The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

When I was 12 my pal and I were fishing the Medway in Tonbridge. We were, I'm afraid to say, bunking off of sorts (we should have been at school but "geography jim" knew - he was a great teacher and a top bloke too!). Were fishing in the same peg and generally having a great day - we were catching a few fish, the sun was baking and we should have been in double something-or-other!

Without warning a great "thing" came up from the depths about 3 feet infront of us. The water was clear and we were back-pedalling already as it broke the surface and rolled over. It was a dead body!

We ran, screaming, and found a phone box, phoned the police and down they came. They took statements and they gave us lifts home. It was later reported that he had probably jumped off the bridge and had been caught in submerged ironwork.

Not going there again...but on a positive note the police didn't discuss bunking and both our sets of parents were out on our return. :thumb:

i think i would of given up fishing there and then or never bunked off again

I bet you didn't wear those trousers again

Horrific and could seriously affect a young person....
A few years ago I was fishing a mill island which is a small village fishing club. It is all very wild and overgrown and no-one goes there most days. Cutting across the island through the nettles I spotted an unusual red fabric item. Approaching I realised it was a zipped up large bag and there was an unpleasant smell. I nearly left but decided I had to investigate so approached it with a stick and prodded. It had an unnerving solid feeling to it. I decided I had to look and so holding my breath I lifted the corner and unzipped it. Looking inside I was confronted by a large rib cage, a loads of guts and hair! I couldn't hold my breath any longer and the stench was beyond belief.
I backed off and considered what it must be. I decided someone had perhaps killed a dog or other large pet and chucked the bag in the nettles but then I thought what if it is something more gruesome and sinister and is later discovered.
I decided to call the police. A while later two female constables appeared and repeated what I had done before up turning the bag to reveal a pile of rotting deer carcass. Someone must have poached it from the neighbouring estate and butchered it before dumping it in an old bag for a tent. I felt slightly foolish but the police assured me I did the right thing.
One of my dreads when fishing wild places is the discovery of a dead body...

I was once told by a very well known angler that he'd been attempting to catch what, at the time was the biggest 'known' common carp in the country. He'd found a spot on the lake that the fish was seen to visit so started to bait the weeded area with hemp to clear a fishable area.
The lake contained very few carp so long stay angling was the norm. When the time was right he decided to fish the area for five days.
After a few (usual) fishless days he saw the fish come into the area and proceed through the weed towards the clear area. As it came closer it suddenly stopped in it's tracks and quickly left the area and wasn't seen for the rest of the session.
As he departed he noticed a group of men creating a cordon with tape and asked what was going on. It was a police diving crew and they were looking for a missing person which they subsequently found.
Yep, you guessed it. He had fished for five days with a body in his swim.

When I lived within shouting distance of the Medway our street was warned about a known dangerous vagrant in the area. One night we saw our back door handle depress. Without a second look we legged it out of the house rapidly and called the police. In less than three minutes three unmarked cars arrived, they split and searched the gardens back and front. There was light snow on the ground and they told us we had been visited by an inquisitive fox. They did assure us we did the right thing though.

Stumbling over a dead body is my worst nightmare.

I've only ever stumbled across one body, and that wasn't while fishing. At a previous house our garden opened onto a path. One morning I'd just left our garden and set off down the path on my way to work on my way to work when I found a neighbour dead on the side of the path. Put me off going to work for ages!

berwickbrook wrote:When I was 12 my pal and I were fishing the Medway in Tonbridge. We were, I'm afraid to say, bunking off of sorts (we should have been at school but "geography jim" knew - he was a great teacher and a top bloke too!). Were fishing in the same peg and generally having a great day - we were catching a few fish, the sun was baking and we should have been in double something-or-other!

Without warning a great "thing" came up from the depths about 3 feet infront of us. The water was clear and we were back-pedalling already as it broke the surface and rolled over. It was a dead body!

We ran, screaming, and found a phone box, phoned the police and down they came. They took statements and they gave us lifts home. It was later reported that he had probably jumped off the bridge and had been caught in submerged ironwork.

Not going there again...but on a positive note the police didn't discuss bunking and both our sets of parents were out on our return. :thumb:

A pike angler would've paid good money for that...
You probably need big trebles... :D

Nothing to do with fishing but rather gruesome all the same. A couple of decades ago a chap I know was walking his dog along a quiet dead end country lane just down the road from where I live. His dog went rooting about in the hedge and the chap could not dissuade it. So, he took a look and found a polythene carrier bag with a human head in it. Now, this is where I come in because the police stated in local press and other media that a blue 'A' reg Ford Escort had been seen sometime before the head was found. Of course, what did I drive at the time? A blue 'A' reg Ford Escort. So I had to call the police and notify them. I then had CID around taking all sorts of statements It turned out to be something to do with a gangland drug related killing up in Manchester.

I have also had the unenviable job of identifying a dead person. My mother's partner died suddenly one Sunday morning and she was just too distraught to do it. So it was down to me. That was a very strange experience but I just stated that it was him and then said goodbye to Jerry. Very sad that

An angler, thinking he'd spotted a dead carp, found the severed arms of a man in Roding Valley Lake near me last year. The police's solution was to drain the lake to find the other bits, meaning the oxygen levels crashed and most of the fish died. The council then said it was too expensive to re-fill the lake and let it do so naturally, which took months. Total shambles really. I don't fish the lake as it's club-owned and usually covered in thick weed, but I do fish the Roding that runs next to it so maybe I'll see the poor chap's ghost one of these winter nights while out chubbing.....
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/9 ... ody_parts/

Mind you, a body was found in the Roding over the summer too, so I could have a run-in with more than one spectre!
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/9 ... g/?ref=rss