While in Norfolk fishing for tench, Bob tries to impress Paul with his childhood fishing rod - and fails. They share nostalgia for their younger years and reveal how they recently came face to face with their own mortality. After a brief respite in a local brewery, they reluctantly camp down in yurts before fishing again the next day where the elusive tench seems to evade them until the very last minute.
Paul and Bob fish for the mighty barbel in Hay-on-Wye. Passing a graveyard, they muse about the future and chat to a local vicar about death, and their own funerals. To lighten the mood back in their wooden fishing cabin, Bob promises Paul a very special treat if they are successful in their angling efforts.
In the beautiful Monsal Valley in Derbyshire, Paul teaches Bob how to fly-fish for wild rainbow trout. While fishing, they discuss their humble beginnings in show business and have a good gossip about their contemporaries. Bob cooks Paul his very personal recipe of 'tuna Melanie' on the river bank, and it soon transpires his cooking is a lot more successful than his fishing.
Paul and Bob fish the beautiful river Wensum in search of the equally beautifully roach. Struggling up and down the riverbanks, they realise how age is starting to take its toll on their physicality. But Bob has a plan to help Paul recapture his youth. They stay overnight in a disused train station and visit the local pub with Paul showing off his new look, courtesy of Bob. They decide to challenge each other to a fishing competition where the winner gets a very special culinary treat, and be warned, their dinner table conversation is not for the faint hearted.
Paul fishes at Christchurch's quintessential Bridge Pool in Dorset, hoping to catch sea trout. Bob arrives late but redeems himself by hooking the first fish of the day. After a glorious morning Paul persuades Bob to charter a boat out to sea in search of sea bass. Bob has a history of sea sickness and is not keen but eventually they venture out to the Needles where Paul makes an incredible catch. The fish is too big for Bob to handle so they head off to a local restaurant to prepare it. Bob performs a small cameo as an irritating waiter.
In this final episode, Paul and Bob decide to try and catch a legendary pike, which is perhaps not the best idea for two men of a certain age with heart problems. In the cosy cottage where they are staying, they invite a consultant cardiologist for dinner to talk about their medical past and their future, gaining tips on how to live the most healthy life possible. Facing the future, they write a eulogy for each other as the sun sets on their final fishing expedition.
Paul and Bob travel to the picturesque River Usk in Wales, where Paul’s father first taught him to fish as a young child. Their quarry is the wild brown trout. They discuss their respective childhoods and reflect on their own family lives. In their cosy cottage accommodation in the heart of the countryside they compare school photographs and Paul serenades Bob with his guitar.
Paul and Bob brave the wild lakes of Essex in search of the mighty carp. They have the latest high-tech equipment and are fully prepared to stay all night if they have to, to catch the biggest fish they can. They discuss the true meaning of a mid-life crisis and decide to visit a beauty clinic to see if there are any suitable treatments available to re-capture their youth. Bob reveals his secret recipe to make the perfect scrambled eggs but it is not the only thing which shocks Paul in this episode.
Bob has harboured a childhood dream to catch a salmon so they set off for the River Tay in Scotland full of hope and excitement for this special trip. A ghillie guides them up the intimidating river in a boat and they fish using various methods to catch the elusive fish. They discuss luck and fate and the part it has played in their lives. They stay in the heart of the highlands, Bob cooks Paul a traditional Scottish breakfast and they set off for a swift round of golf before resuming their fishing. As the sun sets they reflect on their dreams – did they come true on this trip?
Paul and Bob fish for the predatory perch in the Upper Tamar Lakes on the Cornwall and Devon border. The following day, they embark on another fishing adventure, this time on the open sea.
The pair fly to Enniskillen, where they take to the waters of Loch Erne in their quest to land the mighty pike, which eluded them in series one. Plus, Paul demonstrates how to perform life-saving CPR.
For their final quest of the series, Paul and Bob take to the River Ure in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, in search of grayling. After mulling over their plans for retirement, they meet the surgeon who performed Bob’s life-saving triple heart bypass.
In this first episode, Paul and Bob return to Scotland to fish for salmon once more, this time on the mighty River Tweed. As we remember the agonising last-ditch attempt to catch a salmon on the River Tay in series two, this time around Paul is determined to fulfil his promise to help Bob get his first salmon - a rite of passage for any angler.
Paul takes Bob on a trip down memory lane and back to the River Lea in Hertfordshire, where Paul used to come as a teenager with his mates. They'd catch the train from north London to fish this network of rivers and canals that flow from Hertfordshire into the Thames, and just like when Paul was young, they fish for perch.
Paul and Bob visit Norfolk to go lake fishing for monster pike.
Paul and Bob return to the river where they first went fishing together after Bob's heart surgery - the Test in Hampshire. Famous for its gin clear water, the Test is renowned as the home of fly fishing. Paul and Bob are here during the Mayfly hatch - the peak of the trout fishing season.
Paul and Bob go lake fishing in Wiltshire, and they are up before sunrise to give themselves a fighting chance of catching a crucian carp - one of the UK's most shy and elusive species that prefer the shadows of dawn and dusk and are notoriously tricky to catch. A relative of the goldfish, they have been likened to trying to catch a unicorn. Paul and Bob will need to employ every ounce of stealth they can muster, but will it be enough to net a crucian?
