A spiky iron fish?

The standard fishing gag in most cartoons is reeling in an old boot. The only time I went fishing (one of the Finger Lakes, NY, c.1978), I caught a jaw bone from some poor fish I must have mangled.

Here's a story about a guy who caught something odd in his net off the coast of Hartlespool (U.K.), in April, 2006. He called the coast guard and described it as, "rusty, spherical and with spikes".

A rescue team was scrambled, and the thing was safely detonated by the proper authorities. It was an old explosive mine left over from World War II.

The fisherman's father is quoted as saying, "It comes with the job. He has found all sorts of weird things, including an aeroplane engine. He is just pleased no-one was hurt."

So, that old boot is nothing. There are stranger catches to be had.

Link: The Northern Echo (Apr. 10, 2006)