The host of a US TV show armed himself with a pitchfork and wore a football helmet as he water-skied on a US river to hunt a high-jumping fish.

Eric Young, a pro-wrestler and host of Animal Planet's Off the Hook: Extreme Catches, was cruising down the river in Illinois to film an episode for his show, which explores extreme and creative ways to catch fish.

His unusual attire was to ward of the Asian carp fish, which are renowned for jumping high out of the water and hitting fisherman.

"Through my other job as a professional wrestler, I've been conditioned to take a blow or two," he told the local Journal Star newspaper.

"But it hurt a little.”

He told ABC News: "It's like a 30 pound bean bag smashing into you at 30 miles an hour… You're well aware you just got hit with a fish."

The show's producers are hoping that episodes like this one will highlight pest problems like the carp, which is threatening to invade the river.

"We've never seen anything like what's going on in the river," the show's executive producer Greg Henry said.

Source:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8536086/fisherman-uses-pitchfork-to-hunt-carp