IN AUCKLAND: HAPPY HUNTING GROUND OF THE DEEP SEA ANGLER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 19 (Supplement)

IN AUCKLAND: HAPPY HUNTING GROUND OF THE DEEP SEA ANGLER.

By E. D'Estehre.

Readers, come with me a little while and I will take you to a sport where everyone will have fun from dawn to dark and after, and if the records of our doings do not entitle one of us to the ancient and honourable rank of President of the Fish Story Tellers it will be because our experiences are better than fiction, and therefore too good to be true. That's a little bit Irish, but if you read it again you'll see the point.

The curtain ri-es on a c cene of bright warm sunshine and cloudless sky, long reaches of unruffled sea so transparent amongst the rocky inlets that one may view the life forty or *ixty feet below. the quiet wa-h of gentle waves against the hoary face, of world-old rocks, and the ceaseless bcom of the surf far out. Yachts unfold their white wings out on the blue in the flood of golden light, strange sea birds wheel and soar, distant mountains los.> themselves in ultramarine haze, cool greens of pohutakawa and puriri veil the shores, and Nature calls you there! And the fish! why, they're everywhere, from the tiny sprats, known as " whale feed," to 12ft. sharks, schnapper. kawhai. kingfish, trevalli, terakei, yellow-tail, gurnet, giant crayfish, flounders, pakati. garfish, hapuka, rock cod, blue cod, barracouta. porpoise (if you're clever at harpooning), flying fish (which you might catch by accident in the air

like butterflies), a dainty fi-h resembling a trout which I do not know the name of. and many, many others that may be hooked on a six-fathom line. The various fish will be referred to in detail presently, but in the meantime I want to tell you that the coast line of Auckland is indented by great harbours, — practically all of them are great inland seas whore the fleets of the world might ride at anchor, as, for instance. Kaipara Harbour with its 2000 miles of coast line. Firstly conies the wonderful Hauraki Gulf, 80 miles one way and 40 miles tho other, and every mile of it tishable if one has a good yacht. In summer the Gulf is one of the most wonderful yachting and fishing waters in the world, and thither the young men — and the old ones, too — get away for their heh days. For one thing, the "port is as cheap as one could wish, and the holiday outing not only brings the keenest enjoyment but it is health-giving at the fame

t mio. It doe«n't matter if one ha<n't a y acht or comes from somewhere else, he has abundant opportunity all the same. Fishing clubs are made up weekly in Auckland City at, say. ss. to 10s. a member, and the party hire a -team tug or a motor launch or fishing smack and go of! for a few clays to Kawau Island, or even out to the Great Barrier. Or a private party may hire a fishing boat at about £1 )>er day — or less, according to the time the boat is required — and with six or eight in a party this doesn't represent much outlay. But it doesn't matter which harbour you select — the Gulf, Whangarei, Bay of Islands, Whangaroa, Mangonui, Hokianga, Kaipara. Bay of Plenty (Tauranga Harbour), Whaingaro (Raglan), or Kawhia — prices rule much about the same. Taken as a general thing. howe\er. unless the pastime of yachting is desired, it is pieferdble to engage a motor boat on all the harbours excepting the Gulf ami Kaipara Harbour. I instance these two because of the vast stretches of water where, itt times, a heavy sea gets up. and it i-< necessary then to have a good stout boat and know how to handle it; and. again, the Gulf is -uch a tremendous e\j an~e. and there are -o very many interesting places, that one naturally de-ires to go as far out as possible. At any of the towns touching on the various Harbours hotel accommodation is most rea=onable. and in I lie ca%c of e\ery one of them I ha\e found it good. Tariffs average about 6.5. to 8-!. per da\. and a guide book to be obtained at th- Tourist Office will^ give any points not touched upon here. There is no harbour where the fishing is not good ; it is all first-rate, but I am going to deal particularly with one or two harbours because, in addition to the fishing, there are numerous other attractions, chief! v the scenic beauty.

