JEREMY WADE
AO: Your show, River Monsters, has gotten an astonishing number of viewers. What, in your opinion, has people so intrigued by these monsters
beneath the surface?
JW: Lots of reasons, some of which we half-realized at the start and others which have only become apparent as we went along. First, most of
these creatures are predators, and everybody is
hard-wired to be interested in predators. We’re
descended from ancestors who paid attention
to predators. Then there’s just the appearance of
some of them. In clear sea water most fish look
like fish, quite pretty mostly, but in murky fresh
water there’s no point being good looking. So you
have these toothy things covered with tentacles,
many of which most people never knew existed.
They look prehistoric, and we’re all fascinated by
that, especially kids -- and we have lots of kids
watching the show. Then many of these fish, for
all their ugliness, are actually misunderstood
-- they don’t intentionally go after people (see
above). There’s also the detective-story element;
you want to stick around to find out whodunit.
And there’s the nice twist of the perpetrator being released, which most viewers understand and
appreciate.
AO: What would you recommend to fishermen
out there as far as baiting techniques go? Is there
a trick to catching fish in freshwater?
JW: For technique, I’d always say keep it as simple
as possible. In fresh water remember that eyesight
plays a limited role. Fish might use their eyes at
close range, but they also find prey by picking up
vibration and smell. Think like a fish, using all
your senses.
AO: What is the weirdest type of fish/water creature that you’ve ever eaten?
JW: The weirdest fish I’ve eaten was probably a
lamprey, but it actually tasted rather like mackerel. Not bad.
AO: Is there any creature out there in the world
that you believe exists, but that you were never
able to find or catch?
JW: Hmm, that might spoil the surprise for a possible future episode....
AO: Your book, Somewhere Down the Crazy River
(1992), is considered to be one of the highest-ranking classics among angling literature. Do you have
any plans for new literary works in the future?
AO: Is it safe to assume that we will be
seeing a lot more from Jeremy Wade?
JW: I have since written a book that goes more
into the background of the TV series: River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn’t Get
Away (Da Capo 2011). I have plans for a couple of
other books, but at the moment the filmmaking is
taking up all my time.
JW: WE KEEP FINDING INTERESTING
MATERIAL AND FOR THIS YEAR AT
LEAST I KNOW THAT RIVER MONSTERS
WILL KEEP ME BUSY.
78 Summer 2016 Adventure Outdoors