ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1897, 12 June 1890, Page 29

ANGLING.

By Jock Scott. 1o bo & perfect fliherrann you require more ezoellenoci ttin t -c uiuxlly to be round in such a urnall ipuo m ii allotted to a •Jan's osroMa. — Fabkxb Qiluodx. Re»ilor« aro invited to contribute Itomn of local flibing ucire for Insortlou in thii oolumn. For iniertion In the omuinK inu« thoy ehould reaoh Dunedin by Monday nlght'i mall. BANK NOTES^ Waitaki Streams.— At a meeting of the Council of the Oamaru Acclimatisation Society held on Friday last Dr de Lautour reported on his examination of the up-country streams, the result of which was that all of them, except the upper part of the Ahuriri, were well stocked with trout, and he recommended that trout be put in the upper part of the Ahuriri. Apaeima. — At the last meeting of the Southland Acclimatisation Society the curator (Mr Campbell) reported that he had visited the Aparima to try to discover if any Balmon had returned from the sea, having gone up the river as far as Dunrobin, where unfortunately, owing to the sudden melting of snow, the river became flooded and he had to return without haviDg obtained any definite information. The Otameth and the Acclimatisation Society. — Under this heading Mr William Handyaide writes as follows in the Southlaud Times :—": — " I notice that at the last meetiog of the council, at which I was unable to be preseut, it was decided • to request the Government, when issuing fishing licenses next seasou, to make ib a condition that no bait but the artificial fly be used in the Otamete.' This opens up a wide question affecting the rights of anglers, and I am surprised that those present should have passed a motion of this kind without carefully weighing what it really means — which is 6imply that every proprietor of the smaller trouting streams in Southland — and there are many sueh — may, and perhaps will, claim the same right as has been accorded to the owner of Wantwood, and the result will be that a precedent having been established in this case, if assented to by the Governor-in-Council, anglers will be debarred not only from using the natural bait, which is legal both here and at Home, but also artificial minnows, spiders, beetles, bullies, silveries, crickets, &c, &c, and will be confined solely to the artificial fly. Now, this to my mind will be a great hardship to anglers and all those lovers of sport, as it is a well-known fact that trout and other fish will not always take fly only, consequently license holders who pursue the pastime at some cost of money and material will practically be prevented from enjoying it at all, for it is often hard to catch trout or salmon after trying every artificial lure, let alone the natural. I am aware that ib has been stated that anglers take large quantities of trout from the Otamete with the creeper. This may or may not be, for twice last season I fished it with this grub and got nothing, while my companion got seven or eight with fly, which shows that the restriction is quite unnecessary, especially in a thinly peopled country like this. In the Old Country, where on holidays anglers may be seen on both sides of a stream about every 50yds, nearly every natural bait except roe is legal, and there is little or no restriction (as to the bait used) by private owners on the banks of rivers or streams where the public are peimitted to fish. Mr Bell has already the right to stop any kind of fishing on the Otamete running through his property, as I understand there is no public reserve on either side of the stream, and although his motive may be a good one in asking the Governor-in-Council to assent to his motion, still it is using the society as a lever to deprive the angler of his legal rights in all the smaller streams in Southland. It is therefore to be hoped that at the next meeting the council of the society will see fit to rescind the resolution rather hastily passed." Bomb Rare Fish at Wellington.--During the very heavy south-easterly gale experienced a few days ago (says a Wellington paper) a large number of rather rare varieties of fish have been thrown up on the coast in the vicinity of Wellington, some of which have been brought into town for sale. A great many specimens of ling and hake fish, more plentiful in colder latitudes than here, have been taken, and large quantities of a rare fish described in the official catalogue as Coryphcenoides Novce Zealandise. This fish is somewhat between a ling and a frost-fish in appearance, and its long thin body and silvery look has led to its being mistaken and sold for the frost-fish, from which it is easily distinguished by its larger head, the form of its mouth, large eye, and tapering tail. It is probably a deep sea fish, and is extremely phosphorescent. Whether the fish is wholesome as food, especially if it has been picked up dead on the beach, is open to question. Willow Planting. —Mr A. Howison, Wairepa, writes : — " In reading your report of the annual meeting of tho Obago Acclimatisation Society in Saturday's Times I was much surprised to 6ee Mr Carlton advocating the planting of willows on the banks of tho Waipahi. Knowing him to be a keen angler, I would have thought he had impediments enough from flax and other bushes on that river without putting in more, for the freer from bushes a river is the better for the angler. The seeds from bushes on rivers float down, stick about the sides, and in time make the stream not fit for angling, «s instance the Kuriwao at Clinton— one of the finest trouting streams the society has got." To this Mr Carlton replies in the following issue :—": — " Had Mr Howison been at the meeting and heard my remarks he would not have written his letter. What I said was, " That I would like to see 1000 willows planted on the banks of the Waipahi river, but grent care must be exercised as to their position, so thnt when they grew up they would not interfere in tho slightest degree with tho angler when casting his minnow or flies." Surely Mr Howison gives me credit for knowing better than to plant a number of trees directly opposite the favourite runs and ripples. The Kuriwao was mentioned as a stream that has been spoilt; by the obstructions on its bankp, but if I am not mistaken this consists of broom and f urzo, which Rcatter their seed far and wide. But what I advocated was the planting of willows — a great difference. That there is plenty of obstruction in the shape of flax on the Waipahi I admit, but this is a benefit rather than otherwise, as it is a splendid shelter for th« fish, wbich hide among its roots, and in consequence it is a river that, cannot be easily poached. Mr Howisnn knows as well as I do that there are hundreds of places on tbis river that are never fished, and it is there where I want the willows planted This river, in my opinion, is the be?t that the society has for fishing, and that is tho rpason why I want its banks beautified, as tbis would give an additional charm to the pleasant pastime of angling. It would also aiford shelter in tho spring in rough weather, and also give welcome shade from the hot sun in Hiraraor, when the angler 13 resting. It would also harbour insect life to furnish food for the fish. Further, tho trees would in time relieve the bleak appearance of the district, as there are hardly any for 25 miles along the course of this river. Under the above circumstances Mr Howison need not ' hope the

