Animal Intrusions

wanderer · Nov 7, 2015

After reading an article about somebody evacuating his swim because of rats, i am asking you guys whether you have had any incidents with the local wildlife that has caused you problems. I used to feed a fox on a regular basis at a local leisure park, it had no fear of humans and although not confident enough to approach me, stood off and readily accepted sandwiches. On one of the Estate lakes i fish, a pedigree Texel ram decided to chew my pocket, i tapped him on the nose and he retreated, i thought he was just going but no, he just allowed himself a run upand bounced me heavily on the ground, much to the amusement of my pals. Snakes, mossies, ants , even ruddy bats, come on lets hear your tales of woe or joy.

theartist · Nov 7, 2015

We had a pet fox we used to feed behind the Chinese I used to work, manky old thing he was with one eye but he still let us feed the fox.

Seriously though the fox had seen better days but had sharp teeth as my foot found out one night when for some reason I thought it would like to smell my feet like a cat would. Pretty stupid as I normally just put a foot in my own mouth enough times, still you learn that canvas Adidas trainers are no match for a set of feral knashers.

wanderer · Nov 7, 2015

Hee, Hee, i like that, but you still loved him.

iannate · Nov 7, 2015

wanderer said:
On one of the Estate lakes i fish, a pedigree Texel ram decided to chew my pocket, i tapped him on the nose and he retreated, i thought he was just going but no, he just allowed himself a run upand bounced me heavily on the ground

Reading this, I laughed so much I nearly wet myself tee hee

peter crabtree · Nov 7, 2015

wanderer · Nov 7, 2015

iannate said:
Reading this, I laughed so much I nearly wet myself tee hee

Thats why i dont fish in the field with the poetry room come Temple in much, Mick the bailiff did wet himself.

The Sogster · Nov 7, 2015

I once remember my mate setting up on top of a wasp nest. He thought at first that the massive swarms of angry stripeys were after his molasses based groundbait until he realised they were all coming out of a hole in the bank under his chair.

He flung all his tackle backwards over his head up the bank before executing a backward roll out of his chair with the alacrity of Nadia Comaneci.

I never laughed once, honest.

robtherake · Nov 7, 2015

Fishing with a friend at a local lake, we noticed a one-legged goose stuck between the otter fence and a dense planting of fir trees. An investigation revealed that its other leg, folded up underneath, had line embedded pretty deeply just above the ankle/heel (or whatever it might be called) region.

Not being the brightest sparks, we decided to catch it and attempt to remove the mono, so a couple of minutes later we approached from either side and caught it in a classic pincer movement. Dave held it, one arm around wings and body, the other just below its head, while I performed the operation with forceps.

It went well, but we now faced a bit of a dilemma as the only way out was back over the fence so we could release it by the pond, safer from ground-based predation, we thought. I climbed back over, ready for the handover, but Dave let go before I had a proper grip and its wings shot out, the "knuckle" whacking me in the temple far harder than any human being ever did. It's the one and only time when I really did see stars, just like in Tom and Jerry; I was properly out on my feet for a couple of seconds. Bloody ungrateful bird sauntered off without so much as a by-your-leave.

binka · Nov 7, 2015

I've encountered a mink which followed me whilst roving to the point where a sheer flood bank met the water and there was nowhere left to go, the mink had no fear at all but it didn't cause a problem in the end.

Swans moving in and upending to snaffle my bed of feed on a shallow estate lake were a different matter and did cause me to move, they just cleared up what I'd left and then followed me to the next swim

mg:

peterjg · Nov 8, 2015

I've listed a few below during many years of carp fishing:

I once cleared a swim and inadvertently bivvid up on a mice nest. They drove me mad all night, scampering on the ground sheet and they even bit a hole in a bait bucket. I had to move swims in the morning.

In another swim I put up my bivvy but failed to notice an entrance to a nest of cuckoo bees by the front edge of the ground sheet, the bees were coming and going all day, very off-putting.

On another occasion I work up in the morning to find literally dozens of harvester spiders in the corners do my bivvy - I hate spiders!

Anther time I had my rubbish bag stolen by a fox. The other anglers thought it very funny that the fox preferred it to my bait bag!

I was woken one night by a strange scuffing noise coming from under my bedchair caused by a huge toad!

flightliner · Nov 8, 2015

I was bivied up one night on a notts lake carping. The following morning still spragged out on my bed chair and groggy with sleep I shoved my arm into my ruckie searching for my flask of coffee.
I felt a wierd movement on my forearm and turning my head saw ratty as large as you like with a half tea biscuit in his hands. It was a bit surreal as he was in no hurry , he just sort of left in no haste whatsoever.

wanderer · Nov 8, 2015

How many of you have had Mr slug make your early morning coffee extra creamy, yuk.

Keith M · Nov 8, 2015

I awoke in my bivvie once to find a hedgehog fast asleep in my frying pan under my bed. It had got in and licked all the fat out of the pan and fell asleep in the pan.

Another night a huge rat tried to drag my loaf of bread into the undergrowth and hissed at us as we scared it off.

I awoke one night to see a rat sitting on my tacklebox about a foot away from my face.

One morning when we were fishing a small river we heard a lot of squeeling and commotion in the next swim and then saw a small stoat dragging a dead rabbit into the undergrowth.

