Rod and Gun.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 128, 26 November 1904, Page 14

Rod and Gun.

IBt Gambbag.l

[Contributions to this column, addressed "Gamebag," will be welcomed. They should be concise, and must be signed with the writer's full name and address, not for publication, but as a guarantee of authenticity.] The Upper Hautapu affords first-class fishing. Reported that a Taihape man got 361b of trout in two hours. The Coromandel Peninsula, which is full of mountain streams, is being stocked with trout, including rainbow. At Atiamuri, a picturesque place on the Ugper Waikato, on the old coach road Rotorua to, Taupo, three rods got fourteen fish the other day, the heaviest weighing 91b. The Waimuj a tributary of the Whakataki, is over stocked in its upper reaches, and the fish are thin and voracious. Here is an opportunity for the Acclimatisation Society to send out a couple of men to net or secure a stock of fish, to be liberated in, say, the Whakataki. A large number of spectators gathered 'round a big catch of trout, comprising about 1461b, from the Selwyn, which was being photographed the other day at Christchurch, on the grassy slope at the Government buildings. All the fish wfire in splendid condition, and fairly even in size. A correspondent recently wrote denouncing the trout-fishing competitions in the South as being unsportmanlike and savouring of the pot. The Bruce Herald supplies the following details of a recent competition : — "Tho members of the Bruce Rod and Gun Society held a fishing competition on the reaches of the Tokomairo River on Wednesday, commencing at 6 a.m., and finishing at 6 p.m. Ejght or nine competed, and the catches were weighed in at the Coronation Hall in the evening, when it was found that Mr. D. Hassett had been most successful, secured eleven fish weighing: 261b,

thus winning the hrst prize of 15s (donated by Mr. I). E. Chisbolm) ; Mr. J. Nelson was second with three fish, weighing 8-jlb, and receives 10s (made up in entry money); while Mr. Arch. Bryce won the third prize of 5s (donated by Mr. R. Robertson), jivith two fish, weighing 61b. To Mr. J. Nelson fell the honour of landing the largest fish of the day, that gentleman securing a nice specimen weighing 51b." In an article on "Trout in Australasia," contributed to the Melbourne Argus, Donald Macdonald makes the following observations : — "The inevitable conclusion is that in years to come as the fish increase in numbers and their food supply decrease proportionately, the trout will shrink also to the dimensions common in English brooks, possibly even smaller, for every well-known trout stream or loch in the Old Country is fished over with such a vast number of anglers that the stock is kept down, and the struggle for existence js made more easy to the survivors. In Australia the anglers will be few in proportion to the number of streams and the fish, so that a few years hence we may expect to find many more trout in a bag, but the era of big fish will have passed, both in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. When the old angler of the future, who may be the young beginner of to-day, tells of the big trout he caught in tne Great Lake (Tasmania), or in the estuaries of New Zealand rivers, the fishers of that coming time will smile the incredulous, but kindly smile that discredits a fish story." The Hawera Star says the following remarkable stories are vouched for: — " Mr. Wrigley when fishing the Kaupokonui caught and netted a wild duck on his fly rod with a fly cast. He had just landed a fine 4-pounder trout in the twilight, when the duck settled in the pool where he was fishing. He cast over it, and succeeded in hooking it in the thick part of the wing. The next quarter of an hour the duck spent partly in the air, partly diving, and the rest sailing round and: round, only to be brought back each time with the supple rod. A friend netted the duck eventually, and after disentangling cast and hook it was allowed to fly away again. " Another curious story is that when Mr. J. Robertson was fishing the Inaha with a worm bait he hooked two 4-pound fish at once, one on each hook. After playing them both but he, in the excitement, gaffed the top fish first, and the bottom one consequently slipped off. If he had taken the bottom one first he might have put up ar remarkable record of landing two 4-pounders at one time. " Yet another->-Mr. Robinson noticed when fishing the Kaupokomii that when playing a 3-pound fish another of similar size kept swimming around and about the hooked fish all the time." ' ' The Manawatu Daily Times records the fact that a local angler sprained his wrist badly while trying to land a Manawatu monster. At a gathering of the Featherston Gun Club, five competitors in a sweepstake were minus a gun, and with ono accord borrowed from a competitor who was posessed of a superior weapon and a generous disposition ; there were only twelvo competitors altogether. It will be seen that half of the shooting was done with the one gun. By a curious coincidence the result was a tie between the owner and his five friends, who then proceeded to' shoot off, still using the same gun. It is not surprising, therefore, that some members think the borrowing business is a little over-done. The Grey Star thus describes a strange fish found on the beach : It measures exactly 30in, lin in depth by £in thick. It has a barracouta head, but the skin — silvery and devoid ef scales — and tail is that of the frost fish. At first it puzzled most of the oxperts, but ultimately Inspector Wilson, who is an authority on such matters, found the specimen described by Mr. Clark as belonging to tho frost fish family (lepidopus elongatus). It is exceedingly rare, only very few specimens having been obtained.