FISHING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume xxxii, Issue 8374, 22 May 1911, Page 4

FISHING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Writing on this subject in "United Empire," the journal of the Colonial Institute, " X.X.X." says : Try to picture to yourself a' country sparsely inhabited, with numerous • fast-flowing rivers and creeks and with very little forbidden water, and you may realise why New Zealand is the fisherman's paradise. In the best rivers the average size of the trout one catches is 81b, and many are caught daily during the season over 141b—occasionally one may find a lucky man who has grassed one over 201b. On a fly ten or twelve fish a day, averaging 81b each, is a common catchj and in certain months would be considered a poor one, so no wonder that from all the world over keen sportsmen come to New Zealand in preference to paying a big rent for water that contains comparatively few fish. To get the best sport one must go far away from the haunts of men, into the wilds where one's sole companions are a few sheep and wild ducks. Take with you an old horse, an old dogcart, a tent and enough provisions for a week, and you may reach the haunts of fish that have never seen an artificial fly. But New Zealand water is clear, and the fish are not easy to catch; it takes hard work, patience and great skill to hook and land the ambition of everyone—the monster fish that each big pool has for its king. To get the best result you must study your prey; an hour given to watching the fish in the water before one throws a'fly is usually well spent. To see a big fish and then fish for him, and him only, that is the enthusiast's aim ; to throw haphazard various flies on the water in the hope some fool fish may take them I would not walk a yard for. To watch'; to'see, to stalk, to cast, to strike, to feel—these are what make life worth living; put your wiles against the monster's cunning, fight him fair and lanciprim deftly—you will never forget" that, ftsh. ■ ' No description; would be complete without mentioif of the big catches that arc possible.; Trout abound in nearly every stream in New Zealand, and there is hardly a mile without some stream by ; but in very favoured spots anglers literally reckon their catch by tho " ton," and a throe-ton catch for the season is not out of "the way ! A few fish—say three or four a day averaging' 81b—are enough for me; but some men axe greedy, and for them' one district passed a special regulation limiting the weight of fish to be caught by any one rod in 24 hours to 601b ! That some such regulation should be seriously passed is the best advertisement our fishing could get. A paternal Government is trying to introduce salmon, and I hope they will bo successful, though so far those placed in New Zealand waters have always disappeared. Failing, salmon, who could want a better fighter than a rainbow trout ? And, if you have never hooked one in fast water, bo sure and do so lest ye die before'ye have lived.