ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3018, 17 January 1912, Page 72

ANGLING.

By Jock Scott. To be a perfect fisherman you require mor./ excellencies than are usually to be found in such « small space as is allotted to a man's carcase— Parker Oilmour.

Readers are invited to contribute items of local fishing ctews for insertion in this column. Foi insertion in the ensuing issue they should Dunedin by Monday night's mail.

Mr H. Islip is away holiday-making, and his enthusiasm in the direction of angling is certain to involve him in a fishing excursion. I understand that Mr Islip is somewhere in the vicinity of the Kakanui, so that the river is bound to receive his attention.

What a Steel-centre Rod Can Do.—Mr G. M. Marshall, on Saturday night, while fishing below Dr King's house at Karitane for trout, landed a conger e-=)l weighing 251 b. Its girth was 26in and its length 4ft 3in. Mr Marshall played the monster for an hour and a quarter, and his Hardy's steel-centre rod proved equal to the occasion. Mr Marshal! must havo had a very exciting time of it, and in effecting the capture accomplished somewhat of a feat in angling, for an eel, even of 51b weight, is a nasty brute to work on a trout line, and is very apt to smash something. The Waitaki.—l have to thank Mr R. Crust, who I am glad to think has always taken aai interest in the Angling column, for the following note: —"Dear Jook, —I returned on Thursday from my Waitaki fishing trip with a couple of friends. My luck was fair. I got five fish, the biggest 101 b. One of our party, F. N., who had oorae 250 miles from, the south for the occasion, was particularly fortunate. The first morning that he went out he landed two beautiful fish, one of them 15ilb and the other 121 b, and during the remainder of his stay he got five or six other/good fish, .the last one on the morning on which we left being another twelve-pounder. F. N. went home a proud man. The other member of our party was also very successful, getting eight fish, one as perfect a fish as I have ever seen, weighing 12lb. There were a number of anglers at the river, the majority of them doing well. There were a good many big fish about, the biggest caught being 19|lb, this being the record best for the season. The river altered its mouth while we were there, and is now running straight out to sea."

What Dr Johnson Really Said About Fishing.—ln hia well-known book gc thooting Colonel Hawker quotes Dr Johnson as follows: —'"Fly-fishing mav be a very pleasant amusement, but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string ■wfth a worm at one end and a fool at the other." The fly-fisher will be delighted to learn that he is apparently exempted from the great philosopher's general condemnation; and the definition of angling, as limited to float fishing, by the author of the standard dictionary of the English language is also curious.

Capo Breton Tuna.—Mr F. G. Aflalo recently read a paper on fishing at Cupo Breton before the British Sea Anglers' Society. He gave a description of his attempt to capture the big tuna which are found of great size and considerable numbers at Cape Breton. Hooking and playing the fish was not difficult of accomplishment, but killing them quite another ,matter. Ho related how Mr Roes in Auguet, 1908, hooked 21 big ones but killed none. One which he had played for two hours eventually broke away, but was cast upon the beach later on dead. A week later he hooked and played a big one through the livelong ni<rht and for 19 hours, at the end of which the angler was quite beaten, but the fish, apparently going as strongly as ever, broke away. As specimens of 12ft to 18ft in length and weighing up to 8031 b and 10001 b each were not uncommon, the taking of one with a. rod and line was a difficult feat. A Day on Loch Etive.—Tlie following brief account of a day's fishing on Lock Btivo is written by "R. O. IV for the Field: —"The capture of salmon in the goa ■with rod and lino has rarely been accomplished around these islands Tn the fur north of Scotland, however, the sj>orting sea trout not only take the fly readily in ealt water, but often afford first-rate 6port. I was under the impression that this ac-

' commodating habit of Salrao trutta was confined to the Orkney Islands, but during a recent visit to the west coast of Scotland I vva3 undeceived. It was early in September, and I was staying at Oban. Needless to say, the anglng resources of the neighbourhood were duly exploited. Loch >.ell, come four miles distant, contains good trout, also salmon, but the latter can seldom be induced to inspect the fisherman's lure, and th© trout —both sea and brown — ar© decidedly dour. A visit to Loch Awe resulted in disappointment, the day being so stormy that it was difficult to manage the boat, and tho trout showing no disposition to take. When bound on fishing excursions it is always well to obtain as much local information as possible, for it may be found useful on a future occasion. In conversation with my boatman, I learnt that, except for 6almon, Looh Awe was of little account at that season, but he said that Loch Etive, a deep narrow arm of the sea some 20 miles long, afforded excellent sport with "sea trout; so on my return to Loch Awe Hotel, whence we had started, I arranged for a man and boat to meet me on Loch Etive next day. The entrance to tho loch is near Connel Ferry, at no great distance from Oban. Every morning during the season a small steamer runs up Loeji Etive, conveying tourists to tho head of the loch, whence they proceed by coaoh by Ringshouso Inn, returning in the evening. Catching an early train from Oban, I bearded this steamer at Achr.acloioh Station, where the lined of rail run close to the loch, and some miles further on at Bonawo, where the River Awe runs into the loch, a small flotilla of boats was waiting. The anglers and their gillies came aboard, the boats were taken in tow, and the steamer pursued its way up the loch. It is not distinguished by anything remarkable in the way of scenery. On either side grassy hills rise steeply, patches of heather show hero and there, and the tops are bare and rocky. The steamer stopped from time to time to allow anglers to embark for their flailing grounds on one side or other of the loch, and at length my attendant intimated that it was our turn to make a start. A strong north-westerly breeze blew across and up the loch, and the outlook was certainly promising as we rowed in to the shore. My boatman was a stout lad, but he had very little English, and I found it difficult to extract any information he might possess. In point of fact, I soon came to the conclusion that he knew precisely as much as I did myself ahout the business in hand — that is to say, nothing. He was, at least, a good man at the oars, and by my instructions ho kept the boat at about that distance from the 6hore which one would have judged to be right on a strange frcsh-wa.tc.i- loch. For more than an hour I cast steadily away without so much as seeing a fish. A halt for lunch broke the monotony of the proceedings, and when we resumed operations the wind had risen and there was quite a sea running. In rounding a point the waves swept the boat in, until I was casting in the white, broken water within a few feet of the shore. There came the flash of a silvery side, and I was fast in a nice sea trout, which on being haled forth with the landing net was found to weigh over lib. For a few minutes the sport was brisk near this point. Four s-ea trout, whereof the largest was about 21b, were quickly brought to boat. Keen to make up for lost time. I w-as casting away vigorously when the shrill note of a steam whistle sounded across the loch. The steamer was in siijht, and reLuc-tantly—-one is always unwilling to give up when fi&h are taking—l reeled up; we rowed out to the steamer, and were presently aboard again with th© boat in tow. I found that each of the other boais had easily beaten my small catch; but their occupants knew the water, and on Loch Etive that made al lth■• difference, as, indeed, it often dors elsewhere. One angler had a beautiful lot of sea trout —10 or a dozen —whereof tho largest must have weighed 4M>. Both shores seemed to be equally good, and tho fishing grounds extend for miles. The secret of success lies in easting close to th© shore, where the sea trout apparently lie in wait for the winged insects that may be blown off th© land. Rather small flies answer best, and the demon—silver body, black wings, with or without red tag —U quite the most killing pattern. In Brit'sh Columbian seas, by the way. I have killed many sea trout and occasional salmon, but that is another story."