ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3499, 5 April 1921, Page 22

ANGLING.

By

Jock Scott.

To be a perfect fisheripan you require raor* sxoelienoies than are usually to be found in sucb & small space as is allotted to a man’s carcase.— Parker Uiemour. Readers are invited to contribute items ol looa! ashing news ior insertion in this column. Foi Insertion in the ensuing issue they should reach Dunedin by Monday night’s mail.

BANK NOTES. Messrs C. F. M. Butterworth and G. Sise spent 10 days at the Waitaki during the Easter holidays. They first camped in the vicinity of Glenavy, and during tile two days they were there saw a number of salmon in the river. Mr Butterworth was fortunate enough to land a couple, and Mr Sise got seven nice fish weighing just over 201 b, which provided sport in landing. Both the anglers were using fairly light tackle; not the usual heavy wire cast with a big Devon, much in vogue amongst local anglers. For this reason they got a bit more fun out of their fishing. The river rose slightly and became discoloured, and the two anglers shifted their camp and went to fish in the vicinity of the Stonewall, near Redcliffe. Here they were unlucky enough to encounter bad weather with a heavy north-east wind. The river at this spot is not fordable, and the wind against them made angling difficult work. r Jt)hey had to fish in the teeth of a howling gale. Messrs Butterworth and Sise shifted camp back to Glenavy, and found that the run of salmon in the river had ceased, but they picked up a. few trout. During Easter angling at the Waitaki was very poor. There was a large number of anglers there, but very few fish were landed. I am told that one angler at Glenavy landed a quinnat weighing 341 b, which must be a record fish for rod and lino. The Timaru Herald of March 28 says that anglers who visited the, Waitaki enjoyed very good sport, Several quinnat salmon that turned the scale at 201 b and one weighing 341 b were caught t.he previous week. The W T aitaki. —An esteemed Dunedin correspondent, Mr FI. Crust, writes me as follows: “The fishing at Waitaki during the Easter holidays was most disappointing. There were a number of anglers at the river, many from long distances, no doubt attracted by the knowledge that the quinnat were running, but though the river was in good order, and the salmon could be seen rising, they did not take well, less than half-a-dozen being caught. It was puzzling, as a week or so before the holidays they were biting much better, as many as four salmon falling to the lot of more than one fisherman for a day’s sport. Trout also were scarce, it being too late in the season for them at Waitaki. The heaviest salmon reported was 341 b, caught by a local angler Mr M. E. Eliott. I had no luck mvself. Got only one 41b trout for a week’s fishing. Had hold of two salmon. One broke my line, (a strong one, too), and the other straightened my hooks and got away.” Most of the North Otago and South Canterbury rivers are very low and clear, and from what I can hear very poor baskets were made during the holidays. I hear that what must constitute a record eaten for New Zealand, so far as agg'rcgate weight is concerned, was made by an angler who paid a visit to Lake Movora within the last week or so. He is reported to have landed 19 fish from this little-fished lake, averaging 15 l-51b. Some fair fish have been taken from the Oreti from Onoro (above Wallacetown) up to Dipton. Messrs Voyce, J. Smith, and party got some very nice fish from this water, and I am given to understand that they ran as high as 81b in weight. The Aparima has been yielding good baskets to fly fishermen in the vicinity of Thornbury and ud as far as Hazlett’s; ‘ also higher up from Fairfax to Kingway. Sport at the Waiau has lately been very Poor. The feed is not in the river, and very, few fish have been caught at the river’s mouth. The Waikouaiti has yielded very little, practically no fish having been taken out during Easter time. That river is reported to be very low, clear, and weedy, and nothing has been done by anglers as a consequence. Messrs Dobson and Douglas Ramsay paid a visit to the M’Lennan River (Gatlins district), but unfortunately the weather was so bad that they could not fish. Mr Harman Reeves fished the Fraser River, not far from Clyde, but found the weather cold and wintry, and did not meet with a great deal of success. He caught one or two small fish on the fly and saw a, runnier of good ones which did not rise. That is to bo accounted for by the bail climatic conditions during Mr R eves’ stay in the neighbourhood. The Timaru Herald of March 28 records that fishermen who were trawling at Caroline Bay on Saturday night Secured a fine quinnat salmon which turned the seal,, at 161 b. Amateur fishermen at Wellington must greatly envy the luck of n parly of six holiday-makers—Dr and Mrs Walker, of Now Plymouth ; Mr and Mrs Pickering, of Suva ; Aii-s Neil Tonka, of Wellington: and Mr E. W. Black, of Auckland—in their day’s fishing near Motuara Island, in Queen Charlotte Sound, last Monday, for in less than six hours 583 fish —blue cod. terekihi, mackerel. “soldiers,” conger eels, and ground sharks —were hooked.—Post, March 26. Fester anglers at the Ruknia, Ashburton, and Rangifnfa found their pastime practically barren of results. The mouth of the Ashburton was blocked., and no fishing was done. At the Raknia. which was dirty, 10 rods landed only two small fish, while at the Rangitata, which was also dirty, the sport v as very poor.—Ashburton Guardian.-