So I have been itching for spring to get here so it can finally warm up and I can start fishing. In honor of the arrival of my excitement for fishing I am nominating my favorite fisherman for Explorer of the Month. Fishing isn't usually the first thing that pops into mind when one thinks of exploring. I admit that it wasn't on my radar either until one man convinced me. His name is Jeremy Wade, host of the Animal Planet program River Monsters. Mr. Wade is a biologist by trade, but is also a renown "extreme angler". On his TV show he travels the world in search of over sized fish that may explain local legends and lore about man eating monsters in the the world's river systems. It is not only the travel to exotic, or some times rather mundane locales that makes him an explorer. Just by viewing the show, one can tell that Wade has the utmost interest in not only his quarry, but the stories and people involved.
One of the most intriguing episodes takes place in Africa where he is fishing for the Goliath Tiger Fish. During this particular adventure, he becomes involved with a local tribe, learns about fishing gangs, hears a story about marauding hippos and handles some of mankind's very first fishing implements. If that does scream exploring, I don't know what does.
Recently, I had the joy of reading his book "River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't get Away". While at first glance, the book appears to simply be a rehash of the first couple seasons of the show. However, the stories he tells are filled with interesting asides and misadventures that Mr. Wade has gone through from his time as a young hopeful obsessed with fishing to the man he is today. We are talking plane crashes, encounters with Natives, and being arrested for espionage. These are things, that while mentioned on the show, are retold in great detail that makes the book interesting on many levels.
It obvious from the words on the pages that Jeremy Wade had a deep caring for the these giants "monsters" and greatly laments that they are disappearing from the planet and that he may in fact be one of the last people to witness some of these giants. Jeremy Wade is a man, while I do not know him personally, that I look up to. His genuine interest in the world around him and the people within it alone makes him worthy of Explorer of the Month. If you haven't seen the show check it out on Amazon Instant Video, all of the seasons are free to stream with Amazon Prime. Also the book is a great buy for those interested in biology, fishing, or travel writing. It is complete with full color photos of some of his most awesome catches and adventures.
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=river+monsters+book&sprefix=river+monster%2Caps%2C341
P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting much content, my very last undergraduate semester is finally coming to a close and I have been quite busy. However, I have several items in the works as well as some guest writers. Stay tuned and hang in there with me! Thanks guys!
Showing posts with label River Monsters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label River Monsters. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
What Lies Beneath, or "I'm Telling you...It was THIS BIG!"
Ever since I was a kid, I loved the water. I loved swimming and if you ask my parents I loved taking loooooong showers. Heck, I even had a bedroom decorated entirely with underwater life. There were many times I remember being referred to as being part fish. The state I grew up in has a good quality game and parks program and a number of nearby streams, lakes, ponds and rivers to drop a line into. As a child I never went fishing a lot, occasionally I went with my dad, friends or on a Boy Scout camping trip (proud recipient of the Fishing Merit Badge). However, this never really amounted to very much in the way of a fishing passion. I do remember that I always had a keen curiosity for what was underneath the waves. At one point, my roving grandparents lived in a small town in Missouri that was near a series of large lakes. On one particular visit we went to a restaurant on a bank high above the water. This joint specialized in catfish and they had a tank full of some of the fattest catfish I had ever seen. Of course that may have partially been due to my minute stature as a kid. I think perhaps ever since that day, catfish have been my favorite under water curiosity, both to look at and eat. Attached to the restaurant was a long suspension bridge that dangled above the narrowing water below. My mother, who was afraid of heights mind you, took me out to the middle and we looked down below at the churning brown waves. What was down there?
During my teen and pre-teen years, my parents had taken me to Mexico (partially the reason I turned to archaeology) and Spain. I like to say that mother has this disease where she thinks she is part Mexican. The symptoms include a fascination with all things Spanish, be them from Spain or Mexico or elsewhere. She probably has like...stage 3 chronic onset or something, as displayed by the mixture of pseudo Hispanic decorations all over our house. Anyway, this brought me close to the ocean of more than one occasion. The ocean to me was always kind of scary. Not like the run away and hide scary, but scary none the less. It was large, and who knows what lie in the vast abyss beneath the wind tossed waves? Multiple readings of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and other Lovecraft stories only fueled this feeling and curiosity. It was not only the ocean that gave me a macabre since of wonder. On a trip down to Cancun, my parents took me to a massive sink hole where the guide told us that the Maya had thrown in sacrificial victims. The water was a deep sapphire and two tourists swam in the eerie gloom. All I could think of was the hundreds of bones and relics that lie in a heap deep beneath the crisp surface in the unwavering black.
