BANK NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2328, 13 October 1898, Page 38

BANK NOTES.

I would ask my correspondents in future to state, when sending their returns in, whether they would rather that their names were mentioned or not. If the latter course is chosen, will they chose a norn de plume. My reason for suggesting this is that some have an objection to having their names mentioned, while others might have quite a contrary leeling, and I am at a loss as to what course to pursue. The Waitati.— l learn that Mr F. Coombs took 10 fish from the Waitati, th» largest being 3ilb. The Tokomairiro River. — On the opening day of the angling season a party of three — Messrs T. M'Gill, Forsyth, and Harvey— had splendid sport near the mouth, of the river. Their take numbered 17 fish, aggregating 5741b. LovelPs Flat.— Thus an exchange: — ''The fishing season did not open here so satisfactorily as it usually does. The rains have left the streams in a semi-flooded and consequently a muddy state. I don't know of anyone who could be said to have made a basket, but I do know of several who reckon they can generally "get there" whose only consolation was in telling of the whale that got away. Even our boss angler did not do much, though he broke ground by landing a plump three-pounder, as scaled at the store. The trout stream still continues almost unfishable. Later fishing is expected to be all right." The Kakanui. — A Dunedin fisherman writing on the 7th inst. says: — "Some unknown scribe having forwarded you my figures for the Ist saved me from a fishing story. However, you can call me a Dunedin fisherman, and inform the public that fishing in the Kakanui on Tuesday lasb I caught 15 fish with a soleskin minnow in just three hours' fishing. The heaviest fibh was 71b, which is a good size for this river. Owing to change of weather I could not continue, so came out next day and landed a dozen trout, the biggest of this lot being 51b. You can advise Dunedin friends that the Kakanui is in capital order, while very comfortable accommodation can be had at J. Rankin's, Maheno, adjacent to the river." The Molyneux — Stirling. — Ever since the opening of the fishing season, the weather here has been such that anglers have had no chance of indulging in their favourite pastime. Wind, rain, and snow have prevailed, but especially the first. As' a consequence, I have almost nothing to record in the fishing line. Mr G. Anderson landed a 2ilb trout on Tuesday morning, when for a brief space the wind was taking a spell. I hear that a few trout have , been caught down at the Sand Spit. Mr Jno. I Mosley visited the Puerua one day last week, j and after giving that stream a Bhort trial, during which he caught three trout, he had to give it best on account of the bad weather. As regards the state of the Molyneux, for the last week it has been very dirty, this condition being caused by heavy rains and the snow melting. It is not too high for fishing, however, if it was only a bit cleaner. At the time of writing, the weather seems to have taken a more favourable turn, so I hope to have some takes to tell you of before long. — I am glad to renew my acquaintance with my old correspondent. The Waiwera. — This river, my correspondent writes, is high, and the bait used the creeper and fly. During the whole of last week the j river has been in a flooded state, and very little fishing has been done. Monday and > Saturday were the- only days that the river was in anything like order. On the 3rd Mr D. M'Kenzie took 8 fish, Mr J. Hardie 10, and .Mr W. Sutherland I. On the 4th Mr ! W. Sheddon secured 2 fish, and Mr D. M'Kenzie 5. I The Waipahi.— Writing on the Bth inst., "W. ' D." states that this river was very high, and no fishing was being done. The weather dur-

ing thß week had been very rough, and unless it mends, there is a poor prospect for anglers. Mimihau. — My regular informant _ states that the streams in the distriot were high on the opening day, and though the weather was mild the fish were not on the feed till the afternoon. . Mr James Mitchell got 8 fish weighing 121b and Mr J. ~W. Thomson landed 4 nice ones. Mr W. P. Smith in an hour's time at mid-day grassed three fish, which totalled 6£lb. Since then there has been no chance of fishing- as the weather has been very bad. To give an idea of the severity of the ■weather, my correspondent states that there was 6in of snow on the hills. It was bitterly cold, with rain and hail showers. On the 6th inst. the streams were still high, and would not be fishable till a change took place. There was no appearance of this when my correspondent wrote. — On Monday week Mr J. Tough caught 13 fish weighing 161b in the Mimihau, and Mr R. Kidd secured 23, averaging lilb. | The Puerua and Kaihiku.