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Strange things on the river bank.

Joe Winstanley said:
Pikers lament?
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Not that day Joe - never come close to that since and will be 25 years ago - 2 river Hull 20s in a day. Pikers Dream.
I tell myself it was fate - I hate the sound of bagpipes, he went downstream, I went upstream and hey presto.

Its amazing when you recollect the things you experience
SAS Chinook helicopters buzzing us , flying very low level down the course of the Wye - amazing
Like others, turning up at a ' banker' gravel pit I hadn't fished for years, only to discover it was a full on Duck Pond just minutes too late as the shooters took position for the first drive
Watching a deer swim the width of a huge natural lake in the Dales
Otters trying to kill mink at my feet
Up close and personal with a grey seal - just feet from me in the Swale - obviously a disaster but an experience to see such a big mammal and how elegant it was.
a mad farmer threatening to shoot us because he thought we had poached - we hadn't - he was a well know nutcase and he'd forgot about our lifetime ban the week later when we returned with tenners in our hands

All brilliant and unique angling experiences - always great to reminisce with pals over a pint or two.
 
it wasnt a river but a gravel pit that had a 6ft high bank behind you there was enough room for a shelter below it and I had been there all night under my brolly when directly above me a guy fired both barrels into a Canadian pond goose that crashed down in the water in front of me just short of where my rigs were
in those days I was very fit and good in a scrap and the red mist had come down in an instant I jumped up the guy obviously had no idea I was there I reached up grabbed the barrel with both hands I yanked he came tumbling down from the high bank to the ground letting go of the gun I shouted how are you going to get that bird ? I dont know ! I said I F****** do ! your swimming out and getting it or this gun is going in the pit after I bend it over your head he did swim out and get it and was very apologetic
you couldnt chance doing that theses days as they would probably shoot you after you gave them the gun back lol
 
Met a fully kitted out beautiful young lady in the style of a Pantomime Robin Hood on the banks of the darkest Teme.

Caught a Blackbird on my line in the cast both wings straddled the line, went back fine.

Fishing Severn Stoke a tremendous crash into the water nearby caused me to fall out of my chair, not a Salmon type crash, more like a double decker bus being dropped from a height.
 
Neil Smart said:
Met a fully kitted out beautiful young lady in the style of a Pantomime Robin Hood on the banks of the darkest Teme.

Caught a Blackbird on my line in the cast both wings straddled the line, went back fine.

Fishing Severn Stoke a tremendous crash into the water nearby caused me to fall out of my chair, not a Salmon type crash, more like a double decker bus being dropped from a height.
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I'd have thought you'd have mentioned the 'Nafford big cat' Neil, or perhaps the Mid-winter himalayan balsam petals. :)
 
John Care said:
I'd have thought you'd have mentioned the 'Nafford big cat' Neil, or perhaps the Mid-winter himalayan balsam petals. :)
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No one would believe John :(.
On the big cat...I have seen a few Deer legs, from what was a kill at Nafford, one was in the car park recently 😲
 
Graham Elliott said:
I remember sitting on Ufton on the Kennet and getting showered by falling gun pellet!

My loud screams towards the gun shots seemed to work.
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Same here on the pats upstream a few seasons back. Guys started shooting crows, geese etc, and the water around my swim was peppered with shot raining down around me. A very Loud I'm coming over there in a minute to ram the gun up his arse whilst pressing the trigger, saw them get in their 4x4 and drive off. 😂
 
I have had loads of strange/interesting experiences whilst out on the banks .1- Topless [ female] horse rider rode by giving me a jolly wave ,2- courting couple getting stuck in 10 yards away from me as I sat in deep cover deciding whether to reveal myself or not , decided to keep quiet ...3- Two surgeons on the opposite bank oblivious to my presence,discussing in gory detail some bowel surgery they had just done on a celebrity , and no I won't tell you the name of said famous person . 4 -Fishing under a flood bank as someone picked of rabbits on top of the bank at night with a high velocity rifle . I took my coat off stuck it on the end of my landing net pole and lifted it up to warn them of my presence ,scarey ... .5-Helicopter hovering overhead with search light trained on me , I learnt afterwards they were looking for an escaped prisoner .6- Sat under a brolly in a thunderstorm at night with my 8 year old daughter , sudden deep rasping sound all around , turned out it was cows licking our brolly .A fair few spooky ones but I will save those for the book !
 