Over time I continued to fuel my untapped passion for the water by various means. A particular video game, titled "Endless Ocean", was the only reason I even bought a Nintendo Wii. I savored the experience of scuba diving among all sorts of strange and beautiful life, even if it was just an educational video game. I discovered another quirky game about fishing and then low and behold I saw and advertisement on Animal Planet for a new series. River Monsters with Jeremy Wade. Wade is an "extreme angler" and biologist that hunts down the the subjects of the worlds greatest "Fish Tales". I ate this show up, from giant catfish to freshwater sharks and massive rays. Oh the marvels that lurked on the river beds of the world. My father, just over one year ago, graced my presence with a fantastic book by Jeremy Wade himself and this prompted me to buy my first, very own fishing pole! I was giddy. I by no means hopped to catch a giant carp or man eating catfish like Mr. Wade but I now had a chance to explore what was under the water on my own. I spent many afternoons on the rocky shore of a nearby lake during the hot summer. I only managed to catch a few Bluegill and Sunfish but I loved every second of it. The waiting, the sweat from the sun, the tug of war between the fish and I, and finally seeing the creature that I had struggled with before I let it return to its watery home, it was all exhilarating.
The waters of the world are an important resource, both for survival and to feed human wonderment. There is so little of the ocean that has been explored; the ocean is teaming with life yet unseen. Even the channels and waterways that are so close to home can hold mysteries and legends just waiting to be uncovered. These habitats are also is danger. Pollution, tourism and commercial overfishing are ruining the world's oceans and freshwater. There is a Star Trek movie that involves the consequences of whales going extinct. And while I have little hope a giant alien vessel will come and punish us for ruining the environment, that is still not a world I would like to live in.
This is my last semester of college (finally, I know!), and I have been trying to come up with projects or pursuits that will fuel my thirst for adventure and for writing. Over the summer I will be posting some of my adventures in fishing and scuba diving as I plan to take classes in my spare time. I guess the point of this particular post is to show that their are many ways of exploring. Hiking, climbing, star gazing, fishing; all different ways to experience our wonderful world/universe and all that it has in store for us.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about your home state's fishing programs, check your local Park and Recreation website. For those of you in my home state, you are in luck! I'll provide the links!
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/fishing.asp
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/fishing/programs/aquaticed/aquarium.asp (a really nice local aquarium)
During my teen and pre-teen years, my parents had taken me to Mexico (partially the reason I turned to archaeology) and Spain. I like to say that mother has this disease where she thinks she is part Mexican. The symptoms include a fascination with all things Spanish, be them from Spain or Mexico or elsewhere. She probably has like...stage 3 chronic onset or something, as displayed by the mixture of pseudo Hispanic decorations all over our house. Anyway, this brought me close to the ocean of more than one occasion. The ocean to me was always kind of scary. Not like the run away and hide scary, but scary none the less. It was large, and who knows what lie in the vast abyss beneath the wind tossed waves? Multiple readings of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and other Lovecraft stories only fueled this feeling and curiosity. It was not only the ocean that gave me a macabre since of wonder. On a trip down to Cancun, my parents took me to a massive sink hole where the guide told us that the Maya had thrown in sacrificial victims. The water was a deep sapphire and two tourists swam in the eerie gloom. All I could think of was the hundreds of bones and relics that lie in a heap deep beneath the crisp surface in the unwavering black.
Over time I continued to fuel my untapped passion for the water by various means. A particular video game, titled "Endless Ocean", was the only reason I even bought a Nintendo Wii. I savored the experience of scuba diving among all sorts of strange and beautiful life, even if it was just an educational video game. I discovered another quirky game about fishing and then low and behold I saw and advertisement on Animal Planet for a new series. River Monsters with Jeremy Wade. Wade is an "extreme angler" and biologist that hunts down the the subjects of the worlds greatest "Fish Tales". I ate this show up, from giant catfish to freshwater sharks and massive rays. Oh the marvels that lurked on the river beds of the world. My father, just over one year ago, graced my presence with a fantastic book by Jeremy Wade himself and this prompted me to buy my first, very own fishing pole! I was giddy. I by no means hopped to catch a giant carp or man eating catfish like Mr. Wade but I now had a chance to explore what was under the water on my own. I spent many afternoons on the rocky shore of a nearby lake during the hot summer. I only managed to catch a few Bluegill and Sunfish but I loved every second of it. The waiting, the sweat from the sun, the tug of war between the fish and I, and finally seeing the creature that I had struggled with before I let it return to its watery home, it was all exhilarating.
The waters of the world are an important resource, both for survival and to feed human wonderment. There is so little of the ocean that has been explored; the ocean is teaming with life yet unseen. Even the channels and waterways that are so close to home can hold mysteries and legends just waiting to be uncovered. These habitats are also is danger. Pollution, tourism and commercial overfishing are ruining the world's oceans and freshwater. There is a Star Trek movie that involves the consequences of whales going extinct. And while I have little hope a giant alien vessel will come and punish us for ruining the environment, that is still not a world I would like to live in.
This is my last semester of college (finally, I know!), and I have been trying to come up with projects or pursuits that will fuel my thirst for adventure and for writing. Over the summer I will be posting some of my adventures in fishing and scuba diving as I plan to take classes in my spare time. I guess the point of this particular post is to show that their are many ways of exploring. Hiking, climbing, star gazing, fishing; all different ways to experience our wonderful world/universe and all that it has in store for us.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about your home state's fishing programs, check your local Park and Recreation website. For those of you in my home state, you are in luck! I'll provide the links!
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/fishing.asp
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/fishing/programs/aquaticed/aquarium.asp (a really nice local aquarium)
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