BANK NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2850, 28 October 1908, Page 64

BANK NOTES.

OTAGO ANGLERS'. -ASSOCIATION'S GOlfc PETITIONS. October 30.— Lake Logan. November 7.— W*ipah£ River (bare fly). November 9.— Waipahi. Competition in Otago Hai»bour.--Da« to U fixed. - ' Some Good News from Tapanui.— The , ?ollowiiKg lias kindly been forwarded to me | for- puttioatEon:— "Tapaoni, r Oc*ptH» 19- j During the past few days some very 'heavy j caitxfttes of trout have -teen mad© in 4he i Pomeaiaka'and ks tributaries. One day Mr A. Mason took over 501b weight; 6n the same' day Messrs Smith (2) book out 120 ! iish in five boure. Mr T. Jenkins, jun., j also wa3 one of the fortunate (or, rather, skilful) fishers. He landed from, the Kelso Creek a trout measuring -33 finches in length cod 19£ inches- in girth,- weighing 1541b. In fche contest he broke hie rod, "and after going home a-ud mending it he returned to the creek, end caught five fiA ayeragijplg over 21b each. Three other anglers a Tew days ago took over 100 fish M>ut of the Pomahaka near the ttuugsk I ara"cr«diWy informed that one day.' tauslrweek Mr WilJiam Mackie took out 30 ' trout, and then went home, because he could " not carry more. Qn one day Messrs Bromley (2) took 64 fish; Mir A. Stivens 28, Mr T. Crawford 14> and various others catches were Hrtrisfacfo'ty. . The- Pdanahaka is pimply swarming with fish dn gcod condition." The Waitaki, Kakanui, and Waianakarua. — A fortunate angler orn "the -south' side of the Waitaki River" obtained 'eight good fieh in a littlo over "an. hoar" on' & "recent . evening. All -ihe fishermen, were doing -■.veil. Success also attended the efforts of \hose on the north side of the river. Tfos Kakanui and* Waianakarua are also iviug gcod eport. Aji exchange siys:'— "Fishermen on the south side of tha Waitaki were^ very successful on the 21st. Mr W. Schluter secured 10 fine fish in good condition, ■whHe- another fisherman obtained 7, aootiher S, whilst others secured lesser numbers. The fieh were in fino conddticn." The Waipahi. — " W.D..," writing from JWaipahi on the 26fch inst., says : "This river ?a now in 6plendid order fox fishing. The "rain last week put it up just enough to wake it good. .7. Welders killed 37 fish itithe gorge on the 22mL *He caught the e t ream rising and ' the fieh moving ; heaviest fish 4lb. The same day on the flat Tj Hayes caught 36 fish. On the 24ih, m <the gorge, /J. Waldere took 30 fish, S. Murray 24. F. "Ludwig 21, A. Jones 19, and j Joe Walders 13, 6everal of which went from j 31b to 41b. I -was also with the party, and ( accounted for some faiT fish. I believe there were some other gocd bags also made of 25 to 40 fish. The river will be in fine trim now for a few days, aowl we should hear of some fair bags being made." The Mimihau. — The Gore Standard cays: "Mr H. D. Beattie and party, of Mataura, secured a nice basket of fish in the Mimihau the other day, the total number being 66 procd-conditioneil trout, weighing l}3lb. Mr Beatfcio reports the stream in good .order, and fish fairly numerous, but i? anything somewhat smaller than in previous years. This -is the ease generally with regard to all southern streams. Twelve or 15 years ago the average weight of trout ranged between three and four pounds ; the average in most ravers now would not exceed- one pound. To account for this no satisfactory reason Kb yet has been given." The Maerewhenua. — Some cf the Otelaike settlers are having better sport with ■•3ie rod than South Canterbury anglers are >,ble to get at the present time (says a horthern paper). Fishing- in the Maerewlie"ftua River (which flows past the estate) one wy this week some good fi«h 6caling up to '$H> in weight wer-e secured-. t An^rl-rag 1 Down South. — The Free Press the following notes regarding some >>f the rivera down Pou-th : — " Mr J. ' Vamoud, of the Rivereide Creamery, has peen very successful co far this season with rod. On the opening day he bagged wye nice fish, the heaviest 'being 31b. He Vas also taken a large number of fish from Puerna during the pasi fortnight, and !ap to date his ta£v is over 50 fish. Mr jpneo. MjorrayyoC Waipahi. won the Otago Angling Society's flwnwetition 00 ihe Shag $iTier on Laaotar D»y with a 16lh basket. J