idea will be abandoned.' The Owake, Mitnihau, and Wyndham are rivers with plenty of bush and trees on their banks, yet splendid fishing can be had, while the Lee and Deep Streams and other rivers, whose banks are treeless, are hardly worth a visit by the angler." European and American Fish Catch. — The annual catch of fish on the European and North American coasts is computed by a German statistician to amount to 150,000 toDS. A ton of fish corresponds with 25 sheep in weight and with 20 snoep in nourishing power. Therefore, the total European and North American catch equals in number 42,000,000 sheep and in nourishing power 30,000,000.

Playing a Sea Tboot.— Having hooked onr fish, the ultima ratio of the whole proceeding begins. We must land him, and in many cases it is no easy matter. The initial movements of a sea trout when hooked vary considerably. As a rule, however, a fresh-run fish if well hooked makes at once a strong sweeping burst, usually ending in a leap. This is not invariably the case, however. Sometimes the fish commences bis struggles for freedom by making an angry and astonished plunge to the bottom. This is followed by a slow gyrating sort of movement, then a gradual gathering of way, suddenly accelerated into a wild and furious rush, ending with a spring or a series of wild lashes on the top of the water. Care must be taken never to let the fish away at an angle ; to be parallel with a fish is always the best course. After this burst is over a quieter period ensues. The fish moves more slowly, as a rule, and only now and then gives a little savage swirl on the top. Now is the time to begin to make him " work for his dying." By turning him constantly, by making him, with a gently persuasive exercise of force, pursue now this direction and now that, the angler exhausts the fish. It is now that the angler begius to fee) those peculiar jerks which are far from pleasant and intensely suggestive of near escape. Most people imagine that these jerks are caused by the fish shaking its head in a savage sort of way. This is only one of the causes, or rather one of the ways in which they are caused. The most dangerous of these jerks are the result of a peculiarly cunning "dodge" on the part of the fish, which I have often had occasion to observe. The fish gets his head down and his tail up and strikes the gut with the latter. If the water be clear and the fish visible, the angler can, by the exercise of a little skill, avoid the danger by dodging the tail, and can by a small degree of pressure steer the gut clear. Follow the fish with the boat, and endeavour to keep it parallel with the boat. When the fish is growing feeble, coax him round to windward, and work the boat stern first towards him as he lies partially inert. You thus present less surface of the boat towards the fish, if he should make a final effort and burst under the boat, a common trick of the heavier class of sea trout. The net (which should be a very large one) should be placed quietly under him and the fish allowed to slide into it; it should not be jerked towards and under him, for then he may be alarmed, and a last struggle may mean his loss.— Duine Mor, in the Fishing Gazette.

Killing Fish. — Agaesiz always taught his pupils to kill fish as soon as caught by a blow on the back of the head, that they might not suffer before dying. Such fish keep better and are better to eat, and the best fishermen in Europe and America always kill their fish as soon as they catch them by a blow on the back of the head.

Oabp v. Sagle. — Every three or four years a fishpond, covering several acres, in the Mainhardtfore:fc, Wurtemberg, iB drained and emptied out. L*st year an immense carp was taken, which deserves to rank among the greatest curiosities of the age, for clinging to its back, was found the well-preserved skeleton of an eagle. The talons of the bird were so firmly embedded in the back of the fißb. that they had to be cut out witn a knife, Evidently, the eagle had one day shot down on the fißh as it rose| to the surface, and had been dragged down by its intended victim in its efforts to escape, and thus was drowned. But in its death struggles the " king of the air " buried its talons so deeply in the baok of the carp that the latter was unable to free itself from its persecutor even after the death of tho eagle, which, in process of time, wasted to a skeleton, whilst the carp's wounds healed up, notwithstanding the presence of a " foreign body." The Eel a Fish.— lt is now conceded that eels are fish, and, as fish, they breed and multiply in the same manner as other fifh. The eggs of the female eel are microscopic, and the ovaries were formerly supposed to be layers of fat. There is no longer any mystery about the life history of the eel.