ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3433, 30 December 1919, Page 49

ANGLING.

By Jook Soorr.

To be a perfect fisherman you require more •xcellencics than are usually to be found in such a email space ae is allotted to a man’s carcase.— Parker Gilmour. ' Keaders are invited to contribute items of local fishing news lor insertion in this column. For Insertion in the ensuing issue they should reach Dunedin by Monday night’s mail. BANK NOTES. ■ There is nothing further as to the sitting' of the commission set up to inquire into the disagreement of the Otago and Southland Acclimatisation Societies on the question of boundaries and rights to take spawning fish, etc. Silverstream Reservoir.—The truth of the saying that the race is not always to the swift has been lately verified by the taking of a 12-pounder by a High School boy. Many adult anglers, with an advanced knowledge of the sport, have angled in the Silverstream Reservoir with indifferent results, or want of luck, and it fell to this lad’s lot to hook and land what is probably the largest trout yet taken from this sheet of water. It looks as if he must have had a battle with his catch before bringing it to terra firma, as soon after hooking his fish he broke the top of his rod, and he must have exercised considerable skill and patience to bring the fish within gaffing or netting distance, for be, can scarcely have beached it. I congratulate the boy upon his achievement. ' Shag River.—An angler who was at Pal.merston on Sunday, not bent on fishing, reports that the river was high and waa slightly discoloured. This was probably the result of the rainfall on Boxing Day. Since then I have been told that two Dunedin anglers were at the Shag, and found a heavy southerly wind blowing and the river in bad condition for taking trout. They remained there two days, and the river was worse on the second day than on the first day of their visit. They got only one fish. The Waitaki. —One of those correspondents who stick to one all through writes as follows:—“The fishing in the Waitaki up to the present time (December •24) this season has been disappointing. Fish have been scarce, and the water too clear for day fishing. Mining operations on the Maerewhenua, a tributary of the Waitaki. used to cause a certain amount of discoloration in the latter .river that was helpful to anglers, but these mining operations have been suspended, so that, excepting in the case of a flood,, the river is generally clear. No salmon (quinnat) ai’e reported to have been seen in the Waitaki so far, but they ought to make an apearance early in February, when wo are hoping to see a good run of them. Wc also hope to see a good run of trout during the next five or six months. A Dunedin angler, Mr H. Crust, had a piece of good fortune last week, landing 13 fish in four days, his catch ranging from 21b up to 131 b. He fished morning and evening with a yellow cocon minnow. A few\ other anglers got fish, but Mr Crust’s catch is about the best reported’recently.” The Pomahaka.—An indication was given, two or three weeks ago as to what might be expected from the Pomahaka River. -The indication was that good sport might be looked for from that time on to the end of the season, and apparently the forecast was a correct one. Even three weeks ago a very fair number of trout were being caught, and that number, according to report, has increased as the condition of the river improved. Latest accounts ana _ that the Pomahaka is in excellent condition, and is yielding well, very few anglers going unrewarded. Among" the successful fishermen are Mr Bellamy and Mr Tennent, two experienced anglers. These twb sportsmen have been not onlv making fairly big baskets, but have been taking good fish. The Pomahaka is said to he very well stocked with trout in fine condition, the fish running somewhat larger of late years. Ashburton River. —The Ashburton Guardian says:—“A local angler reports that recently a few large fish have been caught at the mouth of the Ashburton River. Those who are in the habit of whipping the upper reaches of the river report that the fish are nearly as scarce as last season,-’ and are as a rule small.”