ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2391, 28 December 1899, Page 50

ANGLING.

By Jock Scout.

To be ft perfect fidlicrJii&D you rt?(]uirc more oxceilcnoiC3 tbftn t:o usually to be round iv auoh v aiuall ipace as is allotted to » n-ntTs carcase— Pabkkii Qiimouk.

Readers ire tuvkeil to contribute items oflocal Nubia? news f.T iDsertiou In ihla columu. ]'i.r iiib.Tllou iv the ensuing isauf ttej- should rcncii DudoJlu bj Moud&y uiahl'j mail.

COMPETITIONS. OTAGO ANGLERS' ASSOCIATION. March — Cup Day. — Perch competition, for prizes presented by Messrs J. Wilkie and Co., Mr W s Bremner, and Mr J. B. M'Callurn. A picnic will hs held in connection with this competition. The attention of intending competitors ia -specially called to the rule that they shall not fish the stream for 24 hours immediately preceeding the competition.

BANK NOTES, Our Si. Bathans correspondent telegraphs : — Consignments of trout fry under the care of Mr Morris, of the Clinton hatchery, were received here and at Wedderburn on Wednesday. Abcut 4000 arrived, and were placed in prepared boxe3 by Mr M'Connochie and others, including the ranger (Mr Cowan), and were liberated successfully. Another consignment of American brook trout will arrive in a few weeks. These are much needed for restocking model streams such as are found in Central Otago. Upper Clutha. — Lowburn Ferry, December 18. — " H. J." writes that the river is rather high, and that the best baskets are being made with the worm, used on a Stewart tackle. The fish are plentiful, but disposed to be slow to take. On the evening of the 13th my cor- . respondent took 3 fish, averaging lilb, and on the afternoon and evening of tht 16th 6 fish, averaging 21b.

The Shag.— "W. H. R." writing on the 23rd inst.. says the river is rising rapidly, and is unfishable. He has seen no visitors on it for some time. I thank him for good wishes and return the season's compliments to him, and to all anglers.

Waitaki.— l have to thank "W. B." for the following notes: — The river has got a great deal higher since my last letter, and this has spoilt a good deal of tlii fishing ground on the upper reaches. The reaches towards the mouth, however, are improved ; but the river is rather on the dirty side. On the 17th nut., fishing on the north side, near the fishing camp. Mr H. Sinclair got 3 nice trout, Mr J. Toohey 2 (one 11-pounder), Mr J. Mitchell 2 (one 10pounder). A good many anglers returned with empty bags. There will not be much done in the angling line xintil the river settles a bit. I have not heard of anything re the Kakanui, but I see by your last notes that you have a correspondent there, so ho will probably know more about it than myself. On the 20th in^t., a party of three anglers, comprising Messrs Mackintosh, Geo. Bruce, and William Bruce, went tc the Waitaki and retnrned on the morning of the 22nd ult. Contrary to expectations, they found the river in capital order, and made a phenomenal haul of heavy fish, making a record for the season. The total catch was 30 trout weighing 2321b— an average of almost 81b per fish. Mr Mackintosh got 5 fish weighing 55£lb (the heaviest 131b), Mr Geo. Bruce, 13 weighing 73ilb (heaviest fish 81b), Mr Wm. Bruce got 12 weighing 1031b (three of them going 141b each), Mr Goodeve, one fish. 161b (the largest this season so far) . Other angler 3 got 2or 1 for a night's fishing. The fish were in the pink of condition, and were all caught near the mouth of the river with the Devon. Most of the heavy fish were caught on the Eouth side.

Ihe Mimihau.— " W. P. S." writes that on the 16th inst. Mr J. E. Humphries got 9 fish weighing 171b. The local men are only out in the evenings, and are all doing fairly well. "W.P.S." pays, "What has come over Messrs J. Mitchell and R. Allison? Surely such keen sports have not given it up. I have not seen either of them this season. Heavy fain all to-day (21st inst.), and streams in flood. Appearances indicate the storm being over." The Abhburton.— Mr A. H. Shury, writing on the 22nd, states that owing to the wet weather the river has been pretty thick for the last week. The weather, however, cleared for a day, and three of the anglers, including Mr Shury, went down to the river. They got 13 fish, in which were included a 12-ponnder, an 8-poimder, a 6 pounder, and two of 1-j.lb each. The remainder went from four, to five

pounds each. Mr Jack Thompson and Mr Giles were also at the river, and got 21 fish, including a 12, an 11, and a 10|-pounder." The rest were from four to five pounds each, with the exception of 4_or 5 fish of lib and 2ib each — " sprats," Mr Shury calls these. Mr Cambridge and Mr Field were down at the lagoon the next night, and took 6 fishone of s£lb, two of 41b, one of 31b, and two of lilb. It rained heavily in the night and on the 21st, and the river became too thick for fishing, but would probably be clear by the evening of the 23rd. Mr Shelton's catch, Mr Shury says, should have been 8, not 18 fish, weighing 731b. The previous night he got 5 fish, turning the scale at 481b at the Ransritata.

