A 1st after 60yrs angling.

[Millers Thumb]

I was enjoying my first trip to my local club ponds yesterday since last october catching rudd, perch, and the odd roach nearly every put in on the pole, i wasnt aware i was been watched!!!!!! i was ready for packing in about 2.30 ....the float dipped again and another fish was on its way to the net when all hell let loose as the small fish broke the surface, Mr Heron swooped down from nowhere and in a split second he was on his way across the pond with my fish in his gob followed by my rig and what seemed like 30mtrs of 3-5 solid elastic, luckly i got everything back bar the fish and my hooklength, rig was trashed, Mr Heron got his dinner and i had a good laugh about it afterwards. Ive seen and heard some funny things in my 60 angling years but that was probably the best.

 

[robert d]

I was enjoying my first trip to my local club ponds yesterday since last october catching rudd, perch, and the odd roach nearly every put in on the pole, i wasnt aware i was been watched!!!!!! i was ready for packing in about 2.30 ....the float dipped again and another fish was on its way to the net when all hell let loose as the small fish broke the surface, Mr Heron swooped down from nowhere and in a split second he was on his way across the pond with my fish in his gob followed by my rig and what seemed like 30mtrs of 3-5 solid elastic, luckly i got everything back bar the fish and my hooklength, rig was trashed, Mr Heron got his dinner and i had a good laugh about it afterwards. Ive seen and heard some funny things in my 60 angling years but that was probably the best.

Thats amazing

 

[Millers Thumb]

Thats amazing

Theres no pike in any of our ponds....but just for a split second i thought there was.

 

[robert d]

Theres no pike in any of our ponds....but just for a split second i thought there was.

Id have jumped out my skin , would have been great to capture on film

 

[Millers Thumb]

Id have jumped out my skin , would have been great to capture on film

Thats exactly what wife said when i told her, i said you could set cameras up and wait a lifetime for an oppertunity like that.

 

[robert d]

Thats exactly what wife said when i told her, i said you could set cameras up and wait a lifetime for an oppertunity like that.

Yes it would never happen again ,not with the camera waiting lol. I had a funny one although i felt sad , a dragon fly was pestering me gor ages ,flying toward me back away then toward me ,i was a bit scared ,it landed on my keep net and i threw a stone ,it hit him ,it fell into the water and a duck from 20 yards away flew swam and nabbed it , i couldnt believe it

 

[Millers Thumb]

Thats the beauty about nature rob, has i was packing my gear away...smiling to myself,, i thought if only he had asked nicely i would have given him a few perch, the greedy sod.

 

[TimFB]

Sea fishing for bass with live baits in shallow water, we have more than the occasional problem with gannets picking up freelined live sand eel. They are big birds and are a nightmare to unhook as they can inflict some serious damage on unprotected skin. You have to don gloves, net the outraged beastie using the landing net like some weird kind of butterfly net, trap the bird on the boat deck in the net and remove the hook. Then comes the REALLY fun bit - the release .... as soon as you you turn the net over it fixes you with a cold stare and you’ve got only a 50% chance getting away without being pecked or pooed on or both ps you need to play them with a lightly set drag and lots of side strain and be alive to the fact that the ******s won’t fly backwards no matter how hard you pull

 

[Silverfisher]

Sea fishing for bass with live baits in shallow water, we have more than the occasional problem with gannets picking up freelined live sand eel. They are big birds and are a nightmare to unhook as they can inflict some serious damage on unprotected skin. You have to don gloves, net the outraged beastie using the landing net like some weird kind of butterfly net, trap the bird on the boat deck in the net and remove the hook. Then comes the REALLY fun bit - the release .... as soon as you you turn the net over it fixes you with a cold stare and you’ve got only a 50% chance getting away without being pecked or pooed on or both ps you need to play them with a lightly set drag and lots of side strain and be alive to the fact that the ******s won’t fly backwards no matter how hard you pull

I've had pretty much that exact experience with a cormorant taking a live bait in Florida, is an interesting experience isn't it! Have had them go after hooked fish a few times but can see it coming then so can avoid them but when that one took the live bait I never saw it dive so though I'd just got a bite

Have come incredibly close to the same happening with Pelicans a few times, that would have been one heck of a scuffle!

 

[robert d]

I've had pretty much that exact experience with a cormorant taking a live bait in Florida, is an interesting experience isn't it! Have had them go after hooked fish a few times but can see it coming then so can avoid them but when that one took the live bait I never saw it dive so though I'd just got a bite

Have come incredibly close to the same happening with Pelicans a few times, that would have been one heck of a scuffle!

I hooked 2 ducks at thirsk ,put hook pellets on cast out ,didnt realise they were floaters until i hooked 2nd duck ,lesson learnt ,

 

[Silverfisher]

I hooked 2 ducks at thirsk ,put hook pellets on cast out ,didnt realise they were floaters until i hooked 2nd duck ,lesson learnt ,

Pretty sure in my teenage years I probably managed a grandslam of hooking ducks, geese, swans, moorhens etc thankfully don’t remember landing any but that cormorant was landed fair and square. Unhooking it was worse than unhooking a shark flipping horrible thing good job we had gloves.

 

[dandan2000]

Fishing the tip at a country park in a match. I hit a tentative bite and the rod bent double, it stripped 20 yards of line straight away, I played it for ages, big crowd behind me and as I got my net ready it rolled... a few ooohs and arrrrghs, then the splashing commenced as an angry grebe surfaced!!!
The passers by were disgusted!

 

[DAMFLASK CHRIS]

I was enjoying my first trip to my local club ponds yesterday since last october catching rudd, perch, and the odd roach nearly every put in on the pole, i wasnt aware i was been watched!!!!!! i was ready for packing in about 2.30 ....the float dipped again and another fish was on its way to the net when all hell let loose as the small fish broke the surface, Mr Heron swooped down from nowhere and in a split second he was on his way across the pond with my fish in his gob followed by my rig and what seemed like 30mtrs of 3-5 solid elastic, luckly i got everything back bar the fish and my hooklength, rig was trashed, Mr Heron got his dinner and i had a good laugh about it afterwards. Ive seen and heard some funny things in my 60 angling years but that was probably the best.

i had 3 fish after you left only saw the heron fly over only had worm for bait though

 

[rudd]

I have had duck, moorehen and a pheasant!

 

[mikeb511]

HI it happened to Kevin Ashurst on the river weaver i was on the next peg to him, he was swinging a roach in and the next thing a Heron came and grabs the fish and was gone Kev was not happy

 

[Zerkalo]

That's pretty amazing. The closest I have had is a bird fly into the line when Barbel fishing. Tip slammed over. I thought for a second I'd had a vicious bite until I realised what happened.

 

[DAMFLASK CHRIS]

Father in law had a duck take a worm on a bubble float ment for trout even took off managed to reel it back in safely

 

[RedhillPhil]

I managed on Grebe on Puma lake at Monks about ten years ago.
Once watched a fellow angler at Prince's Parade whack one out to the far blue yonder - about eighty yards really - and score a direct hit on a Herring gull which was sat on the surface.

 

[Millers Thumb]

i had 3 fish after you left only saw the heron fly over only had worm for bait though

If id known you were a fellow MD you could have had my spare pinkies. see you again im sure, take care.

 

[Millers Thumb]

I have had duck, moorehen and a pheasant!

Were you in a Fur n Feather.