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The much feared great white shark has been
regarded as non-existent, in UK waters. Until very recently that is!
Apart from recent claimed sightings from fishermen in Cornwall and from
Newhaven and other fishing ports, there had been no 'proof' that great
whites frequent the cold coastal waters of the UK. There has never been
a recorded shark attack in the UK as far as I can find and the chances
of attack, even off California where great whites hunt seals, are still
ridiculously low. Sharks are intelligent too in their own highly
developed ways.
I always 'knew' they were there though.
Anglers have caught shark species unknown to science off the south of
England and more mysteries are yet to be revealed. Giant sturgeon have
been stranded far up rivers like the Stour, miles inland. Gigantic
leatherback turtles have regularly been washed up on shores around the
south west coasts. Giant tuna well over 500 pounds in weight are still
seen off the Yorkshire coast. Even Gavin Maxwell's book "A ring of
bright water" describes a creature resembling the fabled 'Loch Ness
Monster' with a long neck off barely inhabited Scottish islands. I
myself experienced the creature's presence while standing by the
freezing cold flat calm Loch on a bright sunny morning in February 2002.
The day was calm and sunny but
temperatures were cold following a hard frost that morning. Standing on
the jetty by the castle in Urquahart bay I felt an unprecedented
irrational fear sweep over me and I backed off the jetty fast. I walked
up the grassy slope feeling foolish not having felt such a feeling ever
before strong enough to move me from standing over the cold peaty red -
black water.
Now as a very serious fisherman I have
spent 30 years intensively spending a great proportion of this time on
the banks and shores of hundreds of lakes, lochs, rivers, seas, ponds,
and stretches of water, most often all night long. But I've never
experienced such a unique feeling of fear before even at 'haunted'
locations or in fierce lightening storms or on the darkest of nights
miles from civilisation.
I know fish behaviour pretty well and
felt something was very 'wrong' when just then I observed trout leaping
high out of the water. This was only 200 metres away from my position
over far deeper water and these fish were in such a highly excited
state, darting about everywhere as if looking to escape something unseen
below them. I quickly felt in my bag for my binoculars when I realised I
did not need them...
I am more than scientific when it comes
to the 'unknown,' requiring measurement and evidence and past records to
verify anything unusual. I preferably would experience things 'first
hand' before analysing and concluding anything substantial. I did not
really think the mythical 'Loch Ness monster' existed except in the
minds of fantasists or locals benefiting from the tourist trade in the
area.
The major 2 reasons for this was that the
entire loch had been under ice during the last ice age, so most likely
preventing anything from remaining from previous times. Not only this,
but detailed surveys show 'insufficient' fish stocks present in the loch
which would appear to not be able to support a population of large
animals for sustenance.
Please picture this now, because this is
what I observed next: As a fish turns its flank over and rolls just
under the surface of the water, it raises the water above it. I have
observed this hundreds of times over the years being a big fish angler
(mainly of giant catfish and big carp) of 30 years experience. The
width, depth and length of the fish is indicated by the dimensions of
this water movement discerned by the experienced eye. What this
indicated was a massive creature.
For example an average sized large 30
pound carp may move a significant oval shaped area of water at the
surface of perhaps to 3 feet. Such a fish would be about 3 feet long and
between a foot and a foot and a quarter deep. The surface water movement
I observed was about 15 feet long by 10 feet across... I never saw what
caused it but I've fished right next to large seals, seen deer swimming
in a lake, know very well the depth of sturgeon and dolphins compared to
carp and whatever caused this phenomenal water movement was none of
these possibilities. This was no killer whale or known cetacean either
if that's what you are thinking...
There was a weird fact about my camera
which is not uncommon at this loch. It has never failed me in thousands
of photographs taken on thousands of bright days or dark even misty
nights or on the hottest to the coldest of winter night temperatures. I
am very careful to keep the battery at least new or at least 'half
full.' On attempting to photograph the water anomaly, the camera failed
completely despite calmly retrying. Filming under pressure of speed is
not at all new to me with this camera. No photo was achieved.
Once all was calm, as if nothing had ever
happened to disturb the completely calm surface of the thousands of feet
deep bay without even a ripple present, I tried the camera again. This
time it worked; in the 5 years since then, it has never failed either.
There is definitely far more to this place than is yet known and not
merely electrical anomalies. As someone has actually touched a ghost
person - I therefore KNOW not merely just believe they do indeed exist,
just like our 'electro-magnetic energy body' exists.)
I conceive that this Loch Ness creative
could possibly be a 'ghost' or some kind of recording released by the
electrical energy produced by gigantic forces caused by the faults and
rocks movements present beneath the entire length of this long loch.
(This does not explain sightings by police and military in waters with
no faults present.) However, there are unusual lights occasionally
observed in the Loch Ness area attributed to electrical effects from the
rocks and fault below the loch.
Whatever happened, this is my experience.
This was no 'giant bubble' of gas escaping from the depths. I do not
subscribe to the 'plesiosaur' theory - having seen in close detail the
fossil skeletons of plesiosaurs and plesiosaur-like animals in the
'Natural History Museum' here in the UK. The chest and abdomen
dimensions were not correct for the depth of water movement I saw and
there was no evidence of water disturbance from flipper appendages
either. I feel this creature I experienced is a different one to the
popular 'mythical' version altogether.
One of the most puzzling aspects of this
whole 'mythical' creature and its sightings, is that when Urquahart
Castle was inhabited for generations (overlooking the very deepest water
at the mouth of Urquahart Bay) this phenomenon was never reported. So
what is really going in this ancient place?
By Tim Richardson.
About the Author
Tm Richardson is a professionally trained
horticulturalist, with a background in zoology. A naturalist and big
fish angler for 30 years, Tim has written expert bait making books for
targeting giant catfish and big carp. Find these massive and unique
books along with free bait articles at: http://www.baitbigfish.com
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