New season of ‘Monster Fish’ to debut over July 4 weekend

Everybody loves to hear a whopper fish tale, and cable channel National Geographic Wild is only too happy to please with the premiere of the new season of its giant fish series, “Monster Fish.”

“Monster Fish” stars fish biologist Zeb Hogan, who travels the planet to figure out if these tales of giant fish are real or just legends. This isn’t to be confused with “River Monsters,” which airs on Animal Planet and follows British fish biologist Jeremy Wade as he travels the planet searching for the truth behind various legendary fish as well.

The fourth season of “Monster Fish” is to debut on July 5 with Hogan traveling to the South to find out if stories of catfish the size of Volkswagens are real or just a lot of boasting.

PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments

Subsequent weeks are to see Hogan pursue the truth behind giant salmon (or salmonzilla) in Alaska, huge green sturgeon in the Pacific Northwest and a 600-pound goldfish in Thailand.

Though fish shows were once considered a bit of a TV snooze -- one step below televised golf -- they’re a current trend. Besides “Monster Fish” and “River Monsters,” Animal Planet recently ordered 10 episodes of a fishing-based competition show called “Top Hooker.”

And let’s not forget the Animal Planet fishing series “Hillbilly Handfishin’” featuring, you guessed it, hillbillies catching catfish with their bare hands and feet.

It’s all a long way from “The Joy of Fishing,” but there’s probably no going back.

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