THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1928. TROUT-FISHING SEASON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19962, 2 June 1928, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1928. TROUT-FISHING SEASON.

Another season for trout fishing has ended. The closing date of May 31 in the Rotorua district, following that of April 30 for the area the Auckland Acclimatisation Society conti-ols, means that rods must now be put by until spring comes again. The inland fishing waters of New Zealand, the lakes and streams where the angler delights to cast a fly, are so much a national asset that some consideration of their needs, and of the means by which they could be improved, coupled with free acknowledgment of their many qualities, is appropriate to the present time, when .recent experience gives a basis for discussion. The season of 1927-28 has not been a normal one. The prolonged and unbroken spell of dry weather characterising the summer naturally had its effect. General testimony is that while it lasted tho fish were neither so plentiful nor of a siz3 to be expected under more usual conditions. After the rains came more fish and better fish were to be caught. The weather cannot be controlled, and any consequences following climatic conditions simply have to be accepted as philosophically as possible. The fact that there was such, an influence on the fishing must be noted, however, in reviewing the past season. Dismissing such intractable factors, the experiences and observations of fishermen are worth examining to determine whether different management or any variation of conditions could make more attractive this asset of the nation which is admittedly one of the most powerful agents in attracting to New Zealand eminently desirable visitors. The interests of the New Zealand people, many of whom are enthusiastic followers of the sport, must be considered also.

First it can be recorded, pleasurably, that the trout-fishing, especially that to be enjoyed, at Lake Taupo, with its many bays and the streams running into it or out of it, continues to draw eulogies from oversea fishermen. It may not sound well if 'New Zealanders describe it as the best trout fishing in the world. The verdict, however justified, comes more gracefully from others. Tho fishing at Taupo has been described in just these teims by more than one visiting angler during the past season. Fishermen of experience, who have plied a rod on the trout-streams of many another country, who have heard the fishing in New Zealand extolled, have been surprised and delighted on making its acquaintance and on finding that it has not been over-praised. The true enthusiast is interested in every phase of the sport he loves. It has been a special point of interest and amazement to many of these visiting anglers to realise that the magnificent fishing they have enjoyed is wholly man-made ; that New Zealand, with no sporting fish native to its inland waters, has yet been able to provide such sport within a comparatively short period of years. All these features combined serve to make the lakes and trout-streams of the Dominion one of its most powerful and permanent sources of advertisement in all parts of the world. The sea-angling of the northern coasts has come to the fore recently and rapidly as a means of making New Zealand known abroad. The trout-fishing, without any such sensational rise to fame, is an older established and may yet prove to be a steadier attraction to people of means and leisure prepared to quarter the globe in search of recreation. Its possibilities are such that the maintenance of its qualities should be the subject of sustained effort. It is pleasant to hear such praise as has been uttered by visitors during the past season. That they have been delighted is no reason why the fishing should be left as it is, or merely kept at its present level. There should be steady effort to make it even better.

Coming from countries where fishing water is closely _ preserved, and often rented at high prices, visitors have remarked on the cheapness of fishing in New Zealand. Even with the recent increases in licence fees at Taupo, it is still remarkably cheap by the standards of other lands. Granting this, there is evidence that the new licence scale, the differentiation in different localities and the varying charges for residents and visitors, have caused irritation. The authorities would be well advised to consider whether they would not gain more than they lost by making the licences universal and the fees uniform. Allied with licensing is the question of seasons. At Rotorua and Taupo the season opens in November and closes at the end of May. In the Auckland Acclimatisation Society's district the period is from October to April. Since the new lake at Arapuni came into existence, and under the control of the Auckland Society, the anomaly of this difference has become greater. Different parts of what is actually the same waterway, and not far separated, are thus opened and closed at different times. Uniformity would certainly be desirable, and it should be gained by making the NovemberMay season apply to both. The general experience of fishermen is that the trout are at their poorest in October, at their best toward the end of the season. The April closing threatens to make Arapuni Lake

forbidden water just when, on all the evidence, it should be yielding the best sport. An adjustment on this point is essential. Again, at Taupo and the streams adjacent, clearing of the banks is a task that should be undertaken at once and with vigour. Complaints that favourite fishing spots are overcrowded, especially at holiday-time, have been persistent. There is no lack of fish or fishing water. It is only because heavy undergrowth makes many desirable spots inaccessible that anything is heard of overcrowding. Attention to this point can be classed without hesitation as the most urgent need of the moment. These things being cared for, and the problems of food supply and maintenance of stocks kept continually in mind, the trout fishing at Taupo may continue to warrant the description given by visitors during the season just ended —the best in the world.