TONGARIRO FISHING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 140, 15 June 1932, Page 10

TONGARIRO FISHING.

DISAPPOINTING SEASON.

REMEDIAL MEASURES URGED. OBJECTION TO STATE CONTROL. (By AN OLD ANGLER.) ■ When one reviews the past season's fishing on the Tongariro it is with very mixed feelings. One looks back on the many joyous hours spent on that splendid river, the good fish well fought and landed, the better fish that broke away, the days when one worked hard for little, but enjoyed every minute of it, except the odd times when one went one inch too far and felt that icy trickle down one's legs. One looks back on all the fine fellows one has met and hopes to meet again. But when one looks back on the fishing, the angler's feelings are different.

Taken right through, the season has been most disappointing. Certainly there have been bright spots. There were plenty of fish for the opening, of which 80 per cent were due to return to the river, but these were in better condition than usual, and some' were quite decent fish. During' the Christmas holidays fish were really plentiful, but hard to catch. Towards the end of March and beginning of April things looked well. There were a few runs of small well-conditioned fish of 4Jlb to 01b, with, of course, a few of 81b to 91b. The delta was fishing well and heavy bags and heavy fish were taken, all pointing to a continuance of runs of good fish, but, except for a small run at tho end of April, followed by a smaller one in the early days of May, this wad the end.

On other rivers the fishing in May would have been called good, but for the Tongariro it was a fiasco. To those who remember the great days of the Tongariro it was heart-breaking. It appeared that the greatest rainbow river in the world was "going to pot." I will grant that probably each individual rod caught more "vice" fish than usual, for when a man is asked, "How many today?" even if ho is ashamed of "his fish his answer will be, "Six 'nice' fish."

Something will have to be done and done quickly. The Taupo and Tongariro Anglers' Club has been formed with this object. ■ Certainly the fishing must be curtailed, and night fishing stopped. To limit the fishing period to an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset would not be too drastic. The season might open earlier, but it should not be carried into June. May 14 is quite lateenough to take fish from the Tongariro. No traps or nets should be allowed anywhere on the river until two full months have gone after the season's closing; in other words, let the fish run free as nature intended them to do for that time. Steps such as these will be necessary with many others, such as the provision of inaunga in the small tributaries of the Tongariro. A few more years of Government control (I do not refer to its officers, who do their best with their hands tied), and the Tongariro, as the world's greatest fishing river, will be but a memory.

With regard to trolling on the lake, anglers have no cause to complain, as the season lasted longer than usual for that branch of fishing, but again it has been the case of a terrible lot of "nice" fish. Some restriction on the amount of fish per launch or boat is overdue. It would be well also to make the launch owner in some way responsible for the licenses of his passengers and their catch, thus relieving the rangers to some small extent. An extra full-time ranger should be at the hatchery during the winter at least, to give Ranger McNamara a chance at Western Bay and such outlying places. If there is a shortage of funds for this purpose many of my own friends and myself—in fact, everyone who has the good of the fishing at heart—would welcome an increase of license fees if it would mean better fishing.