Sat one evening fishing on the Ribble down at the bottom of one of its steeper banks, speaking to wife on the phone . All quiet , a peaceful evening, birds chirruping , the odd fish rising, we were chatting away when suddenly there was a bellowing at hundreds of decibels from behind me, at the same time the noise of something big crashing through the bushes and saplings . One second it was all quiet and peaceful, the next all hell broke loose .
To put it mildly I almost did a nasty in my pants . Turning I saw that a cow had slipped down the bank, rolled flattening the undergrowth and come to a halt when stopped by a big oak tree behind me , poor thing was bellowing and shrieking, on its back waving its legs in the air.
Suddenly it stopped , struggled around and stood up ,looked at me , turned , then made its way back up the bank . It must have fallen 25 feet or more.

It was quite a job explaining to SWMBO what had just happened , she had heard the whole thing .

If it had not been for that oak tree I am sure I would have been flattened by a cow ,because it was quite a “ cosy’ swim with nowhere to run to except into the river which was about five or six feet deep there.

David
 
Not a strange thing but an example of how obsessed anglers can be.I was fishing at Throop mill,the forecast was for a boiling hot day.I had set up in a swim fishing a mid river run against a large length of bullrushes.Around mid morning a young couple arrived to fish the opposite bank,obviously prepared for a day in the sun.He proceeded to set up his gear to fish the run the other side of the reeds,I didn't have a problem with that.However his girlfriend was stunning! She had on a skimpy t shirt and shorts which she then took off to reveal an even smaller bikini.She then covered herself in sun tan cream and laid on a sunbed reading a book.I was trying not to look but in my defence she was in a straight line across from my rod tip.Honest.
After a couple of hours she must have become a bit bored and decided to sit on her boyfriends knee and began hugging and kissing him.I then saw his fishing rod hoop over,he picked her up from off his knee and literally threw her onto the bank.He failed to connect with the bite and then went ballistic with her for missing it.She was obviously not happy about being thrown down the bank and a proper domestic ensued which resulted in her storming off.I was full of admiration for his dedication when he carried on fishing.She came back when she had calmed down and they began to "kiss and make up".I moved swims.
 
Adrian Mitchell said:
Not a strange thing but an example of how obsessed anglers can be.I was fishing at Throop mill,the forecast was for a boiling hot day.I had set up in a swim fishing a mid river run against a large length of bullrushes.Around mid morning a young couple arrived to fish the opposite bank,obviously prepared for a day in the sun.He proceeded to set up his gear to fish the run the other side of the reeds,I didn't have a problem with that.However his girlfriend was stunning! She had on a skimpy t shirt and shorts which she then took off to reveal an even smaller bikini.She then covered herself in sun tan cream and laid on a sunbed reading a book.I was trying not to look but in my defence she was in a straight line across from my rod tip.Honest.
After a couple of hours she must have become a bit bored and decided to sit on her boyfriends knee and began hugging and kissing him.I then saw his fishing rod hoop over,he picked her up from off his knee and literally threw her onto the bank.He failed to connect with the bite and then went ballistic with her for missing it.She was obviously not happy about being thrown down the bank and a proper domestic ensued which resulted in her storming off.I was full of admiration for his dedication when he carried on fishing.She came back when she had calmed down and they began to "kiss and make up".I moved swims.
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"I then saw his fishing rod hoop over"

I thought you were being euphemistic at that point! 🤣
 
Paul Richardson said:
Imagine the scene- it’s early January and a perfect pikers morning , frost underfoot , mist rising off the river and surrounding fields. Well away from civilisation and birdsong the only noise until…..I hear an infernal racket that startles me so much that I fall off my chair.
I scramble off the ground to see and hear a bloke in kilt and full regalia starting up a set of bagpipes!
And off he wanders along the flood bank making the biggest din I’ve ever heard and disappears into the mist
Never saw him return but did move swims and later had a 26 & 21 - never had a twenty before
A day I’ll never forget
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Weel by any chance Paul?
 
The 'Wild Fowler's' were a common sighting on our local river in the 70's. An impressive sight at the time up river in the back-and-beyond.

I was winter piking on the Yorkshire Derwent in the 90's and chatting to a fellow angler. We both noticed a fully grown Mallard duck moving very slowly upstream, fully submerged, except for his neck and head. It slowly sank out of sight not to be seen again. It had been taken from a far bank overhanging tree where my large herring had been soaking away... motionless. It's female 'feathered partner' was going berserk.
 
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