Bank Notes.

Otago Witness, Issue 1928, 2 November 1888, Page 28

Bank Notes.

Queenstown. — The local acclimatisation society are doing their utmost to stock their rivers and lakes with new varieties of trout. Mr Davidson, their ranger, has been visiting tho Otago society, and was very successful in bringing to Queenstown 2000 Loch Leven and 2000 American brook trout (fry only), two fish dying in course of transit. Mr Davidson acknowledges the kindness and courtesy received from Messrs Deans, manager of the Ofeago Acclimatisation Society, and Burt, ranger, these two gentlemen doing all in their power to make his visit an enjoyable one. Tho trout are being taken care of by Mr Hotop, one of Queenstown's most enthusiastic pisiculturists, and will remain in his private hatchery until they are distributed in the various lakes and streams of the district. — Lake Wakatipu Mail. Water of Leith.— Very few anglers have been seen on the water of late, the prevailing sou-wester having put the fish completely off the feed. Messrs Mirams, Brown, Bamfield, and Anderson have taken a few on favourable evenings, but nothing of any size. I hear of a very big fish being seen in one of the pools in the lower waters. One gentleman solemnly informs me that he is a 12-pounder ; he also avers that ho playod him for fully half a minute, and then owing to a defeotivo hook lost him. From all accounts that fish is going to have a good choice of victuals during the coming week. Waitati. — I heard of one good basket being made on this stream during the week, Mr Ohisholm being tho lucky one this time— 26 fish, 161b, is not half a bad day's work in these days of spearing, netting, liming, and dynamiting, and it requires very careful fishing, too, to bag these same Waitati trout. So many go over the water that the fish soon begin to .get suspicious, and every year ifc will be found more difficult to make big baskets. That is my experience of heavilyfished streams.

Silvebstebam. — I paid a visit ito this stream the other day, but with very disappointing results. How is it that trout are so scarce in this lovely little Btream? Charming shallows ripple over a pebbly bed, Jost the kind in which a trout delights to feed and enjoy himself ; deep pools are found, shaded by rocks and trees where he loves to hide in the heated days of summer, with here and there fine wide reaches. We could hardly have designed a river better fibted for spawning, hatching, snd rearing the speckled beauties. Ten years ago fat, wellfed 81b and 101b fish roamed and frolicked in those pools and numerous smaller

ones disported themselves in the shallows among the boulders. But where are those fishes now? Echo answers, where? That is too broad a question for me to answer, but perhaps a few of our poaching friends could give a pretty satisfactory — so far as they themselves are concerned — explanation. And yet there are always plenty of small fish. I caught 26 last week, and four only were fit to bag. There is a question I would like to have answered by some one living in the vicinity of the Silverstream—What is tha object of that race just a few yards below the North Taieri bridge ? * I took particular .notice that if the water is turned into it it will drain about a chain of the river bed and deprive a good few trout of their life. It would be worth a ranger's while to take a run out and see what is the little game. Large numbers of splendid trout are daily being caught in the Waitaki river, the fish evidently being more plentiful this year than during any previous season. The swiftest fish is the salmon. It can swim for short distances at the rate of 25 miles an hour.