ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 65

ANGLING.

Bt Jock Scott.

—■ "' \ ■ ■ ■-« {Co.- be a perfept fisherman you require more SSeelitsnciea than are usually to be found in such a imalt sjMioe as. i» allotted to a man's carcase.— f ARKIR &ILHOITR. ftttders are invited to { contribute- -items- of local fthing news, for' insertioa in this column. For insertion ia th« ensuing' issue they should reach SDUnedin by Monday night's mail. ■ '

SANK NOTES. - SoutbJund Rivers.—The Southland News of Thursday contains the following: Although the proximity of the Easter holiday? has militated against such r large exodus of fishermen during the week as during past weeks, a very fair eturn is to hand. The feature of the week’s fishing was. of course, the nasket of nine fish (weight 851 b) taken by Messrs Steans and Swale in that spot on the Upper Oreti familiarly known a “Sise’s Hole,” and Mr Swale' is credited with a beauty tipping the beam _,t exactly 191 b. , Several other catches of less, magnitude are re-, ported- from the Upper and the Lower. Oreti, one angler taking five fish averagUig 3ilb in the Lower Oreti. The conditions have been good; Following are the aaturns: n .

Lake Onslow. —Mr George Strachan lias proved* beyond a doubt that there are big fish in Lake Onslow. A Loch Leven trout caught by him on the 20th and exhibited next day. turned the scale, when cleaned, at 91b. It measured 28|- inches in Sensrth. and 16 inches in girth.—Mt. Benger Mail. The Oreti. —Saturday’s Southland Times contains the following:—An. experienced «.nsfier informed the writer the other day that the fishing season now drawing to m dose has been the most successful one on iroeord, as far as the Oreti River is concerned. when the weight of individual fish are taken into account. t He also pointed out that the activity of the Acclimatisation Society’s officials and the restrictions placed on netting hav< proved the mrincipal factors in bringing about this desired ®nd. He brought unde, notice the fact of a well-known disciple of Isaac Walton, who. within the -past fortnight, captured in the New River a trout weighing 191 b. gw lure used being the fly. This must constitute the best catch of the season for £ single fish with the artificial insect. Angling about Eenmore.—The Ben more (Correspondent of the Southland Times, ■writing in that journal oh Friday morning, says the angling fraternty between time are getting some fine sport, and I heat’ of good baskets being obtained by (Several cligler-. Mr J. Donaghy landed a capital bag of 20 fish one day last week, included in one “take” being a nice fish of 41b. Mr W. Anderson has also been slaughtering trout lately, and several good baskets arc to be credited to him —one papeciaHv of 30 included some very fine E«h. Although not on a gigantic scale there ware several fin© two-pounders in an otherwise very even basket. Mr Neil Mackay has also been adding to his already fair record, and.besides a. number of good Sh, he has lately landed a very fine mail® fish of ll£lb weight; while on a reoant evening ho grassed a couple of beantjes which, turned the scale at 51b and 71b respectively. Mr Mackay kills most of his fish with a lake size March 'Brown /red heckle), while other killing flies used about bore are: Pomahaka, Blue 'Dun. N. R. Mackay. Parole Grouse. ’.Dark Red Spinner, and Dark and Light Red Caperer. We have had visits lately from a couole of anglers, one from Dunedin /Mr MTvenzio) and one from voracity /Mr Geo. Keltv). While not, catching anything sensational in size (Mi M'Kenzio was onN hero one day and grassed a dozen-Mr Kelly intends to remain a Few ’days), both anglers had fair snort. How am I getting on, did I bear you remark.

sir? Well, I am like the rest, landing a few between times. During the last fortnight I have been out on several occasions, a(>d have returned with good bags, my largest fish scaling 71b, • while several Tanged from 21b up to 61b amongst the remainder. The river has bean exceptionally good for fly fishing, and anglers rejoice exceedingly. North Island Rivers.—" Waimarino " writes from,' Raetihi, North Island, as follows:—Perhaps you may remember me calling on you 12 months a<go in Dunedin and having a chat about fishing matters in our district, and as you are always asking for angling notes, I thought I would drop you a line as to our fishing in the Wajimarino. We only started to stock three years ago, and fish up to 61b and -71 b have been taken. The heaviest fish in the photograph I forward is 51b, and the lot were caught on the bare fly by Messrs Henderson and Shuby in a few hours. Our other streams have been pretty heavily fished, and some good baskets taken up to 10 and 12lb. Our society is young yet, but we spent £BO on fry last season, and hope to make this one of the best fishing places in the North Island.