- TheJbait used was the -worm — an unusual bait for the expert Waipahi fly fisherman. A party of fishermen from Gore last week accounted fox no few than 137 trout, mostly small, from the Pomahaka, which they report to be fairly alive with fish just now. Fishing in the Molyneux ■ on Tuesday Week Mr D. G. Al<gio secured five nice fish, the smallest IH> lOoz and the two heaviest 3lb each^ total weight 111b lOoz. Mr William Hutching secured a gocd basket in the Owaka the ether day — 14 fish of medium weight. At the Kaihiku on Wednesday Mr H. King, of Ralclutha, got eight with the fly." M. Big One from the Pomahaka.— Mr Thomas Jenkins, jun., successfully landed a salmon trout weighing 15£lb. Quite & number of persons have called on Mr Jenkins to see it, and all consider it a very fine specimen, in addition to beang almost a record for the Pomahaka. Canterbury Streams. — Good news ©till comes io hand of very fair baskets on the Temuka, Oiaxu, Tengaiwad, Pareora and Otaio. It is reported that Mr Wederell of St. Andrews got a splendid basket a day or two ago in the last-named river. The ,R*ngitata .is aieo fishing well, but the trout are not yet in «ood condition. Trout-fishing in tba North Islaxud. — In. the rivers' of South Taxanafci trout are plentiful. HA Stratford angler took a basket of 15 fish from. *&c Pa*ea River recently. The "Mahaia Witness reports that some excellent catches were obtained last week, and that fish are fairly plentiful in the Kaupokonui and other streams. . Something About Eels.— The Qlu<tha Leader contains the following:— "While the catches of trout do not seem to be very large at present in the district, eels are reported to be very, plentiful. On Saturday morning "Mr A. Brame caught one in "the Molyneux 3ft 85 n> long, llin in girth, and weighing lOilb. When he saw at the eel was in .shallow water killing a rabbit which it appeared to iba>ve caught in some way. In the Kaihiku the other day an anler saw three "or four oe-ls in a fierce battle for a young lamb, which they had pulled into the water. The -prevalence of the eels mu6fc account in come way for the absence of troTit.- — fl^SJioulcl jxr-efer 1 to draw the conclusion ' that both rabbit, and lamb •feH into tho wate rather *haai think the eels had anything to do with their getting

"there.— J. S.]. -• , Hatcheries for Southland.— The Southland Acclimatisation Society has secured a site of seven, acres, about. o<ne t mile and 1 a-half fxom Mataura, 'oii'fhe western side of the river' near Mr-'Coekburn's homestead, and intends constructing fish ponds and hatcheries there. The Waikana, a clear hill stream, runs through the property, and altogether the^eituitipn is an ideal one for the purpoefe 'forfwhieh it is intended.

Comments.— Mr A. H. Shury writes from Ashburton on ibfe 23rd ' inst. a* follows:—"There are several things in your 'Bank Notes' this 'week, that call for comment. First, the catch limits-fixing the" limit at 601b' weight i? a splendid idea, for the Temuka and otlier small streams, but how about the Rangitata. I had several fish of l*lb -to 161b each from that stream in tb& CKristehuTch Exhibition, and from the Ashburton I had two fish 19£lb each and one of 181b and another of 151b from the Ashburton Lagoon. These Iwo last I presented to' Sir Joseph Ward to take to England, and they with others are now in the Anglo-Franco Exhibition New Zealand Court. You will generally find the men who want to liniit-the take are men of no experience. What I should like to point (out is this : You may fish the Rakaia, A&hburtbn,' Rangitata, and Opihi, •nd fish for a week, and, through the water being unfit, get nothing ; _and- then you get a perfect fishing day, and may land* anything from 20 to 50 fish ' averaging 71b. You may remember when the Government- wanted to bring in a regulation to make the total catch 20 fish and 201b, as secretary of the Aehburton Society I objected, and. asked --the department to cancel the regulation a» applied to Ashbur--ion" but -tho secretary insisten on jny naming the number of fish and total weight. So I named; 200 fish," 20001b -weight for a day's catch in the Ashburton district, and received a reply front tho secretary they would gazette nothing co foolish. To which I» replied it was an average of 101b only, and" was not so foolish as 20 fish weighing 201b for Ashburton. —[Mr Shury must bear in mind that even Government officials arc capable of being staggered by anglers' figures. They have ,not been educated up to them.] — As to Sunday fishing : I know of many who do not get & chance to fish except on Sunday. As an angler I do not object to Sabbatarians not fishing on Sunday, and as to being fair to legitimate licensed anglers who . will not fish on Sunday, I think the unfairness is entirely on the side of the Sabbatarians. The angile-r offends no one, beinu away from churches and «hapele«, and to be offended the Sabbatarian must follow an angler up, and if ho did I have little doubt the gentleman's heart would bo filled with envy, hatred, anti all uiicharitablenese wh«n he saw the angler making a bag. That 301b trout: There is nothing incredible in the tale, as the angler was fishing near the mouth of the Molyneux. It should be no more incredible than catching a heavy fish in- the Rakaia, Ashburton, or Rangitata. Mr Orr, of Waihola Flat, caught a trout 221b in tho Ranffitata, hooked; through -the tail, and he landed it. Re selling trout: If anglers were allowed to soil trout as "they were 20 years ago, in a very few months there would be no trout left. Before the sale was prohibited, the ri\*rs were almost dppJeted. " Not only were they caught fairly and gold, but some sought to make a. living at it, and the fish were netted ami dynamited; and small creeks were limed," until many streams were bare of fish. -If a man wants trout, and is too lazy and' unskilful to catch them himself, let him start some young fellow with tackle and a license, and he should! get plenty. The Southland Acclimatisation Society : Re new hatchery, all they have to do is to consult 'The Fi-heries Act, 1908,' sections 9 and 92, apply to tho Minister, purchase a cite for a hatchery, and also camping ground for anglers. I do not think the Goiernmert will do it for them, but they have provided the machinery for them to do it for themselves. I, by the aid of Sir W. J. Steward, got the_ bill passed when the Chru>tchurr*h Society said our action was quite jMeeral in making a camp for angles, and I said I would get it legalised, and I did ?o. At our Ashburton camp we ha\e over 30 lmj«. and every private hut has from five to eight aaglers that u^e it. The Southland Society will find it pay well. We have al«> .three public huts, for anglers who

cannot afford a hut of their own. There are 40 bunks in them.^and they give us no trouble."