ANGLING NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17329, 18 November 1916, Page 12

ANGLING NOTES.

• (By.IRON BLUE.). TWICE HOOKED. Evidently the old saying “once hooked twice shy ” is a rule which has exceptions, like most of the rest; for yesterday morning brought, us an incident. in proof. The fly was coming down thickly, and we were fishing with good luck during tho morning rise, when, by tho side of a ripple, ive discovered a two-pounder lying out in the shallow abrtut a foot from the edge; and each of us wanting the other to catch him, we finally tossed to decide who should try. Arthur used liis “luck ha’penny,” hut as it has come to my knowledge that the (join lias two heads I mnnagod to win the toss very skilfully, and set to work at once.

The fish was right out in the open so it was necessary to stalk within casting range on hands and knees; but ho took a red governor very readily at the first cast, and I held him firmly for a moment, before the fly came away. That should have ended the matter, but rather to our surprise the fish went- back to his old station, where lie began rising again immediately, and having taken /the precaution of changing my fly for a Grcenwell, I found he was equally ready to accept, this. When in the not Arthur formed him unkindly “a fool of a fish,” I*l l perhaps his obliging behaviour is better explained by the fact that he had never seen me and that eacli time the fly liapponcd to float ovec him as one might, have wished. * ivfEp 6itt of sight: ' *

A grenb authority on angling has written that the three chief aids to success are first to keep out of sight, secondly to keep on casting, thirdly again keep out of sight; and at least with tho first and last, of these instructions most “constant anglers” will agree. However, in spite of its importance tho “keep out of sight” part is too frequently forgotten* and wo see tho zealous fisherman splashing openly and carelessly along the side, or even wading up the middle of a small, clear stream, quite unthinking of the dismay his proud appearance has caMsecl among its finny inhabitants, and fully expecting tbom to jostle merrily for possession of his hook. If an angler of this kind will be content to advertise himself over a limited extent of water, of course ho has' every right to exercise a choice in his methods, but as often as not he is one of the keenest, and a chance view of another fellow in the distance is enough to start him travelling and casting at a rate oi knots. He was doing all this and more, and spoiling the water for us very completely, when I remembered a line I bad read somewhere, “ Guile with guile oppose,” and I asked Arthur what he thought it meant. Occasionally Arthur is brilliant, and in a moment he said, “It means we are to let that chap son us sitting down here until ho goes past the corner, and then we are to get round about a mile ahead of him through the gor.se. We did just that, and at four in the afternoon, when tho rise was quite finished, we sat down again to smoke a pipe, and presently that vigorous caster came flogging* his way up-river; now casting, now looking back, where he thought wo ought to he. It must have been a nice little surprise foi* him to And us as near, for he told us plainly, " I thought. I saw you two sitting down about three miles below,” I answered, “ Yes, we saw you nbovo us at the same time,” nnd*Arthur insists the man looked at me most unpleasantly, but .1 did not notice, though sometimes the poor stranger must see right smart after liis own interests by the Souih Canterbury Opilii. Hero it is suggested .that on coming to a ripple on an open river, or where cover is quite absent on the side from which,it must be fished, the angler may make the most of his chances like this: First go to the lower end of the ripple or pom, and—always remaining well back from the edge of the water—fish the nearest half of its width carefully upstream,. Having done this, the far half should lie fished across and down, wading when necessary, for there is now less fear of senring rising trout; and in this manner all the water is covered without undue disturbance, and in the easiest and most likely way. WHEN TO FIBH.

A correspondent is good enough to ask me a rather puzzling question: “ Wlmt is the best sort of day to go fishing?” and it occurs that a proper answer is; “Whenever you can,” but J will try to go a little further. The subject of fishing weather has been argued up and down for ag-es; probably beginning when some sturdy little paint-coated cave-man first tried experiments with a rough stick rod, and a notched bone in place of a hook; but even now opinions differ, and always will.

Nearly everybody has his own idea of a favourable day, Wt often the mistake is made of setting; some sorts of weather aside as quite hopeless. In this way north-westers bear an especially evil reputation, though according to my own experience they may be times of exceptionally good sport. If you can get the gale at your back, Riid fish the usually still' pools which are now wind-roughened, and with a big fly, tliero is no doubt the fish laro willing enough to riso if there is anything to tempt them. I believe that a wet, cold mist or fog is fatal to fishing prospects; and as cortainly, a dull, rainy, miserable day is often a good opportunity, for those who like it.