narrator: In the wild, the right skills
can make the difference between life and death.
- [groans]
narrator: Now some of "Alone’s" best competitors
are taking on a new mission.
- This is, like, some Indiana Jones-type stuff.
narrator: They’ll have just three days...
- Whoa! narrator: And limited tools...
- Here’s the fun part.
narrator: For a build challenge
devised by one of their own.
- Time is ticking.
narrator: At stake for the winner...
- Whoo.
narrator: Bragging rights.
- You guys have your work cut out for you.
narrator: Tonight’s challengers--
Britt Ahart, 35-day survivor from season three
and runner-up from season five.
- Bam! Gonna have fish dinner tonight.
narrator: Joel Van Der Loon, 40-day survivor
from season seven...
- Whoo-hoo!
narrator: And Clay Hayes,
74-day survivor and winner of season eight.
- Hot dog. I got another one.
narrator: Let the challenge begin.
- Ooh, jeepers!
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hey, guys, this is Jordan Jonas
from "Alone" season six,
where I harvested more food than any other contestant
in the history of the show.
Not done putting notches on our hatchet yet.
So the challenge for this week
for Clay, Joel and Britt is not easy.
I know it’s gonna really push these guys
and I’m really excited to see what they come up with.
- So we got a box here, a mystery box.
- This is always the nerve-wracking part.
[laughs]
♪ ♪
- "Your challenge is...
"build a fishing kit and a fish smoker.
You may use only the tools in the box."
Let’s see what we got to work with here.
Please be some fishhooks.
Got a little bit of paracord.
We’ve got some antler tines.
Little pocketknife with some different blades on it.
And some kind of Damascus Viking-looking ax-head.
- With no handle.
Well, obviously I’m going to have
to make some sort of ax handle.
- Jordan’s not gonna make it easy.
So it looks like it’s primitive fishing techniques.
In a survival situation,
your ability to catch a fish might just save your life.
- Whoo! - Or, like on "Alone,"
extend your stay and get you that much closer to winning.
- Ah!
Dinner!
"To complete the challenge,
"you must catch a fish six inches or longer,
smoke the fish, and then eat the fish."
- Darn, I’ve gotta go fishing and eat fish.
- Jordan, challenge accepted.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- All right, this, I think,
is gonna be a great spot for the smoker.
So I’ve made a quick little digging stick out of cedar.
What I wanna do is excavate out basically a trench
down through here, make a firebox,
and then have, like, a chimney right here,
so I’ll backfill with some of this dirt
and have my fish up here,
presuming I can catch some fish.
Oh, yeah, man. That’s gonna be nice.
Oop, there’s some worms.
Fish bait right there.
[soft music]
[grunts] Okay.
I need to find some sticks.
Some sticks.
So I’m looking for something that’s got a good flex to it.
Gonna try to make a frame
and then pack mud and clay on top and around it
and then burn the frame out.
♪ ♪
Well, got no idea if this is gonna work.
But...
never know unless you try.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- There’s quite a big stretch of river here
that we have to work with.
I have access to some really good fish here.
There’s good rainbow trout.
I think that the challenge
for me is gonna be making effective hooks.
Being out on "Alone,"
we were fishing with barbless hooks.
- I think I got one.
Oh, [bleep].
- That was not easy.
- No, we did not get a fish.
- So using primitive methods is going
to also be very challenging.
Oh, look at this.
The land has presented.
Looks to be from a deer.
It’s not as fresh as I would like it to be,
but as far as getting strong enough gorge hooks out of it,
I think it can be done.
A gorge hook is a very small hook
that’s not an actual hook shape.
It’s very straight and very sharp on either end.
I’d like to break the bone right here and here
because I can get several gorge hooks out of this piece.
And there we go.
All I’ve gotta do is sit here
and grind and grind and grind.
♪ ♪
A gorge hook is very difficult
because you can’t rely on the fish just biting.
It actually has to swallow the bait
and the hook has to actually unravel
in order to capture the fish.
It’s a very tough fishing method,
but it does work.
♪ ♪
So here’s a little gorge hook.
The line goes into this little v-notch, ties around here.
One done, and now we’re gonna work on a second one.
♪ ♪
All right, now that I got my ax-head affixed on here,
I am gonna put a little cordage around there
just to keep it there.
I’ll tell you, working around this blade
does keep you paying attention.
That’s a pretty cool-looking ax handle.
I think this is gonna suffice.
I can harvest what I need to make my reel.
I’m thinking that I might make just a small little hobo reel.
If I can cut a couple of pieces of bamboo,
then I can make a really bare-bones hobo reel.
First thing I need to do is cut this right about there.
So depending on whether or not my ax will do it smoothly,
is gonna let me know whether or not I’m gonna be using this
as my materials.
One, two...
[clang] No.
Nope.
[bird calling]
[laughs] And I made the peacock mad.
Okay, so I’m not gonna be able to use that.
[sighs]
Let me gather my thoughts for a minute.
♪ ♪
[thunder rumbles]
- I mean, it’s hot out here in Georgia,
but when it storms, it storms.
But I was able to procure my fishing pole.