THE GREAT GULF

Of course in Auckland one doesn't say Hauraki Gulf, it is always "The Gulf.'' Well, the Gulf is the pride and the glory of Auckland. From an eminence such as One Tree 1 1 ill. what nobler -ight could ever be wither! for the eye of man? In the foregiound. nestling amongst its volcanic lulls, is the dim, rich city by the t*hore of the "'silvery wateis" of the beautiful Waitemata. Aero— the harbour is the long green peninsula, where the marine suburb-* of DevonjKirt, Chelsea, Northcote. and Bukeiihead cluster down to the water's edge ai!<l beyond that again stand- Rangitoto. tliat mighty extinct island \olcano, keeping watch and ward o\er the city gate. Then away and away, a> far .i- the eye can reach, away to faint purple hill- on the horizon which mark the Great Harrier, stretches that wonderful expanse of blue, the Gulf, with great ocean linn-, or the grey sinister ships of war, ploughing its water ways; with busy coastal hurrying up and down bound for a hundred different places ; and everywhere in fine weather, the white sails of \acht-. -'The sport, it is magnificent:" said a tourist to me one day. "I ha\e ne\er known anything like it before." About the time this paper is presented to the public, a mile or two out from Rangitoto reef towards Tiri Tiri light, the festive '•chnappi'i swarms along the feeding grounds there. Of course the shoals arc shifting daily, but within a radiu6 of three miles there will be found enough to satisfy anyone. A schnapper line, rather stronger than blind-cord, is purchased for a shilling, hooks for a few pence, and, with a fe'v mullet purchased from a fi--h ,^hop for bait, there \ou are ! Run the line out about five fathoms, with a good sinker attached, and then pull up your schnapper. That s all there is in schnapper fishing,— a bite, a tug, and then haul in, and very often theie are two on one line, and in an hour or iwo 2cwt. or 3cwt, of fish may be caught by a small partv — that is. if they strike the feeding ground. In the Hauraki Gulf, however, the fish are nine times out of ten to bo found within a few miles of Rangitoto or towards Waiwera. Of course rheie are huudreds of other schnapper grounds in the Gulf, out of Tiri Tiri, over at Ponui Island, in the Firth of Thames, off Mahurangi Heads, off Omaha, in Cabbage Bay, at Coromandel. anywhere about the Barriers, and hundreds of other places. If the fish don't bite in one place move a mile or -o, and if you .still don't catch schnapper. look at your hook — ten to one there has been no bait on. In just the

»ame way. while h-hing for schnapper, Iv ou will catch gurnet, vellow-ta.il, rock I cod. blue cod, teii'kei. trevalh, or pakati, | and. in the vicinity of rocks where there are deep hole*-, our lively and pugnacious old friend, the conger eel, lurks, but it takeo a pretty stout line to hold his majesty it he's m fighting mood, and he generally is. The hapuka i> often caught i in the Gulf from 401b. to 501b. in weight. i The trevalh and the terakei are game little fish for deep water, and test the line pretty smartly sometimes, but the others come up more as dead weight. The gurnet kicks a little, but the fun happens when he is in the bottom of the boat; he has a somewhat blunt body, legs like i a crayfish, and large fan-shaped fins resembling a butterfly's wings and beautifully coloured, arid he seems not a bit disconcerted, but prowl- round the bottom of tho boat, grunts ferociou-ly, and reminds one very much of a pug dog. Then there is tho hapuka. a magnificent fish growing to enormous .-ize and found far out in deep water, but he comes up like a. log, with never a kick in him. All the-e fish except the eel are splendid eating, especially .'o when cooked a few hours after being caught. What daintier di-li could be desired than fillets of schnapper fried over a camp fire at night when the yachting party have landed in one of the bundled* of beautiful little coves mound the Gulf? 'The -chnapper is a pn-tiv fi-h, and daintily coloured when caught off the deep banks of the north.

If the weather should happen to be lougli what does that matter? for one cm inn down to Rut he's Island or Kawau 1-lind, in the Gulf, and fish from the rocks in one of the sheltered coves, or fi>h fiom .Stanley wharf, or any of the points on North Shore opposite tho city. I havo .-(en -mall Ixn s perched on the Orakei hi ulge. which crosses a narrow arm of NWiiti-mata. Harbour a few minutes' bicycle run from Queen street, and in an afternoon they would catch as many s-ehnapper as they could carry.

FIGHT WITH A KINGFISH

lla\e you even angled for kingfish? If not. you've missed good stiort, for there i~> no nobler fighter in tho waters of the Gulf. He is the haku of the Maoris, and give*, sport ecjual to the American torpon. running 4ft. to sft. in length and 401b. to 601b. in weight. A clean-cut, elegant fish, responding easily to the angler's wiles, he may be captured with rod and line in the eastern harbours of Auckland and off the eoa-t as far .-outh as Cook Strait. One calm evening when the yacht was standing in to Drunken Bay. and the iun burned and happy crew were counting the schnapper and garfish and casting lots as to who should like the fire the Veteran — he was called the Veteran because he'd fished the waters of the Gulf for five years and lied about it enough for twenty — as I was going to say, the Veteran threw out his big lino to trail behind, and was nearly pulled overboard a second later. Jack (the captain) hung on to the Veteran's belt, the Veteran hung on to his heavy manuka rod, and the fish hung on to the line. Then the fun commenced. " Caught a sprat "'"' queried the rudderman.

