ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3398, 30 April 1919, Page 22

ANGLING.

By Jock Scott. To bo a perfect fisherman you require more excellencies than :ire usually to be found in such a small space as is allotted to a man's carcase.— Parker Giljjouh. Headers are invited to contribute items of local fishing news for insertion in this column. For insertion in (he •ensuing issue they should reach Dunedin by Monday night's mail.

BANK NOTES. Water of. Leith.— It is reported from more thair one source that big—very bigfish are being caught in the lower reaches of the Leith iust now. That can mean only one thing: that there is going to be an early spawning season. It means—not at present, but in the future—that the angling season is too far extended. If fish—large fish—are coming up the Leith just now, they are going up other rivers for, say. a hundred miles north and south, and they must be coming in for- spawning purposes. Catching large, evidently spawning trout under such circumstances is merely killing the goose that lays the golden egg. The application docs not lie with the Water of Leith alone. I give its application an area of 100 miles north and south, ajid then I know I am very far short of the mark. I cannot • help protesting against these who are not on the spot having control of the beginning and _ finish of the. season. The same thing applies to the gun; but with that I have nothing to do. My business is with angling, concerning the •regulating of which an improvement might be effected. I do not blame Acclimatisation Societies. It is the supreme power and its advisers that seem to sometimes fall into error. Different districts require different treatment, and the local men alone know what that treatment ought to be. It is impossible tb make a general rule for the whole of the Dominion; it is impossible to make it for even the South Island. Scarcely two rivers are alike, unless they are within 10 miles or some such distance of each other. The best possible in trout fishing .is not obtained from many of the rivers of Otago, and in all probability of Southland. I am certain there is room for improvement with regard to many regulations governing angling. It is not said as a complaint nor in a spirit of fault-finding; but merely with a desire to improve on the existing state of affairs. lam afraid I have got a long way from the Water of Leith in my generalities. I take the Leith as an index of a good many other rivers, and that is why 1 have urged a more complete acquainance with rivers reasonably contiguous. But to come back to the Leith, I am told that trout up to 10lb and 121 b have been recently taken, and, to use the exact words of an angler who. knows a little about "the game," and is not by any means given to exaggeration: " I saw one or two men fishing near the "University, and one man had a fish about 201 b, but lost him." Even assuming the 201 bis a stretch of the imagination, I am quite satisfied that big spawning fish putting in an early appearance are being: caught where they should not be caught. It would be well if potentates were more guided by local representatives who know or have first-hand information as to the best course to be pursued in pisiculture, and shooting, too. Too much vague, knowledge is acted upon. In congratulate anglers upon getting- these big fish from the Leith; but they are" doing more harm than good in taking them, and as far as edible qualities are concerned the spawning fish makes a very poor dish. On Monday evening it was reported that a number of fish had gone up Lindsay's Creek, and were dying. Two over 3ib were found in the afternoon. These were found in the vicinity of the laundry. A suggestion is made that some sort of screen might be placed across this small branch of the Leith to prevent the fish ascending. ..,•■. The Waikouaiti.— I am told that at Easter time fishing conditions were very unfavourable at the Waikouaiti. . Up at the Rookery Mr J. Leckie and a party of three others captured a six-pounder, a four-pounder, and a threc-pounder by industrious application of the rod. Mr A. Spiers caught the sixpounder and Mr Leckie the four-pounder. Of course, other fish were caught, but they were neither numerous nor of any size. Those fish that were caught were taken with the fly at night time (a big fly). Tno river was in good order, and was inclined to rise Mr H. Islip tried from the Morton Pool "to Cherry Farm, but met with very poor success. He never even saw a fish. The Silverstream.—This river is reported to have been very low, and not many fish have been seen. . The Shag River.—Messrs A. E. Jenkme, B Hatfield, L. De Beer, and J. Brownlie spent three days on the Shag River at Easter time. They found the stream low, and the water clear. The weather was "mixed," and fairly windy at times. The minnow proved the most successful lure, though the fly was tried and some.fish caught with it. The two flies most effective as killers were the Black Gnat and the March Brown. Mr Jenkins caught 35 fish, averaging about |lb. the other anglers running him close with 25 or more fish All the fishing was done in the neighbourhood of Dunback. This stretch of water was not apparently visited by many anglers at Easter. One who was there met with fair success, using the fly. The Waimatuku —Mr J. Hamilton was down at the Waimatuku recently. He found the river high, but did very well with the minnow. On Easter Monday he caught 14 fish, averaging and fishing at the mouth of the river captured one weighing 74,1 b Mr Hamilton has been fishing the river for 26 years, and in the early days got fish averaging about 31b. Eight or ten years nr/o fish could be cnucrht up to 21b. Now the averatre is, generally, very much hisher_ little Hawea. —Messrs A. Harris and T. ■R Fairbairn were at Timaro Creek (Lake Kawoa) at Easter, and Mr Harris landed tT-M-re rainbows; one 7lb, one 4£lb„ and one 31b. « INTERESTING TO ANGLERS. WORM FISHING.

