River Monsters (2009–2017): Season 4, Episode 1 - American Killers - full transcript

I'm Jeremy Wade.

I've made a career
out of catching

the world's
deadliest freshwater monsters.

Normally, I'm scouring for them

in the most remote corners
of the planet...

Hey!

But recently,

I've been getting reports
of killer fish

from a place I didn't expect...
The United States.

From man-eaters
growing monstrous

on human corpses...



Fish as large as myself,
maybe more so.

To infamous, familiar foes...

Ooh!

In dark, dangerous waters.

The water around me
just started filling with blood.

I'm looking for the people

who've encountered
these beasts...

I think that
he would have drowned me.

I would have ate supper
with Jesus that night.

And then I'll risk my life
going after them.

They can be pulled
into the water

and never be seen again.

Ooh! Bit me once.

- Aah!
- Oh!



That's a stupid thing to do.

Could one of the most developed
countries in the world

have deadly monsters hidden
in its rivers and lakes?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.

Having been on the trail
of monsters all over the world,

I've learned
to expect the unexpected...

from wrestling a 300-pound
extraterrestrial in a city

to dragging an electric eel
from a drying-out mud puddle,

but this could be
my most unexpected quest yet.

Over the past few years,
I've been receiving information

from all over the States,

telling me
there are river monsters

lurking
in America's backyards...

so I'm going on a hunt

to discover
if there really are killers

in the fresh waters
of the United States.

My journey begins in Florida,
on the trail

of one of the world's most
formidable predators.

And the reports
that I've been hearing

suggest that
this potentially lethal animal

is prowling unsuspected

right under the noses
of tens of thousands of people.

This fish was the inspiration

for one of the most iconic
movies ever produced, "Jaws."

In the film, a great white

stalks the coast of New England,

but the blockbuster
is actually based

on a series
of bull shark attacks

in New Jersey in 1916.

Two attacks didn't happen
in the ocean,

but in a river 16 miles inland.

Bull sharks are top predators

in warm, coastal seas
all over the world...

but they are also able
to survive in freshwater,

which makes them trespassers
into my territory...

and I'm getting reports
suggesting

that they are well established
in the Sunshine State.

I want to find out
if these deadly animals

really are prowling
Florida's inland waters,

and if so, is this
a modern-day "Jaws"

just waiting to happen?

Although great whites
steal the headlines,

bull sharks are responsible
for more human fatalities

than any other shark.

In recent years, there have
been several horrific attacks

off Florida's coasts alone.

Dawn Schauman was nearly killed
by a 10' bull shark

off Melbourne Beach in 1993.

I'm hoping
that her firsthand account

will give me a deeper insight
into bull shark behavior.

And that was probably by 25
to 50 yards out past the waves,

maybe in 15 feet of water...

and then I just felt
something slam into me.

I felt this burning in my hand
and a burning in my leg.

The whole water around me just
started filling with blood...

Dawn wasn't just worried
about her own life.

She was 6 1/2 months' pregnant
at the time.

And I did start panicking,
and I think I remember

just, like, calling out
for my mom

and just being really worried,
like I needed help,

and then no one
was there but me,

so I just relied on me,

and that's the point where
I gather myself together.

She struggled back to shore
as fast as she could.

Dawn was rushed to the hospital,

where she underwent surgery

to repair
life-threatening wounds.

Just her leg needed 85 stitches.

2 1/2 months later,
she gave birth to a boy.

He's now 18.

And he was born healthy,

and we named him
Maclntyre "Shark" Schauman.

This near death experience

has given Dawn
an expert understanding

of what could have led

to the bull shark attacking her.

You can make your odds go up

by doing something
like what I did...

Swimming during cloudy,
murky water, baitfish season.

If you swim in the early morning

or late in the afternoon,
evening,

that's when the baitfish
are coming through.

You know, if you see a lot of
fish jumping out of the water,

you shouldn't be in there,

because something bigger's
chasing them.

After hearing
Dawn's attack story,

I feel more prepared to start
trying to catch a bull shark

to prove they're prowling
Florida's fresh waters.

My investigation will focus
around the area

from where I've been getting
the most reports

of bull sharks inland,
the Indian River Lagoon.

In 25 years of fishing
around the world,

I've learned
that local knowledge

is key to catching elusive fish,

so whether
I'm in Papua New Guinea,

Alaska, or Florida,

talking with locals is a must.

I've been put in contact
with Mike Palmer,

who's been catching sharks
for over three decades.

