FIELD AND STREAM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 116, 8 February 1908, Page 10

FIELD AND STREAM.

(BYDEVFIi'.)

f'.i • v The rains 1 oxperienccd last., week,: althouglb, - /jot,.-'sufficient ,to do r-imuch ■ goododccaHy;; K- '-••• '■■'■■tempted'severnl angling . enthusiasts to':tryv 1. >... ■ their.luck.-.: ,-Two who journeyed-- to AVaikanae l;-: *:r had good sporti creeling-in:all. aboutiso<fish tor.the Saturday afternoon, and. Sunday fisli- ?-. jng. Included, m;.this catch -were,"several ; i trout-excceding .two-pounds in :weight,-:andv [: / ■ 1 -the averagoiweigbt was'slightly- over a pound - j I". >eachc 'Tho ;,Wamui.i stream,although v. very, i; :i'., :low, (alfords 1 good.tsport :in.'tho''evenings,'-;and 7 ! • ono catch.ol .14 taken-there last wcck."iu--V- • eluded; n. threo-pounder < \■■/. . ;Miniiow fishing; mi clear water.-.during, the i ■ .; -. day ■ is-, usually ■; regarded as vrastc' of J' time.'I .■ ':■!Tho ■ experience .'of-a - Waikanae'-'anglcr.•;last' p. ; " iiSiinday; /hov,'ever,.,'shakes this I .:theorj".ioonT> (■siderably; • for; .notwithstanding, the lowness | : ; v and'clearness?of the river, he,, with artificial ;:•/.minnow,, creeled seven;hsh .-of-'lJib. average.' i/ : ; • 'Many docal sportsmen will bo interested to iv; - - know that tho prospects at tile Game Farm are even ; better this season than. last.- Mri. v v'Ross, ;who has chargo-of the farm/ has so -far ;this'. season successfully; reared :over.'"100: t'-. r':; ;phoasants. .;' This; :;comparcd the' rei- ■ suits;of- a; few;.years .ago,, is', exceptionally 1 ■:■'• good) 'for tho - farm -yielded very littlo ' until -i tho present caretaker was: appointed. ■ Thero are over 100 young ducks of various varici tics being reared, and tlio deer imported from England-arc reported to-be doing-very well.- . .-.i.Last. year Vtlio.' Mallard • andi grey-, - ducks • crossed audi .produced .-fine- birds. -. Tins sea-/ '"; Khvo;;; crowed I;witlu' tlio;: l' <:: :.i American black ducksj and 1 the' result, is: be<v .: , ing?watched with* interest. ' Tho Mongolian p.-/.'.. pheasants: have laid a. few eggs, which 'are' : ' being :iSociotyMvilb'havo 'a yy '" ' number; of.. pheasants ' ready,:, for - distrihution r ; > ■ shortly, but,'they• wdl probably ;be liberated 1 on restricted areas fii'P jVK'^For^i.numbeK^of-JyccpT^dre" lids'ibeenV'!.-; - great,' mortality "'atnongst--,trout -about Christ-'. 1 \ : >~' masf.timo, and .the': angling .iraternity-i have: > •':>•?/ advanced; many ;'tKeories' -as';to;;thev'pdssibll!: _■ : cause:-- .'lt -is now .generally. ~ attributed to- : either rtutii : poisoning', or; sunstroSe;- • Two' I. 'Wellington anglers, while-fishing-in .the Tan-: v " .' herinikau ..stream during Jthe- 1 Christmas. 11011-" . days,, had' a- strange exporieneev.which throws 1 :;.;va.fnew!ilightiqn ; tbe : : _unaccou nta bl ipi; liiortal ity v , , A.-trout, between>two , and threo -pounds in" k' Weight- was■<>observed; to srise-with ,rgreat' s -J. ■■■-.-■ vigour.', and almost' imitiediatoly; tlio lish-be-T-. .; gan • to- swim down-stream 1 very . ' slowly,"' travelling m J largo circles' About fno minutes . elapsed, :.wlien thiv trout- began-: to--1 turn a whitish colour and turned on its back" ,The ■/• ■anglers - 'sdcured \thp';;fislij; U-and '-oh- ; ?r,. . v examining -it " found ' there ►■tv'as.'no food ■ irl-thd'ronly'.'nlark.-'about'.'the: trout that' was likely .to' causo'- tho ' suddeil' - death • was- a rod mark 011 tho roof of -tiiomouth. As there were thousands -of wasps x hovering round in tlio -viciilrtv,, tho- anglers''- : :^t^®pryi^that;tho i ,tTppt.;died';frqm, tbej;stiiig .of a ; wasp, seoms -quite-feasible.'- <, -According-to .tho -. "Botorua' Chronicle,": tho.--ip.ivfish in' Ra-ngitaiki, this season; aro in I!-;-splendid,-condition,- .and; those, anglers- who i jo, have ,chosen iGalatea -.-as 'then - eamp-havo had 1 f- ■capital sport.-, Colonel:, Parry tand'- party, -have 1 i-- :- been^ angling ■thero -for- tho -past'.three , Qr-J ■: four weeks; and - have been greatly- fas- .' cinated by tho sport. ■ They have been takmg fish from tho Ilangitaiki at- their'camp j-i .at Murupara, .but' havo ' now- removed- to i : -. Bird's camp *at Rorewhakaitu,; where ;tho'i ; 'is;;eqnally - gopdifj " ; \risii; ; '. - 'Murupara invariaßly return thoro iho follow-- • ing and successive seasons, lavproof that,tlio tront afford real good sport. - Large quanr . titles of trout contin"ue to bo taken from'thoS,'; lakes;,and" streams;; iiideed,-. * appear; to bo more plontiful now than at tho' beginning- of the season. ■ 1 / : "Jock Scott," in the "Otago Witness," . wntos- -often, wonder whether . anyone 111 OtagO' or' -Southland is ■ catching-' '~ , any i fish ißt',all: 'Some tliero -may bo who are.getting some, but they keop thoir--;ox-'" i they.. 'arojjy.yxy. i,: i new-.to tho.sport:; It is not so,lll tho north. I In-the, course .of my,duties I sen most of V i the papers, of tho Dominion, and, it is „vcry., i: . raro that I see anything to show. 1110 in tho- . papers of Otago and Southland that angling au.is.not an extinct art; As for correspondents, they seem-to.he all dead; '.There used to bo, ;• - good fishing, about'Wyndham, and compcti-: • tions every year. "Where.- are they jiow ?' -■■>' Tho Tourist.Department has instructions to ;-■.koepy.angler's posted iii -tho condition of tho' . ..streams. Thcso seem to be rarely observed, and when tho information doer, comos it is as often as,not valueless. It in-of no value to a . would-be angler to bo told that suchand such a- river is fishablc. He wants to. know-tho weather conditions -and -.the - river height.: ; His ' expencnco will tell him ' the . rest.' Fitfully wo hear - of --.monsters", being ' caught in tho Waiatl, but in ihany cases' tho ftones have a-slight flavour of romance. " In Iho north nt is difierent; 'because ,those- to :; . - rho'sb in'erestf it is to attract- visitors report > ' --'ail the Hatches; The Itotorua payers teem ■ with- accounts: of catches 111 the lake. 11l Canterbury' also the papers aro supplied with notes. >Byt lioro; wo seem to take -it " as a matter of course, It-is much to ho deidred that greater-interest in'angling' should •' . ■ be' shown, : ■ ■ •■' •-