The sixth and final episode of the series sees Bob and Paul revisit the river Wye in Herefordshire. Last time they were here they fished the Middle Wye for barbel, but this time they head to the spectacular Lower Wye to fish for chub.
Gone Christmas Fishing follows Bob Mortimer as he returns to his childhood roots in Middlesbrough to fish and reminisce with his dear friend and angling mentor Paul Whitehouse.
Paul and Bob visit their most dazzling and extraordinary destination to date, the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Completely unlike anywhere they have fished before, this small, remote but beautiful island has an intricate network of tidal pools and sea lochs, making it near enough equal parts land and water and therefore the perfect place to fish for sea trout.
Paul and Bob accept a special invitation to fish the estate lake at Burghley House, which sits on the border of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Built in the 16th century by William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s lord high chancellor, Burghley House is home to some of the most majestic landscapes Paul and Bob have ever found themselves in. With a spectacular lake and stunning gardens, all designed by the iconic Capability Brown, Paul and Bob hope they can do the place justice - and net a decent catch.
Paul and Bob are in the Lake District to fish at some of the UK’s best loved beauty spots – Derwentwater and Watendlath Tarn. In a change from the norm, this time Bob has chosen where they go fishing in a poignant trip down memory lane for him - this was where he used to come on camping holidays with his mates, away from parents for the first time.
It’s the start of the coarse fishing season, and to celebrate Paul and Bob are in the Norfolk Broads to fish in some of East Anglia’s most historic and celebrated waterways. They’re here to try for rudd - but who knows what other species they might catch in these rivers, which are rich in flora and fauna? As is the way with a trip to the Broads, Paul and Bob do away with the car and instead get around by boat. It’s the quintessential Broads experience, although Paul does wonder whether he should have been captain instead of Bob...
Paul and Bob travel to Mid Wales, to fish for wild carp in some equally wild and wonderfully picturesque lake locations. They've had success catching both mirror and common carp in previous trips, but trying to net a ‘Welsh wildie’ will require a different approach. Wild carp are the oldest strain of the species we have in the UK, and there are tales from the middle ages of monks tending carp ponds
Paul and Bob are on the River Severn in Worcestershire to fish for zander. It’s a new species for both of them, and they enlist the help of a local guide, Tim Maslen to find the best spots. Paul explains to Bob how he has never even fished for zander before, let alone caught one. After learning a difficult new technique and staying in a converted lightship, they meet up with This Country star Charlie Cooper to talk about his passion for fishing.
Paul takes Bob to the north of England in search of a prized English salmon. Alongside their canine friend Ted, they fish the river Eden and Tyne in search of their elusive quarry.
Bob and Paul start the series by fishing the beautiful river Exe in Devon, looking for Grilse, also known as the ‘summer silver’. After a day of limited success, they enjoy a game of cricket before having a go at some shore fishing at Bossington Beach in Somerset.
Paul, Bob and trusty terrier Ted travel to north Wales to fish the River Dee for grayling. They try to rediscover their lost youth on this trip, with mixed results.
Paul and Bob catch the sleeper train to the Scottish Highlands to fish for ferox trout. Bob can’t resist the challenge to look for Nessie in the vast waters of Loch Ness.
Paul and Bob take trusty terrier Ted to fish for perch on the River Thames. Comedian Richard Herring joins the three of them for dinner.
Paul and Bob visit the heart of the English countryside in the Surrey Hills, where they fish for carp and barbel. Health expert Dr Anand Patel joins them by the lake.
Paul and Bob venture to the mighty Lough Corrib, Ireland’s largest lough and one of the best places in the country to try trout fishing. Later, they meet Undertones singer Fergal Sharkey.
Bob and Paul travel to the northern islands of Norway on their most extreme fishing adventure yet and face the mighty maelstrom where tides collide and big fish await.
Paul, Bob and terrier Ted travel to Wales to fish in the remote and stunning landscape of the River Irfon and the Upper Wye. It’s also Ted’s birthday, but how will they celebrate?
Paul and Bob travel to Dumfries and Galloway in search of a big pike. They stay overnight in a 15th-century haunted castle.
Paul, Bob and Ted travel in style to the Hampshire Avon. Bob makes the most of the unique accommodation, and Ted has a blind date.
Paul and Bob fish for crucian carp at a sequestered lake in Shropshire. In the hopes of guaranteeing success, they'll be staying lakeside in overnight bivvies.
The pair head to the incredible tidal outcrop of Burgh Island on the south coast of Devon, where their quarry is wrasse. A very special surprise awaits Paul and terrier Ted.
Bob and Paul return to the Derbyshire Wye and its neighbour the Derwent, this time with Ted, to revisit the place they first fished together.
In this special festive episode, Bob, Paul and Ted travel to Scotland to taste the traditional Hogmanay celebrations it has to offer. As well as fishing the rivers Dee, Tay and Ericht, they will be joined by an old friend for dinner, and a very special guest performs at their New Year’s Eve party.
