Hooked on Fishing Series 1

Paul is in Islamorada on the Florida Keys, the sport fishing capital of the world and is meeting up with Capt Rick Stanczyk. As he explains, Islamorada lies in the middle of the Keys sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean making it a haven for numerous inshore and offshore species. They're fishing offshore so the first stop is to collect some live bait with a cast net. With a live well full of Pilchard, they move offshore, and start by looking for signs of fish, pulling teasers near where some birds are working. Its not long before the Dorado show some interest and Paul enjoys some great sport on his fly rod with some smallish ones. The skipper spots a bigger fish so they switch rods and Paul hooks up with a sizeable Dorado which gives him fantastic fight. Continuing to troll, Paul picks up a small but feisty Blackfin Tuna before they hit into a pack of big Dorado and its all hands on deck as every rod on boat the bends over and some spectacular saltwater action ensues.

Paul is in Alaska on the Kenai Penninsular home to some incredible fishing for all of the the main Pacific Salmon species. He meets up with Kent John from Great Alasaka Adventures who gives him the lowdown on the fishing on the Kenai River before heading up river to start. He starts backdrifting with some rubber eggs looking for King Salmon which are currently in the river but with no success on day one, he takes to a drift boat on day 2. Stopping at likely looking holes and dropping down his egg patterns, Paul is soon into a fish and lovely chrome coloured King Salmon is soon netted. It isn't long before Paul is in again and this time is a cracker, and he's thrilled when a 45lb fish comes to the net. As the afternoon rolls around, Paul isn't done yet as another mighty King Salmon is hooked.

Paul is fishing on the Upper Great Ouse in Bedfordshire and meets up with Keith Eliot from the Angling Writers Asscociation. The main target today is Barbel but there are also good Chub, Bream and Tench in the weir pool they start fishing in. Paul starts by with a ledgered worm, bouncing it along the bottom in the current and kicks things off with a small Perch. He then joins another angler in a beautiful little pool who shows Paul how he's using a hair rig and then promptly manages a stunning 5lb Barbel. Paul rejoins Keith who has found a pod of large Chub residing in an overgrown swim. Keith's been dropping some pellet in to get them on the feed and Paul hooks up a slug to present to them. He freelines the slug towards the Chub and finally one grabs it and Paul lands a nice 3-4lber but with bigger fish around, they decide to give it a few mins rest and try again. Will Paul break the magical 5lb barrier for a Chub?

Paul is back in Alaska, in a town called Seward in the south of the Kenai Peninsula and this time he's heading out to sea in search of Halibut which can grow to huge sizes here. Skipper, Gabe Mercer takes the boat out to the South West entrance of Prince William Sound and talks Paul through the methods he'll be trying. One rod is set up with a large jig, whilst the other is set up to fish with a bait of Salmon bellies. Paul drops his jig down to the bottom and starts moving the rod up and down and it's not long before he gets a hit and sets the hook. Its not a huge one, in fact the skipper calls it a 'chicken halibut' but certainly gives Paul a brisk workout. Not long after, Paul gets another hit and this time its a beautiful Ling Cod that comes to the boat after a strong fight. Switching to bait, and moving to Montague Strait Paul gets what he came for, hooking into one of the big Halibut the area is famed for but can Paul land one of these monsters?

Paul is in Cabo San Lucas on the western coast of Mexico, and has been invited on an exploratory fly fishing trip with around 20 other anglers to Clipperton Island, a remote atoll 1000 miles to the South West. Its a long 3 day trip by boat so the skipper decides to break it up by stopping at the Revillagigedo Islands for to try for some of the numerous games species that live here. As they find the baitfish, the Yellowfin Tuna suddenly show up and the action begins in earnest with several anglers hooking up, including Paul, who has a strong fight with his first ever Wahoo. They continue on to Clipperton arriving in darkness at 5am, but it isn't long before the anglers are into fish again, catching some sizeable Yellowfin Tuna. Another angler on the boat, Steve Abel has an amazing start to his trip by catching a world record Rainbow Runner. Paul then gets a nice Rainbow Runner, which would have been a world record itself if not for Steve's fish, before he hooks up to a powerful Tuna which forces him to leave the mother ship on a skiff to chase it. The fight is in vain though as the fish slips the hook so next up Paul heads off in another skiff trolling teasers behind the boat before covering any interested fish with the fly rod. After catching a small Blackfin Tuna, they head to the reef catching a variety of fish on Popper fly patterns. The following day, Paul goes ashore and sight fishes some lovely Bluefin Trevally ending this amazing adventure in some style.

