Demon Fish is the first episode of the second season of River Monsters.
Episode Description[]
Jeremy Wade journeys to the infamous Congo River in Africa in search of the world's most ferocious fish. This supernatural monster predator pushes Jeremy to his physical and mental limit and requires the help of a witch doctor.
Episode Summary[]
Jeremy Wade travels to the Congo River in Africa to hunt down the elusive Goliath Tiger Fish, perhaps the most deadly River Monster he has ever met. He first travels to the raging rapids where he sees the extreme fishermen who risk their lives every day diving into the aforementioned rapids. He also sees that the Goliath Tiger Fish is certainly still present. As he travels further down the river, he encounters many more fishermen and even hooks what he believes is a Goliath Tiger Fish specimen, but it manages to escape. He also manages to hear two stories of fatal attacks perpetrated by Goliath Tiger Fish. One was on a young girl who was nearly bitten in half, and another came from an old man who was able to bring the beast into his boat before it bit his throat. Jeremy begins wondering if this freshwater horror is as dangerous as the great white shark.
Jeremy is able to hook what he believes is another specimen, but it likewise escapes. Finally, in desperation, he contacts the local Witch Doctor who creates a charm for him. On his next expedition, he is able to finally bring in an 80-odd pound specimen. The affect of the charm is uncertain, but some believed it to be what led Jeremy to the catch. Jeremy tried to release the fish, but his boatman, Fred, wanted to bring it back to the village for the people to eat. After a heated discussion, it became clear that the fish had been damaged on the rocks and would not survive. After taking it back to the village, Jeremy and Fred were given heroes' welcomes as the villagers took the fish off to cook. Jeremy Wade noted that while this ending may not have been what he initially intended, perhaps the people of this village had never seen such a beast before, and this would certainly be enough to feed most of them.
Animals Featured[]
Reception[]
This episode is one of the most popular and fan-favorite episodes in the history of River Monsters. It has an average rating of 8.5/10 and as indicated by polls, it is one of the top 3 favorite episodes.
Trivia[]
- This is one of the most popular episodes in River Monsters history.
- The first episode to take place in Africa.
- In episodes such as Legend of Loch Ness and Russian Killer, you can see the preserved head of Wade's tiger fish.
- Before filming this episode, Jeremy went to Africa three times to catch the tigerfish. After catching nothing on his first two expeditions, he finally caught a relatively small one on his third try. This was enough to convince his production team that there was material for an episode, and the episode was filmed here, featuring the near 100-lb catch.