"' No. a whale !" returned the excited Veteran.

" He's hooked Rangitoto Island !" yelled the captain, and one of the crew reckoned it must be a taniwha. For all the Veteran's traditional disregard of the truth, he was a splendid fisherman, and wo expected a good go — and saw it. Whizz-z-z went the line as the fish plunged, until we thought there would be no more line left; but presently rur-r-ur-r sounded the reel as the Veteran wound in. and then, against the strong light of the setting sun we saw a -superb kingfish come up. double into a half-circle, and_ dive again. There was excitement then, if you like ! Everyone shouted and cheered ; but the. Veteran, with his eyes on the water and his right hand on the reel, stuck grimly to his task and played that fish for all he was worth. For three-quarters of an hour the battle went on, and the great fish seemed as game as ever, but gradually tho length of line was recovered, inch by inch, until the kngfiVu came up two boat-lengths away and was finished by a ball from Jack"* rifle. We towed the monster in shore - 'lids' cl eers from the crews of other ya» • c«s gjth* red round to see the fight. The fish w.js ST-. long, and.

swung on an oar, it took two men to carry him. Where is jour trout beside a kingfish ?

AT WHANG AROA

Whangaroa is the most beautiful of all the northern harbours, and for a. real hoh day I would recommend a fislimy party to spend at least several days there. Whangd.roa is in the. far north of Auckland, where timber ships and the Northern Steamship Company's boats ply regularly. A pretty little township, also named Whangaroa, nestles in amontpst the hills, and the hotelkeeper of the one hotel is one of the most enthusiastic sports I ever met. Surrounded by lofty wooded ranges, with perpendicular cliffs frowning clown on the great inlets, an island that is a 6econil Gibraltar Rock standing just inside the entrance, with strange mushroom rocks, wonderful bays and arms where there are shingle beaches, and doep. deep blue water, Whangaroa is one of the loveliest scenic resorts in the North Island. Day after <lay the sheltered waters are mirrors of Nature. One may 6pcnd weeks in exploring the inlets that wind back through steep gorges atul then not exhaust the beauties of this place. It is far from the busy haunts of men. serene and calm all day long, and near the bluffs one may ga?e <lown, deep down and see the strange fish— fish that are never caught- — playing hide and seek below. The Maoris loved this place; some of their abodes still cluster in sheltered nooks, and by one hillside was where the gunboat Boyd lay in 1809. when the Natives swarmed on to her and massacred her crew. The hull may :-till bo seen on a. calm morniiiLr where the boat sank after the drift, opjio site Whangaroa township. Space forbids further reference to the beauty of this glorious harbour which is so little known, for this is a fish talk, but pcr-onalh ] lo\e Whangaroa even before the far fa-med Bay of Islands

Hotel accommodation may be arranged at very easy terms for a ]>arty, and, as nearly as I remember, the tariff i 6 6s. per day. An oil launch is always avail able at 15s. per day, but there are other boats, and one may, at a cost not exceeding- 15«. per day for boat hire, go out for a week's cruising and camping and be a.much out of the world in the arms ot Whangaroa Harbour as if at Easter Island. The best Ji=hing grounds are neai the entrance, and anywhere there any kind of fish frequenting these coasts may be caught by the boat load In calm weathej it is e\en possible to go outside and over to Stevenson's Island in a launch. Flying fish are met with e\ery where here, and porpoises come off and race with the boat. and then is the chance for the harpoon Almost any kind of bait serves; if mullet cannot be got crayfish are in plenty along the beaches. I have seen giant crayfish caught here in any number by a. man in a rowing boat; he simply stopped his oare close in shore, plunged his hand down and laid hold of the crayfish by the tail. Well. schnapper, trevaili, gurnet, yellow-tail. terakei and many others may be caught with the deep line, and just outside the big hapuka takes the bait freely. But the best sport here is with the kahawhai (often called the sea salmon) and the garfish. The Maoris fish for kahawhai with a piece of pawa shell and a hook, and catch them easily. The shell is to th/kahawhai what the artificial minnow i« to the trout. It is flicked rapidly through the water, and if there is a kahawhai about he generally comes into the boat. This fish travels in "big shoals, and once amongst a shoal the angler will tire long ere the fish cease to bite. With a gooct stout salmon rod and line and artificial minnow, spoon bait or live bait, the kaha-

whai plays as gamely as a >ea trout, but any number of pakehas prefer the pawa shell to the minnow. When the bait is ri'vcn tho angler *oon know-, it. for the kahawhai is one of tho gamest fish iii these waters. He will gne a better fignt

and a nobler finish than the biggest rain- > bow trout in New Zealand.

