12.03.17

New series of The Big Fish Off is out this week!

The Big Fish Off is back, and the new series is even more action-packed, as some top celebrities team up with the two presenters to go head-to-head in a variety of fishing challenges.

The hit ITV4 show, which has drawn big audiences for series one and two, sees battle commence on Thursday March 16 at 8pm, and then at the same time each week, with five episodes in total.

A real treat is in store, as the new series features some top celebrities - including from the worlds of sport and TV - and co-presenter and team captain Ali Hamidi even gets to fish with one of his childhood heroes!

The popular format of the show is unchanged, and Ali and fellow presenter Dean Macey are both teamed up with a celebrity – some of whom have never even picked up a rod before – and then compete over three different challenges within each episode to see who will be crowned the champion.

As anyone who watches the show would by now expect, it is packed full of action, drama, plenty of banter, wind-ups, and even the odd argument, as some seriously competitive characters go up against each other.

The third series kicks off with two boxing legends slugging it out on the bank in the Cotswolds, rather than the more familiar surrounds of a boxing ring, as the captains are joined by Ricky Hatton and Johnny Nelson.

Johnny has never fished before, but it doesn’t take him long before he is in the swing of it and hauling as variety of species, including tench and carp, and you can tell that he is loving every minute of it! ‘The Hitman’ fished as a youngster, but soon realizes that it isn’t ‘like riding as bike’ as he initially gets frustrated when it proves harder than he remembered, but like most of the great sports people that we’ve had on the show, he soon gets to grips with the different techniques being used.

In the second episode, two more sporting legends go up against each other, but these ones are far more likely to be found in a club or pub, as they are snooker god Jimmy White and darts legend Bobby George.

Bobby is a mad-keen angler and has his own lake, whilst Jimmy is a complete novice, but under the guidance of Ali he soon gets the hang of it, and the first challenge sees them targeting tench and carp, before moving onto something very different. Challenge two is at a huge reservoir which is stocked with trout, but rather than trying to master fly fishing in the short space of time available, the teams opt for flies fished zig rig style!

With world Superbike king Carl Fogerty and world champion boxer Kell Brook as guests on episode three, it was always going to be a high octane show, as the team travel to Skegness.

Weather conditions are far from ideal, but that still can’t dampen their spirits as the teams embark on a quest for golden orfe, before moving onto carp on light tackle the following day. Kell is a seasoned coarse angler and instantly looks at home, but Carl’s experience has been sea fishing and he struggles to get to grips with pole and Method feeder fishing, but with the final challenge being from the beach, it should be right up his street!

The guests for show four are very different to the previous episodes, as both come from a reality TV background, and with an all-female head-to-head it brings a bit of glamour to the fishing.

Once Casey Batchelor and Jessica Hayes get over their disgust at the baits being used, including maggots and various types of Goo, they are soon into a variety of species, with carp dominating the three challenges. A variety of tactics are used, including surface fishing, and the show culminates in a big fish specimen carp and catfish challenge, where the duo find out what it is like to be attached to something which really pulls back!

The series finale sees Ali and Dean being joined by football ace Bobby Zamora and professional boxer Paul Smith, who are both keen anglers, as they journey to a remote part of South America where few anglers have ever set foot, let alone made a TV show there!

Just getting to the jungles of Suriname involves an arduous journey, and once there the teams find themselves living in tents in a makeshift camp next to the river.

Whilst both are happy just to be there, as they target the fearsome piranha, before moving onto colourful peacock bass on lures, and culminating in monster piraiba catfish, as keen sportsmen they are also both desperate to win.

Episode 1, Thursday March 16, 8pm: Ricky Hatton vs Johnny Nelson
Episode 2, Thursday March 23, 8pm: Jimmy White vs Bobby George
Episode 3, Thursday March 30, 8pm: Carl Fogarty vs Kell Brook
Episode 4, Thursday April 6, 8pm: Casey Batchelor vs Jessica Hayes
Episode 5, Thursday April 13, 8pm: Bobby Zamora vs Paul Smith Jnr

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