This is an old fishing tale from around 15 years ago when i lived back in the UK so the year would be around 2002. i was fishing with my late father Jim - at Longford Farm in Derby-shire, the fishery was still in its infancy back then, and the farmer that owned the complex had not long finished the construction and stocked the lakes. The largest fish in the complex was said to be around 25lb with the majority of fish being in the 5lb - 10lb size range. The fishing was good, 20 or so fish in a day session was normal for us and they fight really hard. Anyway my father did the one thing he shouldn't have and forgot to put his "bait-runner" on... and a savage take from a fish pulled his rod-rest and rod into the water. He dived forward to grab the rod but just missed as it was dragged out of reach and sank out of sight. The commotion that was caused raised a few eyebrows from other anglers and those engaged in a fishing match taking place behind us. The water was deep where we was fishing, around 18ft or so and i didn't want my father to lose his rod and reel, so i stripped down and dived in. Now this really got all the other anglers attention, the following photos, although a bit grainy after scanning where taken by a very nice lady whom was taking part in the fishing match. i swam out to where the rod was last seen and dived under the water. Around 6ft under the water i saw the tip of the rod and grabbed hold and rose to the surface. i then swam a few feet towards the island where i could touch the bottom and reeled the line in, the fish was still on. Several people were now clapping and enjoying the show.
The fish wasn't that large, but it fought with all it's might under the rod tip and by now i think everyone on the lake had stopped what they were doing and were looking on to see what was happening.
it wasn't long before the fish was beaten and i swam back to shore with the fish still on the line.
The fish was safely landed and was a lot smaller than expected, only around 5lb but was a beautiful, linear mirror carp.
i also realised i had my new Samsung mobile phone in my pocket the whole time.... 10 x the cost of the rod and reel combined... oh well you win some - you lose some.
Everyone that had gathered returned to their fishing with big grins and i gave my address to the nice lady who had taken the photos and to my surprise, the photos turned up in the post several weeks later.
And the exciting tale of the guy who swam out into the lake to fight and land a monster carp was a talking point for the next few years at the fishery - i always found it so funny how the size of the fish got bigger and bigger and the battle more epic as as time went by.
Hope you enjoyed this blast from the past. Love to all :)
Fantastic @realtreebivvy, entertaining and delightful story...I had a quick look to see if there were any news reports from the period, but yours will do nicely :D
Affectionate nibbles on your sleeve (if you have one) from Shanti - she's not a lick-dog. She asked me to pass on the message to @minismallholding that she liked the look of Ginger, but was glad she was so far away else she'd end up chasing her. I reminded her that she'd never met a chicken before and had better watch out if she tried anything funny, but I'm not sure if she took me seriously!
And respect to Jim RIP!
Hellooooo @barge and Shanti - hope your both doing well, we could do with a doggie here - we are pestered by local cats trying to get in and kill all the animals - not good i know.
Anyway, saw this Gif and thought of you and Shanti - i know you probably don't have red toenails or maybe you do - i'm not judging, Thank you for the condolences. :)
LOL glad you asked for clarification, mine are green actually :P and thankfully Shanti doesn't go for sudden moves unless play has been signalled! All well here, she's out walking the hills with the DJ... Hmmm, I love cats, but find it very hard to reconcile their blood-lust :(
You crazy nut! With a story like that, I'm thinking we're related. LOL
Hahaha what a great story! I bet you father was happy to get his rod back!
Haha ... I love this fish story. You were so brave. We have alligators around here so jumping into a lake is out of the question.
We fish for fish; and fish fish for phones.
They still tell the story of the day Stuart landed a brand new Samsung.
Who's Stuart? i bet his phone wasn't waterproof either....LOL
Fun story. The crazy things that happen when out there fishing! Blessings.
One reason I opted for the waterproof LG G6. Probably not an option back then! Great story.
Lololol!!!
That's a dedicated fisherman!
Thank you for the smile!!
Who says that fish wasn't big according to you? It could already feed like 3 people here already in the Philippines ^_^ . Great fish-catch story. Would really give you a great smile reminiscing those moments when people gave their applause in astonishment you caught a fish easily without spending hours in a boat hanging your fishing rod on the waters like what we normally think or picture in our minds when you say "fishing" .
Hi @fycee - It's a small fish for a carp, and quite small compared to what i usually catch - i never really got into boat fishing - i prefer my feet on solid ground :)
I see! No worries, "mayt" (mimicking an Aussie Accent) ^_^