I saw a whole duck disappear this evening. Not one of my flies, not a duckling; a whole, adult duck.
I heard (and saw) the fish charge through the reed bed, heard the commotion as it hit and then the plaintive cries of the duck. Noises that shouldn’t ever come out of a duck.
Its mate was crying for it as I waded towards the scene, only in time to watch the alien queen sink back into the security of the reeds.
Did it bother me? Not especially; that’s nature, after all. But it’s nice to know that she’s still in there and that she gets hungry from time to time…….
“If you keep at it long enough, one day you may witness some greater disturbance, some rushing breach of the water’s surface so startling and violent and exhilarating that you too will suddenly, and always thereafter, believe in monsters” Paul Schullery
Yeah; I guess I’ve been around for quite a while, now.
it was not a fish my friend but probably an Otter
They regularly take waterfowl.
If you look closely you can clearly see that the Sedge/Bulrushes have been flattened above the water line, if that was a fish it would have to be out the water and would therefore have no method of propulsion as it would be pushing air with its tail fin. Otters are ferocious and aggressive predators and very opportunistic feeders. That said if that lovely looking lake has a large Wells or European Catfish resident there’s a possibility it may be that, but I would be very surprised if a fish would endanger itself to that extent or indeed risk serious injury. I like you am an angler and get very frustrated with ill informed do gooders that release Otters into the wild without a second thought to the consequences and the impact on the local bio diversity and natural balance of nature, we as anglers have suffered a huge price in terms of the destruction of a great many natural and man made commercial fisheries caused by mans mis guided attempts to do good. That said I was hugely priviledged last week to watch 2 Otters working the River Yeo and catch a fish to boot. It was a truly magical experience and one I will never forget, its not all bad news.Stuart