Piranha shock for Marlow angler (From Bucks Free Press)
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Piranha shock for Marlow angler
4:28pm Friday 3rd September 2010 in
AN ACE angler has revealed his surprise after coming face-to-face with a razor-toothed piranha he caught in the River Thames in Marlow.
Richard Salmon, 38, captured the ferocious freshwater fish during a routine fishing trip for chub by Marlow Bridge - the same angling spot he has used since childhood.
The three inch long tropical terror, which are usually found in South America and hunt in packs, is now the graphic artist's prized possession in his freezer.
Mr Salmon said: “I caught it about two weeks ago on a normal day, with the same rod, the same bait and in the same spot I've been fishing in all my life.
“A few hours in I got quite a bite, reeled it in and that was when I realised that it wasn't a native fish. I was surprised because I only normally catch carp or pike.
“It's only three-to-four inches long and, to an extent, I was a little wary and careful how I pulled it off the line but it could only get your finger in its mouth, not your hand.”
Mr Salmon's amazing catch was featured in The Sun on Monday – but not until after a full grilling by the newspaper's editor, who thought something fishy may have been going on following the release of scare-fest movie Piranha 3D.
He said: “It has been a fun week or so and the reaction from friends and people has been unbelievable. Everyone who saw me in the paper has been brilliant.
“But the funny thing is, after The Sun's reporter had spoken to me, the editor rang me back and said 'so your name is Salmon and you caught a piranha in the Thames in the same week of the release of Piranha 3D – are you winding me up?'
“I just laughed and reassured him - It wasn't my idea to go to the papers but my friends said I couldn't not tell anyone. It's not everyday you catch a piranha in the Thames.”
Mr Salmon is due on air for an interview with BBC Radio Berkshire today but says he is looking forward to “things going back to normal”.
He then plans to toss the ruthless river-dweller into the recycling bin. “It's not going on my wall or anything, I've got plenty of photos and memorabilia though”, he added.
Comments(24)
demoness
says...
4:42pm Fri 3 Sep 10
J B Blackett
says...
5:24pm Fri 3 Sep 10
.
I know nothing (well a little bit really) about fish but I do know the piranha is sociable and hunts in packs, would not survive a British winter naturally , not even in balmy (barmy ?) Marlow.
.
Like a lot of things in S Bucks it would live a hunted exposed existence and would probably die a very lonely, despised ,socially deprived, ostracized creature.
.
I know how it feels
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Mind you I've seen a lot of animals in Marlow with fiersome gnashers.
Paint_It_Red_77
says...
6:12pm Fri 3 Sep 10
LoggedOn
says...
6:37pm Fri 3 Sep 10
OllieNewbury
says...
7:40pm Fri 3 Sep 10
-
Marlow evidently must have a bridge over troubled waters.
demoness
says...
8:18pm Fri 3 Sep 10
OllieNewbury wrote:3 counties is a good substitute - as is Mix 96. :)
Pity he couldn't be interviewed by BBC Radio Buckinghamshire... Oops it doesn't exist!
-
Marlow evidently must have a bridge over troubled waters.
Sarah R Smith
says...
9:16pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Sarah R Smith
says...
9:19pm Fri 3 Sep 10
AntiGrammarNazi
says...
9:52pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Sarah R Smith wrote:That has to be the most cretinous comment on here for a while.
Perhaps he needed a bit of excitement in his life!? I am always suspicious of adults who still live where they grew up!
Sarah R Smith
says...
10:13pm Fri 3 Sep 10
AntiGrammarNazi wrote:Mmmm...you must be a little intellectually challenged, to be anti Grammar schools! Did you or your children not get into any? Not terribly PC to use the word 'cretinous'! I trust you're not medically qualified, to be quite so insensitive! I take it that you perhaps also live where you grew up?
Sarah R Smith wrote:That has to be the most cretinous comment on here for a while.
Perhaps he needed a bit of excitement in his life!? I am always suspicious of adults who still live where they grew up!
Plus ça change...
says...
7:14am Sat 4 Sep 10
Brilliant pic - put a lifesize version in the museum.
Eat your heart out, plastic hedge!!!
AntiGrammarNazi
says...
7:57am Sat 4 Sep 10
With apologies to Mark Twain for the original quote.
demoness
says...
8:46am Sat 4 Sep 10
I believe him :)
jayradisson
says...
8:59am Sat 4 Sep 10
The Judge
says...
9:23am Sat 4 Sep 10
BLAIR SOUNDS A GOOD NAME.....
JUDGE
678
says...
10:01am Sat 4 Sep 10
demoness wrote:I agree!!! I used to live near a lake full of peoples ex-pet turtles
Someone could have easily thrown it in the Thames from their fishtank or something .. I believe him :)
J B Blackett
says...
1:22pm Sat 4 Sep 10
Plus ça change... wrote:Plus ca change .. said:
Was the back end of his fishing boat chomped off? Did the local sheriff do his best against the odds to warn the locals about the man-eater threatening the Marlow coastline?
Brilliant pic - put a lifesize version in the museum.
Eat your heart out, plastic hedge!!!
.
."Eat your heart out, plastic hedge!!!"
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Well I say : "A biryani-piranha in the hand is worth two in The 'Bush'". At least.
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That fish appears to be plastic so Mr Salmon has now created a fishing rod to beat his own back.
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I knew there was a catch in it somewhere.
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Regards to all genuine fisher folk
Milford12
says...
1:22pm Sat 4 Sep 10
brachyura
says...
2:54pm Sat 4 Sep 10
demoness wrote:I think you're right demoness, although it looks more like a "Silver Dollar" than a "Piranha".
Someone could have easily thrown it in the Thames from their fishtank or something .. I believe him :)
~
http://www.aquarium-
fish-tips.com/silver
-dollar.html
Ewartwhatyoubulldoze
says...
12:33pm Mon 6 Sep 10
acjy1985
says...
4:47pm Mon 6 Sep 10
The DJ
says...
3:20pm Wed 8 Sep 10
Ewartwhatyoubulldoze wrote:Surely that should be "Complete Angler"
Compleat fiction
J B Blackett
says...
9:46pm Wed 8 Sep 10
The DJ wrote:Where's Mrs Dapoint from Marlow when she's needed ?
Ewartwhatyoubulldoze wrote:Surely that should be "Complete Angler"
Compleat fiction
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Richard Salmon with his catch
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678 says...
4:38pm Fri 3 Sep 10