The Closed Season Zander Quest Pt.132 - Pterodactyls and Poulterers

Imagine crossing the moors and hills of England and encountering what looks like nothing less than a living, breathing pterodactyl! Think it couldn’t happen? It already has. From 1982 to 1983, a wave of sightings of such a creature – presumed extinct for tens of millions of years occurred in the Pennines, better known as the “backbone of England.”

So far as can be determined, the first sighting occurred in September 1982. That was when a man named William Green encountered at Shipley Glen a large, grey coloured creature, which possessed a pair of leathery-looking wings. The latter point is notable, since it effectively rules out a significantly sized feathery bird, and does indeed place matters into a pterodactyl category.

Perhaps inevitably, the local media soon heard of the sightings and while the theory that a large bird of prey had escaped from a menagerie or zoo may have satisfied the skeptics, it did not go down well with the witnesses, who were sure that what they had encountered was something straight out of the Jurassic era.

And it looks like they are now in Warwickshire in 2019, a poo of pterodactyal proportions tainting ones car. A poop mess so big I had to get the jetwash out as soon as I got back home for fear of marking ones paintwork.

I'm not having a good time of it of late, the canals seemingly out of sorts, well for me anyway, others seemingly able to get a bend in the rod. I need to get ones mojo back and the only way to do that is to pull through the baron period and maybe fish areas of canal I'd not fish before, or maybe not for a while anyway.

When the sun is a strong as it was today, the carp can start showing themselves and if anything will give a good bend in the rod it will be a carp. So some double dipping keeps ones mind away from me having to resort to fish a pool or a lake, which to be honest isn't really my thing.

I can see the appeal for sure, especially when the tench are showing themselves about now, but I'm not going to close this quest of mine for a canal double doing that now am I. Things didn't start well for this session, and to be honest didn't improve.

Two rods, a full on smelt approach with a back-up car rod if I'd stumbled upon some carp. Again the canal felt lifeless and despite roving around I couldn't buy a bite.

Three areas of canal visited, one I'd not fished before in anger the other two generally a Zander hangout, and yet not even a bobble or a murmur on the overdepth float set-ups.

Eventually I found a carp hide out with 5 carp hiding among the thick far bank cover. Some bread in and around their lair was ignored, and even when one of them ventured out from the stronghold a tempting large piece of slowly sinking bread was ignored.

Time called end of play and yet again I went home with the tail between ones legs. Now these carp hang out around here, so as I know where they are I'm planning to bring Sam here, because he usually brings me good luck.

To be honest the biggest wouldn't likely reach 15lb on the dials but at least it would give me some sport in a desperate time which I'm firmly in now.

The deadbaits, yeap nothing doing, another blank to add to the collection !!!!