Tackling bull sharks
is his forte.

He used to catch and kill,
but for the past 15 years,

it's been strictly
catch and release.

Mike will help me
hunt my first American killer.

However, he shark-fishes
from the shore,

without the security of a boat.

Mike's heavy-duty rod
is attached to a harness,

which is strapped to the body,

so if the rod
gets pulled into the water,

the fisherman goes in, too.

For fishing on a riverbank

and hooking
a 500-pound bull shark,

there's nothing like it.

Sounds potentially dangerous.

Is that a correct
summary perhaps?

We've actually hooked fish
and got pulled down to our knees

and drug down
to the water's edge,

and by some luck,
the line broke.

What could be
the worst possible thing

that could happen
with this kind of fishing?

We could die.

We could be pulled
into the water

and never be seen again.

I have fished
for bull sharks before

in Australia and South Africa,
but mostly this was from a boat

which can follow a hooked fish.

Fishing from land is something
altogether different.

I'm going to
need a stronger rig.

Because I could hook something

more than three times my weight,

I'm using some serious tackle,
from enormous, forged hooks

to the strongest line
I've ever used.

And we use the best harnesses
to take the load off our back.

- How's it fit, Jeremy?
- It feels good.

When we hook up
on these big sharks here,

we have a spotter
on the back of our harness.

We use the belts.

They have a little handle
on the back,

so when we hook up
that first surge,

I mean, you could easily
go in the water.

During the daytime,

people use
those little stretches

of beaches in the river,

and people in rafts
playing this and that,

and when the sun goes down,

the whole life...
The ecosystem changes.

That's when the sharks
move into the shallows.

They feed on stingrays,
they feed on mullets,

and it's a whole
different world at night.

I want to get my bait
out a couple of hundred yards

into the deep channel.

I can't cast that far,

so the only option is
to paddle out and drop it in...

but floating in a plastic canoe

above killing machines
potentially 12' long

is a little unnerving.

Back on shore,
it's a waiting game...

but I think
we've picked the right spot.

One of the things
that Dawn said to look out for

is happening.

Schools of baitfish are jumping
out of the water,

and something appears
to be chasing them.

That is a fish on.

I'm leaning into this.

Although my reel
is nearly on full drag,

the fish is still able
to swim off with ease,

but the heaviest line
I've ever used

is still just about holding out.

This has to be a monster.

After a 20-minute fight,
I have it close to the shore.

There it is, there it is,
there it is,

there it is, there it is.

As I pull it close to shore,
it's clear I've hooked a giant,

but this is no shark.

Fish is beached now.

I'm gonna go in there
and grab it.

It's a goliath grouper.

That is just a massive,
a massive grouper.

After a 20-minute struggle,
it should be worn out,

but it appears this beast
has only just started.

Aah! Got to watch that hook.

As it thrashes,
not only do I have to be wary

of the giant hook in its mouth,

but also the spikes
along its back.

Slip this out.

Hook's out.

That is a beast.

The length is...

83 inches.

83.

69 inches.

That's just shy of 7' long
and over 5 1/2' around.

At this kind of size,

it's going to weigh
over 350 pounds...

but they can grow even bigger,

to over 600 pounds and 8' long.

I could feel
it was a heavy fish,

and it was also taking line
against a very heavy drag,

but what I was expecting to see
when it came in close

was a big dorsal
of a bull shark,

and then these spikes
break the surface.

Although these are very tough,
resilient creatures,

it's probably time
to put this back.

I want to get it into
deeper water to release it,

but even with Mike
watching my back,

this monster
isn't going anywhere easily.

Look out.

I'm knee-deep in water.

This fish's belly
is still scraping the bottom.

Swimming anything
like as tired as I do,

he'll sink
into a corner somewhere

and just recover
for a little while,

but priority for me
is stick another bait out.

There's big bull shark
out there.

Although not the monster
I was hunting for,

that leviathan proves giants
do live in these waters.

Buoyed by my success,

I fish on into the early hours..

But I get no further bites.

This heavily settled,
modern metropolis

seems the wrong place to hunt

for potentially
man-eating monsters.

I've come to meet Grant Gilmore,

an expert in bull shark behavior

who tells me otherwise.

Gilmore: The females
enter in every spring,

giving birth in the lagoon

or in the downstream
freshwater areas.

So, they're 500-, 600-pounds,
8' and 12'.

Then they leave.

The young stay for the first
five or six years,

till they're five
or six feet in length...

A large predator
by freshwater standards.