I mean, I was thinking about going with the hobo reel,
but the complexities of using my hatchet
and that little, tiny, itsy-bitsy knife,
I didn’t want to deal with the frustration.
I’d rather go with the simplicity,
just using a long piece of cane.
That’s gonna allow me to get a lot of access...
[imitates line cast] Out there.
Really simple.
So we’re gonna wrap this up for the day
and head back in before I get struck by lightning.
♪ ♪
- The smoker’s pretty much done.
So I’m gonna go find some materials for a rod.
So I’m looking for something that’s relatively straight
that’s got a good taper and a good flex to it.
I’m just gonna make a simple tenkara setup.
And I think one of these branches
on this Doug fir up here might work.
[tense music]
Looks like a good one,
but it’s a pretty good ways up there.
Climbing in a tree with a ax-head.
♪ ♪
It’s not advisable.
♪ ♪
All right.
♪ ♪
Perfect.
I’m gonna kill myself before I even get started.
♪ ♪
I’m gonna get it peeled
so that it can be drying
while I work on my hooks and line and find bait.
♪ ♪
This thing’s got a really pronounced bow,
which is gonna make it superhard to cast,
and so I’m just gonna tie this thing to a tree
and hopefully as it dries it’ll kind of dry straight.
All right.
So I want to try to carve an actual hook
with these antler tines.
But with this tiny little knife,
I mean, it might be doable.
♪ ♪
Gotta be careful with these doing this
’cause they don’t have lock blades on ’em.
They can close on your fingers.
Like that.
I’m never gonna get it done with a tiny little pocketknife.
[groans]
I just gotta figure something else out.
♪ ♪
- I wanna finish my fishing kit today.
I opted to use a cane pole instead of a hobo reel,
and now I’m going to make my hooks.
I’m fortunate enough to have a sour orange tree
that has some substantial barbs on it,
so I’m gonna see about fashioning these
into some hooks.
Ouch.
[sighs]
Ow.
♪ ♪
About 14 pokes later in my finger...
♪ ♪
Ow. 15.
So what I’m looking for are the mature barbs
that aren’t super long, and I’m looking
at little angles like this.
I need to make sure that when that fish takes this bait,
it’s getting that hook stuck in there.
Ouch.
There’s a local pond
and I’ve pulled some good sized largemouth
outta there in the past. Ow.
I also know there’s some catfish lurking
near the bottom, so my plan is to fish these waters.
Ow. [groans]
Okay, the next step I’m doing is I’m just making a loop
with separated inner fibers from my paracord,
and I’m looping it like this
and I’m gonna start lashing from the top down.
[soft music]
I like it ’cause I got double barbs out of it.
And I’m just gonna--I’m gonna impale my bait on both sides.
And I’m gonna hope that when the fish comes up...
[chomps] It just catches this whole thing.
So there’s one.
Let’s build a couple more.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Got some gorge hooks made up yesterday.
So today I wanna look for bait: worms, frogs, lizards,
grasshoppers, anything I can find.
♪ ♪
[bird chirps] Look at that robin up there.
He’s got a big worm in his mouth.
So I’m gonna dig around a little bit in here.
♪ ♪
Ooh.
♪ ♪
Earthworm.
That’s a good sign.
♪ ♪
Oh, we’ll takes that.
♪ ♪
There’s something over here.
It’s like a rodent.
You see it?
Now that’s gonna be good fish bait.
I gotta try and get him.
♪ ♪
I see him, I see him under this rock.
♪ ♪
Yeah, there he is.
Right there.
Got him. Got him.
[somber music]
Sorry, little guy.
But that’s perfect for bait.
We already have the willow branch as my fishing pole
and the hooks made up, so tomorrow morning
the plan is just fishing, fishing, fishing.
Yeah. [laughs]
[laughing] It looks good.
Looks good.
Now that’s the way to end the day.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- My fishing kit is all done.
The smoker’s ready for the fish.
I just gotta go catch some.
Get my fly line tied on here.
All right.
We’re gonna try the wild plum thorn
with a grub on it to start.
This is about the best natural thing
around here as far as hooks go.
They’re really sharp and they work pretty good
as gorge hooks.
That looks like a good spot.
Oh, does he got it?
Does he got it? [inhales]
Ooh, ooh.
Holy cow, I think I got one.
If I can get my line.
Come on, come on, come on.
♪ ♪
Little bass.
Hot dog! [laughs]
Whoo!
Got one on the gorge hook.
Freakin’ awesome.
But this guy’s a little on the small side.
I think I’m gonna need something a little bit bigger
to impress Jordan, so I’m gonna keep at it.
♪ ♪
- Oh, my God. My hook just came off
when I did that.
[gasps] The catfish just took it.
Oh, I’m catching something here.
Yesterday I’d found a dead corn snake,
which is my bait for today.
All right, let’s give it a try.
And I’m gonna go without the bamboo pole.
Trying to cast was a pain.
I just have a small section of bamboo
just to wrap my line around.
It’s quick and effective.
♪ ♪
Nice, and I can see my bait sinking nicely
to the bottom.
♪ ♪
Something just took it.
♪ ♪
[grunts]
Ooh, no you don’t!
Success.
