BANK NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 58

BANK NOTES.

I have received a lengthy communication from "Ranger," which I regret I am compelled to hold over this week. Competition at Waikaka. — "A. D. H." very kindly sends me the result of a competition held at Waikaka some little time back; the lures used being cricket and fly. Mr H. Rankin secured fist prize wifcn a" catch of 14 fish, weighing 20JUb. Mr fw C Beatty came second with a basket 01 22 fish, weighing 1441b, and also secured tho piize fov tho biegest number of fi?h taken. Mr J. Corbett secured 19 fish, 13|lb, Mr A. Hamilton. 13 fi-h, 1231b. and Mr D. Lamb 10 ii=' 1 12iib. My correspondent iii' nrion- that it i^ understood that lir D. Cccoiicui iLixntis a tioplvy

next season for the best aggregate made in three separate days' rishing. The Oreti.— The Winton Record of the 3rd in=t. says : — Some very large baskets have been caught on the Oreii River lately. We hear that Messrs J. Wilson and W. Milne tried their luck near the Benmore Hotel, and grassed 111 fish, in three hours, averaging; about Jib each, while Mr A. Kidd, who travelled as far as Centre Bush on Wednesday last, succeeded in landing 41, averaging same as above. The fish were all caught with the fly. Anglers inform us that they have been rising some very large fish with the minnow. One afternoon recently a number of disciples of Isaac Walton hied them to the lower reachos of the Oreti, near Mr Coster's farm, a-nd fair ba-skets rewarded the efforts of Messrs Raines, Tansley, James M 'Arthur, and Sends, jun., with the minnow and fly. The last-named landed a beautiful trout scalingi 71b. Angling About Thornbury. — The Southland Times says : — As was expected after such a long spell of dry weather, directly rain commenced to fall the anglers had a good time for a few hours. Fishing at Thornbury, Mr Osmond secured a nice basket, two or three of them being above the average size. Higher- up in the same stream Mr Newton and a friend secured 80 fish in a few hours, the largest being 61b. In addition to these two catches there were sundry good but smaller baskets throughout the length of the Aparima, the water just at the mouths om its many little tributaries being almost alive with fish. The Ashburton. — Fishing with the fly in the Ashburton River near the Butts for four hours one afte.noon, Mr H. Revell landed 37 trout, the aggregate weight being 2&£lb. The Opihi end Rangitata.— The Opihi (says a contemporary) continues to yield big fish. One evening Mr Campbell caught 13 fish, weighing in all 791b, the heaviest being 151b. At the Rangitata mouth two visitors, Messrs Penny and Pollock, caught 30 trout, including fish weighing 141b, 91b, and 81b.

How Trout are Sometimes Caught in the North Island. — The idea that trout can only b3 caught by a special rod and fine tackle (says the Taranaki News) is quite dispelled by an old lady residing not many miles from Okaiawa, whose outfit consists of a. willow rod and eel line and hook. With this primitive gear she has caught some good fish, recently landing a fine fish which turned the scale at 6£lb.— [The fish up north must be very unsophisticated. — J. S.]

A Visitor to New Zealand. — Lord Ennismore arrived/ in the colony at the end of last month on a fishing and shooting expedition. Lord Ennismore, yho is heir to the Earl of Listowel, is a captain in the 4th battalion of Royal Munster Fusiliers, and was formerly a lieutenant in the Ist Life Guards. "He served in the South African war.

For Exhibition. — The large trout caught by Mr H. G- Berryman, of Ashburton, which is one of the exhibits ' at the Christchurch agency of the Tcuris* Department, is to be sent to the Crystal Palace Exhibition.

