Swan

[davelumb]

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[Steve Dennington]

Bless 'em, the biggest bellends of the avian world.

[Steve Le maitre]

Bless 'em, the biggest bellends of the avian world.

Break your arm mind Steve.
Growing up if I’d had a pound for every time I heard someone say don’t go near a swan it’ll break your arm. Yer right.
The Queens bird see, it is a psychological way of keeping you away from them, bit like the sign you see nailed to a tree on the entrance to a private wood or forest ‘danger beware Adders’
s**t we better not go in there.

[Steve Dennington]

Break your arm mind Steve.
Growing up if I’d had a pound for every time I heard someone say don’t go near a swan it’ll break your arm. Yer right.

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

They really are the most brainless things though. If a duck goes along the margin and encounters 2/3 lines stretching out across the water it goes round them. Geese do the same. Swans? Nope, they just plough on, right through the lines...

[davelumb]

Break your arm mind Steve.
Growing up if I’d had a pound for every time I heard someone say don’t go near a swan it’ll break your arm. Yer right.

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

They really are the most brainless things though. If a duck goes along the margin and encounters 2/3 lines stretching out across the water it goes round them. Geese do the same. Swans? Nope, they just plough on, right through the lines...

Ain't that the truth. Although I've had Canada geese be just as stupid. A flock of them swimming past when you've got three rods out for tench could be no fun.

There was a Trumpeter Swan on the Ribble that didn't cause any problems though. Didn't pester you for food either. It would just stand next to you doing nothing!

[spincityfan]

I had one got through my line, i tried to wiggle the rod to get the line from around its foot but it must have been wrapped around. eventually it ended up getting a treble hook in its foot! managed to pull it as i was using a Baitblaster and cut the point of the treble off.

Stupid creature went straight towards my other line and swam straight into that one too!

[John Milford]

The swans on my local water must be the exception.

Very smart around lines and will duck under them near the rods quite deftly.

They also have a remarkably shallow draught - swimming over barely submerged lines without snagging them.

Another thing they do is 'police' the water very rigorously - the cob has zero tolerance for Canada geese or visiting swans!

[Bob Barker]

Steve Dennington wrote,

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

Try telling that to this foxy fella...

SwanFox02.jpg

Bob,

[Steve Le maitre]

Break your arm mind Steve.
Growing up if I’d had a pound for every time I heard someone say don’t go near a swan it’ll break your arm. Yer right.

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

They really are the most brainless things though. If a duck goes along the margin and encounters 2/3 lines stretching out across the water it goes round them. Geese do the same. Swans? Nope, they just plough on, right through the lines...

Ha, we’ve exposed the truth !
They are not brilliant at crossing over lines, or breaking your arm.
Had one hook it’s giant webbed foot on a magnum Hawg Wobbler once, apart from a lot of hissing I unhooked it like a baby

[Steve Dennington]

Steve Dennington wrote,

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

Try telling that to this foxy fella...

SwanFox02.jpg

Bob,

Probably choked on an egg - there's just no way the swan killed it. In a swan v. fox death match there's only one winner and it's the one with the teeth.

[Mike J]

Steve Dennington wrote,

John Wilson asked a river keeper about that on Go Fishing. He said it was like getting hit by a child with a feather duster

Try telling that to this foxy fella...

SwanFox02.jpg

Bob,

Probably choked on an egg - there's just no way the swan killed it. In a swan v. fox death match there's only one winner and it's the one with the teeth.

Yes there is a clear way a swan could kill a fox. The strike of an adult swan is made with the bird standing upright with its breastbone facing the target so the wing can be brought forwards as it would if the bird was flying. The impact is considerable, such that a broom handle pushed into the ground and held upright with one hand can be moved several inches sideways and the noise is such I have often wondered why the birds wing hasn't broken. I can see that such an impact would easily stun or even kill a fox as its skull has not evolved to withstand hard contact.

To deter theft I have marked swans eggs (under licence) which involved moving a sitting swan off its nest and I never met a single bird that didn't put up a very determined resistance.

.