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This fishing show will reel you in with its hot bait

Johannesburg – If you think fishing is boring, think again. Three lads (as they like to call themselves) are working hard at giving fishing a new cool rep.

Blowfish (we'll get into that later), Charlie Butcher (yes, that is his real name) and Jason Lewis present Fishing Impossible exclusive to BBC Brit (DStv 120), a new series that follows the trio as they embark on the ultimate extreme fishing trip across the globe.

Now about that nickname the Blowfish, "well it's really simple, look at me, I kind of resemble one," he says.

The Blowfish prides himself on being the world's only heavy metal marine biologist.

"Yeah don't forget that, guys", quips Charlie. 

Interviewing the pair at the BBC Winter Upfront it's really hard to believe that up until a few months ago they didn't know each other.

Donkey lobsters!

A photo posted by Charlie Butcher (@charlieboysstuff) on

The UK production company Alaska came up with the idea of Fishing Impossible, explains Blowfish.

"They came up with the name and the premise of three mates doing mad things while fishing because fishing is a marketable show. In 2014 they brought me on board as I had television experience, I had done wildlife presenting before."

He continues: "We formed it and conceptualised the show, but what it has become is purely Charlie, Jay and I. There is no way in the world to describe how three lads from different parts of the county who have never met each other came together to make this show."

For Charlie it was a whirlwind experience and  he initially went along with a friend who had done some TV work before. 

"I went along with no conception of what was going to happen. I was flying one day and then I got a phone call to say I was in the show, four weeks later I was flying to the Bahamas. We had one day of filming together and its just gone from there," says Charlie.

Where did their love for fishing stem from?

Charlie says his was quite traditional; his grandad took him fishing when he was five and he loved it, but when his teenage years came about he abandoned it for a while. 

It bit again when he was 17, "every bit of travelling I have done is because of fishing. It's just great, it's my me time."

Occasionally the sheer awesomeness of nature turns us into speechless wrecks.. White Sturgeon. Fraser River. 200lbs+

A photo posted by Charlie Butcher (@charlieboysstuff) on

Blowfish fishes with his bare hands. His love of fishing developed on the beach as a kid, interacting with sea life and learning their behaviour. 

The pair are really careful not to reveal any spoilers about the show, but by the sounds of it the trio do some adrenaline-fuelled fishing antics from kayaking on a rough river to diving into a black hole in sea ice in the Arctic circle.

They don’t pre-prepare any of the challenges, while there is a game plan it hardly goes as smoothly as it is written on paper and they've had to improvise quite a lot.

"In every episode we learn a new technique to get the task done," says Charlie.

The trio have been travelling for five months and have visited Norway, Bahamas, Canada, Kenya and South Africa to mention a few. 

In the South African episode they try to attract a great white shark with a live performance from a rock band at sea. 

"The SA episode isn't fishing in the true sense but what we do is still attracting fish and bringing it to you," says Charlie. 

And do they attract any great whites? 

Well, you'll have to watch the show to find out. 

Catch Fishing Impossible on Wednesday, 25 May at 21:00 on BBC Brit (DStv 120).

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