ROTORUA & TAUPO TROUT

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7974, 4 December 1911, Page 8

ROTORUA & TAUPO TROUT

(To the Editor "N.Z. Times.")

Sir,—Referring to .a letter which appeared in your daily of November 25th, 0. by the secretary of the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club, I had already communicated with the engineer-in-chargo at Rotorua on the subject, as I had heard 1. Uu; sLituneur, and I now enclose the reply from the engineer-iu-charge tor yuur perusal. You will note the secretary of. the a* Rod and Gun Club distinctly states “there has never been a barrier erected, nor has any stream been effectively stopped to prevent one single fish gaining access to the upper reaches or spawning grounds." (This statement referred to the rivers and streams running into Lake Rotorua.) The euginecr-in-charge distinctly states in his letter to me, dated November 25th, 1911, which 1 enclose, “that we (the department) successfully blocked the streams running into Lake Rotorua for one year; for two previous years Rutherford was at work at it, but the construction was not substantial enough for the purpose." Your readers will therefore note that the rivers were partially blocked for 'two seasons and completely blocked for one season. It is to be regretted that the secretary of the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club had not been better informed before he made such misleading statements. There can be no doubt that the stopping of the streams partially for two seasons and completely blocking for one season and the weeding out of thousands and thousands of weedy and diseased trout and the rest that the fishing received during those three years (due to the fact that few fishermen would fish for rainbow that gave no play and were not good eating) enabled the best of the fish to mature, and, they being fairly strong feeders, would help very materially to get rid of the weakling and diseased young froy and yearlings (by feeding on them), and if the taking of the fish i? limited to the fly for, say, three years, the fish will increase in sizo and quality, and we can look forward to the fishing being as good as it was seven or eight years ago. The netting done in the lake this year would not in any way have affected the quality of the fish this sea-

The Government are to ha highly congratulated at the result of the work of stopping the streams, as carried out by their engineer-in-charge, and which has alread.y resulted in an improvement in the condition of the fish. I hope to be able to fish this season in Rotorua Lakeand rivers (especially the Kaituna) v and shall make a point of. again examining the fish, both as regards condition and size.—l am, etc., CECIL A. WHITNEY. Auckland, November 29th.