The bizarre video shows an angler casting a fishing rod in a pond and catching a protected heron after the hook stuck to its body.

At the beginning of the footage, the man can be seen casting the rod in the pond in front of him in Sichuan, China, on January 6.

But instead of catching a fish, the fisherman was stunned when he saw an along-legged Chinese egret, a type of heron, attached to the hook after the bobber went completely under the surface.

After pulling it out to the shore, struggled to release the hook stuck to the bird's body, as the frightened animal continuously poked him with its beak.

To ease the process, he then used a pair of scissors to cut the fishing line, after which he detached the hook from the bird and set it free.