FIELD AND STREAM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 134, 29 February 1908, Page 9

FIELD AND STREAM.

(Br Day FLY.)

' Last Saturday the hopes of anglers wer# . raised when * the much-needed rain commeuecd. t-o fall.' Thero.Tvero a'fcvr who mada' nasty • preparations"' and :'journeyed to their ■ •ravourito haunts,- but needless to say that the rainfall was too little' to do any good locally. streams are lower: now than liaa tlio case for a' number--of years, and the mortality amongst trout has been very great. -dtvis expcctSd- that-tho Acclimatisation societies. throughout the .Dominion will • ®'" pusy ~time.', in , restocking streams which havo practically dried up. Our Tokaanu correspondent writes as fol-lows:—-Pishing-Hero is still infull swing and good catches of rainbow, and brown trout are caught'daily. One bag of 20 brown trout was taken recently on;" fly and minnow, by Judge I aimer,: and' Messrs. -East and ' Jones. Tlio average weight 'of tho trout was 9jlb. each. ; 7QT? mclud ed' two of 141b.; one each ' ' and " IOJIb., . eight were 101b. ' each, livo were 81b.; each, ana tho smallest ones taken were 61b. and 'lib. each. : ■ .-Tho, angling fraternity, as a body, are a - truthful lot, 'although the poor unfortunates • , ' i i • ll °k' Mulgo..in the fascinating-and skilful : pastime often .think otherwise. Tha - Itotorua . Chronicle" says: : "A rather good story-r-a fish story, but not-necessarily a> fishy us, which is'worth recording. About a week ago—to bo accurate, a, week ago -last ;Monday,-—aii enthusiastic angler was tempting the trout in tho lako ■neai'.'.'th o Fairy Spring" Stream. After,, 'a 1 while ho hooked a fish,' played it for. some .time, asyanglers. 'aro , wont ..to, and eventually . succeeded, in getting it' within gaffing distanco from him. To. his ■ surprise, no noticed'something of an unusual character attached to tho trout, in the shape of a long), black streak. His first idea-was'that it was a snag tho fish ,had run against, bu\, on landing the lish,. to his surprise he .found a strap, about 6ft. long, attached' to'it. The strap had becu passed:through-the. mouth of tho fish, and then through the buckle, .there-' • v by; making' the fish secure/ It appears that this is the 1 practice among somo anglers, and that tho strap is ; thcn attached to. the body [ of the angler, or a button oil a belt worn by him.' lividcntly, before tho first angler succeeded in 'making the strap fast, ' tha fisn got away from- him, strap and all, but how long the trout had been at liberty with tho strap through its'mouth angler number two is unable to say. We have been asked to ' say that tho angler who lost the strap may obtain same on'application at this office,and giving a'description, of it. According to the "Rotorua Chronicle," the weather rccoiitly has not been-such as'to ' induce, anglers' to. go' out on the lake,, tha denso sraoko'.-making . navigation difiacult. Among thoso who have been, brave enough to veuturo l out'was ,r Mr. Fitsori, who in three days secured 24 -fish, tho heaviest of which weighed 71lb r - •All'these fish wero caught on' ' the fly,.' Oil Saturday [Colonel. Ward and Captain Rhodes were rewarded with 12 fiho v trout, tbe average weight;;'of .which was.'3lb. " Theso,,'als6'i-,wer6>caught on tho, fly; ■

. 'An excaango'Bays:-About three"years ago ,<fome-ramlie;w^fmit'-fry'were placed in ono.of the lakes known .to .tbo: Maoris as Parawanui, situated ''about'-one milo; from the .West \ Coast;and- about five'ttiiles-'from Aratapu; It has been!; a •matter, of- conjecture - whether these -fish' could be! acclimatised Jin' theie northern. waters, but; there is now no doubt 'on the : :matt.br,.;as of; Arar . tapii, ii few days ago landed'.three beautiful ' specimens,' • weighing between ' 41b. ; and-. 51b. each;' - iTheseVwero. all caught: on tho fly and wcro in tho.'pink .of condition—in .'facb; equal in quality to,thoso of tlie Rotorua district.

Statements; have " been in circulation regarding .fish dying in the Toko- river (saya aii .exchange) just below the 'woollen mills as' a result of discharge of deleterious matter from.the. mills .iiifco the' stream."■ There lias been somo!'talk;of further prosecution of the company,. and-public' attention has' been drawn to' .the; matter. '. Tho' facts are ' that tho. woollen mills , are inuoe'ent regarding tho ■ recent . alleged :' wholesalo: killing of- fish.. A 1 few wero observed recently, and the water at tho- bridge was; highly discoloured., This, at,is'--.said)-was.-duo' to the'cleaning out .of ■tho:flour mill:,race,' and. the turning of the lead, water into\alagoon in'which was stagnant matter.'aiid setting'it flowing down. the bed of tho rivers \ ' The (low. of water in the stream is just now somewhat low, and the release of "septic •! matter from , the borough drainage after'-tbe- recentrain was supposed to bo the whole cause of the fish dying.