"STROKE-HAULING."

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 3105, 24 December 1921, Page 7

"STROKE-HAULING."

THE MODUS OPERANDI. A correspondent writes:—Referring to a Press Association message from Ashbun ton ti few days ago regarding '"strokehauling," it may bo interesting to many people to know what, il really means. The practice has developed to an alarming extent on some of the Canterbury rivers, and the Acclimatisation Societies have made strenuous endeavours to put a stop to it diinng- the past several years, hill without success, the result being a rapidly decreasing number' of trout in southern rivers. The modus operandi ol the "stroke-hauler" is as follows :-- Instead of the ordinary gut east or trace, a six-foot length of very flexible picture-frame wire is used. Attached to this at interval., of from 12 to 18 inches are large doublehooked flies. Sheet lead is cut into strips and wound round the wire trace between the dies, the object being to sink the whole length of the trace quickly to the bottom of the river, the amount ol lead used depending on the nature of the water lo be fished--.swiftly flowing water v<> quiring the larger weight to gel this deadly tackle to the bottom quickly. The tackle completed, it is then secured to the lino in the same manner as the ordinary trace, i.e., by means of a stout swivel. The ideal conditions for this class of "sport" is a rather shallow shingle riverbed where the water runs fairly swiftly from one lo three feet deep, and above all ll dirty or discoloured stream. The person makes his east al right angles to the bank or a little upstream to give the tackle time to sink in order to perform iis deadly work, using only from 12 to 20 feet of combined trace and line out. The tackle drifts round and down stream, and at the end of its tether is lifted with a smart jerk preparatory to the next cast upstream. Now here s the point: In a dirtv or discoloured river trout make for and "lie at tho edge of the stream. The "stroke-hauler" lifts his Hies out of the water at the edge, also, because he knows the fish are lying there. ay.i to get his tackle into that position he has to drift it round. The line of fearMime hooks is ripped out of the water from under the fish, and if one or more hooks miss the prev one will surely get him—by the tail, back, head, throat, or belly. No time is wasted in playing a fish—he is dragged out- the tackle being generally heit\y enough to drag oul a 101 b trout, so I here is no' fear of losing n on the score of being ough on the tackle. A " slrokehjjuler." m ver uses—or very seldom a u-ieeniiarl or cane rod. but instead a bamboo as -lift' as a doilies prop. These fishermen often get snagged in a log or unrler a big stone and the line is broken and the tackle lost, but wire is cheap and plentiful, and (lies are quickly attached to a new length, and so the game goes on. The writer has often when minnow fishing in the Kangitata river picked up broken tackle, or extricated others from under heaw stones after flood waters have refiih'd. And deadly tackle il is, One piece taken from under a snag contained , 6 hug 1 hooks bound back to back in pairs, to make six pairs, heavily weighted with lead, and attached to the wire trace with cooper wire. By these moans a bagful of li.sh can be secured in a very short time, no mailer what the weather c-omn-tions are. If the river is discoloured il ran be lished by day. If clear the deadly wink is done by night, when in clear water q I night the fish conn' in lothc edge in pursuit of bail coining up the river from ll u . sea. The pity of the whole thing is that so many good fishermen adapted the practice after viewing with envious eyes Ihe large bag, of the "stroke-hauler.-." One verv necessary step towards putting a stop to' (lie unsportsmanlike practice is that Acclimatisation Societies should taboo absolutely bamboo rods—that is the bamboo m ,| i,, one l< ngth; for where the bamboo costs onlv a couple of .-hillings, a fisherman would not risk a valuable rod at "strokehauling." It is too rough on all the tackle, especially the rod. The fisherman who was apprehended witii an eel on his lino evidently was using 100 much lead and sinking his tackle too