British TV Show Films On Rouge River
DETROIT (WWJ) - With the dramatic industrial backdrop of Zug Island, filming took place on the Rouge River on Tuesday for a British television show called "Extreme Fishing With Robson Green."
"Extreme Fishing" follows actor Robson Green as he travels the globe in search of the most exotic fishing spots, the most unusual fish and the most interesting local fishermen.
Karen Hanna, from Friends of the Rouge, said the film crew goes to different areas around the world and fish in extreme conditions.
Danny Newsome, a 38-year-old fisherman from Detroit's Delray neighborhood, has been fishing for years on the Rouge. Newsome squared off against the host of the show to see who could catch the most fish on the river.
"We set him up with a local fisherman here who works for Marine Pollution Control and they're out fishing on the old Rouge channel," said Hanna.
According to Hanna, the creators of the show decided to film on the Rouge River because of its changing reputation. "It being a very polluted waterway and in a very urbanized river, that there were fish here at all and that you could actually fish on the river," she said.
Hanna said the show read an article about how the pollution on the Rouge had been cleaned up in recent years.
Hanna hoped a fishing competition on the Rouge River will show that the river is still alive despite its reputation as a polluted waterway. She added many people may be surprised to learn that the Rouge can still support fish, birds and other wildlife.
"It can support life at least," said Hanna. "You know, before you didn't have fish up the Rouge. Now, you're able to fish on the Rouge. There are a lot of positive changes that have happened."
As for who will win the fish fight, she's pulling for Newsome.
