Seen it all?

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John McLaren

Guest
Nicely observed article Phil. But I suspect there are lots of strange, weird or wonderful for all of us anglers to see on the banks (especially the wilder river banks.

In a not dis-similar episode Rob Cragg was startled on the upper Severn by an otter that dragged an eel to shore at his feet. After wrestling with the 'snake' for a short while the otter realised it had company and ran off leaving the eel behind. It stoppe a few yards away and after weighing up the situation must have decided that for a scouser Rob looked harmless enough and ran back in to grab its prize before leaving a delighted angler alone oce more.

An amazing incident I observed is, on reflection, probably normal behaviour. Again on the Severn I heard rustling in the undergrowth to my left, followed by a splash. Expecting to see a water vole I looked up to see a grey squirrel, tail held high behind it, paddling like mad for the far bank. The river was in a fair flood and the squirrel made landfall a good 75 yards downstream. Has anyone else observed this behaviour?
 
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Fred Bonney

Guest
I've seen a squirrel do much the same thing,but he appeared to fall out of a tree and swam to the bank on the same side,the river was in flood,so i thought he was a gonna but he survived ,must be quite strong swimmers.
My most remembered sqirrell activity,I was sitting on the bank at Hatfield Forest lake,there was a lot of noise going on behind me, so looking round, I saw a squirrell pulling somebody's left over bloomer loaf from a bin.He succeeded, but the loaf was longer than him and almost certainly heavier.The same day I had a collar dove eating out of my baitbucket!
My best sighting, was sitting fishing the Chelmer,I could hear a high pitched call and coming from somewhere over my shoulder a response.I traced the noise,to the opposite bank to me, a stoat was standing on it's hind legs,flashing his white chest, calling to his mate behind me.
These are all part of the reason I still go fishing,despite all the blanks.
 
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Dave Silvers

Guest
Not quite the same, but it goes to show how difficult it is for people to adapt their way of thinking.
About 18 months ago I was in Scotland camping by Loch Lomond, on an early morning walk I noticed one of the litter bins (the black plastic bag type) had been ravaged and litter and food was strewn everywhere.
As I approached the bin thinking it was the work of a squirrel a woman approached from the opposite direction, and said in the broadest Austrialian accent, "It must have been a possum mate"
 
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michael brown

Guest
Early this year me and a mate fished a new club water.While sitting at my peg I heard a splash and squeals then rustling in the bushes next to me.I crept over and looked to see what it was and found a rabbit quaking in the undergrowth,then a mink appeared about 2 feet away from it,head in the air,sniffing like mad for the rabbit.At this point I called my mate over but spooked the rabbit,which flew up the bank and leapt through a mesh fence.It seems that the mink had dragged the rabbit in and after a struggle,managed to escape.Is there anything they won't eat?????
 
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The Monk

Guest
Excellent piece Phil, like my mustellidaes, a beautiful animal, yes we have a few mink in Cheshire, rarely seen though unless you are tracking them.
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
Beautiful to look at, not so beautiful when you get them on a water. They don't just do the fish in, one bit of water I fish the reed warblers have disappeared since their arrival a couple of years back.
 
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Kevin Cox

Guest
I watched a documantary which claimed that an adult mink is capable of taking more than twenty hens in one night, which i personaly find hard to believe, unless i missheard it.
But if this is true, it makes you wonder how many fish they eat?
 
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Jon Moores

Guest
They are supposed to take more waterfowl and animals than fish, though I have seen them with chub as well as rabbits on the Dane. Moorhens and water voles are favourites, with mink being blamed (probably fairly) for the elimination of water voles in most places. Not sure about them being rarely seen - I've found them to be ridiculously bold little critters, that will stare at you as if to demand you get out of their way.
 
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Fred Bonney

Guest
A few years back,sitting on the bank of the Grand Union canal,I heard a lot of squeeking coming along the towpath and turned to see a family of 4 young mink and I assume their mother, as I turned she stood up on her hind legs as if to warn me off,I can tell you it worked!They're a common sight up here in the Milton Keynes area.
 
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stuart palfrey

Guest
THE only good mink is a fur coat,i have seen the rabid murder they wreak.We still have not seen the worst vengeneance.
 
