The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

JAA wrote:I'm usually still there well after dusk if rules allow - I fished a small wooded lake last year and the year before and was constantly baffled by the clanking of the gate and the rattle of the padlock chain, but no-one would come by...

I shrugged it off...and then one evening I was just leaving and the gate in front of me shook and clanked and the chain rattled as if moved by a ghostly hand...and there I was face to face with a bloody great badger than had shoved it's hairy ar$se under the gate...ah well. I'm not sure who was most surprised.

Still don't like the walk from peg 2 to 3 at night, have to restrain myself from looking behind.

SteveW wrote:I am involved in the running of a 3 acre estate lake in Essex that was originally dug in about 1780. The lake is in the grounds of an old manor house that was the home of Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (a patron of Lord Nelson) until he died in 1823. It is said that in his later years he used to get a group of the local naval cadets to come to the house and row him up and down the lake in the rowing boat that was moored in the old boathouse (no longer there). That is a brief history of the lake.
During the many years I have been involved with the lake there have been several unexplained occurrences that in some cases has left the member concerned visibly shaken. A list of some of these occurrences is as follows:
- A member night fishing was awoken by a strange noise coming from the lake. Looking out of his shelter he saw what looked like a large rowing boat moving slowly through the mist. He said he could clearly hear the sound of the oars in the rowlocks.
- Another member while night fishing woke up for no apparent reason so decided to get up and answer a call of nature. As he stood outside his shelter he looked to his left and saw an old man standing there and looking out over the lake. He said his face was completely white. He jumped back in the shelter to get his torch but when he came out a few seconds later the old man had dissappeared.
- My own experience of strange happenings occurred when I was fishing there alone one night. The lake is in a very rural area with no surrounding lights so unless there is a full moon its always very dark as it was on this particular night. Once again, I woke up for no apparent reason at about 2 am so got up to have a look across the lake. As I did something made me look to my left and about 50 yards down the bank saw a bright white light shining from the bankside. I then heard a voice call out. That was the really scary thing as what the mystery voice was calling was my own name.

There have been several other instances of unusual things happening and some of the members have been so shaken that they will no longer fish the lake at night.

All very strange but true.

SteveW wrote:- My own experience of strange happenings occurred when I was fishing there alone one night. The lake is in a very rural area with no surrounding lights so unless there is a full moon its always very dark as it was on this particular night. Once again, I woke up for no apparent reason at about 2 am so got up to have a look across the lake. As I did something made me look to my left and about 50 yards down the bank saw a bright white light shining from the bankside. I then heard a voice call out. That was the really scary thing as what the mystery voice was calling was my own name.

All very strange but true.