Bank Notes.

Otago Witness, Issue 1932, 30 November 1888, Page 28

Bank Notes.

A good deal of interest is being taken in the fishing competition arranged by the Otago Anglers' Association foi" the gold medal presented by Mr John Anderson, of Denham Green, Edinburgh. The competition takes place on tbs W.^ioabi river on St. Andrew's Day, November 30, Nino oi the cr&ck anglers of Ofcago have already entered, and it ia expected that fully as many more entries will yet be re-

ceived. The medal takes the form of a jubilee five-pound piece enrimmed with a band of Old English red gold, which is suitably inscribed. The second prize, which will be given by the Anglers' Association, is a silver medal. The bare fly competition promoted by the Otago Acclimatisation Society, for which prizes of gold and silver medals are offered, takes place on the same river on the day previous. This competition is open to every license holder, so that the trout in the Waipahi river are likely to have a particularly lively time of it towards the close of the present week. The river for a distance of 25 miles is, however, well stocked with fish which are noted for their gameness when hooked and their fine pink, salmon-like flesh.

Waimatuku, Southland.— FishTare now very plentiful in this stream. A few days ago Mr Hackworth caught three fish, two' of them Bplendid specimens, weighing 71b and 81b respectively, the third bringing up the weight of his basket to 181b. Mr Forsyth has also been very successful, having landed during the season seven fish weighing 341b.

Waitaki. — Big baskets are still being made on the Waitaki. Messrs H. Sohluter and J. Craig in a few hours caught fish to the weight of 801b. If this sort of thing goes on much longer we shall soon hear of the resident anglers petitioning for a tramway to convey the fish from the river to the railway station. Ib is too much like hard work having to carry such baskets as these over the boulders, &&of. f that bestrew the banks of the Waitaki, especially on a dark night.

Very Tall.-— I shall pass this note, by a contemporary this time, but do not pledge myself to believe the last line. It's rather early in the season to spring these little fish stories on us. It would be better if correspondents would wait until the camping out season begins : — " Some splendid specimens of trout have been caught in the Mararoa this season, a few of them weighing as much as 81b. The fish are far more numerous in the river this year than formerly, and several 'boomers' have been seen, esti* mated to weigh 301b." Waikaia. — From this far away district comes the welcome news that the creeks and river are swarming with trout. As it is in the Otago district I would advise some of our cracks to go and take some of those fishes in out of the wet* It is a bad thing for a river to be too full of fish* It makes cannibals of the old he fellows.

Mandeville-Otamete Rivee. — There have been some fairly good takes of late, Mr Doull having succeeded in landing 10 good ones ; Mr D. Nill 15 in one day, and 13 on a previous occasion. Regarding the competition dispute, it is satisfactorily arranged by Mr D. Nill taking first, Mr James Boult second, and Mr Steel third.

Oreti, at Dipton. — Trout are very numerous in the river this year, but up to the present time the water has not been in good trim for angling. Messrs D. and N. M'Kay, despite the unfavourable state of wind and water, have made some very good baskets. The former gentleman has also landed several fine fish with the artificial fly. About a week ago the same gentleman placed in the tributaries of this river some excellent American brown trout fry from the Wallacetown hatching boxes.

KAKANUi.~The angling competition for the trophy given by Mr John Edmond, of Dunedin, took place in the Eakanui river on the afternoon of the 22nd. Nineteen disciples of the gentle craft put in an appearance, and at 8 o'clock a start was made. Not a fish was caught until 8 o'clock, when the wind went down. There were several anglers from a distance, but they wero not very fortunate. The following was the result : — Mr John Sinclair (Oamaru), four fish, weighing 121b; Mr William Barr (Kakanui), three fisb, 9§ib ; Mr A. Thomson (Kakanui), one fish, 41b; Mr T. Watson (Oamaru), one fish, 3§lb. Others also caught single fish, but they were of less weight than those mentioned.

Maheno.— There is quite a little wordy warfare going on just now in the Oamaru papers over the late poaching case. Dr De Latour, in one of his letters, says : — " From information received from many quarters I could lay my hands on several nets — to say nothing of spears and other illegal weapons for the destruction of fish— within a mile or two of Mabeno." There most be a healthy lot'of poachers in and about Maheno, if only half what the worthy doctor says is true. I would advise the Waitaki Acclimatisation Society to apply to the Otago Society for the loan of Ranger Burt for a few weeks. They would find that the best cure for this evil, I think.

Obeti. — Messrs J. Shaw and D. Taylor have been having fine sport on the Oreti at Round Bush, near Winton. The firstnamed gentleman killed a splendid 81b fish, and the latter five fish averaging 41b each. They gave splendid sport, and all were taken with the whitebait minon.

The Water of Leith. — This stream has been in spate during the best part of the week, and if the weather had not been so boisterous we should have heard of some very big baskets being made. The best that I have heard of is Mr R, A. Johnston's, of 23 fish caught in an hour and a-half. Mr Johnson's catch for the week was 75 fish. Mr Barafield had a nice little basket of 10. Messrs Brown, Duncan, and Corbett also secured fairish bags on Saturday, the 24th.

St. Bathans. — A correspondent sends me a description of Mr W. M'Connochie's private fish pond at St. Bathans. The pond is situated in a very picturesque place at the opening of a deep gully running towards Mount St. Bathans, and it is splendidly sheltered by high ranges on each side. Its area is about seven acres, and the average depth about four feet. At present it is tenanted by about 700 or 800 trout, averaging from |lb to 21b each. There is a Bplendid flow of fine clear water running right through it, and in the centre there is a most formidable-looking scarecrow, the object of which is to frighten away the shags, which bird, I am sorry to say, is very plentiful in these parts. At the upper end of the lake— for we can hardly call a seven acre sheet of water a pond — the race is pretty wide and paved with big stones and the upper part well covered with brushwood as a shelter for the fish. Last year the Dunstan creek ran nearly dry, and Mr M'Connochie had to remove the fish, which were beginning to sicken and die on account of the great increase in the temperature of the water. There are 17 acres, including the lake, and Mr M'Connochie is going to plant this area with trees and shrubs, &c, which in a few years will so improve the place that it will be quite a delightful spot compared with the surrounding country, which is very bleak and barren. It is a great pity other gentlemen in the interior do not follow Mr M'Connochie's example. There are plenty of private persons who own dams that would carry big stocks of Loch Leven American brook, and Scotch burn trout ; and lam sure the acclimatisation Societies would do all in their power to assist them in making the experiment a success.