Watford Pond’s unwanted hunter, an 11½lb pike, was himself hunted down on Sunday – but not before putting up a fight which lasted over two hours.

The drama began at 8am on Sunday when a seven-man team from the Thames Angling Preservation Society arrived at the pond at the request of Watford’s Parks Superintendent, kitted out with waders and yards of nets, to catch the fish which was first spotted by a passer-by last week.

The men, led by Rickmansworth angler Mr Bill Gow, immediately spotted the 2½ft killer, responsible for the disappearance of most of the stock of goldfish and roach.

The wary pike was not going to give up his domain easily, however, and as the team dipped their nets into the murky waters he flashed away into a clump of weeds. Once again he was seen, but again with lightning reflexes, he slipped away.

The end of the hunt was nearing as the fish’s silvery belly appeared for a third time at the rockery end.

The determined men waded in and brought their nets in a semi-circle around their prey. Slowly they inched forward, before trapping him against the pond’s grass bank. Then, with a quick flip, the pike was landed and the hunt was over.

“This is the second large pike we have had put in the pond,” said the parks superintendent, Mr Leonard Ellis, after the battle. “I can’t understand why people want to do this sort of thing. It is destroying the natural beauty of the place.

“A considerable number of fish were lost from the pond and we wanted to remove the pike before it started attacking the ducks, “ he added.
The day ended happily for the pike, too – he was later released in a lake in Harefield.

[From the Watford Observer of May 21, 1971]

ONLINE TOMORROW: Watford observed: Stories from May past