ANGLING SEASON

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 79, 30 September 1936, Page 13

ANGLING SEASON

'THE FIRST' TOMORROW

PROSPECTS GOOD

A BRIEF REVIEW

With the absence of heavy rains for the last few days anglers should find most of the rivers in the Wellington district fairly clear tomorrow for the "first" though many of them will be rather higher than fishermen like. It is then hard to reach favourite spots, and when the water gurgles round the top of the waders, and the cast is still just short', the temptation to take

the next fatal step is almost irresistible. It ia rather chilly still to welcome- wet legs. Then there is the old difficulty of ascertaining where the fish are lying, when the rivers are full. They may still be scouring round after the last of the ground feed brought down by a freshet, or they may be lethargically full and quite uninterested in any form of surface food. Rivers, except for the wet fly fisherman, are hardest to fish when just too clear for minnow, and not clear enough to bring fish up through a foot or two of water after the dry fly, which comes into its own as a rule later in the season. Usually at the beginning of the season the slacker water near the edges is the best fly water; the fish have not yet fully fecoverpd their strength after spawning.

High winds, particularly downstream, arc the angler's bane in the Wellington district, but given clear skies and low rivers, the fishing this year should be better than last as f-there have been no disastrous floods. There are said to be plenty of trout in the Hutt River, and, judging from the evening rise, this is so, but whether there are many fish over a pound is another matter. During the last six weeks when the river has been low, quite a lot of sizeable fish have been seen lying in broad, warm shallows. Those who have prospected the Hutt are unusually optimistic before the event, which is in itself significant.

The Wainui is not the stream it was some years ago: For one thing it has not the water flow, and after the earlier part of the season is inclined to become weed coVfered, and rather too full of green slime for satisfactory fishing. While it is still clear of weed and has a fair quantity of water, however, it provides good sport. Latterly it has not contained as many fish as anglers would like.' On former occasions, when the dam has been lowered for cleaning purposes, there has been noticed an increase in the number of fish below it. The dam itself is not open to anglers. There is only a small run of good water, and it is hard to get room to cast around the banks. A punt or dinghy would give good sport, but after all the quality of deadwater fish is not that of the lively ones found in running water. The Akatarawa is one of the best streams ready of access near Wellington, and it always contains fish. As-a dry-fly stream it is perfect, containing some of the best water in the district.

The Waikanae has gone off of recent years, but there are still numbers of small fish to be caught there, especially about Reikorangi, while the head' waters, though hard to get at, are said to contain some nice fish.

The Otaki is one of the streams i .where the attempt has been made to introduce rainbow trout, but after years of endeavour none appear to remain in the only suitable water, well above Otaki Forks. For a time some fine rainbow were taken there, but now this 'fine fishing water is stocked entirely, it is said, by brown trout. Why rainbow refuse to remain in some New Zealand streams is a mystery. Anyone seeking sport in the stream above the Forks, must be prepared for some hard work and a good deal of bush and rock travel, but it is like some other streams, the Western Hutt above the Pukuratahi junction, for instance, in giving a few good fish rather than many just takeable. The Whakatikei used to be a similar stream in this respect, and still gives good sport, but it is no longer a sylvan retreat, owing to the frequency with which tramping parties splash through the water on their way from other places. This makes the river "dead" for an hour or so. If one wishes to fish all the good water in places such as the above there will be a good deal of climbing, often over ~bare and slippery rocky knobs, and waders on such an excursion make rather an endurance test of the sport.

Out-of-the-way water is hard to find today, when the car has brought every river within an hour or two of Wellington. With the increased leisure given by the 40-hour week anglers may expect to find somebody ahead of them on practically all the rivers, and mid-week fishing, for those who are fortunate enough to be able to do it, should be the best.

Crowded as the rivers were last season, they will be more so this, and a word of advice may be given to those who have not yet realised that other people's sport depends largely on. them. Every angler has His own fancy of the best water ,and what is fished by one will be left alone, as far as casting is concerned, by another. It is not much trouble to walk to the bank, and leave the unflshed water undisturbed, instead of stumbling selfishly through it. It is often easier walking on the smaller gravel of shallows than .it is amongst the big stones along the bank, but by leaving some of the river undisturbed, there may be some sport for all. An hour after water has been fished with this in mind, sport can be had by the nextcomer.

One of the smaller streams close to Wellington that should improve with the installation of the Kn.rori sewer, is the South Karori. Anglers will find some of the good holes silted up after the big flood of last November, but from about a mile and a half above the sea there are said to bs plenty of fish. Other small streams that always get a thrashing on the "first" are Little Wainui, the Horokiwi, the Korokoro, and the Porirua Creek. Some surprising bags have been taken by firstcomers.

Little news has been received from the Wairarapa. but there is always sport to be had in most of its streams, and some very fine fishing for those who do not mind penetrating the 'wooded fastnesses'of the hills.