ANGLING NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17335, 25 November 1916, Page 12

ANGLING NOTES.

o _ (By IRON BLUE.) A -MAYFLY OPPORTUNITY. Henceforward the trout fishing in Canterbury should improve rapidly,' for "tho Mayfly is out" at last, which, by the way, is an item of news that in happier days caused yearly excitement to every fisherman living within the longest eoo-ee of any English "dry-fly" stream. Tho Now Zealand " .Mayfly " —Ephemera hudsoui is not quite the same insect, but at least it is a fine large fly, the largest of our duu>.. measuring one and a half inches across the wings, and its appearance vpon tho water seldom fails to arouse the interest of any New Zealand trout. This year w found the Mayfly first by the Ohapi Creek, where, after uselessly Irving the great, dark pools during early morning, we discovered that the lish had suddenly begun to feed. .Mayflies were the. cause, evidently, for both the dun and spinner terms of it wero thick upon the wafer, in the air above, and all about; the only spoilsport being the fact that our boxes hold no fly which was even a pafsnblo imitation. A big red quill was tho nearest.- but this had not the desired effect, and though trout were rising we could not catch thorn, until it occurred to one of us that we should use the natural fly itself. The idea was to impale n couple of the) .Mayflies upon a No. 6 hook, and "dap" thorn upon the pools from the cover afforded by the flax along tho edge, and thereafter we caught our trout alciiost n't will. The idea was good; try it in ease of need. MOMENTS OF DISCIPLINE.

As fate wills, the moment of discipline may meet the angler in the midst of triumph ; it is the moment in which he hws tlio big fish. Half-hidden by fiax, I found a narrow deep run, leading into n dark, short pool, ending in a devil of a. snag under water; and so far I had done well, or better. It was a likely looking place, and presently my flies explored its darkness. For no reason in particular I raised the rod point suddenly, and the monster was hooked. 1 do not understand yot why T should have struck at that instant, for no rise had been visible, no turn of a fish below the, surface had been seen. Perhaps it is long experience, or an extra sense belonging .only to anglers, but one does get the feeling that a fish is there—sometimes. The monster wanted to go' up, but persuaded otherwise by a reckless trust in a sound, strong cast, ho fought deeply, round and round the pool, occasionally splashing angrily upon the top. and causing me. to wish wholeheartedly for the time when his great gold-coloured, bulk would be held safely in the landing net. At last that moment seemed to have, arrived. The groan; fish bad given up the struggle, he allowed himself to be towed slowly towards the spot which I had chosen for the landing, the net -was outstrojehod to receive him; then simply be was not there. Those old lines of poetry about " the waters wild closed o'er," etc., might have suited the occasion very well, but. the creek was distinctly sluggish, and I could only account for t>he loss by supposing that the cast bad become frayed, during the efforts of the monster to reach that undcr-watcr- snag. As a. matter of pure truth, such moments of discipline are much nicer if they are being endured by some other follow ; when one can watch their passing with careful interest and a quiet mind. "We came round a bend of the river, straight upon a scene of silent, unstirred willows, and a-placid pool; but if life was required to make a perfect picture, it was given by.an angler in the foreground, who at the moment of our arrival had grotesfjued himself into tho weirdcyfc attitude, apparently in strenuous endeavour to scratch the oxact middle of his broad-built back. As the uncouth George put. it. that angler might have been "suffering from a mighty big flea,'' but. I corrected him gently, " George, you should say that ho has a little dust beneath bis collar." and boom when the contortions of the victim slackened, we saw the real cause of his exertions, his drop fly had hitched firmly in the hack of his coat. This little accident may happen to anybody at times, but with a. difference in effect, for while the wise man takes off his coat at once and removes the fly, the rest of us must first struggle hideously, .try to see the place, and swear, just like this angler was doing—to our great satisfaction. i bet George a shilling that it would bo more than three minutes before the man thought of taking oflMiis coat; as a fact these moments of discipline were nearly five: then he ceased pawing the ground, sighed bigly, smiled slowly. off came his coat, and out came the fly. No, George has never paid me that shilling;