HOW TO FISH

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 85, 10 April 1935, Page 9

HOW TO FISH

> .VALUABLE TIPS

MR. R. H. NIMMO'S ADDRESS

All sorts of dodges and hints as to angling equipment and practice were interspersed with the serious advice of an undoubted expert, especially in dry-fly fishing, when Mr. R. H. Ngn/no addressed a good attendance of "the Angling Club last night. Why C. Aidridge presided and introduced'the speaker as an angler of experience and great ability. Many anglers, said Mr. Nimmo/ Tiad formed bad habits in their youth, which prevented them from being as successful as they should. The true angler was a man of experience, who, by studying both fish and conditions, could hope to pit his wits and.'skill against the observations and apprehensions of the fish, one who kneyr the habits and likely pieces of water, and who, ' whatever the weather, whether in face of head winds or unfavourable conditions, could' return with fish. ; ' ■ Many dry-fly purists, he said,""disdained the minnow fisherman, but.the minnow and live-bait, fishermen ;>ad and needed a great deal of skill,, No form of angling in the hands of.an expert, however, was more deadly than the dry-fly sport. "' :.;-. .-.:,- EQUIPMENT. ; .?,, r,,.. He dealt with equipment at some length, giving useful advice to beginners and experienced .anglers- ■ -as well. A spare drum for the reel, eartfrying a heavier double tapered lin£ 'for use in high head winds, was afl-.&d-vantage. Dry flies should never' be pressed by the lid Qf the box! .It seemed that the more a fly was used, the more battered it looked, the bejtter the fish liked it, and a limit basket could be taken on an individual'fly. It was no use trying to fish wet and dry fly with the same line. The"lifte must sink for the wet fly, and".1 a greased line would not sink. A'l long piece of string saved many flies caught oh willow boughs, a stone'tied on.the end enabling the branch to be cayght and pulled down. A piece, of cobblers' waxed string meant that broken rods, often happening in the bush rivers, could be lashed, to save a day's sport. Rods suitable for various purposes were demonstrated. tr* When drying casts, particular, attention should be given '■ to ' drying the knot holding the fly, otherwise rust might rot the cast and mean a ,lost fish. ;, :' ANGLERS' CONTOUR. - A torch lamp lashed to the feet'was a great-convenience in night'■■'bully' fishing, to be switched on when gaffing a fish. "Anyone with contours*, -ian get any angle by turning the: feet," remarked the speaker. He did not believe in swivels on bully tackle^ A ten per cent, solution of formalin would preserve a supply of bullies, which could easily be speared with a comb-like fork by the aid of a torth. A net, with any form of treble hooks, was of no use for night fishing, as 'the hooks tangled. A gaff was indicated. TROUT VISION AND HEARING; The knowledge of the area of vision' of a trout was important. The ..horizontal plane of' vision was amazing. The human eye. was set concavely'-in the face, while the trout's eyes; were set conyex at the sides of its'head. The zone of visibility was the, fun circle except for 60 degrees. Sometimes the wet pebbles acted as mirrors, betraying the angler, even when directly behind it.1 The vertical plane ofJthe trout's vision had the peculiarity that the higher the angler stood the larger he appeared. The lessons to be learnt were to avoid walking high up or^'the bank. Trout saw less readily- in rapidly-running water. '...;;>, There was a great controversy, regarding the ability of trout to.-: hear, or perceive the vibrations of footfalls. Hearing was in doubt, but the rserisi-< bility of the trout to vibrations''was well known. Jumping down ,§ft a bank into shingle would warn fish. Wading a still pool, however carefully done, always raised waves,.again warning the fish. The position of. the- •sun. and reflections was not always.:given/ sufficient attention. White hats and shirts gave the angler away. •'-;■ CASTING HINTS. . The greatest casting fault with tha majority of anglers was letting'the line or fly break water, causing: explosions of light, which were perceptible to the fish. The ordinary, .cast should always be made just above the surface of the water, letting the* flyfall lightly. Casting was done-from, the wrist and the elbow. Bringing the rod too far back over the shoulder ;.was the cause of breaking, hooks, on; the stones behind. The rod should stop, just short of the vertical. When the cast was being made the rod should stop before reaching the horizontal, the left hand releasing the loose Jtae held in it; so that the line "sho«ts" out straight. The fly should touch the water first. Other special casts .went described for all emergencies, i ,-. It was no use fishing unless. ,th« habits of the fish in the particular iives were understood, and casting varieft with each river. Every pool presented a problem, and had to be diagnosed. The flow and set of the current into the poor were of importance, as ,Jhey, decided where the fish found the food. Every pool should be fished so ■as tafc explore all useful water before trying the evidently best places. WET FLY FISHING. ,;■ At the commencement of the seasort the wet fly was better than the dry. The reason for that was the weather was not warm, and the stage in which the natural fly was presented itp,the fish was more closely paralleledl by. the wet artificial fly. The wet fly was fished upstream with a short line, so that the first fly was sunk, the next slightly less so, and the third fly on the :, surface. Watching for the check of the line at its junction with the water was better than to try to see the fish rise. Fishing upstream suited rivers like the Akatarawa, but in rivers like the Hutt one should fish across and down, except in the heads of ripples. Too long, a line meant missing fish, as the touch was too coarse. '" FAULTY STRIKING. ,: ' Nearly 50 per cent, of fish.were-ilost in striking. The strike in dry fly should be regulated to the speed of the current. In swift water the fly/; was taken swiftly and with little surface disturbance, while in slack water a fish, might eventually take a .fly cast and left on the surface for minutes; Iri the former case there should' be no delay; striking : should1 be done at the first flasht of a fish, while in the latter angler should wait until the, fish turned to go down. Many fish would be missed through haste in striking in * slack water. Fish must be fought with the rod well up to get the aid of the spring in the rod. Fish had not the same power in shallow as in deep; Wfltcr* ■'■■,■■' A vote of thanks by Mr. w; Gj Wohlmann was carried by acclama* tion. i ■- ' .

Notification is given by advertise* ment in this issue of the election ofi the parents' representatives to the Board of Governors of the Hutt yalley ■ High SchooL Nominations win be r«« Mhrf""" *" T"v>" nn Wprin^^p- iff* 1'