This is the hook, line and stinker moment a landed fish is apparently revived by an angler's smelly feet and leaps back into the water.

The bizarre escape was caught on camera in Zhaotong, in the province of Yunnan in southern China, after the huge fish was landed on a river bank.

But without a tape measure or scales, the fisherman tried to record the size of his catch by measuring it with his well-worn shoe.

The footage shows him as he places it carefully up the fish's body to estimate its length.

But when he gets to the fish's head the overpowering pong seems to revive it like smelling salts.

And within seconds the fish had wriggled free and throws itself back into the river as the clip, shared on the Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin on 3rd May, closes.

Fish escapes while man tries to measure it with his shoe in Zhaotong, Yunnan in China, undated. The video was shared on Douyin - the Chinese version of TikTok on May 3, 2025. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (AsiaWire/NX)

The footage made the fisherman a laughing stock on social media.

One user '@yuanmouzhou ' said on Douyin: "Why not just bring a measuring tape? This is not how science works."

Another '@tianhe' added: "This is what happens when you bring a shoe to a fish fight."

All fish have a powerful sense of smell and some, like sharks, can detect a single drop of blood in the water from a quarter of a mile away.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)