A MORNINGS SPORT

I shall never forget one glorious morning at Whangaroa. The \ a.st harbour was like a sea oi gla-ss. not a ripple disturbed

the surface, and the clouds and the delicate tintlings of the sunrise were seen again in the water; there was colour there, breadth, atmosphere, and sound ha.d that peculiar ring about it only heard where there are high hills and deep water. The oil launch puffed away at top speed for the harbour entrance, and there, riding on a long, lazy swell, wo smoked and fished to our heart's content. Schnapper came easily, so did gurnet, and a few barracoota were caught with surface linos. and then one of the party went off in the rowing boat for crayfish, another took photographs of the scenery and the strange fantastically shaped rocks, and another tired of fishing, got out his rifle and blazed away at shags. Then we headed outside for hapuka. but caught none ; instead, there was a tug at one of the trailing lines, and a big splash when the cord broke. Whizz went out another of the lines, and this time mint- host of tho hotel was at the boat end of it. and the fi^h never had a chance. Inside ten minutes, after a glorious bit of playing, there came on board a noble kahawhai about 201b. weight, and as lively as a gra^-hopper. Then there was a. streak out at the back and some quick plunging, and another line went out as though that fi=h ha<cl an appointment at the other side, but he was brought up with a round turn, lashed the water to foam for a few minutes, and a. beautiful young kingfish was landed. Tho photographer was now placidly casting a trout line and catching nothing, but he suddenly woke up and cautrht a garfish (locally called piper because of its peculiar long bill — and a splendid eating fish). The man with the gun was now swoaring audibly at the shags which kept beyond range, and a boy in tho bows was vainly trying to catch flyingfish in his hat. We cruised up near tho

"Iron Duke" rock and watched the fish foitv feet below, dangled the bait in front of the noses of the gurnet, flopped two bur schnapper on top of tho photographic outfit, made the ma.n with the pun <fhappb\ taking him within range of a goat which he missod, and then returned to the hotel for lunch.

SCHNAPPER GALORE

Another delightful place wherein to iHe a\\a\ a week or so is M-ingonui. the harbour running in from Doubtless Bay where the cable station is. about as far north of Auckland as one cares to tro. There are two good hotels in the little township, and the surrounding countr\ -the Victoria ami Oruru Valleys— ha« many beautiful scenes to offer, —amongst others the glorious forests between Takahue and Broadwood on one of the overland routes to Hokianga. At Mangonui there are fishing boats in any number at 1(K to 15«. per day. hotel accommodation at 6s. to Bs. per day, fishing tackle at next to nothing, and Doubtless Bay, away out beyond the cable station, is one of the finest schnapper fishing f grounds of the north. One Saturday afternoon the Hon. R. M'Nab and party, then touring North Auckland, went out into Doubtless Bay in a launch. There were seven schnapper lines on board, and we seemed to have stopped in the midst of a big shoal of schnapper and yellow-tail, with a few gurnet as policemen to keep the rest in order. The first catch was a four-pounder schnapper — and after that there was no cessation. More often than not two fish came up on the one line, and schnapper after ■Fchn;<r>"er floi ; od into the big box we had. The coach driver wae perched up on the 'leek-house, and he rained down schnapper and yellow-tail on to the heads of those below, and on every side the fish came in, till the owner of the launch got tired of putting th *in in the box. In less than two hours over 2cwt. of

!i h had Ikm ii cautrht

to say nothing of those that had flopped o\erboard again from tho top of the deck-hou-e.

OTHER HARBOURS

i It is almost difficult +o know which harj bour in Auckland j)ro\ince to \isit. for all are beautiful, and there is good fishing

in all. and they are nearly all great inland seas, where one may sail for days and days without exhausting their possibilities. Kaipara Harbour, on the West Coast, a morning's train run from Auckland City, has innumerable inlets and bays, and the Wairoa River, which empties into it on the northern side, is itself navigable for 90 miles, and drains an enormous kauri gum field and immense sawmilling areas. Almost anywhere about the harbour itself there are good fishing grounds. Hokianga Harbour, also on the West Coast, north of Auckland, is fed by great rivers navigable for many miles at nigh water, and noted for their scenic beauty. There are great State forests of kauri in th.s district, and at one point above Kohukohu township one may look over nearly 100 miles of country with nothing but dense bush in sight, Hokianga is famous for its beautiful peaches as well as its sea fishing and one of the most delightful water runs I know of is from Kohukohu

on the one side to Rawene on the other and down past Opononi arxl .Judire Maning's historic residence to Om.ipere <md m fine weather it is easy enoutrh there to imagine onoself in Samoa oi the Cook Islands. I ha\e seen schnapper. \ellowtail, gurnet, kahawhai. garfish, and terakei caught from Omapere wharf. Kxery part of this harbour has historical associations, and the Maoris are still there in good numbers.

