BANK NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2862, 20 January 1909, Page 72

BANK NOTES

OTAGO ANGLERS' ASSOCIATION'S COMPETITIONS. Competition in Otago Harbour. — Date to fc* fixed. With the weather being experienced tingling newt is necessarily quiet ; so quiet as to be" almost altogether sUent. Hardly anything seems to be doing among anglore, for the simple reason that it is utterly useless to flog away at a stream that is running yellow and getting on for bank-high. Apart from the condition of streams, the heavy gales that have been almost incessant, and the bitterly .cold weather have been in themselves quite enough to put a complete stop to Angling. Anglers are all praying for a change, and there are many others doing the same thing. The Pomahaka. — Messrs W. Johnson (Dunedin) and W. PattUon (Gore) spent the Christmas and New Year week fishing on the Pomahaka, at Burning Plains, and report the stream in good order. Sport for the first part of the holiday was slow, but improved daring the last three days, the total number of trout grassed being 101, weighing just 2owt. After six years' angling on the classic Pomahaka, theee gentlemen report the fish- to be decreasing in size. — Mataura. Ensign. The Aparima.— Good fishing is still to be found in the Aparima estuary (says a SouthJajid exchange). On Friday Mr D. Hendarson landed a beautiful fish weighing <5Jb, and another of equal weight rose in the vicinity. The Asbburton. — FiGh are being caught in eouiparathely small numbers at the mouth <A the Ashburton River at present (says a north exchanga). The outlet of the river is now fully three-quarters of a mile to \he eaat of the huts, and the lagoon water Js too dead for successful angling. No herrings or kawhai have been caught for over a ttreek, but shovel-no '4. sharks are frequently hauled in by .ueep-sea fishers. The Ashley. — A Canterbury paper says : — During the past few days the Ashley has yielded some good baskets of trout. On Friday an angler took three nice fish, the ku-gesi weighing 91b, and on Saturday night a 101b fish was caught. Owing to * — *he frequent rains the Ashley is now in belter condition than for some years past »t this time of the year. Unfrequented Rivers.— The Cheviot correspondent of a Christchurch paper writes : ''Perhaps anglers a*e- not -aware that there as good trout fishing to be had in both ♦he Hurunui and the Waiau Rivers: but suoh :s the fact, and one or two of our local enthusiasts have practically a monopoly of bbsse rivers in the Cheviot diat-net. Anglers from Christchurch could come up to Domett with the late express o n Wednesd*f evenings, get Rood accommodation at that place, whip the Hurunui till lumch time on Thursday, and be hack in Christohurch in time for dinner the same evening. ««j£ oi Too Flattering to Rotorua Trout.— They are called razors, because it is said that a mam can shave with them," remarked Mr T. M. Wilford, M.P., to a Post reporter, referring- to the trout of 'Korown. In all the 6moke-rooms, he sa>g, ©n*> oan hear anglers complaining about the *r«t-che.d condition of the fish The fcrouTjte JB that the trout are too plentiful, tb«*r food is too meagre, and their enemies W» too scarce. Therefore, they wear a *can and hungry look. Some of them have «air backs, but they ''fall away to nothing " and they show no fight. They go on increaeoig and multiplying, and their food supplies go on decreasing. An angler goes out hi high hopes, which are raised still higher when he gets a bite a moment after a oast, but he becomes as limp as the trout when the fisherman discovers that (he has hooked a creature almost too tired to wangle i> rail. He makes other casts, and pulie r.p other skeletons, plenty of them Then he goes back to the smokeroom at the Spa, and brethren of many **».-'..■>— Great Britain, Argentine, United tot.£U:-.-. Australia— condole with him, and, rever-mg the u^ual procedure of anglers, ♦uey vie ■s»i»h one another in recounting tneinone^ of weedy catches. A British «olon-o], who saw lovely pictures of Rotorua *t«ut in Ei qknd, oanoe out with hi& wife