Paul is in Northern Ireland in this episode and meets up with Alan Hanna who is to introduce Paul to the world of fly fishing for Pike. After Alan has shown Paul his set up and the type of flies they'll be using, they head out on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh. Drifting along the bank and stripping back the large lures pays dividends for Paul as he lands a sprightly Pike on the fly. The action is short lived though so they decide to try a different lake the following day and try a small lake that Allan knows on the Blessingbourne Estate. Having found an area here Pike are holding, Alan shows exactly how its done, landing several Pike in quick succession. In the second part of the show, Alan has Paul scaling down a rock face on St Johns Point in County Donegal, in order to access a cracking sea fishing mark where they hope to tempt some Pollak on the fly. Again Alan talks through the set up and flies before they both start casting into the choppy water. Alan gets into a fish and not long after Paul breaks his duck and lands a Pollack too. The day isn't done yet though as Alan lands a couple of bigger Pollack that put up a strong fight.

Paul is in Marathon, the largest of the Florida Keys and meets up with legendary skipper Donnie Braswell who plans to put Paul on some Tarpon. They set off early to Seven Mile Bridge, which Donnie is sure will hold some big fish. Paul be using live Mullet as bait and Donnie gives Paul plenty of advice before he starts, especially as there are lots of obstacles around with the bridge pylons. There's plenty of fish about, rolling between the bridges, and a couple take Paul's bait but hooking them is tricky and so they decide to move a little. The move pays dividends and Paul hooks into a nice fish and enjoys a strong battle before the Tarpon throws the hook near the end. The next fish is an altogether different proposition which Donnie estimates at 125lb and has to get on the engine quickly to chase it down. A long spectacular fight ensues before the Silver King makes one huge jump near the boat and breaks Paul's leader. As evening comes around, Paul gets into another one but can he land this one?

Paul is back in Alaska, on the Upper Kenai River with guide Ed O'Connor and will be drift boating down the river using a mixture of fly and spin rod. Ed points out some good spots to cover but its a slow start as they drift down the river. Pulling into the side in a likely looking pool, Ed manages a small Dolly Varden which Paul quickly follows with a powerful fish which turns out a surprising small King Salmon. Moving down river, Ed spots some dead trees in the water and the log jam has created a nice habitat for fish to hold up. Paul quickly catches a lovely Rainbow around 2.5lbs and not long after Ed also catches a Rainbow on his fly rod. The spot proves very productive as they find more hard fighting Rainbows before Ed takes Paul down to Rainbow Alley to end the show.

Autumn has arrived, and Paul is in Hampshire fishing the famous River Itchen with former fly fishing world champion, Tony Paulson. They are fishing on the Lower Itchen fishery and the river is in great condition and perfect for some dry fly fishing. Tony lends Paul a Red Tag fly which works well for both Trout and Grayling and it isn't long before Paul finds some feeding fish. Missing the first fish, he makes no mistake second time and lands a lovely Brown Trout. Paul then meets up with retiring Riverkeeper, Dick Houghton who has worked on the river for nearly 30 years. In part 2, Paul returns to Scotland to fish the back end Salmon run on the River Tweed at Boleside meeting up with Head Ghilie, Nigel Fell. They start in the boat but with no luck in the morning, move down and wade fish the Heart Pool. Paul changes fly to a bigger Tube fly and as the afternoon comes to an end, finally hooks into a strong Autumn Salmon.

Paul is in Alaska again, this time in Anchorage and seeking out one of the most popular Pacific Salmon species, the Sockeye. He takes a float plane from Lake Hood to the Big River Lakes around 1hr away to the south west, and a known hotspot for Sockeye. He starts fishing where a creek enters the lake and there are plenty of fish here within view. Paul is quickly into a lively Sockeye on his fly rod which is still quite silver and has yet to colour up and develop the hook nose that Sockeye are famed for. Moving onto the Upper Kenai River, Russ the guide takes Paul to another of his favourite Sockeye spots and Paul fishes a fly on a spinning rod whilst Russ starts with a fly rod. Pound for pouns these fish fight as had as any Salmon and a nice fish gives Paul the runaround before its slipped into the net. He's soon into another fish, slightly more coloured than the last but still giving Paul a great fight. Russ finally gets a Sockeye on his fly rod, ending a superb day's sport in Alaska but not before a bankside feast of fresh Sockeye.

