Strange Encounters on the Bank
By Roy van Goor
I just got home from a session abroad with some friends
When the trip was getting towards the end something happened too one of the other anglers that shocked me.
On his final morning a rat got in to his bivvy and was sitting on his face. When he woke up, and tried to scar the rat away it bit him in his ear leaving him devastated.
It was the first time I ever heard about something like this happening to an angler. But I am sure there are plenty more stories that are similar to this one.
I never encountered a thing as horrible as that, but do had some occurrences with wildlife in my fishing career birds cleaning my tackle cows watching me playing a fish.
At one time a little mouse scared the hell out of me when I was just lying on my bedchair and had my eyes 
closed. The next moment I remember was me opening my eyes and looking straight at this little mouse that was just sitting on top of my sleeping bag, I jumped up like I had seen a ghost leaving the poor mouse probably with the same feeling.
Another thing that happened to me and gave me the picture of a life time some sort of strange bird that came out of the reeds on a session in France.
I don’t know what specie that bird was, but it made my week by letting me take this stunning picture I was sitting in my bivvy and watching the lake when I suddenly I saw this little bird stick his head out of the reeds to the left of my set-up.
I took my camera and waited for it to come out and approach my rods. I got I perfect on camera, and it looks like its saying, that’s a stunning set-up you got there What I would like to hear are your stories, funny or scary…
Greetz
Roy van Goor
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Tags: angler, angling, bait, bedchair, boats, camera, career, carp, catfish, feeling, fish, fishing, france, morning, picture, session, specie, tackle, techniques, tips, wildlife
Hi Roy
The bird is a bittern. They love hiding deep in reeds and it’s very rare you get to see them - you were really lucky! Great photo!
As for poor Ron being bitten by that rat, well I’ve never heard of that happening. I’ve had them running over my boots when I’ve been sitting near the water’s edge but never climb onto my bedchair. Nasty.
This year I had a swan come into my bivvy…
Elie
Hi Roy
I have had a rat try to get in my apothesis bivvy in France where it had climbed right the way up to the zip and was trying to get through the tiny gap. I kicked it off and it ran like hell. Later that week 2 large adult rats were climbing up my 5ft stainless storm stick to get at a bag of air drying rahja boilies (I know the baits good but in the middle of the day in temperatures over 30degrees). Also on the last night of that trip A rat had climbed on top of my bivvy which I shook and you should have heard the thing scream when it hit the deck. They got their revenge on that trip though as that is where I contracted Weils disease.
On another trip I was fishing on Horseshoe Lake and was just having a chat with the bailliff when he suddenly disappeared into the bushes and returned moments later with an empty trap. He informed me that he was after a family of Mink that were causing problems, but said they had been seen a few hundred yards away in a swim known as boat point. No sooner had he gone around the corner when the said family appeared from the same bushes and wandered past my rods. I almost fell over laughing and hope no one saw me as they would have thought I was insane.
Next time we all get together we will have to swap stories as I have loads.
Cheers
Jamie
hahahaha….i have another one..on our trip together i could hear something making a noise like a some big, angry men eating animal..it sounded like something from the far bank
still dont know what it was that caused it?
and we will meet again..very soon i expect
greetz roy
I heard it too. Sounded a bit like a wild boar but much louder.
I thought it was coming from the general area of peg 13.
A few years ago, while fishing paired up on a lake in France. My friend got caught a little short and need an urgent pit stop. He popped into the woodlands behind the bivvy only to appear 10 mins later looking very green.
I asked if he was ok? he told me after picking his tree and settling down, he heard a big commotion behind him, turning round he faced 6 wild boar at full tilt towards him! ducking behind the tree again he was ok and they passed.
Caught with your trouser down literally! I of course doubled up with LOL. We heard them later that night making a really racket like deliverance