ANGLING NOTES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21714, 22 February 1936, Page 24

ANGLING NOTES

THE START OF THE RUN [By BLACK GNAT.] "And while I waited a salmon rolled not 10 yards from where I sat. Head and tail, up and* down he went, a great monster of a fish, sporting and deriding me." —Roland Pertwee in the "Anglers' Weekend Book." The quotation above refers to Atlantic salmon, but applies equally well ;to the quinnat of our rivers. To the confirmed trout fisherman who probably will pursue quinnat on one or two occasions" during the season, the sight of*quinnat rolling and refusing the spinner time and again, is exasperating. Doubtless there are many occasions when quinnat will not take anything, and the experience of many of the itinerant anglers Is that even if the fish are moving there is no certainty that they can be caught. There is no doubt that a good deal more skill must be acquired to become a successful salmon angler than the average trout fisherman will admit. Catching quinnat is not just a matter of methodical and monotonous casting, though the mouths of the rivers are more likely to yield fish to these methods than the pools higher up. Few of the casual anglers for quinnat realise that it is just as important to approach a pool quietly and to keep out of sight when in pursuit of quinnat on the snow rivers as when dry fly fishing the clearest trout stream, "Black Gnat" is inclined to believe that trout fishermen who infrequently fish for quinnat, usually fail to achieve more than the most modest degrees of success merely because they tackle the problem in a more or less contemptuous manner. And so the salmon roll up the rivers, dodging the hail of leads and spinners aimed at them by the hordes of week-end anglers, mocking them with a derisive flick of the tail. ■ ■ '. . Quinnat anglers who are able to visit the Waimakariri only must hear of the splendid bags taken in the southern rivers with rather mixed feelings. Good runs have already taken place in the Rakaia and Rangitata, but though the Waimakariri has not. shown much promise yet, the season is still early and anglers of long experience expect a run any day. It is an unusual coincidence that twice already tills season quinnat have been taken on a fly by lady anglers, the first occasion being some weeks ago at the mouth of the Opihi. The second was. killed at the r.akaia mouth last week. A lady angler using a light rod and a "Hopes Lure" in an attempt to catch a trout hooked a quinnat of about 15 pounds and landed it after an arduous struggle. The report 'of yet another lady having killed the first salmon of the season in the Hurunui adds confirmation to the ancient belief that members* of the other sex can be very skilful anglers indeed. The main points of difference between the five species of Pacific salmon are given by Dr. W. A. Clemens in- a report to the British Colombia Commissioner of Fisheries. Identification of each species can be established only after careful study of the following" six points:—(l) Number of scales in first row above the. lateral line, (2) Number of rays in the fin located behind the vent and known as !the anal fin. (3) Number of gill-rakers. (4) Number of branchiostegals; "The membrane under the head and forming the lower margin of the gill-cover is supported by narrow curved and flattened rods of cartilage which are.' known as branchiostegals." - (5) Number of pyloric caeca. The small, slender, fingerlike pouches attached to the intestine in the region where it joins the Jshaped stomach. (6) Colour markings. The following are the ranges in characters for quinnat and sockeye salmon:—Scale count, quinnat 140 to 153, sockeye 125 to 143; gill-rakers, quinnat 20 to 28, sockeye 30 to 39; anal rays, quinnat 15 to 19, sockeye 13 to 16; branchiostegals, quinnat 13 to 19, sockeye 11 to 15; pyloric caeca, quinnat 140 to 185, sockeye 66 to 92. Quinnat salmon have distinct, large black spots on the back and tail-fin, whereas sockeye have only fine black specklings. Although Dr.. Clemens points out that all the characters are variable, and more than one should be used for identification, it should not be difficult to distinguish between the above species. Lake Coleridge is still yielding good bags of quinnat as well as a few rainbow and brown trout Particular interest lies In the report of a party df anglers who visited there last weekend and caught at least three quinnat on a wet fly. Although Coleridge is usually regarded as a paradise for the wielder of a spoon or minnow, it is just as much a paradise for the fly fisherman. It is surprising that flyflshermen 4a sot devote inftrgjitten-t

' tloSrr- to" the lake; as nowhere' else locally is such a variety of heavy fish to. be had. ■ >. - ' , ,