So, at any time,

12' bull sharks
could be prowling the waters,

just feet from
these suburban backyards.

Like some latter-day Minotaur,
could man-eating monsters

be stalking the labyrinth
of Florida's canals?

Wade: How many of them
might be swimming around?

Are we talking dozens, hundreds,
thousands, or what?

Oh, certainly thousands.

I think they have to recognize

we do have
these very large predators

that are right off
your front door,

if you live on the water
in Florida.

The Indian River Lagoon
is over 150 miles long

and has numerous rivers
feeding into it.

It's also connected to the ocean

by three inlets,
one of which is at Fort Pierce.

Right up ahead there
is the main way in

and the main way out
between the open ocean

and these thousands of miles
of freshwater canals.

So, this is where,
at this time of year,

the 10' or 12' long,
pregnant females are coming in

to drop their pups inland.

This is also the same place
where those juveniles,

those 6', 7' long sharks,

having spent
five or six years inland,

are swimming out.

So, this here... you can see

it's only a couple of hundred
yards across...

Is like a highway for sharks,
you know...

Potentially hundreds
or even thousands of sharks

every year,
swimming up and down,

and it's just, you know...

Just right past
all these people.

I've heard how violent
bull shark attacks can be,

I've learned about the numbers
that could be out there,

and I've seen the territory
they share with people.

There's only one thing left
for me to do... catch one.

Yep. That's something on.

As we stop, start...

Yes, that's a big hook.

Ooh, ooh, yeah!

And I can feel the kick back.

Yeah, that's kicking away...
Kicking away, kicking away.

Once again,
I'm reassured to know

that Mike has got my back.

If a big fish pulls,
the worst-case scenario

is I actually end up
in the water.

Finally, the fin
I've been waiting to see.

A little bit closer.

Yep. That's something on.

To get a closer look,

I need to tie a rope
around its tail

and drag it ashore,

but I have to be careful.

Even after the longest battle,

sharks always keep something
in reserve.

They go bigger than this,

but this is
a respectable-size fish.

This juvenile bull shark
is about 6' long

and is the right size
to be leaving the freshwater

and heading out into the ocean.

The hook
has cut the shark's mouth,

but once it's released,
it will heal very quickly.

This shark's gums conceal

it's mouthful of razor-sharp,
serrated teeth,

which it only unsheathes

moments before
sinking them into its prey.

You can absolutely understand
how somebody,

even with an exploratory bite
in a way,

from an animal like this,
you know,

could just bleed out,
lose a lot of blood,

and that could be
a fatal encounter.

This fish could have spent

the last five
or six years actually

in the inland waterways,
in the canals,

along with possibly
thousands of others,

and that's certainly
quite sobering.

You know, if your paths crossed
with a creature like this,

it could end very badly,
but I think the miraculous thing

is is that most of the time,
bull sharks go their way,

we go our way, and actually,
nobody's any the wiser.

Now I've landed
one of these bull sharks,

it's clear
they are swimming among us

in freshwater rivers and canals,

which run right through
human habitation.

So far, attacks have only
occurred along the coast,

and those attacks
are probably more accident

than targeted assault.

They're mistaking humans

for their usual prey
of smaller fish and dolphins.

Horror films and news reports
forever remind us

of the threat of a shark attack
in the ocean...

but what of these
quiet, inland waterways?

Most people who use them
are unaware of the killers

just beneath the surface.

And as more humans and sharks
share these spaces,

a freshwater "Jaws" could be
just around the corner.

The presence of bull sharks
in Florida's canals

is one instance of man-made
structures offering safe haven

to some of nature's
deadliest killers.

But dams can create monsters.

Fish become trapped
in a bigger, new habitat,

and if left undisturbed

can grow
to man-eating proportions

like the wels catfish I caught
in a dammed river in Spain.

Recently,
I've been getting reports

of monster catfish sightings
at the Bagnell Dam

in south-central Missouri,

which is at one end
of the Lake of the Ozarks.

It's a treacherous place.

The lake behind the dam

is statistically the third
most dangerous stretch of water

in the United States.

It's a deep, liquid black hole

where bodies
regularly go missing.

Could the large number
of missing human bodies

be linked to the reports
of supersized catfish?

I begin my investigation

by meeting up with local
historian Michael Gillespie

to find out what he knows
about the missing people.

No one really knows
how many bodies

have been lost in the lake
and never recovered.

But the best known incident
involving that sort of thing

was back in 1954.

It was a boating accident
involving an excursion boat

called the Grand Glaize.

