ANGLING NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17287, 30 September 1916, Page 12

ANGLING NOTES.

(By IRON-BLUE.) ST IZAAK’S EVE. Old Isaak Walton lived, long yeary ago, That ne it now a saint, all anglers know. So they say, and anything a fisherman may Bay, “ Oela va, mon vieux,” it must be true—almost; arid in our New Zealand calendar tho first of October is tho time .when angling memories of all sorts ere revived into full ac-* tivity. Starting early, very early, in the morning; here is the willow-shaded eddy, or the' cliff-pent pool, where George lost the twenty-gounder, which when he really caught it weighed exactly three pounds, but no matter; it. is nice to see the old place again, after a lapse of months, while there is always the chance of adding to its tale of incidents. All.good anglers are looking forward to “The first,” excepting Henry, who says “I afiall be busy lambing for another fortnight,” which, when you come to think of it, is quite absurd of Henry; not to say a little neglectful of his willing motor and the wishes of his friends. Surely these mere affairs of mutton should be set aside for a few short hours at the angling festival. . This year St Isaak’s Day will fall upon a Sunday, therefore it is to be supposed that many people will begintheir fishing season on the following morning; but let the first cases coma when they may—what was it I heard? “Here’s tight lines to all of ue and. a ton-pounder for the retained Anzao.” Well, well, we can keep hoping. H/. At the present time the season a« least will start under much more favourable circumstances than _in either of the past two years; and in spite ot “all this rotten fine weather, or which a friend complains, it is not now* a case of cursing the drought and wondering where there will be any water, but rather a choice between likely P Possibly the smaller fly streams rnay be found lower than' we might..; have wished, but at the moment of writing a cold south-wester is promising an rgHI mediate; rainfall, which would Jg the thing. Many of these brooks dry last summer, except occasional porently they noW contain a fair stock of trout, and for various /% small fly streams are veiy good place* to visit upon TtaJgJ; continues, while the larger waters . will still SSI If order L and. satisfactory season may be• For the present there is P lent ? from last season, when so “® were bo low as to be almost Thffi Eno the angling prospect is good in all such plate, and ter later on, for the ' re ‘, l ™S n 3 them in going order with Ireqneni, See aid the fish had every opporc Ey to run up from the sea lagoons. reported that most of; the South, . Canterbury waters axe weU and so far as can be ascertained th prospect of sport at the mouths of the snow rivers Is also encouraging, bu Ashley, Selwyn, Rnkaia or ® fisherman will please _ himself npo “The first,” and I wish him luck, i A MATTER OF. OASTS, The matter is this. You can buy v couple of two-yard casts for, say, two. shillings, but if you buy a packet.of. lx gub and a packet of 2x gut, each , containing a dozen strands and costing a shilling, it is easy to make four good caste for the same money are war times, when every shilling has a special use.. Take ihree steands ot lx for the top half of the cast, and three of 2x for the lower , part and after soaking them for an hour m tepid water there will be little dangeroftW gut splitting or cracking • while tyntf tlie knots.. ■>. - j .THE HORSE-NAIL SPINNER, j. \•• pei-haps I: had gone too far,- ffir I had sai<L straightly, 1 You can mfike a spinning-bait as good as the rest out of just any old thing that comes handy.” And Charles, who had been attending to his particularly noxious , pipe, with a presumably stolen • horsouail, tossed, over the nail, 4 ec ”,’ ,l. “Make me a spinner out of that Charles thought he had me; so did I; but taking the nail to on iron block I hammered out the head sideways, thin and flat, so that presently ! had made two flanges or wings like those of a Chapman spinner, and the busmesi part of the nail would do very well for the spear which goes inside the natural bait, for which a “ Chapman is used. Next the flanges, were twisted in a vice, to get' the required spinning power.; a hole was. punched m the middle of the head tend fitted with a split ring ; and swivel, and two more nolev were punched in thfe spear. A bit of stiff wire run through these holes and tho ends turned, up made two hooks which would prevent tlio bait from slipping off the speai, and the usual arming of throe triangles -finished the V horse* , nail spinner.” . ' ' C'l