The Selwyn.— A nice basket of trout was brought in to Pottin's Bluff Hotel, Coalgate, recently, by Professor Wall, of Canterbury College. There were 18 fish, scaling 17£lb the largest being 2ilb, and three others over 21b. The fish were taken in the Selwyn, between Coalgate and Glentunnel. Nearly all were taken with the black spinner fly, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the day being very bright, with a light, up-stream breeze. All the fish but one were landed without the net. — Press. The Pareora River. — Fishing in the Pareora River lately with the fly, Robert , Hutton, jun., caught 28. fish, scaling 381b, making a good afternoon's basket. Mr J. S. Turnbull was the most fortunate of a party accompanying him in another direction, each of whom secured fair baskets.

The Opihi and Waiau. — A large number of anglers journeyed from Timaru to the Opihi recently, and were greatly disappointed to find the river in Tieavy flood. One of the anglers states that he never found the river so full of drift before. With the heavy -sea running on the beach, the small mouth was expected to be closed, and if it does the Acclimatisation Society expects to be able to open a proper channel to day. A correspondent states thai fish are very plentiful in the Waiau River at present. — Press.

Timaru Anglers' Competition. — The Timaru Anglers' Club got off the second of tho fishing competitions on Saturday week, but veiy little interest was taken in it. Only two members of the club had the hardihood to go out, and the result was another easy win for Mr Tom Palliser. He whipped the Pareora, and got 31 fish weighing 211b. MrJ. Ogilvie, the other competitor, was at the Opihi, and got 8 fish, weighing 71b, this river not being in very good order for angling.

Lady Anglers. — Lady Evelyn Cotterell, one of the grand-daughters of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, hooked, played, and landed a salmon of 301b weight the other day. All the ladies of the Gordon-Lennox family are experienced anglers.

A Sum in Arithmetic. — Two fishermen — mates — were one day stdnding outside their cottages, when one said to tho other : " Say, Bill, if an 'errin' an' a, 'alf cost threoha'pence. how many would ye git for ninepence?" Bijl set to work to figure it out, and very soon ho had the best part of one of the whitewashed sides of tho house covered with figures, and then scratching his head he turned to his mate and said : " Say. Jim, just repeat that 'ere sum, will ye? I don't seem to havo got it quite clear. " "Tf an 'errin' <in' a, 'alf," began Jim, when he was interrupted by Bill with : "' Theer, I thorfc I 'adn't got it down right. Blowed if I ain't been reckonin' mackerel."

His Own Medicine Chest. — A surgeon who was in the navy was in the habit of prescribing .salt water for sailor?. While angling upon a fine day he happened to fall overboard. The captain, who wps at the time walking on deck, heard the splash, and inquired of kii Trish s-'ailov what it was. " Nothing, yer aimer," replied Pat, "only the surgeon tumbled into his medicine chest."