Kawhia, "the sunset dooiwa\ " of Auck land, is of more than ordinal > mtoret-t because it is part of the real King Country, and it has superb scenic attractions. Tho harbour itself is shallow m part-, but it extends over an etiormoih ana. and, like Whangaroa. it has fioids and inlets t-uch as no harbour in the .S >tith Island, ovcept in the Sounds district, can boa<M of. At Tinohaku and Raka-.:.ui there are beautiful reaches, almost like (|utet livers, and there are wonderful goi-gi-,, while in the district itself are the fincM waterfalls in tho North Island. There are over a million acres of Native land in this district in \iigm state, chieflj under lm s h. and completely surrounding Kawhia ii:»d Aotoa Harbours, and Native •village*, ad 1

to the- interest to a visitor, while the fishing is all that can be desired, especially in fine weather at the bar or just outside.

The Tauranga or Bay of Plenty district, while it has good fishing to offer anywhere along the coast line, has not the vast area of closely sheltered water that the other harbours mentioned have, but still, the whole Bay frontage is really sheltered, for Matakana Island lies outside from Katikati to Tauranga ; and, moreover, the Gate pa and other famous battle fields make this an interesting place.

SHARK FISHING

Shark fishing is possible even in Waitemata Harbour, as there is a veritable breeding ground in the upper reaches, and Kauri Point, just opposite Auckland City, is a good ground. Shark fishers generally bait for schnapper till they catch a dogfish, and its liver is squeezed on to the

water, the oil floating awa> on the tide. The -mrll of the oil soon brings Jarge sliaik-s along and then the brutes are harpooned From October 1o January at high tide is tho bi-M tune for tln^. vport. There is a n'trular induct i\ m shark fishing in North Auckland. tho object ixMng the -•hark (ii.. Swordfish aie occasionally caught. One measuring 12ft. overall was eaptui-J. m llohson"'- Bay just off tho subiub of Pa moll. The fi>h attacked tho lx>at :o\oral times, and was o\entually shot. Its sword was 4ft. 6in. long.

For preference I would locommend a southern visitor to try first either the Hauraki Gulf, Whangaroa. Bay of Islands, llokianga. or Kawhia n> combining the most varied attractions with the sea fishing, and for the information of any contemplating the trip, ami at the risk of being considered "guide book\." I append a few ixiints regarding charges, etc.: —

Hauraki Gulf Kawau Island (Sir George Grey's old homo), 6-5. return saloon fare; tan!l. 6s. per day; daily service.

Mercury Bay, Coromandel, return saloon fan- 30>.

Oren .i. four miles from Waiwera Hot Sjii in- . fare 4-. each w,i\ ; tariff, 255. per w-ek.

P.'h-'s Island, two and a-half hours' smooth water passage from Auckland; daih -enice; return fare, 65.; tariff. 4s. 6(1. per day. 255. per week; unequalled as a -ea-ide and pleasure re ort ; motor boa" obtainable at Challenger Launch . t Motor Company, Judges Bay, l'r . .' : \achts on hire at water front.

Whangarei, 95 miles, return -jLjoii C2s. 6d.. good hotels.

Ruv*.'U (Bay of Islands), 151 miles, return, 425. Whangaroa, return saloon 475. 6d. Mangonui, return saloon 525. llokianga, 182 miles from Onehunga, ictum 505.; stay at Raweno or Omapere.

Kaipara, rail to llelen.sville, 38 miles, return 9s. Bd. first class ; steamer to Dargawlle. 85 miles, or to Pahi or Whakapirau, To Koporu (lesser distances).

Kawhia, rail to Ie Awamutu, 100 miles, firet single fare 11s. 7d. ;_ coach daily to Pirongia (famous in Maori history), eight miles, single 2s. 6d. ; to Oparau. 31 miles coaching through magnificent King Country forest, single Iss. (Tuesday and Friday) ; to Kawhia by launch, five miles, fare 2s. 6d. ; Kawhia by steamer from Onehunga i-> 335. return.