Host of national fishing show visits Austin to film

Mike Ianconelli spends each week in a different city to uncover exotic fish from all over the world.
His passion has taken him to Taiwan, New York, Miami, and now, Austin.

"For me this is sort of the last great sport in my opinion that connects you with nature."

On NatGeo Wild’s "Fish My City" Mike guides viewers on a journey as he tells stories of bizarre and beautiful fish in rivers, ponds, canals and even sewer systems! He didn't do that in Austin, but he did visit shoal creek.

"When it rains or floods you'll see fish go downstream in the Lady Bird Lake. And you'll also see them come back up. But they're survivors."

We asked him how the recent flooding in Central Texas impacted his fishing trip.

"Fish are smart and they'll move to survive. Even under drought conditions these fish can survive and that's pretty awesome."

Mike is a competitive fisherman that fishes in professional bass competitions. On his show, he challenges himself to capture 3 different species of fish each time he visits a city. In the capital city of Texas, he's urban fishing, city fishing, and street fishing. Catching creatures of all shapes and sizes in areas not so expected.

"It's this challenge. I can compete with the wildlife by myself and that's really cool."