Woman: This ought to
be a lot of fun.

The Grand Glaize left
Bagnell Dam

just in front
of a large thunderstorm

that was moving in.

It was Memorial Day weekend.

The boat went out
across the lake

and about two or three
miles up the lake

when it hit the leading
edge of that storm.

Just as the boat turned
into a sheltered cove,

a strong gust of wind
capsized it.

15 people went into the water...

and of those 15, 8 were drowned.

Three of those eight bodies
were never recovered.

One of the victims' fathers,
actually out of his own expense,

contracted to have divers search
for his drowned daughter.

They never did find her.

It's possible the bodies sank
to the lake bed

and were consumed by catfish.

It's a grisly scenario
I've encountered before

in the Kali River, India,

where catfish have
grown gigantic

from eating semi-cremated bodies

put there during river burials.

Maybe something similar
is happening here.

I know there are
large catfish in here,

but possibly, there are
some giant catfish in here.

By "giant," I mean fish as large
as myself and maybe more so.

It really does seem as if
there are seriously large fish

in the water behind that dam.

And what's interesting to me

is that this is not
some tropical jungle.

We're talking
about a body of water here

that is right in the heart
of the developed world.

But before I cast my line
into the murky depths,

I want to know
what sort of monsters

could be investigating my bait,

so I meet somebody
who spends his working life

in these treacherous waters.

Salvage diver Tim McNitt

has clocked up
thousands of hours diving here.

If there are monsters in this
lake, he should know about it.

So, as well as boats and things
that people have dropped...

I mean, are you sometimes

retrieving bodies
out of the water here?

Yeah. I've recovered eight
bodies in my lifetime.

Sometimes they're in branches
or trees underwater.

Sometimes
they're vehicles underwater.

Have any of the bodies retrieved

ever had anything
partially feeding on them?

I have seen...
bodies of that nature.

Catfish are known
to be scavengers.

They will eat anything
that fits in their mouth.

And if they get big enough,
then humans are on the menu.

I want to know if the catfish
in this lake reach that size.

What's the biggest catfish
you've seen?

Oh, probably
at least a six-footer...

6- to 7-footer,
close to 280, 300 pounds.

Head on them about that big...
Bigger than me, heavier than me.

At last... a firsthand account
from somebody

who has seen a monster catfish
in this lake.

I need to start fishing
as soon as possible,

so I meet up with Steve Brown,

who knows
these dangerous waters well.

The dam here is home
to three types of catfish...

The flathead, blue, and channel.

I've never caught
any of these before,

but I'm interested
in the two largest,

which could grow
to man-eating size.

I've taken the unusual step
of fanning out four rods

to maximize
my coverage of the water.

Using this method,
I get a barrage of bites.

But keeping track of four
active rods is a challenge.

Despite my best efforts,
I'm only landing small fry.

We just want to find
a bigger one... that's all.

Over the next few days,
I carry on fishing.

The bites come thick and fast.

See how greedy these things are?

But there's no sign of a giant.

Still well short
of the size we want.

I decide
to try a trick I learned

on a previous adventure.

We got deep water here
very close to the sides.

It's a very steep bank there.
That just continues.

And about 25, 30 yards out,

there's actually...
It's the old riverbed.

And remembering back
to wels catfish in Spain,

get a base on the old river bed.

That was always productive.

So, I'm hoping to do
the same thing here.

This plan seems to be working.

I get immediate interest
in my bait.

Yeah, that's a good fish.
That's a good fish.

That was within minutes,

seconds even almost,
of putting in the bait.

This... this feels
like something.

Oh, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.

Where's the net?

Lovely...
In the net, in the net.

This is a blue catfish
weighing 58 pounds.

Oh, yes. Oh, gosh.

People think catfish
are ugly, slimy scavengers,

but, I mean, this fish
is just a muscular predator.

I'm so pleased with that.

That's all I wanted to see...
A big catfish.

It might not be big enough
to eat a person,

but I can see the potential.

Close to four feet.
Eight inches across the head.

I got six inches.

Scaling that up to the size
of catfish that Tim saw,

the mouth would be big enough
to fit around somebody's head.

There are big fish in this lake.

That would be frightening
to actually bump into that

in low-visibility.

You know,
you literally don't see it

until you're
a couple of feet away.

I'm convinced
there are monster-sized catfish

in the Bagnell Dam,

which probably supplement
their diet with human corpses,

but one question remains...

