MONSTER EEL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 10, 12 January 1940, Page 5

MONSTER EEL.

SURPRISE CATCH.

ANGLER'S ACHIEVEMENT.

BATTLE WITH LIGHT FLY HOD.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

ROTORUA, this day.

It is not a simple matter to land a monster eel at any time, even on a stout line and eel hook, but to land one weighing 351b on a light fly rod with a medium-weight cast and size six trout fly is an achievement not only for an angler, but for the gear employed. This was accomplished several days ago at Lake Tarawera by a Rotorua angler, Mr. W. Kusabs. Mr. Kusabs, who was camped at the Lake, hooked the eel while night fishing from a rocky ledge. Part of the drama of the battle lay in the fact that he was not aware that he had hooked an eel and not a very large trout until the head of the eel was dragged on to the ledge. When it appeared his wife, who was standing by with a torch and landing net to assist him in landing the trout, which promised to break all records, was so surprised that she incontinently dropped the landing net and torch together. The eel toos the fly in deep water, and put up a tremendous struggle. Mr. Kusabs estimates that the time occupied in bringing the eel to the edge of the ledge was three-quarters of an hour, and, for the greater part of that time his light rod was bent almost double by the tremendous strain put upon it.

W hen finally landed and weighed, the eel weighed :451b.

Alone among the lakes in the Rdtorua district the Tarawera harbours eels as well as trout. lioth are larjre specimens of their kind, the eels particularly go. Some of the largest freshwater eels landed in New Zealand have been taken from lake waters, f>ut very few of them with trout fishing tackle. Mr. Kusabs was less successful with trout than with the eel, landing only three fish during seven days' fishing at the lake.