THE NORTH ISLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 14 (Supplement)

THE NORTH ISLAND.

B\ MALCOLM KOSS.

The North Island of New Zealand is, and will continue to be for manj years to come, an anglers' paradise. There is great variety in the streams, and al>o in the fish that ma\ be caught in them. It is true that in inanv of the rivers and streams of the settled districts, especially near the lararer centre 1 , of population, the fishing ha^ deteriorated within recent \ear^. but

I-L>nd. It will, therefore, be quite out of the question in Mich an article a* this to deal in anything like detail with the fishing possibilities of the North Island. All that one ca.n do lS to gi\e some general idea of the principal fishing districts and the sport obtainable in each.

Undoubtedly -omc of the finest fishing in all New Zealand is to be obtained in the Rotorua district. Here, in the lakes and rivers, which are many, and large, and beautiful, our friend Salmo Irulens, worthy denizen of such waters, thrives in all his glory.

Lake Rotorua and Lake Roloiti are simply swarming with fish, but the fish are decreasing in size. The a\erage is now about 41b., but, of course, very much bigger fish— up to 111b. and 121b.— are often caught on the fly. In Lake Tarawera, which has not been fished so much, you can still get a 14-ponnder without much trouble. But even a two-and-a-half or a five-pounder gives you all the fun you want if you are fishing with fly and light tackle. Most of the fly fishing at Rotorua is on th«

shoies of the Jake, more pamti larh war tue mouths of the ->tr< ams that iuh juto it; but good tiy fishing j.a-5 also boon obtained in the shallow -= or the lake itself. You wade out brea»t-luyh to where tJie lake shelves rapidly down into deep water, ■and often in the earl\ looming and e\eiuny you will find big fish rising all around you. When they are "on tue take the sport is truly splendid. The fish oome at jour large gaudy salmon flies with avidity ; you strike hard to send the big hook home, and then there ie a scream of the rtel as the fish makes his first wild rush. In a few seconds you will see his rainbow side gleaming in the sunlight as he leaps in the •air. Woe betide jou then if you do not immediately dip the point of your rod, for if the fish comes down on a taught line he will most assuredh break you. Occasionally he will come etraignt for \ou fullspeed, and then you must have all your wits about you and reel in with all the dextpritv you can command. A large number of visitors to Rctorua «atch their fish by trolling with a minnow. A party is arranged ; they hire a motor launch, and it starts around the lake at an oasy ->peed. They dimply sit in the t)oat and troll. They have stiff rods, unbreakable tackle, and huge minno\v6. In this fashion anyone can catch trout i: Uotorua Lake — but it is not angling.

A large number of visitors to Rotorua «atch their fish by trolling with a minnow. A party is arranged ; they hire a motor launch, and it starts around the lake at &n easy speed. They simply sit in the t)oat and troll. They have stiff rods, unbreakable tackle, and huge minnows. In this fashion anyone can catch trout i: Uotorua Lake — but it is not angling.

Nearly all the rivers in central ano southern Auckland are now plentifulh stocked with rainbow trout, but the n\ei par excellence for the angler is the Waikato It is a noble stream, and there must now be hundreds of thousands of magni ficent trout in it. The rix'er runs through some wild unculthated country which, however, is interesting historically. Near Atu-a-muri, where there is •a hotel, is that extraordinary io"k l'ohatu roa, a uold, 500 ft. lull, composed of laminated rhj-olite. In place-, its t»idos an "vertical and even overhanging, and the idea quickly occurs to one that it vtrl ' hax-e made an ideal stronghold for the local Maoris in time of inter-tribal warfare The top of the hill is flat-shaped, and tliere is said to he a permanent spring of water on it. This would serve the Ngati-rau kawa people well in the stormy days when the Waikato tribe-men do-t_ond< I upon them in superior nuiulvrs. As .i i, ,i tei

for every oik of them a stone was set on edge in the ground in commemoration of this cannibal banquet. There are many other fights and legends connected with the district, but we mu-rt return to our trout. For ma'iy mil<s here the Waikato is a magnificent rner. flowing in strong sounding rapids through great gorges, or sweeping past its wooded banks on the flat, sloping valleys in a strong, broad, silent current. The river teems with trout up to 81b. and 101b. in weight, but even a fivepounder takes some holding in the strong current. Some splendid baskets have been taken in the vicinity of Ate-a-muri, and near the Aniwhaniwha Cascade the

is almost like salmon fishing-. At tins point the water is divided by a little wooded island, and the river, rent m twain, rushes furiously past in a series of foaming rapids, and on into a groat deep whirlpool. ''A'bo\e and around the Can"ado."" \\rit<6 mv frien 1 Air Martin, "the -l'i;i\ breaks into brill : ant showers, lit by lovoly rainbows, which flash and fade like fairy lights thrown across the - c «.• 11 v." The river -i warms with -mall era\ - fi -li — the "kon ra " of the Maoris — and while the trout are feeding on these they are in fire conditim.

