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Chaos as huge bass drags pike angler’s rod into river

by Aidan Bordiuk |

Updated on30th January 2026 at 11.11am

While the 2025/26 coarse fishing season on our rivers has been a memorable one for big barbel and chub captures, it has also been a surprising one for many anglers, with species turning up that you would never expect.

Over the last few months in particular, there has been an unprecedented number of bass caught in freshwater while anglers have been targeting predatory species such as pike and perch. Although it isn’t entirely unusual to occasionally see one or two bass reported from freshwater, it’s the sheer number and size of this saltwater species that has anglers questioning what they are doing so far upstream.

Just before the end of the year, Jack Kellers was enjoying a session with friends on the banks at Port Talbot when, without warning, a huge fish smashed his roach hookbait before dragging his rod straight into the water.

Acting quickly, one of Jack’s friends began reeling in to help out and, unbelievably, managed to snag the missing rod while retrieving his own rig. With the fish still attached, he passed the rod back to Jack, who continued the fight with what he believed to be a monster pike.

“Anyone who says fishing is boring has clearly never experienced something like this. It was a truly crazy few minutes as I had no time to react before I watched my rod disappearing into the depths, and I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever see it again,” Jack told us.

“Incredibly, my mate managed to hook it, and despite dragging my setup around for a few minutes, it still had plenty of fight left when I got the rod back in my hands,” he added.

“We couldn’t believe it when we eventually got the fish to the surface and saw it was a huge bass. I’ve never caught one before, and it was the last species I expected to be attached that day.”

“Thankfully, my friend managed to net it and we all let out a cheer, albeit still in a bit of shock! It was such an impressive fish and the first bass I’ve ever caught, making for a session I’ll never forget.”

"The fish was quickly photographed and released to fight another day, leaving me sitting there shaking in disbelief," he concluded.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS IF YOU WANT TO CATCH YOUR FIRST PIKE!

Jack with the huge bass that was a long way from home!

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