— The Clutlia | Leader states that owing to the miserable I weather very little has been done in the di=sj trict, and hardly any of the local anglers have i ventured out. In the Puerua on the Ist Mr A. Allison got an exceptionally good basket — 16 fish weighing 401b, and in the Kaihiku, at c Houka > Mr °- R - Richardson and a friend had some very good sport, taking a baker's dozen between them. Mr J. B. M'Callum took 11 fish weighing 1831b from the Kaihiku. The creeper was the lure used on both streams. All the creeks are" greatly swollen by the heavy rains which have fallen during the week. The Waitaki.— Mr W. Bruce secured a capital basket of fish on Monday week at the mouth of the Wailaki. His day's fishing resulted in 8 fine fish being secured, some of them in good condition. Messrs George Bruce and J. Sinclair were not so successful ! as Mr W. Bruce, although fishing close to- . gether. The best fishing is at the mouth of the river, where the water is clear and the fish apparently in considerable numbers.— The North Otago Times says: — "Mr W. Peet has, j as far as we can learn, been the most success- ! ful- fisherman at the Waitaki. On Monday ! and Tuesday week he took 11 first-class fi3n. \ The Waitaki fish are unusually large, and i Mr Peet's fish would outweigh 30 or 40 from I the other rivers of the county." The follow- ! ing are some of the catches lately recorded ! at the Waitaki for two days' fishing: — Messrs ; Adams 5 (one 12-pounder), •■ P. Smith 6, i Nicholas 5, Clarke 5, Gordon 3, D. Smith [ 5, and S. Smith 1. [ The Oreti. — An exchange Bays that the I Oreti was high and dirty on the opening day ' I of the season, and_ matters have not improved to a very appreciable extent. , However, Mr Maley secured 7 trout weighing 17^1b, Mr F. King 5, Mr Thomas 4, and Mr Cockroff 3. The fish were in fine condition. From reports to hand there is good spoij; in the Oreti this season, the fish being plentiful and of good size. — A gentleman who has been good enough to promise me .regular information writes that on the Bth inst. Mr Cockcroft 1 killed 6 fish weighing 19£lb, the heaviest i 4^lb. On the 2nd inst. Mr M. Maley grassed 7 weighing 1741b, and on the sth Mr P. Higgins 4, one of which was 51b, the heaviest fish yet taken this season in the district. The baits used were the worm and minnow. The river is in good fishing order, but snow, sleet, and wind have all combined to render last week's takes small. t ; Winchester, October 9. — A succession of strong nor' -westers, varied' by sou-west winds, accompanied by rain^prevented anglers from attempting much during the past week, and there were no takes worthy of record, This week, however, opens with a gloriouß day, and there is a promise of a continuance of fine weather. Rivers in good order.—Correspondent. j The Clutha above Cromwell.— A reliable i correspondent writes me that this river was low a few days ago, and that there was a good deal of snow water in it. He reports the fish as being in exceptionally good condition this season. Mr J. Jamieson on the Ist took 5 fish averaging 21b. My correspondent writes from Lowburn Ferry. The Mataura and Waikaka Rivers.— The trout fishing season in this district opened on Saturday week. Despite the fact that the weather was somewhat wintry and that both the Mataura and Waikaka streams were somewhat swollen by recent rains, those enthusiasts who ventured forth were well rewarded for ! their pains. 'Amongst others Mr W. Latham secured a bag of 24 fine fish, Mr and Mrs J. D. Hunter 21, and Mr J. Duncan 8. The Apariraa. — The rivers have been m a state of flood for several days past, and on the Ist, when anglers were expecting a good time, they were black with sediment, making successful fishing impossible. Notwithstanding this drawback Mr R. M'Callum hooked 9 fish in the Aparima, the total weight being 4441b, the largest turning the scale at 6|lb. Another resident obtained a basket totalling 201b, the heaviest of which weighed 91b. Both anglers used artificial minnows.— -Western Star. ' . , Wyndham Anglers' Competition. — As usual the Wyndham Anglers' Society held a competition on the opening day of the fishing ! season (Saturday week), and as the river had ; been in good order for some time past, some heavy baskets were expected. However, on Thursday a heavy rain set in, and continued most of Friday, and on Saturday morning the rivers were considerably higher than usual, thus spoiling any chance of good " takes." Of 13 who entered for the competition, only seven weighed in with a total of 55 fish, weighing 1011b. Of the remainder of the 13 who entered, but did not weigh in, some caught two or three fish, while others did not succeed in catching any. As usual, the majority of the competitors confined their attention to the Mimihau, the only exception being Mr A. Thomson, who fished the Wyndham. At 9 p.m. there was a large attendance of anglers and the general public at Mrs Blackley's hotel to see the fish, weighed in. Two returns from Upper Mimihau came to hand yesterday — viz., Jas. Mitchell, 9 fish, 14£lb; and Jas. Wright, 8 fish, 131b. These were weighed at Mr W. P. Smith's, Wairikiki, on Saturday evening 1 . The full list of those who weighed in is as follows: — Fish. Weight. 