A Fishing Experience. — Mr H. Hamirfli Stuart, author of "Lochs and Loch Fishing," relates his experience with a gillie whose fault was that of drinking "not wisely, but too well." It is as follows: — My first sample of a degenerate boatman was a native of and a dweller in the sporting county of Perth. H© was a fine type of his class, and was, F may say, engaged in a. Dutch market, for he happened to be the only available man in the district on the day in which I enjoyed the privilege of his advice and services. He was in appearance a sort of Andrew Fairservice, and he had all that worthy's superiority of manner and none of his mother wit. He had to be primed with two stiff cheerera before ho would consent "to gang," and he had also to be provisioned otherwise "with a bottle." He objected to walking, to the lock, and dropped broad hints about " mo&t gentlemen driving." Finally, in great distemper, he set forth, and we reached the lake. He had, however, taken sundry nips en route, and, by the time we were afloat, his ancient brain was out on a lock of its own, floating about in whisky. He kept up a constant chatter of drivelling nonfaense, and passed through all the stages from familiarity to respectful love. and> from obsequiousness, which did not fit him, to an assertion of independence which became him even worse. As a result, fishing was at a discount, and when, finally, he tumbled overboard with a splash that awakened the sleeping shores, f. had very serious doubts as to nry proper duty under the circumstances. (In a footnote, Mr Stuart describes the reason of the above-named dipaster. It appears that the boatman allowed the boat to drift too close to a wall built sheer from the lock side, and rising above deep water. He rose to shove off, but, unfortunately,' placed the oar in a crevice of the other wall. The rest was, more or 1e33, silence). Fate had clearly indicated her will ; it was but retributive justice that the trout should pick his bones ; on the other hand, death in a Highland lake was too noble an end for this product of civilisation. I, therefore, took my revenge by saving him from the fate of a Celtic Clarence. He went ashore after drinking the rest of his bottle, a wetter but not a wiser man, and rolled home down the road like a whisky and water cart. Comment on such a case is superfluous. Mr Goodeve took from the Waitaki River this week a beautiful trout weighing 161b. The Kakanui has also been yielding its tribute to the industrious angler. Mr 13. Farr took 15 in a night's fishing, Mr James Frederick (Dunedin) 12. On another occasion Mr Fanobtained 10, Messrs A. Familton, C. Jones, and J. Frederick 4 each. Good sport is to be obtained at both rivers.— North Otago Times. A Day's Fishing in the Waiwera. — I received lart week by po3t a copy of the Clutha Leader from my friend " J.," for which I thank' him. Tt contains a long and rather interesting account of a clay's fishing in the Waiwera River by "N. ' That individual says he take 3 his license out under protest, and that gives him permission to fish any river in New Zealand. All his fishing, he says, is done on a modest half-mile of river, and he adds that he pay? as much as the man of money and leisure, who can take a month or two of holidays, and the tourist, who can wander at his own sweet will over the whole of New Zealand. He thinks the Acclimatisation Society should give a low-priced license to those who fish only a cinglc ttream. Now, I doni think the country angler, who invariably has a stream close handy, is at all hardly doae

by. Let the average angler so situated keep a record of the fish cffiight by him in a season—even out of one river — and let him pus' his license fee against that weight, and see how it works out. He will find, I think, that his trout cost him very little per pound.That the man of means and. leisure and the tourist has an advantage, there is no doubts' but I think the country angler usually gets full value- for his money. How about the town angler. No going out "any odd evening* for him. He must wait and go away twice>;' thrice, or, perchance, "four times in the year, and then only for a couple or three days.: To do this he has not his license alone to-pay, for. There is railway fare and hotel bill — big items generally. If " N."" happens to read this he will see that there are anglers worse off than he. However, enough? of the question of expense, and its quid- pro quo, for I want space to reproduce some of " N.s "• experiences, which I consider well worth relating. He says: — " My work led me several times in the winter and spring out to the far end of the run where, the Waiwera, river; bounds it above the gorge. I was greatlytaken with the appearance of the river; fine . big pools with' good ripples at the head of them, and an absence of scrub, that great' nuisance to an angler. Being in an out-of-the-way place, and not likely to be much' fbhed, I' thought there mSght be some of the early settlers still there. The old' identities are all gone out of the" Puerua, at least out of the upper part where I fish. A half-pound 1 is a nice trout, a pound is a good trout, and a three-pounder is a boomer. It is long since I had on a big fellow. I have caught a good' few in the Puerua in past years, the biggest being a 12-pounder. I did not weigh it. I(J is a mistake to weigh trout, it is often tho cause of great disappointment. I determined to give the Waiwera a trial at the beginning of the season, but was kept so busy that I never got the opportunity until Show day. I had another reason for going there, I had made a long-standing promise to send some I trout to friends in Canterbury. After hearing them blow about their Waitaki trout, I thought the small fry of the Puerua would be laughed at. I had at long ride through tho tussock " aboui eight miles. I hobbled my mare, and left her on the Balolutlia Athe- , 'naeum. reserve. She is very handy, wheri j hobbled, and sometimes when not will wait patiently for me a whole day on any part of the^rim ; but I thought at the time from the j disgusted look on her face that she was not I plc;\-sed with her purrouudingg. 1 miglit have J ?aid to hoc what, the man said to his cow j when he tethered her on a bare and stony i hillside, ' Wcel, orummie, if ye hae na mucklri to eat, ye hae a graun view.' The mare had a lovely peat bog' on one side, and bare rock-crowned hills on the other, and so I left her, thinking no evil. I had to cross a email likely looking creek, and cast down it xmtil I came to the main river, but got nothing. I found the riVer ran over solid rocki no gravel ; first, a broad shallow, with a carpet of weed, gradually deepening into a long deep pool with a strong ripple at the top; then a reof . I .found the same series all the way up. It was an ideal day- for a catch, a dull, light, warm, with a light wind blowing up-stream. I went for the first ripple upr stream. T had on a, Cock-a-bon-dhu for tip, then a Jessie and a Pomahaka. I had not fished long up-stream when I saw the well* remembered boil.' 1

(To be Continued.)