kan-roo believe it?

Strange happenings are a common occurrence when night fishing – but we challenge you to top tackle editor Mark Sawyer’s recent drama on the bank, when he had a close encounter of the marsupial kind. 

Fishing a qualifier for the British Carp Cup at Wetlands Fishery in Retford, Notts, Mark was stirred at 1am when the head of a large animal appeared in his bivvy…

“I heard a noise outside but thought it was one of the other anglers, then I got the shock of my life when what I thought was a kangaroo head appeared in the door of my bivvy.

“I couldn’t believe it, I was sure I was dreaming, so I put my head back down on the pillow. Then the alarms went off on all three of my rods so I shot out of bed to see what was going on.

“The animal had totally trashed my rods, and apparently had done the same to Jamie Londors in the next swim.

“I’m not sure who was the most surprised – us or what was clearly a panicked wallaby – and when I turned my headtorch on to see what was going on it jumped straight into the lake.”

Early the following morning event organiser Mick Coxon did a lap of the lake, and he couldn’t stop laughing when Mark recalled the events of the previous night:

“It’s not a common occurrence at all,” Mick chuckled, “and it’s totally alien to what you normally get on a weekend match!

“Wetlands used to be an animal park, but when it closed its doors they kept the animals to do lessons with local schoolchildren, so there are still plenty of them about.

“The wallaby Mark encountered had escaped during the night, but these animals don’t usually like water, so it’s very strange that it jumped in the lake.”

Thankfully, the wallaby was found safe and sound the next day, but who’s to say it won’t be bouncing into another angler’s swim sometime soon?

Have you ever had a strange encounter on the bank while fishing? 

We want to hear your stories, so drop us an email at newsdesk@anglingtimes.co.uk