FISHING STORES

Hokitika Guardian, 13 July 1928, Page 4

FISHING STORES

The excuse of the boy at AVcodside who, wlien caught at the pastime of trout tickling, 'explained that he was merely trying',to find the depth of the water so that he could have a swim, is worthy to raid: with that of the young-, ster who said lie was teaching a worm to swim, Reminds M.A.T. of the king of T all fishing yarns. The story goes that a young sportsman just out from Home had eatight a big mako near the Bay of Islands and was very full of his exploit when he reached his hotel at Russell. It so happened that a member of the company was a veteran deep sea angler who had caught swordfish ahcl mako for years—real big fish, too. He listened courteously to all the fantastic details with which the youngster embroidered his tale, and agreed that it must have been a monster fish'. Finally it dawned, upon tjie visitor that he was talking to a man who really had caught monsters of the deep, and he was constrained to ask, “Now, won’t you give ifs if. reminiscence or two, sir?” Very reluctantly the old ’tin did so. “It must have ten or fifteen years ago,” i.c said, “when I hooked the fish of a lifetime. He must have weighed fifteen hundred pounds, if lie weighed an ounce. He was a nasty brute, too. and finally he charged my launch and smashed it to hits. There I was at his mercy!” Then the old ’tin stopped and resumed his pipe. “"Well, go on, sir,” said the youngster, “toll us what happened.” ''Happened?” he said. “Why, nothing happened. The damn thing ate me.