A Challenge. — A disciple of Isaak Walton in the Nightcaps district, whose success in the gentle art has (says the Ensign) evidently led some jealously-minded individuals to cast doubts upon the propriety of the methods employed by him to compile his baskets, has issued a challenge (staking anything from £5 up to £50) to anyone in the district to fish a-gainst him with i - od' and fly. ~An Awkward Predicament.— Something concerning -the following, which is from the Mount Benger Mail, was supplied to me last week by my esteemed correspondent at Roxburgh : —"Parker Gilmour says, 'To be a, perfect fisherman you require more excellencies than are usually to be found in such a small space as is allotted' to a man's carcase.' However true these words may be, we feel certain that the author, who must have been a fisherman, had only before his mind the average troubles of an angler. Had he experiencsd, or even anticipated, the entire loss of the lower por tion of his wearing apparel, aud that far from home, and say a few miles up such a stream as the Teviot River, we are sure he would have made thosa words mco forcible, and the comparison greater. Such was the experience of a local angler on la"st Thursday afternoon. Whether it was through over-enthusiasm in the noble art or a little bit of misfortune that he slipped into the creek we are unable to say; but, finding himself very wet, he wisely divested himself of almost all his garments, and, with the aid of a, small fire, ' proceeded to dry them. As this operation did not require his assistance, he (Adam-like) continued fishing, and when he returned later, expecting to find! everything nice and dry, his feelings at finding his 'troosers' converted into ashes can be better imagined than described. To the imaginative mind of the reader we will leave the experiences of this fisherman on the rough and thistley side of the Teviot Creek, until he reached, at 9.30 p.m., the vicinity of the main road, when, through the assistance of a kindlydisposed boy, he received the necessary garment that- enabled him to go borne incurring the interference of the arm of the law."

Advance New Zealand ! — Some little whi 7 e ago a. couple of young fellows came to this county from the Home Country, with the intention of investing theh- capital in laud in this district. They were a little dubious at first afi to the wisdom of their procedure in coming to New Zealand, but en that point they now have no doubts whatever. While putting in. a few days "looking round" after their arrival they fell in with a few local sportsmen, who invited them to come out hare shooting. The "new chums'' accepted the invitation, and being very fair shots, bagged 1 in a day some 30 hares between them. Their delight knew no bounds. "In England," they declared, "if we had gone out like this, tramping over other people's property and shooting their hares, w© should have been arrested and imprisoned for poaching." When told that the shooting 1 of hares was regarded as an act more meritorious than, otherwise thatf were unanimous that New Zealand is a glorious country. They were then introduced: to the local trout-fishing ent^utiasts, who told them stories of 14- and Ip pounders. The Englishmen smiled knowingly. They had heard fish stories before. However, they went out to whip the Asabiu'toi* Biver with the alluring fly, anc{ sticce<= led in landing several very fair-sized fish, including an eight-pounder. All doubts as to the "gloviousness" of New Zealancl disappeared. They averred that in England anything- larger than a four-pounder would be cons] lered a freak. New Zealand) was the place for tkera^ and they immc^iafe^jyr^tg, JELglgW£_

ing terms to their brothers, cousins, uncles, and friends, advising them 10 se.l all that they possess and leave England immediately for this southern El Dorado, which flows with large trout and rabbits in abundance It may bo mentioned that iv order to thorovighly equip themselves with a knowledge ot up-to-date farming, these two young men are now serving a brief apprenticeship on. the best-managed farm in the colony. — Ashburton Mail. Southland Acclimatisation Society. — Afc a recent meeting of the council of this society, a letter was received from the Grepuki Anglers' Association stating that they proposed to expend the £10 voted by the society in the erection of huts at the-. Waiau mouth, one on the island opposite M'Farlane'e camp, and the other on the west side of the river. The huts would bs 10ft by 12ft, and 6ft 6in in height, weatherboarded and iron-roofed. The intentions of the association were approved by the council. An honorary ranger of the society inquired if any netting licenses were issued for Lake Te Anau, and reported that netting was simply a blind for taking the crested grebe, a rare and beautiful bird for which there was a ready sale to tourists at £1 each. This bird was protected, but it was invariably found dead in. the net, and could therefore be sold. If netting were allowed it would result in the extermination of the grebe. The secretary intimated that one netting license had been issued for Te Anau, and th& opinion was expressed that if the facts were as stated, netting should not be allowed. The secretary explained that the- issue of these licenses was in his discretion. The matter was left in the secretary's hands. Henry Dagg, Lumsden, vrrote that Tower Hill Creek, which flows into the Mataura at Ardlussa, was an ideal place for trout, and offering to liberate any fry the society might feel disposed' to place in the stream. Mr Traill, chairman of the Stewart Island Tourist Bureau, also wrote suggesting that tho Rakeahua, at the head of Paterson's Inlet, was in every way suitable for trout, and asking for a contribution of fry. Members having stated that the assistance asked for should be granted in both cases, the letters were referred to the Stock Committee.