Predators

Predators is a ten part series on Discovery Home & Leisure. It studies a range of well-known predatory fish, analysing how they operate and how to catch them. Hosted by angling journalist Kevin Green, the series captures the live drama and battle of wits anglers face when fishing for predators.

The series features great underwater camera-work, showing the predators in action, as well as all the facts you need on each fish and advice on which bait and methods to catch it.

FISHINGmagic has preview tapes of all 10 episodes and Norfolk predator specialist and journalist Chris Bishop will give his view each week.

THIS WEEK: EELS, DISCOVERY HOME & LEISURE, 11PMYou either love ’em or you hate ’em but there are plenty of predator anglers who regard big eels as the ultimate challenge.

Maybe that’s because we know so little about these mysterious creatures which live in our waters, yet brave the oceans and travel half way around the world to breed in the Sargasso Sea.Maybe it’s because they fight like stink and perform acrobatics you won’t believe until the first time you hook a biggie.

Either way presenter Kev Green teams up with Mick Brown for a day time session in pursuit of anguilla anguilla.And despite the fact eels are usually regarded as a nocturnal quarry, it isn’t long before the bite alarms go.

Mick stresses the importance of putting eels back, as he outlines the pressure the netsmen and pollution have put eels under.

The second part of the programme goes to the opposite extreme, literally. It’s wreckin’ time, as Kev heads out to sea with Sea Angler editor Mel Russ.

“They’re big, they’re mean but they bite like a little kitten,” warns Mel, as he briefs Kev on fighting a fish which retreats full steam astern to its lair once hooked.

“Don’t faff around, you’re not roach fishing on the canal now,” he adds, as Kev’s rod nods to an approaching conger. “Don’t give it any quarter.”

Kev finds he wasn’t joking either, as he pulls into his first conger.