ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3395, 9 April 1919, Page 45

ANGLING.

By Jook Scott.

To be a perfect fisherman yon require more excellencies than are usually to be .found in such a small space as Is allotted to a man's carcase.— PABKEB GILMOT/B. Readers are invited to contribute items oJt local fishing news for insertion in this column. For insertion in the ensuing issue they should reach Ducedin by Monday night's mail. , ! ; i ,

BANK NOTES. Tomahawk Lagoon.—Angling has tapered away to pretty well notMrsir on this piece of water. Il has got down to zero. That is manifest wlien it is stated that eight anglers last w*efe-«ind got three fish among S em. It »»em3 pretty obviwus, even ough fish may be "off" at th» end of the season, tKat the lagooa wants restocking J and It is, in my opinica, a wise step, the! ooffinoil of the Acclioaatfeation Society deoM«d upon last week, to liberate fish up to 51b weight in the lagoon aftor they had been stripped. It may be regarded as seKt.isaental, ©r even ridiculous, to say it, bo* if th© majority, or a very big propoiriase <& anglers are g®ißg to bs catered for and revenua ra&infcaJbM<L it is essential trim a and a fmanc&sl point of view that ofose-*t-hand waters sficuM receive special attention. Tfoat is said in th* interaais of both the wngler an<S the bcx3y tfct gOTerns acclimatisation matters. And th© "Bsaaabawk Lagoon is not the only piece ©J water that requires careful kxaking after if aagling is to be provided for " the million." Th© lagoon has become wry weedy, but that will disappear under natural conditions. The weed will disappear, but the fish will not _ reappear ia a piece of land-locked water without artificial assistance. The Waikouaiti. —Last week-erjd this river was very low* and clear; but plenty of fish wore plainly visible (the lower and clearer the water tno plainer this is, unless under exceptional circumstances, such as a very rocky bottom comcosed of big boulders, under which the fish may take rehise). One angler caught four fish and lost another four, using the- " bully." That is easily accounted for by the fact that_ in the early and late parts of the angling season the natural baits will always "take' better than anything else. Another (Mr Dawaon) caught a very nice two-ana-

a-half-pounder on the fly. Dr Williams made a fairly good catch with the fly. I cannot be quite definite as to the fly used, but it Is apparently a small dark fly; one angler suggests a claret-bodied Pomahaka. Messrs G. W. MTntosh and A. Harris were among .the anglers on this river, and secured moderate - bags. One angler is reported to have used the Alxandra fly for hours without obtaining any response.

z The Owaka. —This little river is—so I am fold —providing good fly fishing in the upper reaches. The Pomahaka.—Mr Chrystal was recently on this river, but a gale blowing made fishing pretty well out of the question. Pishing! has not been good on this river for the last few weeks, and the river is very low—lower than it has been for several years. Mr Garden, who generally does very well on the Pomahaka, has not been doing much good lately. The Opohi.—l am told that fish are coming up the Opihi in laree numbers. It is a hint for anglers who have not yet decided upon where to go at Easter. A specially good friend of mine tells me that his son took a 10-pounder from this river lately, and that in a general way anglers are getting the "big fellows"—that is, down towards the mouth of the river. The specially good spots seem to be Burk's and O'Meara's pools; but, having no doubt as to the veracity of the report, it seems to be inevitable that the fish must be all about the vicinity of the mouth of the river.

The Spawning Season.—Milt and row are being pretty freely found in. the fish captured just now, which looks like an early spawning season.

Fishing in the North Island.—The note I have to write about fishing: in the North Island applies more particularly to waters 'about Taumarunui. The; report is to the effect that both rainbow and brown trout are becoming 1 smaller. Apparently they run about l±lb. My informant is enthusiastic about the splendid water to be naked.