Paul is fulfilling many a fly angler's dreams in this episode by taking on the mighty Sea Trout from the Rio Grande in Tierra Del Fuego. He's at the famous Kau Tapen Lodge and owner Steve Estella first talks Paul through the various patterns that are used here to catch these monsters. Heading down to the river, Paul then meets up with guide and fellow Scotsman Ian Neil who gives Paul some advice on where fish will lie in the first pool they fish. A small Brown Trout is landed before gets into real thing and a good Sea Trout gets Paul's reel screaming. Paul's soon into another and the fish just keep getting bigger with this one around 13lbs. Paul's like a kid in sweet shop here and who wouldn't be with fish of a lifetime coming thick and fast. The best so yet to come though, as the daylight fades and Paul has a mighty tussle with the biggest Sea Trout he's ever seen.

Paul's in the Florida Keys and today fishing in the back country where multiple species can be found including Tarpon, Redfish, Snook, Sea Trout and today's target the Bonefish. Richard Stanwick joins Paul along with Capt George Woods and he explains how they'll be catching them today using bait in slightly coloured water to find the fish. They 'stake' the boat up and before long Paul picks up the rod as line starts peeling off the reel with a running fish. Its a nice Bonefish of around 5lb and a great start to the day. They move to another spot and almost immediately another big Bonefish tears off into the distance and Paul enjoys a strong fight. You never know what you'll catch in such rich waters and next up Paul catches a small Stingray before they focus back in on the bones. In the afternoon, they move into shallow water, poling the skiff and looking for tailing bones that they'll then present a bait in front of. They find a good fish and spend several minutes stalking it as it tails around the bait, before Paul makes a perfect cast and hooks into strong fish. Paul caps this brilliant trip by hooking and boating a nice Bull Shark.

Paul finds himself in Northern Argentina in this episode, fly fishing the mighty River Parana and its tributaries for hard fighting Golden Dorado. From his lodge, he heads 2km downstream with local guide, David, to a shallow part of the river with patches of reeds that create multiple small runs and pools. Paul casts his streamer pattern and lets it swing around the reeds and soon hooks up with small but welcome Dorado. Strong and acrobatic, these pretty fish provide Paul with plenty of sport on his streamer, before he tries a surface pattern made with deer hair with equal success. The move again, and change fly again and Paul hooks a big Golden Dorado which jumps everywhere giving him a terrific battle before the 12lb fish is finally landed. In part 2, Paul jumps into another boat with fellow Scot, Doug Lingburn who is planning to try and catch a Surubi Catfish which live in these waters and can grow to substantial sizes. Doug is using a bait rod with a wire trace and a piece of fish as bait whilst Paul tries his luck with a spinning rod. All of a sudden, Doug's line screams off and he has a great fight with a big Surubi which weighed in at exactly 50lbs. Later in the day returns to the lower river to battle with the Golden Dorado again this time, using a fly called the Noodlebug.

Its Autumn and Paul is fly fishing for back end Salmon on the River Endrick which flows into Loch Lomond. With some recent rain, the river as coloured up a little but its clearing so Paul is hopeful of a fish. He fishes a nice run and soon has a small Salmon on which gives him a good fight as it uses the current. Paul then discusses how successful women have been at Salmon fishing including the famous record 64lb Salmon caught by Miss Georgina Ballantyne. Paul visits John Turner, an avid collector of antique fishing tackle and looks through some of the amazing items in his Aladdin's Cave.

Paul returns to Patagonia and starts his adventure fly fishing for Brown Trout on the Rio Chico, a tributary of the Rio Gallegos. As is typical here, the wind is strong and there's almost no cover for the angler so cunning, stealth and accurate casting are key to success. Guide, Derek Manson takes Paul to the water showing him the likely pots and holes in the myriad of braids that the river has split into here. Dry fly is the order of the day with heavily foamed patterns working best. Paul soon gets the hang of this landing a stunning 3lb brown from an area the size of a bathub! With plenty of weed around and undercut banks, Paul has to play the fish hard to stop them getting snagged up but the rewards are there with some beautiful Brown Trout landed. In part 2, Paul meets up with Peter Rippon on the Rio Gallegos to try for some of the huge Sea Trout that the river is famed for. Its incredibly windy but Peter assures Paul, this can be helpful and he's soon proved right as Paul hooks into a strong fresh fish of around 10lbs. Returning to the river the following day, the wind has eased and Peter reports a good run of fresh fish is in the river which came in on a big tide. Paul's rod soon bends over as a strong Sea Trout soon has him into the backing, heading back out to sea but will Paul be able to land a magical 20lber?