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Strange catch....

Many years ago, during a visit to the Thames at Datchet, in the school summer holidays, I hooked what I thought was bottom, it started to move slowly down stream and I walked with it, it slowly came to the surface and it turned out to be a very white and very bloated hand.

I tied the rod down, went to the local pub "The Lord Nelson" as I recall and phoned the old bill.

When they turned up we pulled it back to the surface, they tied a rope to the arm but unfortunately the appendage did not have the dimensional stability to remain intact, so we had to wait for some divers to lift it out more carefully.

Seems he had fallen from a boat several weeks previously!!

In those days there were no "victim support units" and I was not deemed to need counselling (strange because if anyone needs counselling it is........), anyway I did manage to pick up 3 nice Chub before my dad turned up to collect me!

I can still remember the smell though!!
 
Keith, i think i need counselling having just read that! I bet that is etched into your memory..
 
Used to drink in the Nelson Keith. Being an young, unwashed motorcyclist in those days the landlord took an instant dislike to me and used to wipe the beer money I handed over on a tea towel before putting it in the till. I think I should have had counselling for that actually. An Italian restaurant now, having failed as a curry house.
And that stretch you describe is where I had my first cast aged 4. Happy days.
 
If anyone has ever fished the TAA water on the Severn at Buildwas they will be aware of a bit in the woods at the bottom of the stretch which is often festooned in police incident tape, just about anything which goes in the river above the village ends up in that corner and there have been several bodies recovered there over the years.
I have to agree about the smell, I used to work in medical engineering and our workshops were opposite the hospital morgue, we always knew when they had a 'wet one' in, the smell would linger in the air and lodge in your pores. My mate Garry was the tech in there and an ex para who served in the Falklands and NI, he could sit in the office and eat his sandwiches with that stink in the next room, just shows you can get used to anything.
 
Adrian
The only reason he carried on eating was because he was a Para, his mates would have called him a pussey if he hadn't!:)
And I'll bet he called you a bunch of craphats for not doing as he did!


In reality he was probably right on his chinstrap!!


For 6 months I worked in a morgue, we saw all sorts, but for me the worst was a customer that had passed away in a fire, when we unzipped the bag, first reaction was roast pork, second reaction was.........................

Could not eat it for years after, but as you say, you can get eventually get used to anything!
 
Looks like I need some counselling after reading the last few posts :eek:

Ah yes, The Lord Nelson. Many years since I had a drink in there, probably 25 or more :confused:
 
Keith Speer said:
Adrian
The only reason he carried on eating was because he was a Para, his mates would have called him a pussey if he hadn't!:)
And I'll bet he called you a bunch of craphats for not doing as he did!


In reality he was probably right on his chinstrap!!


For 6 months I worked in a morgue, we saw all sorts, but for me the worst was a customer that had passed away in a fire, when we unzipped the bag, first reaction was roast pork, second reaction was.........................

Could not eat it for years after, but as you say, you can get eventually get used to anything!
Click to expand...
oh, crackling...:eek:
 
I know what you mean about the roast pork smell Keith, during my first year in the RAF I had to go out to clean up a crash site where one of our Phantoms had hit a crop sprayer, the pilot of the cropsprayer was compressed into the last two foot of the fuselage which had burnt and effectively barbecued him, put me off for a while as well.
 
In many respect we are quite close to pigs. Our flesh tastes very similar to pork - I found this out when on a trip to a small island off Papua New Guinea, where unknown to me meat is in short supply and hence recycled. Replacement heart valves for humans are sourced from pigs.
 
stuff

Many years ago I used to crew on a charter boat on the Yorkshire coast, one day we had a dozen miners from Barnsley on, they were using Giant Scarborough reels, 100 lb mono ,solid glass boat rods, and 2 lb lead pirks with 8/0 trebles.
One lad got stuck on the bottom, being the creweman, it was my job to get it free, as I wrapped the line around my well padded arm and pulled, the end gear began to lift, but I could feel it pulling back, I said Big fish on here, the miner, a big burly chap picked up the rod, I released the line and he began to winch it up, the rod tip was bucking around , and every so often he would stop for a rest and just hold on to the rod, eventually the big un surfaces, it was a spring mattress...
It had obviously been in the water for some time, the springs had rusted some,the 8/0 trebles had hooked through the material cover, and as it had come up through the water table, the cover had ripped, the hooks then had caught on the springs,which made it bounce and feel like a fighting fish.
Goodness knows how a mattress ended up 10 miles off Flamborough Head.


Dave
 
David Craine said:
Many years ago I used to crew on a charter boat on the Yorkshire coast, one day we had a dozen miners from Barnsley on, they were using Giant Scarborough reels, 100 lb mono ,solid glass boat rods, and 2 lb lead pirks with 8/0 trebles.
One lad got stuck on the bottom, being the creweman, it was my job to get it free, as I wrapped the line around my well padded arm and pulled, the end gear began to lift, but I could feel it pulling back, I said Big fish on here, the miner, a big burly chap picked up the rod, I released the line and he began to winch it up, the rod tip was bucking around , and every so often he would stop for a rest and just hold on to the rod, eventually the big un surfaces, it was a spring mattress...
It had obviously been in the water for some time, the springs had rusted some,the 8/0 trebles had hooked through the material cover, and as it had come up through the water table, the cover had ripped, the hooks then had caught on the springs,which made it bounce and feel like a fighting fish.
Goodness knows how a mattress ended up 10 miles off Flamborough Head.


Dave
Click to expand...
what did it weigh....:D:D
 
A mate of my Brother who is a surgeon once hooked a corpse while fly fishing. Seeing as the corpse wasn't going anywhere, he carried on fishing then phoned the Police when he went home latter that day. I only mention he is a surgeon because he wanted to be a gynecologist, but his fingers were too small!
 
"Surely it was on the sea bed"

Thats really bad David.....dont known why I didnt think of that one ,

Another strange catch was one time I was fishing with the works sea angling club, cannot remember where, probably Whitby, one of the lads was using some muppet type things he had tied himself, unique, made with some sort of ribbon his wife had used in dressmaking,anyway, he hooked a fish and managed to lose it as he was reeling in, tackle failiure, his line parted on the hooklength........we moved position to a reef a couple of miles away, and much later in the day on the way in decided to give the mark that he had lost the fish at another drift, I hit a Cod of about 8 lb or so, and when I boated it, saw that it had the home made muppet hooked fairly in the mouth, I gave my mate his muppet back, but kept the fish.

Dave.


Dave
 
Andy Millichamp said:
I caught a full-size keepnet from the River Anker a couple of years ago. Sadly it had some holes in it or I'd have kept it.

Deano was fishing for baitfish a couple of weeks ago and had the biggest catch of the weekend .... me! He hooked me right in the little finger when casting :mad:. His concern for my welfare consisted of rolling around in floods of laughter.
Click to expand...

:D
 
Strangest ever catch was at Grafham water while trout fishing......hooked, played and landed 2 rainbows but was only using a single fly!!!!!! :D

Best ever catch was a bucket...........fought like mad in deep water for 5 mins, the rolled over and gave up at the net!
 
From Monday night a electric fence post hooked fair and square in the curly bit the wire runs through!
 

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