aimd a maid and a vatet. He intended to stay a month, but the "razors" out away his resolution in a few days, and be departed. Notes About Goraldine Fishing. — The present rain has sliightly risen and dirtied our local streams, but will ultimately do a lot of good by sanding more fish into tha higgler reaches of the river* (says a Cantorbury exchange). Several fail baskets have been recorded', one local a.nglcr having brought several fine trout and a beautiful lot of herrings from the Rangitata Mouth. Another angler landed 15 fine fish for an evening's fishing, at the eari*e river. The silverie3 are reported to be running plentifully in this place. This speaks well for the future condition of the fish. The Hae-te-moaria has yielded several fine baskets of smaller fish to «me of our local anglers. Several baskete of about 25 have been recorded, the fish averaging in weight about 21d. On Thursday afternoon Mr Malcolm Campbell and his son Herbert landed 37 nice fish in this last stream. The caking flies about here are the same as upual, the red-tipped Governor, Hardy'e favourite, and red spinner seeming to be the most popular. The fish in the Hae-4e-moana Gorge seem to b a thing of th>e past, at least for some ti.ne to come, as it is said that it has b?eu fairly well poached out for some rime past. Sea-fishing. — Some fine sport was enjoyed by two of three fishermen on the North Mole the other night (writes an Oamaru paper). Conger eels were very plentiful, and several beauties were caught with short lines with a broad wooden float, but one was also caught on a long ground line. One monster eel was seen to come to the surface of the water and swim right up to the feet of one of the fishermen, who was standing on the sea-lapped rocks at the ■side of the mole. The eel swam about Hire this for some little time a 6 though h& Mere expecting to be fed, and had a gaff been handy he could have been very easily captured. Another Angling Club. — On Monday, 11th inst., a number of Rangiora anglers met in Mr R. Hayward's room at Rangiora, and decided to form a club, to be known as the Xorth Canterbury Anglers' Club. A number of those present became members, and it w.-s derided to elect officers at a meeting to I>3 held later on. Scotch Wit. — The clergyman who asked thy.' Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, "Does a fi«liing license entitle the holder to fish on the Sabbath?" recalls one of the beet of many good stories of Russell, the famous editor of the Scotsman, Edinburgh — a splendid example of dry "wut." Russell had fished on the Sabbath because he had no other day to fish; and a cousin of the Canterbury clergyman caught him in the stream. Venturing upon a slight acquaintance, and divided between fear of God and f«ar of man, the complainant broached the matter gently. "Ah pairceive ye're feeshin,' Mr Russell." "Ay," said Russell; "do ye no feesh yereel on the Sawbeth?" "1 do, Mr Russell ; but lam a feeeher of men." "Ay,"' said Ruesell, "I saw ye feeshin' the morn, an' — there were na owe-r moiiy feeah in your creel." — Exchange. Perch-fishing Extraordinary. — A Welsh, correspondent writes : — "About 30 years ago Mr Piroe, the late proprietor of the Valley Hctel, Anglesey, stocked the Traffwyll Lake, near the well-known summer resort, Rhcsneigr, with trout and perch. Tibe lake — which covers an area of 85 acres — is surrounded by rocks, and has a depth close by tha banks of over 6ft. A few days ago a couple of Denbighshire anglers secured permiss'on from the present proprietor of the Valley Hotel to fiefo off the rocks for pe-rch. As the lake is abtolutely packed with per oh, they went well armed with worms. They began- about 1 p.m., and ashed from the same rook without shifting until sunset, using three hooka en th« gut. The ' fish immediately began to bite, and were drawn out at the rate of two and three at a time. Both anglers were so busily engaged that they had no time to eat or sniok-a, with tha result that by sunsot they had secured the extraordinary number of 687 perch, or 322 and 365 respectively, and- 18 trout. The largest perch [ weighed 2^lb, and the largest trout IJlb, | all caught with red worm and in the same spot. The fish weighed, altogether 3171b. During th-e summer monnh foui Holyhead gentlemen, fishLng from two boat 3 in the same lake, «eoured 835 perch and 27 trout, and had to hire a cart to remove their spoil 3. The lake is eaid to be of great depth, and is to be utilised in die near future as the water supply for the town of Holyhead and the villages of Rhosneigr, The Valley, and Trearddwr Bay. This fact howe\er, will not interfere with the fishing in the slightest degree, so it will re- , main a happy hunting- ground for the perch .njgler for jears to come."— The Field.