A Dissatisfied Angler.—A correspondent adopting the figures 144 as a nom de plume, writes as follows:—I take it the object of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, and also of the Otago Anglers' Society m the promotion of the art of angling, by fish culture, stocking streams, and proper* supervision on the part of the former, and by general attention to the interests of anglers, by the latter. Unfortunately, in the near vicinity of Dunedin we afe- at a discount for fishable streams, and admittedly the present season has been an unfavourable one. Nevertheless, I should be; pleased to know why the claims of the Silverstream have apparently been overlooked. A gentleman from Tasmania who was at Whare Flat with me recently remarked that it was a most enticing trout stream, particularly for fly, and oprtainiy it should be, but for the fact that the fish are not there. One reason is that unquestionably during the last *ew months the river has been systematically dynamited and lined by "hoodlums," who. needless to say. have evaded both the license fee and the ranger, if there i>a, or ever has been, a ranger. A $ eat deal of attention is given to the a|nd onlv recently the' manager of the Opoho fish hatcheries recommended that surplus'vounc* trout should be liberated therein after the next fresh. Although the Leith is -very convenient, it is also very malodorous, and does not compare with the Silverstream in many ways. The Waiteti is a miserable affair, and it is notorious that netting at the mouth of the Waikouaiti ha? spoilt fha.fc river. Why not give license holders a. chance, by paying more attention to a delightful "creek," f>.aKly reached by. vehicle, bicycle, or foot, from Dunedin? Does the Acclimatisation Society employ rangers, and. if so, where are t'tev ? Writer's license has never been w.ked foi since it was taken out... Quite-a different state of affairs from that obtainin? in Southland, as the recent Invereargill prosecutions show- The sunineness of *!he fi«hing authorities in Dunedin is leading. I am pfraid, to move than mere neglect, and for one, I shall hesitate next year, as have quite a number of older anglers this season, -ahonfc taking out a license fon- Otao-o. I shall probably transfer my niscatorial affections to Southland, where, lust for another example, one may everv day peruse telegraphic information *"* to the state of the 'ocal rivers for fishing. •

New Zealand Trout for a Somerset Lake. —In view of the fact, that the greatvprand fathers and g'reat-ppjatjrlmofchers of the New Zealand trout, were Tharoea fish, it, i« interesting - to hear thilt some two thousand New Zealand trout are shortly to be placed in Rlagdon Lake, the famous trout water in.tho We«t Country. These ♦rout have been reared from tne eggs of New,Zealand trout whicn themselves came nver the' seas in the ovo stare, were despatched from the London Docks to Blagdon, and there were dnlv hatched nut n.nd reared—a feather in the cap of Mr Donald Oanr. the head keeper and piseiculturise n't Blagdon Lake. As for the trout in New Zealand, the Thames fish have flourished in an extraordinary way ever since, so to speak, they first set fin there. They have not only increased rapidly, bur', assumed aldermanic proportions, thanks to the stf-raina. and good breed of their sturdv Ywrhears of the Tlw.mes. With the successful introduction and snread of trout in New Zoaland the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society has also had a great deal to do, -and it now supplies eyed ova of wild brown and rainbow trout to. kindred societies and individuals in India, Africa. Australia, etc. The eggs are obtained from fi.sh 'from five large rivers within 20 miles of the ' hatchery, and onlv the strongest eggs are sent out. After this we ought to be more Proud than ever of our Thames trout.— Lo"rton Sportsman. Fishing in the Isle. —This does not refer to an island, but to a riyer in the. Girondo Department which flows into the Dordogne, the latter ioining the Garonne lower down. when th°> joint river becomoa Giroud". A young - Englishman living near Bordeaux gives m.f> some interesting note 3 on peculiar forms of fly fishing practised on the* Isle, the fish caught being roach and assoges. the latter probably identical with th° sieges I met, in old Empire days, in the Garojme at Toulouse, an apparently migratory fish rather similar to the nase found in the Rhine *».nd other German rivers, and t.Vyre very seldom caught on the line. At Toulouse we used to get a few with the chrysalis of th© silkworm, olso with ,cre*d wnmat.. My informant describes first fly fishing from a boat, the angler, sitting at the stern, nnddling with one hand and easting with the other, his rod being about. 6ftT and line about denble that length: hook No. 6 or 7. with three or four common houso flies imoaled thereon. Fe rows at short distance from the bank, flicking hts line from one side <-vf the _ boat to the other, and getting fi*h varying from 2oz or 3oa to, verv occasionally, 21b. Fly fishing from the bank is done with n. bamboo red of. 20ft or more and similar hook and lure. No reel is used hv either Kink or boat fisherman. The former stalks his quarrv by the aid of trees and hushes, drops his flies where he. can see fish Iving in shadv places, and gives them life by a tremulous motion of the hand. Generally the fish does not dart at them, but swims un with a sort of bored and uninterested ai". t--ld svva'lovvs the bait leisurely if ha takes it at all Fish caught this way soem