was eminentlx -ueeos-ful. One night I « caught 22 fi-h v cubing 2COlb-an axeram |of over 101b. each. On another occasion In | secured 12 trout, weiulnng 1681b. — an avei age of no loss than 141b. per fish. Hi , biggest fsh weighed 2321b., and. strange t< | «ay, ho ~ot this bier fi'-h en m artificin fly — a 'arge sa'mon fly. THE BROWN IROUT REGION. If Auckland is par excellence the honn cl the rainbow trout, the southern portioi of the North Island, with its hundreds o beautiful forest streams, is undoubtedly i naradise for the brown trout fly fisherman : The rivers and the vegetation are in them 6elves so charming that, on n fine day it

i tue late springtime, all tluough the sum- ' iiicr, and ewn in autumn, the true dis j ciple of old I-aak doen not need to mind wheiher lie catches fish or not. But, as a matter of fact, it is \er\ l arely that lie will diaw a blank. Quite close to Weihngton tliere are soire famous stroawts — I the Wainui-o-mata, the Akatarawa. tlw I Moonshine, and the Waikanae —in which (lie expert angler can luaih alwaj-, got a ] gooJ ha-ket. The Wainiu-o-niata poems- to } keep up an in* xhar^HHe supph <> c fish. and. though it is moie whipped than an\ I other two streams in the xjciniU, Jt still be ir-> the palm in the e\es of the fly fisher I hue loft town on a Saturday morning, i taken train for eight milo«, then cycled '

over the great hill, and by 9 a.m. ha\e had my creel half-full of nice fish. There i is a 5 a.m. train, and. if you don't mind

a cold breakfast at 4.30. you can journey i by it out to the Lower Hutt. From (here ! a few minutes on your bicycle lands jou at . the foot of the long hill, up -which >ou 1 will be wise to walk. At the top o r the hill you will pause to draw breath, and let the glorious panorama impress itself upon your mind. But down over the ridge is the valley of the Wainni-o-mata. and the trout you know, are rising, so you mount once j:.ore and whizz down the steep, winding road on your free-wheel. The stream is nowadays an open one in its lower reaches, and if there is a light -outherly wii-d and a warm day you will have a glorious time, for the fish come

at the fly with an eager iiish, and. once \ou have struck, tliej light \i«orousl\. On such a day you will be a poor fisherman if you cannot creel \ our limit of 20 trout without even " aitintr for the evening ri-e Higher up the va'h \ closes in. but here the water is preserved. The stream, however, is very beautiful, especially in the vicinity of the big reservoir that gnes the

b\ any chance \ou aie .i (tunci <f a chaiming spoit-nuwi who ii a leading barrister and one of No a Zcaand'- first X.C.'s, you may find your \va. oven on to this watei and enjoy not onl\ hi- hospitality, but also a good da.v'- sj>ort. The alar, of the Waikanao s<ems for th< pi event to hive departed. It is now o\er sir eked —at all events, for some miles abo\< Riki-o-rajigi — with -,n all trout, and last season tin* fish wore pool and flabby Time wa> when joii could fill jour creel in a moimiiLf or an afternoon with 1 oau ti m l fish mid amongst tho-n several three pou'xleis and a few of still greater weight It i.s one of the pivitieit str< am- to be found am whore. —er\«tal clear water, racr

rily dancing npples, and quiet reaches and pools, with banks shaded with forest and clothed in a wilderness of glorious ferns and mosses.

-The Akatarawa, a tributary of the Hutt River, is another happy hunting ground of the disciples of the gentle Isaak, and there, when the fish are ' ' on the go " and you have put o.n the right fly, you can still get some rare sport. There are miles and miles of beautiful xvater well stocked with fish, but, as in most other cases near the centres of population, the present-day angler cannot get the baskets that wero secured by the pioneer fishermen.

The Moonshine, or, to give it its Maori name, the Whakatiki. is not exactly a lady's stream. V' v had best leave your waders at home when \ou visit the Moon-

shine, and son must he prepared to uadci deep ,iiki to i.o ,i Jmie alpine chmuingl round tue ioth.\ ulurts of its gorge-, and ' doop pools, if you would whip the haunts of it-5 biggest tiMi. A- a mutter Oi lact, tliere are \erj few small fi 3 h in v, and I), me time \ou lia\e ciieied half a dozen uout — and )uii seldom c.in creel more in a day — your loa*j w 111 Ik- a hoav\ one. Though you can reach it in a few hours by motor bicycle from Wellington, it is quite in the heart of the wild country, — a gloriously clear stream, with shingly and rocky bottom, flanked by steep, forestclad hills. I have been quietly casting my .lies on one of its deep pools when I have been staitled by a wild pig that came rushing and grunting down the bank within a yard or two of my feet before he saw me and fled, with many more grunts, into the forest. On the hills are wild goate, and, farther back, wild cattle. Occasion ally that rai*a avis, the blue duck, or a grey duck pretending to be wounded with a view to leading you away from her young, will go on ahead of you, spoiling yards and yards of water.

There are other streams which \ou can approach from Wellington via the west x>ast railway, such as the Otaki, the Ohau, uid others that will ropax a visit.

Still better fishing is procurable in the magnificent rivers and .-t roams of the Forty-mile Bush. The gr« at forest which Lfave the district its name is now a tiling of the past, but in many places the banks of the streams are i-t ill fringed with beautiful trees a-id shrubs and ferns. Several \ears ago Mr N. J. Tone, an enthusiastic sportsman whoso carlx death is .'till regretted b\ all who knew him, made a close study of angling in the Forty-mile Ha.sh, and 1 cannot do bettor than summarise his description of "ome of the principal streams: —

The Manawatu, the chief river in the bush district, is all fishable. It flows over i wide shingle bed with numerous rapids md deep pools. The water is generally cloar, and the river is well stocked. This river above the Gorge is accessible from Wo-xlvillo or Dannevirko.

The Mangahao. or Mongohao is next to the Manawatu in importance. It rises amongst the snowx peaks of the Tararua 6, K ctween the head waters o c the Otaki and Ruamahanga Rivers, about 12 miles east of Manukau. It first runs to within six