Small, but still a meal.
So what I have left to do is to start my smoker,
but I wanna catch another.
Come on, fish.
♪ ♪
- One frickin’ bite.
♪ ♪
No luck.
This spot seems to be dead.
I have to try something different,
so I think I’m gonna head upriver
and see what else we can find.
Ooh, jeepers!
♪ ♪
[laughs] I got a good bite.
♪ ♪
[gasps] No way, no way!
No way! I got one!
Yes, yes!
That is sweet. He just swallowed it.
See that, see the bone hook in the mouth there?
Now all I gotta do is go and get the smoker prepared.
Honestly, most of the time when you’re in the bush,
you don’t have to spend a ton of time
making a fancy elaborate smoker.
For me, the simpler the better.
Oop, oop, oop.
Get the bait.
Holy crap.
Take it, you little turdhead.
Dang it.
Oop, fish on.
Ooh.
Ah, dah.
There we go.
Two fish. Let’s get smoking.
- So the smoker’s pretty much done,
so I really wanna get more fish
to fill this thing up.
Yes, yes, yes!
[laughs]
Look at this guy.
- I am rapidly running out of time.
So I’m gonna be harvesting a bunch
of these elephant ears to make a nice blanket
around my smoker.
I’m doing something that’s gonna be quick
and efficient and effective.
I’ll smoke it in the ground.
♪ ♪
- Calling it.
I got one fish.
One dumb fish.
- What I’m trying to do here
is have a nice really smoking coal bed
and then I could put my meat over here to the right.
And then I’ll cover the whole thing
in the elephant ears and let it smoke in there.
Ooh, that thing is smoking.
[blows] Gotta make sure that my fire stays
at a nice smolder.
I could burn up my leaves
before I have a chance to get my fish smoked.
♪ ♪
- I’m gonna go ahead and just start a fire.
I got some green serviceberry sticks here.
It’s gonna produce more smoke and a cooler smoke
than dry wood.
And we’ll set that right there.
So I’m just gonna place this bough over the top
just to help hold some of the smoke in.
Just gonna keep this fire going real low
and we’ll come back and eat my one lonely little fish.
[tense music]
- Oh, man, the stakes are high.
[laughing] I--I have built a very quick smoker here.
I’ve got some bark that covers it up.
I got a little fire going in here,
and then I got my fish cut into very thin strips up here.
But I should be able to have all of this fish
thoroughly dried out and edible tomorrow morning.
♪ ♪
- All right, so three days ago
I gave Britt, Joel, and Clay a piece of antler,
a ax head, a little pocketknife,
and some paracord
and challenged them to catch a fish six inches or so,
smoke it, and eat it.
So let’s see how they did.
[suspenseful music]
- All right, you can obviously tell the effect
that the smoke has had in there.
Whew, it’s hot.
♪ ♪
Take it apart. [laughs]
Cooked a little bit more than I would have wanted it to,
but wow.
It really did this fish up nicely.
♪ ♪
[chewing]
Oh, damn.
That tastes like Mongolia.
This stuff came out very tasty.
I think that’s a wrap.
Mm.
♪ ♪
- If I were gonna keep these,
I would let ’em smoke for a little longer.
They’re--got a little bit more moisture
than I would want.
♪ ♪
But got a really good flavor to it.
Wish I didn’t suck so bad and I had some more.
♪ ♪
- And there we have it.
Look at this. Fish jerky.
Check this out. [crunches]
Just snapped it in half.
There is no more moisture.
And now I’m going to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
♪ ♪
Mm.
That is good eating.
♪ ♪
- Primitive fishing is not easy at all
and I was really impressed that all three guys were able
to make it happen and catch a fish and smoke it.
So first off we have Clay.
I really liked his smoker.
I liked that he built it into the hillside,
so the smoke naturally rises up and through.
As for the fishing, he got off to a great start,
caught one right away,
but wasn’t able to snag a second fish.
Next up we have Britt,
who ultimately went with a old handline
and built a nice hook out of the thorns
and was able to catch not one, but two fish
and smoke ’em beautifully in his little smoker
he covered with those big leaves.
I liked that.
And thirdly we’ve got Joel,
who did an excellent job of using materials
and critters that he found in his environment.
He made a really nice gorge hook
out of a chunk of bone he found,
and was able to snag two little rainbow trout.
And then he got ’em smoked in what was a very simple,
but actually very effective smoker.
And his end product was exactly what you want,
so I really liked that.
So this was a really tough challenge to judge
because everyone accomplished
the task and did it well.
But ultimately,
I kind of had to go with
who went above and beyond.
♪ ♪
And that was...
Joel.
Why did I pick Joel?
Not only did he succeed in catching his fish,
we got to see some ingenuity in using materials
that he found around, and most importantly,
he smoked his fish to perfection.
Exactly what you want
in a long-term survival situation
where you’re trying to preserve meat,
not just for a couple days, but for weeks.
Great job, Joel.
You really went above and beyond.
- That was an absolute challenge,
trying to catch those two fish,
and I worked my butt off right until the last minute.
Thank you, Jordan, for seeing that
and giving me the win.
I’m stoked.
♪ ♪