Are they scavenging
bottom-feeders

that take pieces of dead bodies

or killers
that take human lives?

In past investigations,

I have put myself at risk
to prove a point...

like taking a dip with piranhas

to show they don't always
attack humans...

or using myself as bait
when I tangled with eels

in New Zealand.

Ow! Aah!
Look at that! Look at that!

Look at that, look at that,
look at that! Ah!

This case calls
for an equally drastic measure.

To prove they could be killers,

I need to feel the full force
of a catfish attack.

I'm going to be the bait
once again.

There's an ancient form
of fishing called noodling

that predates rod and reel.

When catfish are spawning,

they make nest holes
in rivers and lakes.

You dive underwater
and put your arm

or sometimes your entire body
into the nest.

Then, the catfish,
defending its eggs, attacks.

When it bites your hand,
you grab its jaw,

then pull it out of the water.

To put my money
where the catfish's mouth is,

I'm traveling to Oklahoma,
where noodling is popular.

Not having my fishing gear

and knowing
that I will be the bait

makes me uneasy.

To find out
what I could be up against,

I meet Bobby Sparks,

a noodling veteran
with a cautionary catfish tale

which does little
to settle my nerves.

Sparks: And we were going along
with two buddies of mine,

and they were quite a ways
in front of me,

and I stumbled over this hole.

And I thought,
"Hey, man. This is a good one.

I started into this hole."

I got kind of
about half the way down in it,

and he come up
and hit me real hard.

This fish was possibly breaking
a hundred pounds.

He come up completely
over my army boot, size 12...

all the way up
to nearly my knee.

The fish had the bottom half
of Bobby's leg in its mouth

and wouldn't let go.

And he clamped down.
He started shaking and spinning.

I didn't know
whether I was up or down.

I was almost to the top.

I couldn't get my nose
above the water.

And he was pulling me down.

He was gonna pull
my leg completely off.

That last pull...

Because he was pulling me
down in

when my friends finally
got to me

and caught me and pulled me out,

and I didn't know
if I'd had the strength

to fight back at it enough

to get out of that hole.

If your friends hadn't been
with you on that day,

what do you think
would or could have happened?

I think that he would have
held me there and drowned me.

I really feel that...

I would have ate supper
with Jesus that night.

There's so much power.

There's so much strength.

That's their domain,

and I have full respect for them
in their home.

Clearly, I need to learn
how to noodle correctly.

It's too dangerous
to attempt on my own.

I've managed to hook up
with Nate Williams

and his friend Dylan,

both experienced noodlers.

Not only am I apprehensive
about the dangers,

but the pressure is on
to catch a true river monster.

They're halfway through
a noodling contest

where only the biggest catfish
will do.

The team
with the heaviest total weight

from their three largest fish
wins the prize.

After the contest, the fish are
released back into the water.

I've promised
to keep the exact location

of Nate's isolated stretch
of river a secret

to prevent other noodlers
from picking up our trail.

Here, I'll get a chance
to land the freshwater beast

that eluded me at Bagnell Dam...

The flathead catfish,

one of the species that can
reach man-eating proportions.

I've done extreme fishing
normally with the rod.

Fish on!

It normally feels like
you're in pretty direct contact

with the fish.

Whoa! Aah!

This is real hands-on, isn't it?

And I can imagine
that gets pretty intense.

Yeah. This is a very different
form of fishing.

It's one of the most extreme
and dangerous methods of fishing

that you're gonna find.

You know, you reel in a fish
for 45 minutes on a pole,

even if he's very large...
The same size as these fish...

He's gonna be tired by the time

you actually get him
in your hands and handle him.

These fish have every bit
of fight in them right now.

You're gonna stick
your hands in there.

You're gonna feel the full force
straight on your hands

without ever wearing him down.

Right. Okay.

You want to keep that grip
as tight as you can,

because they can sense weakness.

And when they feel you
just loosen it,

that's when they'll try
to do their death roll.

You got that bottom jaw.
It's a big handle.

And if they slip past that,
they'll get up here,

and they'll just go to spinning,

and they'll kind of
wear grooves in your arms.

See? Like that?

Sometimes,
they'll come way up here.

I mean, they can really
get you anywhere in here,

and they'll come up,
and that's what they do.

They just wear around your arm.

If his mouth is closed,
and he's balled himself up

where he can't actually fit out,

then you're just gonna be stuck,

and they can hold you
down there.

Every year, people die noodling
with drowning.

Sometimes, they're head's close
to the surface,

and they just can't quite
get there.

