ANGLING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22710, 24 October 1935, Page 5

ANGLING

By Dry Fly

FIXTURES October 19. —Boys' competition, any legal bait, Water of Leith. October 28.—Any legal bait competition at the Shag. , . November 2 Bare fly competition, Waipahi River. November 16.—Any legal bait competition Waikouaiti River. November 30.—Any legal bait competition, Tomahawk lagoon. February 1 and 2.—Week-end outing to Poniahaka River. Any legal # bait competition, and dry-fly competition. February 29. —Bare fly competition, Shag River. NORTH OTAGO FIXTURES The following are the fixtures arranged by the North Otago Angling Club for the first half of the current season:— November 2.—Kakanui River. November 10.—Kakanui River. November 30. —Kakanui River. December 7 —Fly-casting; accuracy fly-casting distance; bait-casting accuracy; fly-casting accuracy. COMPETITIONS HELD The first competition for the season under the auspices of the North Otago Angling Club was set down for October 5, but conditions were against the fishermen, and only three small trout were landed. It was consequently decided to call the competition off, and it was held on October 19 in place of the fixture which had been set down for that date. This time, the Kakanui River proved more kind, and the contest resulted as follows:-T-W. Thomas, five fish, 31b 2oz, 1; A. Bastings, three fish, 21b 4-£oz, 2. The total number of fish taken in the competition was 13. BOYS' COMPETITION Showery weathsr failed to damp the enthusiasm of the large number of young anglers who took part in the boys' competition on the Lfcith last Saturday. The sport was not good, but most of the competitors managed to land a fish of some sort. LABOUR DAY COMPETITION It is particularly unfortunate that in a season notable for greater enthusiasm than usual and increased numbers of anglers the success of the first competition of the Otago Anglers' Association's syllabus should be endangered. It appears that this may be the case, as the Shag River, on which the Labour Day contest is to be decided next Monday, is lower than has been the case for a long time. In conversation with a well-known Palmerston angler this week, " Dry Fly " was informed that the only chance of success in the competition will be by the use of very light tackle and a small dry fly. " There are trout in the pools," he said, " but they are smallish and very hard to catch. Unless we get rain soon the position is going to become very lacute.'' "We have to go on with it," said Mr R. Wilson, secretary of the Otago Anglers' Association, when asked what was to be done about the matter. One angler has advanced the argument that even at this late hour it would be advisable to alter the venue of the competition to the Waikouaiti River, which is fishing well at present. RIVER REPORTS A report from Papatowai indicates that the Tahakopa River is blocked with sawdust, and many fish are being found dead. An angler took two recently, both being in very poor order. The Tautuku River is reported to be in very good order, a recent catch consisting of 10 fish, all in the best of condition. Reporting on the condition of the Waipahi from the gorge to the mouth, a correspondent states that the river is low and clear, and good catches of trout up to 31b have been secured. The river is becoming rather weedy in places. SOUTHLAND ANGLING Fishing on the Southland Rivers at the opening of the season was patchy owing to the high winds and much snow on the ranges making the rivers high. Fishing on the Oreti, Waimea, and Maraora, Messrs W. M. Beal (Dunedin), F. Belesky, G. Johnston, and M. Reidy (Lumsden) secured some good baskets, 73 fish being caught, averaging from Jib to GJlb. A very fine catch was secured from the Maraora, nine of the best fish weighing 381 b and the largest being 6ilb. Fish were rising to the fly but not taking it properly owing to the state of the water. The best fish were caught on the minnow, which they were taking readily. Under the conditions, the party was well satisfied with the outiugs. THOUGHTS ON ANGLING In Southland we have angling to appeal to all tastes (writes " Matuku in the Southland Times), and if an angler wishes to take advantage of the various kinds of angling he will be wise to make himself proficient in all branches; that is, make'himself a general practitioner. In England there is a class ot anglers known as the dry-fly " purist." He declines to catch a fish with anything but a dry fly, and it must be the dry fly on which the fish is feeding. In Southland we have a number of anglers who confine their angling practically to the dry 11 v. All the streams provide excellent dry-fly. fishing, even the mighty Waiau. A very few years ago theWaiau was looked upon purely as a minnow stream. Now, however, it provides some of the best dry fishing to be had in New Zealand. Similarly, the Mararoa, the Oreti, the Mataura, and all the smaller streams provide excellent dry-fly fishing. A variation of dry-fly fishing is nymph fishing. This calls for a particular technique and skill of its own, and when practised by an expert is even more deadly than dry-Ay fishing. Before taking up dry-fly fishing most anglers serve an apprenticeship as wetfly practitioners. In suitable water and on. favourable occasions the wet fly is a successful method of angling. In some respects it calls for more skill than even the dry-fly. An expert angler with the wetfly will catch fish under conditions that seem hopeless. On very bright, calm days with low rivers, however, tluj dryfly will generally prove more successful, and this makes dry-fly fishing more popular. Some anglers specialise in fishing with a small red worm floated down the stream bed and this is certainly a deadly method of fishing. The angler chooses one of the long, gently-flowing pools in, say, the Aparima or the Oreti, and drifts his Avorm gently along the bottom, using 3X gut and small hooks. A certain amount of skill is required to know the speed at which the bait is allowed to travel. The fish caught by this method are a fair average size, and it is undoubtedly a deadly method of fishing. On the smaller streams where largo stones abound a large grub known as the creeper is found. This creeper is very tough and is fished on a single hook through his head. He is evidently a favourite food of the trout, and is a most effective bait. On the upper reaches of some of our streams, stones can be booh turned over in hundreds by anglers searching for creepers. In Canterbury, on Lake Ellesmcre and the Selw.vn River, anglers have evolved a series of lures for fishing for these tidal waters, and these lures are extensively used for this fishing. Some local anglers have Ij'ied out these lures in Southland tidal waters and they proved equally successful in Southland as in Canterbury. Their one great advantage is that they can be used qn a fairly stiff fly rod so that an angler does not require to acquire a minnow rod.

One of the most tantalising experiences of the tital Avater fisherman is to experience a "shrimp" rise. When the trout are feeding on shrimps they rise persistently and continually but decline to take the angler's lure. When three or four large fish are rising .persistently under the point of the angler's rod it is most tantalising. A Canterbury angler advises that the same rise occurs in Canterbury and he claims to have caught some of these fish by the following methods. He attaches a large fly such as, a Pollock's Poacher at the end of about three feet of stout gut and attaches the gut to the end of his line. He holds the rod point over the rising fish and dibbles his fly up and down and in and out of the water over the fish's nose. Sooner or later the fish gratis the lly, but the angler stales that ho generally gets such a start that he strikes 100 hard and breaks the gut.