giant pike in the canal

I didn't know those Brits had anything big, other than a thirst for warm ale. :rolleyes:





http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/78.$plit/C_...A03%3A30%3A601
Glyn Sinkinson at the spot he says he put the huge pike into the Rochdale Canal 33 years ago. He says he saved the fish after a stretch of the canal had burst its banks.




'I put giant pike in canal' - businessman

Glyn Sinkinson
24/ 4/2008


A LOCAL businessman has vowed to protect a monster pike spotted swimming in a Middleton waterway.
Glyn Sinkinson claims he put the monster of the deep, or a relative, in the stretch of Rochdale Canal 33 years ago.
And despite fishy stories from local anglers about its piranha-like teeth and viscious nature - he has said he will do all in his power to stop anyone who tries to hunt it down.
Glyn said: "I put a pike in the canal 33 years ago. I was 15 at the time.
"The banks of the canal had burst and we had helped to put all the fish back in. There was talk of a big pike in the water and there were hundreds of guys sat lining the banks trying to catch and kill it.
"It was so big it kept snapping people's lines. They were using goldfish and trout as bait as well which is cruel."
The giant fish had already been hooked but had managed to snap the line. It meant a colourful float could be seen bobbing on the water above where the pike was.
"It was like a small Jaws film. You could see it just under the water. Using a boat rod I managed to hook it and It took me a long time to get it in. It was a monster of a fish and must have been about 20lb at the time," added Glyn. "All the guys sat on the banks wanted us to kill it."
Along with a few friends, the teenage Glyn then carried the pike in a fishing basket three miles up the canal to the "dead stretch" of water between Slattocks and the 'Iron Donger' railway bridge.
"We put it in the water and it seemed to take one last look at us then it swam off. It's never been seen since."
But last week we reported how local fisherman had sparked a 'Jaws alert' when a giant pike leapt from the murky waters grabbing a duck by the neck and dragging it under.
Astonished fishermen threw stones at the fish and managed to pull the bird to safety. The fish has now become a prize target for anglers keen to capture the "great white shark of the freshwater world".
But Glyn says he will do all he can to protect the predatory pike.
"These type of fish could take your hand off, but the water is his domain. It's cruel if people go hunting it. Pikes cleanse the water of dead and sick fish.
"If people go hunting it down I will protect it."