekking to a variety of known angling hotspots as well as through unchartered territories to seek out his catch, Jeremy’s journey is both physically and emotionally exhausting – he even has a near-death experience during filming.

 

Along the way he meets a range of local characters from angling expert Vinay Badola to an Indian prince and his entourage, but whether he can catch any of the elusive monsters on his hit-list remains to be seen…

 

 

UK Premiere: Friday 24th February, 10.00pm Episode 1: Mountain Monsters Jeremy starts his quest for the golden Himalayan mahseer at a luxury resort in the foothills.  Heading deeper into the mountains in search of the true monsters – fish that grow to the size of a man – he finds the environment far wilder than he bargained for.

 

Friday 3rd March, 10.00pm

Episode 2: Fishing the Shikar Way

After solo wanderings in the mountains, in search of the mighty Himalayan mahseer, Jeremy acquires a traditional Indian ‘shikar’ support team.  After initial misgivings, he is all too soon reliving the life of a privileged ‘sahib’.  But they are unfortunately not the only team on the river, as he discovers when his path crosses with the son of an Indian maharaja.

 

Friday 10th March, 10.00pm

Episode 3: Reservoir Cats

Taking a break from the mountains and his search for the golden Himalayan mahseer, Jeremy goes to investigate the weird and wonderful stillwater species to be found in India.  But at Tumaria Dam the water is crowded – and with more than just fish.

 

Friday 17th March, 10.00pm

Episode 4: The Goonch

While fishing a large snow-fed river, Jeremy hears a horrifying story.  In this region – once notorious for its man-eating tigers – a large catfish has allegedly developed a taste for live human flesh!  Descriptions of the goonch, also known as the giant devil catfish, are hideous – a huge head full of teeth and a body dripping with tentacles.  Although described by Victorian fishermen as the vermin of the waters, they are now very rare.

Jeremy takes up the challenge and becomes obsessed with catching one…

 

Friday 24th March, 10.00pm

Episode 5: The Last Pool

Determined to taste more of the experiences described by the Victorian fishermen, Jeremy visits a stretch of river protected by a temple.  Looking for a new challenge, he also visits a stretch of river that was once heavily dynamited to see if the fish have returned, before he heads back to the notorious waters of the ‘junction’ to try his luck once more.

 

Jeremy came to the Himalayas looking for the combination of big fish, big water and big scenery.  While his exhaustion is clear to see, what isn’t is whether or not he will fulfil his ambition… Make sure you watch the series, starting on Friday 24th February at 10.00pm, to find out!