One evening when I was Tenching at a local estate lake I heard a small noise behind me and saw a fox sitting watching me fish, after a few minutes it wandered off around the lake and I heard screeching and it sounded like it had caught a pheasant or duck or something similar.

I once disturbed an adder which was sunning itself on the path around our lake.

I've had robins sitting on my rod, had Wrens under my chair after my maggots, and seen a magpie following a heron around the lake trying to steal its fish.

And one morning I found a bat swinging from an overhannging branch which had managed to hook itself after taking a maggot hanging from some line that had been caught in the branch (I managed to reach it and release it).

I could go on and on but it's just the sort of things that most of us see throughout our fishing lives LOL.

Keith

binka · Nov 8, 2015

wanderer said:
How many of you have had Mr slug make your early morning coffee extra creamy, yuk.

Yes I've had something similar when I took a drink from a can during a night session and put my lips right on a slug that had made it's way up, they taste surprisingly salty

uke:

Keith M said:
One morning when we were fishing a small river we heard a lot of squeeling and commotion in the next swim and then saw a small stoat dragging a dead rabbit into the undergrowth.

I once witnessed the exact same thing Keith, I was staying on my sisters narrowboat at the time and had opened the cabin doors very early one morning to have a crafty fag and the noise that a distressed rabbit can make is truly chilling... I wouldn't like to hear it during a night session

theartist · Nov 8, 2015

wanderer said:
Hee, Hee, i like that, but you still loved him.

Thing is he got famous and the next weekend he was in the local newspaper and I never saw him since. I like to think celebrity status went to his head and he went to Hollywood.

robtherake · Nov 8, 2015

binka said:
I've encountered a mink which followed me whilst roving to the point where a sheer flood bank met the water and there was nowhere left to go, the mink had no fear at all but it didn't cause a problem in the end.

Swans moving in and upending to snaffle my bed of feed on a shallow estate lake were a different matter and did cause me to move, they just cleared up what I'd left and then followed me to the next swim mg:

There's a swan lives on the big bend on the Tees at Thornaby; a very friendly avian indeed and an inveterate scrounger. On a particularly slow afternoon it ate all of the two and a half white loaves I'd brought and was still waiting for more. Probably not the best nutrition for a bird, but boy, could it eat!

---------- Post added at 06:28 ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 ----------

Night fishing for tench on a York lake with a mate, we'd bagged two long platforms that pushed out through the lilies and were always good for a few fish.

All was quiet, apart from the usual scratchings and snuffles until there came an almighty spladoosh from the direction of my friend's platform. Arriving there, all I could see was a series of diminishing ripples and no sign of an angler. I don't swim well, having negative buoyancy, but having put two and two together....

Seconds later, a forlorn figure rose from the water, capped by a lily leaf. A couple more seconds passed before I got the "Don't just stand there..." routine, but by this time I was so weak with laughter I was in danger of going in myself. I eventually got it together enough to drag him back to the platform with the aid of a landing net, where he dripped miserably for a bit before getting changed into dry gear and finally offering an explanation.

He has a pathological fear of Ratty and had reached down for some corn and grabbed a warm and furry body instead! Before he knew it he was up and had taken a few involuntary backward steps and....well, you've heard the rest.

john gotti · Nov 9, 2015

Cows cows cows....I hate them and they hate me..they seem to smell fear...iv had so many runnings with these horrible things over the years but I remember one paticular incident where I was fishing on the wharfe at easedyke in a seemingly cow free field...I couldn't buy a bite so decided to move when I climbed up the steep bank I realised the field was actually far from cowless in fact it was full of cows and one giant steroid head of a bull..honest I have never seen a bull like it..they were some distance away but had noticed me the safety of the fence into the next field was about 300 yards away...first thing I did was remove my lucky red wooly "John sidley"hat...I made a brake for it but my thigh waders were slowing me down plus my combat pants were a bit big for me and started sliding down...I started to run but so did the cows they ran past me and cut me off so I got into the relative safety of some thick undergrowth and small trees I set my brolly up in front of me as a kind of defenceive barrier they surrounded me and the bull just stared at me in a very intimidating manner...anyway to cut long story short three and a half hours later darkness set in and the cows toddled off home and I was free the funny thing is you usually see a few dog walkers and other anglers..but nothing also I had no reception on my phone and somehow in my panic I had lost my lighter so couldn't even have a smoke...like I say I HATE THEM......

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Peter Jacobs · Nov 9, 2015

Thankfully I have never been bothered (too much) by rampant rats.

In my bivvy days, or actually nights, I always used to sleep with the door flap unzipped. On two occasions I awoke in the middle of the night to find a fox's nose just an inch from mine!

Both times the Fox seemed more bothered than me and shot back outside and disappeared . . . . .

I will add, (before people take exception) that I only ever fish up to about an hour or two after dark, then retrieve my rods and pack away for a few hours sleep. Typically I wake an hour or so before dawn, bait up and recast and then fish again.

Those on here who have been on fish-ins will know that to be true.

dorsetandchub · Nov 9, 2015

Bet it wouldn't be if Natalie Portman rocked up in yer bivvy

snooozer · Dec 15, 2015

Some great stories.

Only one incident for me so far.
Forgot to zip up my bait bag sitting in the Bivvy and upon opening the top to retrieve some boilies a mouse scurried out....End of story

Animal Intrusions

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