Yeah. It's clear your head
and don't panic, isn't it?

- Yeah.
- Right. Okay.

Let's go and do this thing.

Time for talking tactics
is over.

I think we just got to
the edge of the hole...

Before going underwater,

it's essential to build
a mental picture

of the layout below the surface.

Otherwise, I could panic

if I come across
something unexpected.

After feeling around,

I've worked out
that there's a flat shelf

that drops down
to the river bed.

In this vertical face
is an opening

that goes back into the bank.

In here is where a catfish
could be hiding.

At the moment, I can't tell
how far back the hole goes.

I'll only find that out
by sticking my arm in there.

This is a sport
where fortune favors the brave.

It's time I step up
to the plate.

I feel around for what seems
like an eternity,

but there doesn't appear to
be anyone home.

I get the feeling I'm maybe
not in there far enough.

Is that the idea?

Yeah. You got to
go in there.

I haven't reached far enough
into the hole.

In the hole.
- Yeah. Yeah.

As we feel around the opening,
something rams our legs.

- Ooh! Ooh!
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

He's in there.
Keep it blocked.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We have to make sure

that the hole is totally blocked

so it can't escape.

I submerge again.

This time, I push headfirst
into the hole,

which just keeps
on going and going.

Visibility is zero,

and as I feel around,

something bites my hand... hard.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

It's my first flathead catfish.

Nate puts a stringer
through its mouth

and out its gill flap
so it can't escape.

Ohh!

Well, that fish
was lying there... boom!

Bit me once and let go.

And then I sort of
fumbled around

and then... actually reached
into its mouth.

It's a creepy feeling.
I'm putting my body in there.

Dylan's feeding me in,
pushing me in,

headfirst into a hole
under the water.

There's something
that's gonna bite me in there.

It's dark.
I can't see anything.

What a stupid thing to be doing.

As fishing goes, it doesn't get
much more mad than that.

As Nate promised, the catfish
is still full of fight.

It tries to do
a characteristic roll.

If we can't control it, it has
the strength to snap my wrist.

Ohh!

That's actually...
That's still there.

Luckily,
he decides to let me go.

Big flathead catfish.
I mean, well named.

That head is flat, that lower
jaw poking up, as well.

But just... just what a beast.

This fish must weigh
at least 50 pounds,

making it a strong contender
for the contest.

Considering the fish
that attacked Bobby Sparks

was twice the weight
of this one,

any doubts I had
begin to dissolve.

When I first heard people

talking
about North American catfish

as being fish that can
potentially kill people,

my first reaction was,
"This is a bit unbelievable.

This is something
I've got to look in to."

But now, having actually tried
this form of fishing

where what you're actually doing

is trying to provoke
the fish to bite you

and then hang onto you
while you're under the water,

in the dark,
with just one lungful of air,

I can really, really appreciate
how these fish

can potentially cause
human fatalities.

Time is running out.

We have to load up
our three biggest catfish

and get to the weigh-in.

Other teams are returning
from their noodling locations

all over the county.

It's a tense time, as everybody
gets their catches weighed.

Woman: Oh, my.

Pressure mounts
as I start to get recognized.

My reputation for catching
monsters is on the line.

It's our turn
to weigh our catches.

Hopefully, that fish'll
be at least 50 pounds.

Last on the scales
is the catfish I pulled out,

and it weighs 53 pounds.

This gives us the combined
weight of 155 pounds.

But is this enough
to win the contest?

Third place goes
to the team of Michael Gill.

The second place
was the team of David Walker.

First places goes
to the team of Nathan Williams.

Thanks to the skill
of Nate and Dylan,

my noodling inexperience has
passed unnoticed

and my reputation
as a monster catcher

remains intact.

After claiming our prize,

it's time to release these
monsters back into the river.

I came to America

to see if there are killers
in its fresh waters.

I found deadly bull sharks
prowling Florida's canals,

right under the noses
of thousands of people.

An exploratory bite,
and that could just bleed out.

You'd lose a lot of blood,

and that could be
a fatal encounter.

I hooked a spike-backed
leviathan from inland shores.

I uncovered that there
are man-eating-sized catfish

in a Missouri dam that could be
feasting on human corpses.

Head on him about that big...
Bigger than me, heavier than me.

And after going noodling,

I'm in no doubt
that catfish of this size

have the strength to drag
somebody to a watery death.

Ohh!

As I wrap up my adventure,

I leave convinced America's
rivers, lakes, and canals

really are home to potential
freshwater killers.