A question of very great interest to anglers came up at Monday nights meetin"- of the Otago Acclimatisation Society s Council. It arose through a communication hein°- received from the Marine Department asking for an expression of opinion from the society as to the prohibition of worm fishing in the trout rivera. . The letter stated that the department had the question under consideration. Mr Buttcnvorth said he quite endorsed the abolition of angling for trout with tho worm, and moved that the society support its abolition.

Mr A. E. Jenkins: I will move an amendment that we don't.

Mr C. Wilson: I think you will -not have good fly fishing until you do. Mr Jenkins: Why not prohibit fishing with the minnow? Mr Long went out with a friend and got 46 fish with the fly. Why not prohibit fly fishing? Mr Wison: You get a river when it is low, and you can pretty well clean it out with the worm. I was with a friend on the Paroora, and I told him to keep back at one pool, and I had a good dose of worm fishing, and I believe 1 could have killed 100 fish in it. I took them down to the end of the pool until I got sick of it, and my friend said that all the fellows had dropped to that dodge, and were cleaning the fish out. He told me the worm fishers were cleaning cut the Canterbury rivers. There must be something to account for the fish disappearing from our rivers. Mr Jenkins: I totally disagre with you. For one fish taken with the worm three are taken with the fly. Mr C. S. Jenkins: From a financial point of view you would suffer. You would loso a lot of licenses if you prohibited worm fishing. Mr Butrerworth: The Canterbury people are very keen about this. A man chunks in at the head of a pool and drags the line down .and takes out fish 31b and 41b. It is well known that worm fishing has caused the deterioration of rivers in ( every part of the world. Mr A. E. Jenkins: All the authorities do not agree as to worm fishing. One recommends worm fishing to take the old fish that are sluggish and keep down to the bottom. Mr Wilson: That does not get away from tho fact that in the Old Country worm fishing is looked upon with disfavour. One angler at Homo said that true sports did not use the worm; they used either the fly or .the minnow. Mr -A. E. Jenkins: Still some use the worm, and the fish are still there in the Old Country; Mr Wilson: Very few fish with the - worm at Home.

Mr Jenkins: There is some other cause. Look at the Opihi.. It has been blocked up. Then there is the shag. One shag will remove more fish in a _ month than the worm fisher will remove in a year. Mr Islip: I would be sorry to see wormfishing /stopped, from, a revenue point of view.

The Chairman (Mr MTntosh): There is nothing to prevent us trying this. We can try one stream. They do it in the North Island. It would prove the question. The worm ■fishing I don't like is with the weight. They sit by the pools, and they certainly do clean them out. So lonp as they don't anchor a line I don't mind. Others have to cast their .line. The other way there is no angling in it. Mr A. E. Jenkins: If you prohibit worm fishing you will lose 25 per cent, of your licenses.

The Chairman: They will get fish with the worm- that they would not otherwise get. Mr Conn: I think the Marine Department should set up an inquiry into the matter.

Mr C. Wilson then seconded the motion, which was rejected, only three members of the council voting for • it. The subject was not further proceeded with, so that presumably the reply will be that the society is not in favour of prohibiting worm fishing. e