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The television fishing show with a reputation for crazy action, fishing stunts and incredibly clear underwater photography returns to the screen today.
The I" Fishing Show will screen at 4.30pm on TV3, and producer/presenter Matt Watson is promising to "raise the bar" once again.
"I am literally fizzing about the footage we have for this season's shows," he says. "I've watched some of the clips hundreds of times and they still haven't lost the wow factor."
Last season, the I" Fishing Show team appeared to go out of its way to show just how extreme fishing television can be. Watson battled huge marlin on a jet-ski. He also swam with mako sharks, strapping fish to his body before joining the predators in the water.
However, Watson believes the action this year will eclipse even that.
"We really pushed the envelope to the limits of sanity this time," he laughs. "I actually went hand line fishing for giant bluefin tuna, 100km off the West Coast in a dinghy."
Watson says the local commercial fishermen, who couldn't believe what he was doing, warned him of the dangers involved. "They basically said: 'If you try this, you will be killed'.
"Even though I said, 'She'll be right', I was under no illusions about how dangerous it was going to be."
Watson ended up catching a 320kg tuna and says the entire mission, which was caught on film, was not without its drama.
There is no doubt that Watson's antics and the stunning footage that accompanies them have brought a new dimension to fishing television.
However, the presenter is keen to emphasise that he and his team have not lost sight of the fact that there are a million anglers in New Zealand.
"This is still fishing television, made by fishermen for fishermen."
This means that, in among the action and the humour, there is still time for the basics: tips on how to catch different species and advice about the gear that's required.
There's also plenty of fresh ground to cover - in the new series the crew visit fishing spots "from Westport to the Arabian Sea".
