A NIGHT'S EEL-FISHING,

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 34

A NIGHT'S EEL-FISHING,

By Rubo.

As Jack and I start on onr two-mile walk to the river the Ban is nearing the western horizon. The day has been a blazing-hot one, and the evening is mild and warm, giving promise of an abaudaut " take " of oals. Our tackle is nob iuoh as one would find in a first-cla«s fishingtackle shop. Oar rods consist of stout saplings ; our lines are stout pioces of cord about sft long, and oapable of bearing a considerable (train ; oar hooks are m<jdiutn-siz<!d aad stroag ; and our bait consists oE worms, whioh gave vi a good deal of. trouble to dig up, as the weather has bean very dry for eooio weeks. Iv duo time we reach the river ab a point where a tributary stream empties itself into it. As ib is *ti!l e.wly we strip off oar clothes and eujoy a refreshing dip in tho clear water. Pre eubly tho sun gooj down like a ball of fire, clearly foretelling auother hot d*y on the morrow. We bait our j hooks, and, dropping them iuto the doap wafevr at til* mouth of tho creek, sib down ou the bank and " wait for a bite." Darkness coon begins te enshroud the earth in its du*Uy mawtle ; the seagulls fUp pass in sm*ll flock* to their roosting places ; the mellow thruah, which has been pouirng forbh his requiem to the parting day from the top of yonder gorse bu»h, ia now silent ; the lark has flown to its nest ; the tuis in the bush up on the hill ara uttering a few dieconueoted note 3 before rearing for the night ; the cook blackbird? have ! cea.«oi their chuck -chucking, aud their curious " follow ray leader" kiad of ganws, in which one goes flut ; ng aloDg firsb through the buihes, bhe others following as if iv pursuit of him, and keeping up a continual chuok ! chaok I chuck ! bhe cricket h*s sounded his last chirp ; the hum of the bee is no longer h*arJ ; and all sesm to have sunk to sleep. Bub N*ture is fever at rcsb. A b&t fl'ti back and forth with his zigz%g flight, snapping up principally such of the day ioeeebs a? have not, like respectable citizens, gone to rteS ; an owl i« uttering his doleful and melancholy cry of " Morepock " up on the edge of the bush, and a short disbance up the or«ok, ' where ib is bordered by rushes, a pair of swamp hens are übtering their harsh grating sound. The beetles are whirring in the grass and the moths are dancing arouud us ; while iv the w ator itf elf the trout are busy with their evaniug meal of gnats, which are dancing over the water in myriads. Some of bhe snuller troub occasionally bhrow themsolvea clear of bhe water, while the Urger ones content tuetme'.ves wish Ukiug the flies that alight on the feurfaoo. One splendid fish, fully 61b in weighb, rises continually wibhin a shorb diubano9 of us. I have several times essayed his capture 'with both fly and j minnow, but hitherto without success, bnt I still hope to induce bis m»j-sty to take tho deoepbive lure. Bub to reburn to my subject, from whioh I fear I have sadly d.'grc«sed. We have not long ta wait, for ia a few minutes I feol a pluck at my lino, and elevating thi pjiub of my rod, there commences a teri'-s <>f tugs, which I cut short by landing my flsh ou tho bank. H<j looks K-mwkably Jiko a sna.k<3 in the dim ligbt at ho wriggle? towards the w»t9r. Haveany ol you who havdc*ughb eels over noticed how they make for the water when landed ? I have obaerveiTthe same thiug in trout when taken from the ; r UAtive elomeit ; they will do this when they exunob by auy possibility either hear or see the water, so I suppose it mu*t be iustiuci .that guides them. A blow on the tail, so as to break his spine, soon quietens my catch. He ia about 21b in wtighb, a nice size for eating, a? if they are larger their fle.ih is conrae. Slipping his eolship into a bag, I rebsit my hook aud resume Gihiug. Presently Jack la rids one about 41b, and in a few minutes auother — a ■mall one. Then we havd a *hort spell of inaobion. A wild duck comes sailiog down the creek followed by her squeaking progeny. She comes opposite as without noticiog as, when a slight movement on my part aUrms her, and with a startled querk, quer-r-rk she dashes oat of sight, followed by her young ones. Just after the disappearance of this infcaresting family, Jack gives his liae a jerk, expecting to throw out a small eel, but the line does not come, and he exclnims, "Great heavoos ! I must have hooked a log ! " But looking over the bank I •cc a large broad head jusi above the water. "No!" I yell excitidly ; "it's a tremendous big eel ! " And graspiDg the Hoe, we haul away, and at lasb manage to laud an eel which reminds me of a great conger which I once saw in London. "Well, by jingo!" siys J-ick, "we've gob something to carry home anyway." 11 Running a tape line, which I happen to have with me, along him we find that he measures sft 4in aud must weigh at leait 181b. What a fellow for aa eel pie ! He would rather astonish some people ab Home could they only see him, for eels there are seldom mjre bhau l^lb in weighb. We continue fishing with varied success till 11 o'clock, when we think it is about time to 11 make tracks " for home, as the moon is rising, and as coon as ib gets bright ths eels will cease to run. Counting the spoil, we flnd that we have secured 10 eels of various sizes, the mosb of them being above 2lb in weight. Picking out two of the smallest to be cooked for breakfast nexb morning, we stow the others away in a flax bush to be sent for to-morrow, and start on our homeward tramp.