INTERVIEW: For these guys, life is ‘Fish or Die’
Photo: Chris Owens, Brian Jay, Thad Robison and Jay Johnson star in Fish or Die. Photo courtesy of Animal Planet / Provided with permission.
TV viewers may think they’ve seen dedicated fishing, but they haven’t seen the fishing adventures of Chris Owens, Brian Jill, Thad Robison and Jay Johnson. The extreme anglers travel the globe searching for elusive fish that always seem right around the next bend in the river. Their exploits are the subject of the new Animal Planet series, Fish or Die, premiering Sunday, April 21 at 10 p.m.
On the inaugural season of the series, the guys head to some remote locations to find big fish. One of the episodes charts their travels in a Bolivian jungle to find the legendary giant golden dorado. Another episode finds them in Zambia searching for tigerfish, and another episode focuses on a large, ferocious salmon in Mongolia.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with the four stars of Fish or Die. Here’s part one of that email conversation, featuring the stories of Owens and Jill. Click here for part two. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How long have you all been fishing together?
Owens: I’m not sure how many moons have set since we started fishing together. It’s been a long time, man! I mean Thad used to have jet-black hair and a black beard. Now he’s completely silver fox sexy, and I used to not be able to grow a beard when we all first started fishing … now I can! It looks like a tripped and fell in a dustpan whenever I attempt to grow one, but that’s another story.
Jill: I have been fishing with Chris since our first film project down in Patagonia [in] 2003. I fished with Thad for the first time when we filmed in Mongolia in 2007. Jay was when we shot a film in British Colombia in 2008.
What are some of your favorite memories from this first season of the show?
Owens: The whole Mongolia adventure was insane. We put together a 46-horse pack-string and headed cross country over mountain passes, through swamp bogs. I mean we went straight through the wilderness — no trails — to reach the headwaters of this river system on the Russian border. The only problem was that the outside temperature was about zero degrees, and our horses were all wild, meaning they didn’t like humans or gear being put on their backs. My horse I named CocoPuff. CocoPuff was possessed by the devil and tried to kill me every chance he had. Thanks to CocoPuff, it still hurts to sit in this chair and type this.
There was that time that it never stopped raining in the jungles of Ecuador for 20 days straight. That was awesome. My rain fly had 10 leaks in it, went to bed wet and woke up soaked. It was [an] amazing experience for someone that doesn’t take a lot of showers.
But I think one of my fondest memories was sleeping in my hammock at night in the jungles of Borneo, picking leeches out from between my toes with a headlamp. Every night I’d have to pick dozens off of me, and they were big.
Jill: I would say that it is getting to spend time with the local indigenous people and see how they make a living. Hooking and landing a giant taimen in Mongolia after wading through rapids and all the chaos that ensued with the crew, it was our first big fish on that trip. In Borneo, the rain wouldn’t stop, and the river rose 20 feet and washed out part of our camp. [And] the ground-saturated giant trees started falling down and almost crushed a few of us sleeping in our hammocks. Rescuing a cameraman from drowning, almost getting impaled by the handle of a boat motor when I [came] flying off the transom mount. Hiking up to see the wall of skulls in Borneo. Visiting some of the sacred aboriginal sites with all the ancient artwork around.
What is it about fishing that you love so much?
Owens: It’s not catching fish, I can tell you that much. It’s all about the journey and the adventure to get to the fish for me. Fishing for us has brought us to the far reaches of the globe to experience new cultures and explore crazy landscapes. If you catch a fish, it’s a bonus. Also there are no limitations with fishing. There’s [a] never-ending learning curve, and you can go down the rabbit hole as deep as you want.
Jill: I think it is the exploration element that drives me to want to go fishing. Also it’s getting out in nature that gives me the freedom that I need.
When did you get your start in the fishing world? Is it a love that goes back to when you were a child?
Owens: I come from a fishing family. Literally that’s all my family ever really did. I got three brothers that are just as sick in the head as I am about fishing. I’m programmed to do what I do. I’m a fishing android with no off switch. This fishing obsession I have isn’t very healthy on relationships or my body, but it’s fun. And I plan on doing it till I die.
Jill: Growing up I was introduced to bass fishing as a kid, and my uncle got me into it. I used to ride my BMX bike with buddies, and we fished in all the city lakes around where I grew up in Florida. So it was really the adventure and seeing new places that got me hooked. After moving to Colorado for school, I got seriously into fly fishing. Now I’m a guide in Florida and living my fishing dream.
How difficult was it to film some of these adventures in such remote locations?
Owens: First of all, we don’t stay in lodges, and we aren’t catered. And we’re doing these trips most of the time back to back. I had less than 12 days off in the eight months it took to film this show. One second you’re sitting in the swamps of Mexico getting pulverized by a billion mosquitos, and the next second you’re hiking across the wild landscapes of northern Greenland in ice storms.
We’re off the grid. We’re heading straight into jungles to live with the natives for 20 days at a time. We got cameras and computers! This is the real deal, and to pull off one of these fishing adventures is always a major accomplishment. We got every odd in the world stacked against us, everyday, every hour. I’m not sure how we pulled this season off to be honest with you.
Jill: It was incredibly tough dealing with the conditions we were out in and accessing these remote [areas] often took a great deal of time and effort to reach. All the struggles make for some great content and is entertaining to watch. It was tiring while we were in the field shooting, and it definitely kicked our butts. We had no time to rest between shoots over a seven-month period.
What’s the one fish that has evaded you so far in life — a fish that you really want to catch?
Owens: 30# steelhead. Pretty much if I caught a big black and white 30# chrome magnum I’d hang up the cleats. Maybe take up surfing. There’s some cool saltwater stuff I want to do, but my heart belongs to steelhead. That’s why I sit out in the rainforest all winter swinging flies down runs trying to connect with one of these mythical beasts on the other end of my spey rod.
Jill: Giant trevally. I’ve caught smaller ones, and I’ve had some chances at big boys. But it hasn’t come together yet!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Fish or Die premieres Sunday, April 21 at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet. Click here for more information.
