Feast Or Famine For Opening-day Anglers

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 6

Feast Or Famine For Opening-day Anglers

Most anglers were disappointed with the opening of the trout season yesterday morning. Those in the know had good catches where trout were stranded in pools of the Selwyn river, but scores of early-morning anglers at the outlet at Lake Ellesmere had little success. There were 30 to 40 anglers at the Selwyn mouth at various times from midnight on. but only half a dozen or so fish were caught. Further upstream, around Coe’s Ford and Chamberlain's Ford, there were pools swarming with trout, trapped there until a fresh in the river takes them downstream. “It was like fishing in a goldfish bowl,” said one observer. “One man had caught his limit of 10 fish, and had hooked another when a ranger tapped him on the shoulder. Another had his limit by 12.40 a.m. 1 saw one man hook six fish with seven casts. The fish were not in particularly good condition—a bit slabby.” Mr G. Ferris, the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society's publicity officer, said the main concentration of anglers for the opening morn-

ing was at Lake Ellesmere, the mouth of Selwyn river, and the mouth of the Halswell river.

“The number of fish taken in proportion to the number of rods was disappointing," said Mr Ferris. The Catchment Board let the lake out a few days ago and the sudden drop in the water level interfered with the fishing, be said.

Mr Ferris said that 100.000 spawners went up the Selwyn river to the upper reaches in May. They usually came back in September, but with the low rainfall this year a lot of fish were isolated in pools on the way back. He said the society had to salvage about 50.000 fish averaging 31b each from the pools in the Selwyn river and put them in the Irwell stream so that they could reach the lake. Mr Ferris said that fishing in the Ashley river was spoiled by the nor’wester. Lake Lyndon was the only one of the high-country waters open to anglers yesterday, but Mr Ferris had had no reports. Because of overstocking and lack of feed, the limit at Lake Lyndon was now 50 fish, down to 6in in length. Mr Ferris said the society had netted 10,000 rainbow trout each year at Lake Lyndon and transferred them to other lakes, and still there were too many.