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The Monk

Guest
Its no good critisizing the poor old mink, it wouldnt even be in this bloody country if it wasnt for the greedy bast**ds who introduced it. Nature has a pretty good way of sorting itself out, then we get involved!
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
Horrible things mink. Truly one of the most evil of animals to have got to this country.

There used to be a number of them down the river Leam near Offchurch in Warks. On several occasions I have seen the damage they do to chub.

I found a simple way of disposing of them using a big deep landing net and a piece of bread. Anyone interested in this technique might contact me.
 
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Phil Hatton

Guest
If I remember rightly the current population of the furry little bastards is descended from those 'liberated' from a fur farm near Wincham about twenty years ago.Although it is true that they were being farmed for cash it's the bloody bunny-huggers we have to thank for the current situation.I wonder if they ever paused,even for a moment, to consider the environmental ramifications of what they were doing.Personally I doubt it ,people like that are usually so wrapped up in their idealism that they can no longer see past their self-righteousness.
 
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David Bruce

Guest
I regularly see mink on the Dane above at and below Swettenham. But what I have also seen is cage traps unset and discarded in the hedgerows. Now I don't know what they had been intended for, mink I hope but they were not doing any good unset and thrown aside. Tempted as I was I didnot reset them as the owners of the waters may be involved and I'd hate to be the cause of the loss of fishing rights on such a fine water.
On another topic I once had the fishing on a private pool and was sat on my seat wondering what was russtling the dry leaves about my feet. This went on for over 15 mins and I still couldnot see what was doing it. Eventually all was revealed -it was a tiny shrew no more than 2 inches long more hidden by the leaves than revealed. In 50 years of country life it is the only time i have seen a live one and at my feet at that.
I can only agree with many of the earlier writers - anglers see, and enjoy, more than most other country visitors. Take the recent example of the so called decline of Kingfishers so publicised on the radio by I presume our birdy friends. On the rivers, pools and canals that I frequent kingfishers seem shoulder to shoulder within their reasonable territorial bonds and there is definetly no shortage showing. There's no substitute for spending quite unobtrusive time on the river, in the field if you want to get a clear picture of what is going on.
 
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The Monk

Guest
Your dead right Phil, these people have a lot to answer for and they have caused considerable damage to the natural ecological balance, having said that, if we didnt have them in this country in the first place, these loonys couldnt have released them. The problem with Mink in Britain is of course its lack of natural preditors, maybe we should introduce Grizzly's to the Dane?
 
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The Monk

Guest
Interestingly, I've recently read some papers which suggests Otters compete for the same ecological niche as Mink and it may be intereting to see which way the balance will go and which will be the predomonant specie over the next twenty year or so?
 
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chris hall

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ive seen them on the lower reaches of the ribble and on the river darwen.cheeky little sods those mink,ive seen them with eels and small birds.whilst ive been fishing the little sods were swimming around right infront of me.ive also caught one of them in my bait bag,which promptly got its arse kicked into orbit after it tried to have a do at me!oi! mink! NO!!!!.I started carrying my black widdow slingshot around for a while after that.
 
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Bob Watson

Guest
Monk
Mink aren't native to the UK as said before, they were released into our countryside by a bunch of idiots who didn't have a clue about the havoc they were about to wreak, I've said before and say it again that nature finds a balance. Saying that, it can take too long to balance out, think of red squirrels against grey,I've never seen a red for years and greys are real cheeky bastards.
I digress, and hope that otters force mink out of their(Otters) natural environment.
 
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Bob Watson

Guest
While were on the subject of things native to our countryside...

Cormorants!!!!! I know it's been covered in other threads, but I've kept my mouth shut until I've had permission to make this public by a local fishery owner who is affected by them.

The best deterrent is to shoot one, nail it to a fence visible by all visitors,(Including Cormorants)and leave it there. Since he's done it he's had no bother off them.

He has been visited by the police, who took no further action, probably coz the desk seargeant was a keen angler.
 
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The Monk

Guest
yea Bob, your right about Mink of course, we need to introduce coogars and grizzly's, that would sort out the ecological balance, legislation is on its way for the poor old cormorant, another ecological disaster created by us, lets also introduce wild boar and wolves, oh no, its already being done, the fact that the environment no longer exists is surely only a small technocality?
 
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