1 H. Allan IK 28Ub 2 James Mitchell ... 9 14Jlb 3 J. A. Dodd 6 131b 6oz _ 4 Jamos Wright ... 8 131b 5 A. Thomson 5 121b J. Greenshields ... 5 lOJlb A. Simpson 6 9flb 55 1011b 2oz The heaviest fish was 2|lb, Messrs Allan and Thomson having one apiece. Mr HarryAllan, the winner, is a junior, but, having lived on the banks of the Mimihau, he has seen a good deal of angling. His fish were all caught near Thistlebank. All competitors used the fly. For the total of 55 fish, caught the average was nearly 21b. — It may be mentioned that Messrs Thomson and Greenshields were penalised 10 per cent. Canterbury Sport. — Trout fishing in- the Cust on the Ist was a matter for the exercise of great patience, and the size of the fish secured entitled them to ba returned to that

water. One or two baskets of fish were taken ' in "the Waimakariri, but the trout are re- , ■ported to be small, and the season might well ' have been delayed for a month. On the Ist ' there was a large catch of whitebait in this ' river. This was not favourable to angling. — Lyttelton- Times. Mr W. J. Alp has regis- ] ■tared the following fishing returns : — October -I—L.1 — L. Brightling, A. Tacon, and S. Monck, 11 fish, average 2zlb; Swanston, 8 fish, aye- \ age 241b; two Christclmrch anglers, 12 fish, j all in the Lower Selwyn; J. Claphain, 7 j fish, 101b, largest 4^lb. October Z— J. Clapham, 1 fish in the Avon; another Christchurch angler caught 3 fish in the Avon, the largest weighing 2^lb. There are now on view in the window of Mr W. J. Alpe's shop three nice-looking trout caught by Mr Percy Shaw in the Avon on the fly in an hour, weighing respectively 2|lb, l^lb, and lib. The catches in the Waimakariri are as follows:— Mr Anderson 1 fish, W. Pateman "l fish, and a Kaipoi angler .1 fish 7£lb. There [are also on view in the window two photographs showing a record take of fish, consisting of 17, of a total weight of 1001b, caught by C. A. Opie, of Winchester, in the Opihi River ; a 2ft rule has been placed on a ' 13-pounder, the biggest fish, but it fails to cover its length. m The I Orari, Waihi, and Opihi Rivers are now in -nice fishing condition, and already some good baskets have been taken from, these wellknown streams Mr J. M. Cambridge returned with a nice 41b fish from the inoutli of the Ashburton. Both the Rangitata and Rakaia Rivers were clear on Tuesday morning, but the chances are that the strong winds which blew during the day will have melted the snow and caused another fresh. The Ashburlon is still thick, and will not be suitable for fishing for a day or so. The waters in the Selwyn are clear. — The prospects for the fishing season in the Ellesmere district (an exchange says) are decidedly good, and are better than they have been for four or five j years. Starting at the Rakaia, which some , years ago was the best fishing ground in the j colonies, we find the course of the river at ' the mouth has entirely changed. For some years the mouth has been about three miles down- the beach from the fishing camp, but _this year it is running right round the camp "into the lagoon up the Little Rakaia and into the sea almost opposite Mr Humphrey's house. Before the late nor'-wester the river was in fine order, and fish could be seen rising freely. Hart's Creek is covered by the lake, which is exceptionally high, and the flat is all one lake right up to the cottages or skillings on the main Lakeside road. The Irwell , is in a similar condition, the last year's fish- . ing ground being entirely covered by the , lake. Trout are very plentiful up the creek, j which is higher than it has been for four years. J The Mangatoki. — The jfehing season has opened satisfactorily for anglers in the war- ' mer streams, such as the Mangatoki. Mo.'eis H. J. Day and D. Nimmo Scott (the former for years an enthusiastic angler in the South Island) secured a 241b basket numbering 15 fish, ranging from 21b 13oz downwards : Mr Burton obtained half a dozen ; Messrs M'Lean and Twigg a dozen and a-half. Salmon or no Salmon? — The North Otago Times states that Mr George Bruce has handed to the president of the AccUmatisation Society a, fish about 31b , weight, raught in the Waitaki on Monday, •which is certainly not a trout, but that has e\ery characteristic of the salmon. The fish has been examined, and compared with an ex- | pert description of the salmon, and in every < way coincides with that description. The ] same description of fish have been declared true salmon by Professor Gunter, one of the greatest experts at Home, and it is quite possible that many similar fish have been caught at the mouth of the Waitaki, and consuiried without other thought than that they were "first-class eating." In connection with trout-netting at the Lakes the Wakatipu Mail reports that at Lake j Hayes Mr White secured a haul of 140 fish, aggregating over 5001b weight, with about 50 nets. Comparatively few fish are obtained in this lake after the first week or so. j