A fisherman was left gobsmacked when he went fishing at a popular beach and caught what he assumed was a big fish – but was actually something that made his stomach churn
Spain: Fisherman reels in huge rat instead of fish at known beach
Fishing is a popular pastime, whether you do it on the weekends as a hobby or you’ve made a career out of catching fish while out on a boat. It can take incredible levels of patience to sit on the beach or riverside and wait for something to take your bait, and that waiting game can make the feeling of reeling in a big catch all the more satisfying.
If you’ve ever been fishing before, however, you’ll know how frustrating it can be when you think you’ve got something on the end of your line, only to reel it in and find a clump of seaweed stuck to your hook.
One fisherman recently had a similar experience when he went fishing at a holiday hotspot and reeled in what he thought was a fish – only to be left recoiling in horror at what he actually pulled out of the water.
The unnamed fisherman was testing his luck catching fish at La Termica breakwater in Malaga, Spain, when he got a nasty surprise, as he pulled a large rat out of the water instead of a fish.
The rat bit the hook while the angler was preparing another rod at the barrier, which is located at Misericordia Beach, a popular spot for surfcasting.
A stomach-churning clip of the fisherman pulling the rat out of the water was shared on social media. Viewers could see the rodent wriggling and flapping its tail as it attempted to free itself from the hook, and the clip has already been viewed more than half a million times since Sunday (September 7th).
Commenters on the post said that rats are common in the breakwaters around Malaga, so they weren’t overly surprised to see the fisherman accidentally catch one.
Others felt sympathy for the rodent, while some commenters also joked that the angler had found a new species of fish called the “ratfish”.
In comments translated from Spanish, one person said: “The breakwaters in Málaga are full of rats – fishing without one passing by is an odyssey.”
Another wrote: “That’s good bait.”
A third posted: “They’re even underwater now.”
Somebody else asked: “What bait did you use to catch that?”
But a sympathetic person added: “What a shame, poor little animal.”
