ANGLING

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 117, 9 February 1924, Page 19

ANGLING

(By

“Cochz-y-Bondhu")

An. extraordinary number of eels have been noted by anglers in the Wainui. and they have been seen chasing the smaller trout in the day time, but from the Otaki comes a storv of eels attacking eels. An angler there was bringing on© ashore on its wobbling, loathly course, thinking of the mess it would make of his net and tackle, when he observed other eels, to the number of half a dozen, snapping at it. Perhaps the eels have learnt the sad habit of cannibalism from the trout. If they would do the thing properly, and almost exterminate themselves, it would be a blessing. The surviving cels would probably have to seek the larger rivers. Some of them are quite big enough now, and there have been instances of children wisely declining to bathe in pools “where monsters have been seen.- The head and neck 'down to the fins of one recently caught in the Wainui weighed 41b. The salmon are running in the Rakaaa. Just where they strike the New Zealand coast,, when they come back from the sea, is not known, but it is probably in the neighbourhood of Banks’ Peninsula. They seem to sp it there and shoal up and down tho coast. They must then pass through Cook Strait, following the South Island coast. Anglers in the Hutt, Otaki, and Rangitikei. may sight some of them from now on. , Two wee four-pounders were caught in the Otaki last week on the eelskm minnow. Tho water is getting very clear now for the minnow, and tho ripples are too full of weed to keep the minnow in the water long without tell-tale acquisitions of green w ee q. Sometimes th© water may be artificially discoloured by stirring up the mud some distance up-stream. A very successful angler has sent Hem© descriptions of flies ho has seen in the water here, and these were made up to. his order, and sent out to th© Dominion). lhe first trials o some of these proved very profitable, notably one with a busby hackle and the combined characteristics of dart Grenwell’s Glory and the Red Tipped Governor. Perhaps it is not until anglers reach the dry-fly stage that they seriously examine th© flies m spiders’ webs along the edge of the stream. and use the nearest dunlicate. Tho choice of hy is 1 a matter that is of tho greatest importance, as on some days only certain flies will servo to raise a iish. Often two anglers using different flies will have almost tho same u*k on a stream, but the element of .dull/hte” in this case, and a better illustration

of the fancy of the fish is th©, fact that if two flies of different make are used on tho same cast, although botn may raise fish if they are feeding w c “> eno will raise more fish than the other. Lt is therefor© desirable to use tho fly which the fish want.

A lovely five-pounder was landed recently in the Whakat.'ki on a 3x cast and a dry Burrough’s Fancy. It was a perfect specimen of fish, ana, though a male, was of the small-beaded type, wide and broad, and the flesh waV of a rich redness. These the sort of. fish that the Whakatiki provides, not in great numbers but the general run are good fish. A Wellington angler who paid a visit there last week-end saw eight fish, the smallest of which was about 31b., and hooked one about 81b., but lost him. Of the eight fish seen feeding ho hooked only three, of which he landed two. It is a ragged country thereabouts, and one must climb a good deal from pool to pool, as the river runs through a gorge Some of the holes are from 15ft. to 20ft. deep, and a slip may mean a good ducking, while much of the water cannot be approached © xc epl . * rom above, which scares all the hsh in the pool. The Whakatiki, like most streams round Wellington, is lower than for years, and very clear, lhe big fellows lie round the logs, and the whole business means hard work and some exciting moments when the fish is on, but for good, sport and the chance of getting a big one it is well worth a visit.

The little Wainui, that flows into the Whakatiki, used to be a fine lly stream a few years ago. but there are now so few fish in it that it is hardly worth vi*iting. To break a steel-centre rod on a hsn while using a 3x cast seems alniost an impossibility, hut an angler did it in tho Wainui recently.. At the foot of a chain or two of swift water, along tho edges of which there is always a good fish or two, is q fence across the stream. Tho general method is to hop into the flood, and by frantic splashing with the feet, disuado tho hooked fish from making for the fence. Our friend neglected this precaution, and it was not long before a two-pounder had got through the fence, lie flolowcd him right down, but 'had not the courage to throw himself on all fours and follow the fish under the r.ul a foot or so above the water. Iho result was that the rod is six inches shorter now. It may considerably improve its casting qualities. It often does, as n , lOS , t rods are too limber in th© first foot or two to allow the fly to rest on tho water when thrown, while stillness against the wind is an asset.