mostly to .run from about 2oz to alb. A modified form of blowline is used by boys fishing from bridges—a short aod, with a and light line blown out by the wind; book No. 10, 11, or 12, baited generally with a single fly, whioh is taken as it touches the water.- the fish being mostly about bleak size and seldom over 2oz or 3oz. The correspondent started on the dapping business with a fly rod and a reel and No. 10 or 11 hooks, but found he missed nearly all the larger fish, and his takes were never satisfactory until he took to No. 6 or 7, as used by the locals. Strange to say, he found cloudy sky and breeze detrimental, reflection of cloud 9 on the surface making it impossible to see where the fly fell, while in a strong rippie fish would be missed by his not seeing them coming. Towards six in the evening all the fish seemed to be moving up stream, and plenty of rises could be got from these travellers. A creel of 41b or so was a decent afternoon's catch. The early morning seemed to be the best time' for the dancing fly. The village where he stayed was called Guitres. Turning to bottom fishing, huge carp up to 301 b are reported to be found in the-Isle, and occasionally a 20-pounder is caught on a line; but the majority fall victims to the epervicr, or shoulder net. The capture of a big carp is quite an event in the quiet village; a lottery is held for it at at penny a ticket, followed by a banquet, when the piece de resistance, the carp stewed in white wine, is found to be, as Father Izaak - would say, " marvellous good meat." Fishing for big carp being very' slow work, three or four lines -are generally put out in. the neighbourhood for other fish, which include bream, roach, gudgeon, eels, and a sort of sole (query, flounder or plaice?) which runs up the river in hundreds in October, having r«d spots on its brown back, which fade -away after it has been some time in fresh watei. The favourite baits for carp were wheat (creed- and .flavoured with certain ho<bs) and sundry pastes. For the other fish gentles and worms were used, on-Nos. 10, 11, or 12 hooks; also greenish freshwater shrimps. The river also held barbel up to 201 b, which were caught on tourteau, or bempseed cake (a favourite hook and ground bait for roach and bream in the north of France), while perch up to 41b or over were taken with natural or artificial fish. It is evident from the foregoing that there is a fair chance of amusement for the all-round angler in- the Isle, and that should any skilled Thames, Lea, or Trent fisherman ever find themselves in the sunny Bordeaux district their perseverance might he rewarded by something exceptional and case-worthy in the way of specimen carp,. barbel, or perch.—" Sarcelie." in the Field. Angling for Muskallonge and Pickerel. — " There are several small lakes on the headwaters of the Manistique River, in Michigan, where there are very large musi kallonge," said a New York angler. "Brook trout are abundant in the streams that run into those lakes. It had tveen the lament of fishermen, time out of mind, that the muskallonge would take no live bait or lures that were tried on them, but a party of .anglers who were trout fishing in that region made the discovery, some seasons ago, that the muskallonge would not accept any of the ordinary baits for the reason that they were highly epicurean in ■their tastes. One of the party went out one day to try his skill on,' the muskallonge in one of the lakes. After exhausting it all without having had a single strike, he abandoned muskallonge fishing and began casting for trout at a stream that emptied into the lake. He hooked a fair-sized trout, and was reeling it in when there came a sudden swoop and splash in the water, and down went the trout and the fisherman's leader in the whirlpool that marked the spot where the trout had been. The fisherman knew that it was nothing else than a muskallonge that had swept ! trout and leader away in, a dash such as 1 that, and he instantly made up his mind J that it was trout those great fish vegaled ! themselves on in those waters. He kept I alive the next six-inch trout lie caught, I put it on his muskallonsre hook, end tossed it into the lake wher-j he thought muskallonge were* more than likely lying in wait. The trout had barely sunk below the surface when it wa.s pounced upon, and the angler, after a stiff fight for a quarter of an hour, had the gratification of landing a seventeen-pound muskallonge. With similar tjaifc the party killed twelve, -big muskallonge in that lake in less than two hours. At the same time, every other kind of bait was used, without a single i strike resulting on any of them. At any time during the party's stay thereabouts, muskallonge could be caught when trout were used as bait, but at no timo with anything else. The bis: fish were connoisseurs. The streams provided them with delicate trout, and they refused anything less choice. Trading of? trout for muskallonsre seemed like a decidedly barbarous and unsportsmanlike.'fch7.ii!? to do, but the j knowledge was regarded bv the anglers as worth the sacrifice. Another in that region has nowhere" more than four feet of. water in it, and its bottom is so soft that' a pole twenty feet loiig may bo shoved down into it without reaching solid ground. The hike is alive with big pickerel, for I they have devoured all of the small ones. J They bite at almost anything presented to i them, but the Eoraeni; one is hooked it j dives into the soft bottom and aroes so I deep that 1 sometimes they have to be pried out with poles. It is not an uncommon thing to mine a pickerel from a depth of f-oii'i* £f!.efc. The bottom <« 'no* mud or mire, • but a pulpy mass described as re"ssmbling tapioca pudding."—New York Sun. • ,-■■

Heaviest. Av. No. lbs. lbs. Oreti, (Upper) ... 293 19 2| ©reti (Lower) .. .. 173 8| 2 h Aparima • ■ • • .. 112 6t -2 waunatnkri ... 19 3| li Makarewa .. - 23 U 620 — 2.0 Jlre weekly returns reported to date are S3 follows: — Oct. 28—213 Jan. 14—512 N.ov. 4—317 Jan. 21—505 Not. 11 —15‘ Jan. 28—408 Now. 18—282 Feb. 4—786 Nov, 25—312 Pel. 11—555 Dec. 3—608 Feb. 18—634 Dec. 10—418 Feb. 25—763 Dec.. 17—465 ' Mar. 4—482 Doc. 34—485 Mar. 11—480 Dec. 31—839 " -Mar. 18—659 Jan, 7—898