ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 26

ANGLING.

By

Jock Scott.

To ba a perfect fisherman you require mon tacellencles than are usually to be found in such > email space as la allotted to r, -nan's carcase.-. Fabkbb Gilmour. Beaders are Invited to contribute items of local Ishing news for insertion in this column. For Insertion in the ensuing issue they should reaek Dunedin by Saturday night’s mail.

February 19.—Tomahawk Lagoon. Any ~ ' legal bait.

A story is being circulated in Dunedin lhat a trout of phenomenal size has been tither caught, or picked up at the Aparima, Its weight is set down at 501 b. Like the Btchman “I hae ma doots” about it. > heaviest trout on record, as far as my wlcdgo goes, weighed 321 b, and was picked up several years ago on the banks bf the Opihi. The story current brings back to my memory a practical joke that Was played upon a scribe located in Milton tears ago. His information was that a 501 b rout had been taken with rod and line kt the mouth of the Tokomairiro River. I Repressed by scepticism at the time, and, in due course, the truth came out. It was a groper taken with a heavy hand line. Perhaps a similar solution will be found lor the Aparima fish. Mr. L. Gallien, of North East Valley, who is a keen sportsman with -the rod, is Bh a visit to Lake Manapouri, and has lyidently got amongst the Atlantic salmon, Is .lie has already sent to town two fish Weighing SJlb, and s|lb, . Jt is . reported that flounders are very plentiful in the Taieri River, and that a Urge number have been taken on the worm. Mr.. Gallien, junior, recently secured four Ijood ones by this method, and another Isherman took three. The fish seem to be plentiful near Otokia. The flounders seem

to take the worm quite freely. Not many trout are being captured in this water.

The Tomahawk lagoon is reported to be full of weeds. A few anglers were out at the lagoon on Saturday week, but verv few trout were taken. From this I very much fear that those engaged in the bare fly competition will not meet with much success. The competition is for a prize presented by the president of the Otago Anglers’ Association, and on Saturday morning the entries stood at seven.

Mr G. Kitchen fished the Waikouaiti River recently, and struck a good fish in the lower reaches, but lost it. He reports that he saw a number of goo dfish about; some of them real beauties. At the time of writing, Mr M’Lennan is at the Pomahaka, Mr Kitchen at the Shag, and. Mr Harridge trying his luck elsewhere. Fishing the Oreti in the neighbourhood of Josephville, Messrs James Ure, and G. W. Braxton, and A. E. Butt secured a total of 40 nice fish on the fly. The best bag was made by Mr Ure, whose 20 fish averaged very nearly lib. The best killing flies were the Haggard, Dark Red Spinner, and Female March Brown. In the same locality Messrs T. S. Mackie, J. Spiers, W. Henderson, and J. and R. Friend secured a total of 50 fish. Included in Mr Henderson’s catch were two nice 2pounders. Messrs W. and R. Sinclair, and R. Kidd took 46 trout in the vicinity of Caroline, amongst the catch being one fish weighing 441 b, which succumber to the “dry fly,” worked by Mr R. Sinclair. At Lady Barkly, Mr H. Grimwood secured some good fish with the artificial minnow. The Aparima yielded half a dozen good fish to the prowess of Messrs A. E. Butt and W.’ Hill. Included in the catch were two 5-pounders. A local angler was one. of a party who recently spent a fortnight at Te Anau. The fishing was good, the party getting good bags. The majority of tne fish ranged from 41b to 61b, but two 8-pounders were caught. All the fish were in good condition, and put up a big'fight. Comparing then! with the Rainbow,;; our informant tells us that the Atlantic. salmon are much stronger fish than others. Whereas the

Rainbow will take charge of the line and rise to the surface, the Atlantic is more inclined to boro, particularly just before landing. The most of the fishing was done at the outlet of the lake. Here the South-, land Acclimatisation Society has, boats for hire, and also capable men to take charge of them. The boat is rowed back and forward across the outlet, and the line let down the current. Up to 100 yards of line may be let out, but it is here that a great many fishermen make a mistake. They are apt to spoil the water by releasing too much line. The best plan is to lot out say 25 yards the first time across, increasing the length say five yards on each occasion. By adopting this plan the fish are disturbed as little as possible, and the best results, are obtained. After having worked the whole ground, it is advisable to go ashore for an hour or more, and then repeat the process. As our informant could get but little information about the fishing before leaving, for the benefit of those who contemplate taking the trip, he advises that they provide themselves with say 100 yards of line, golden devon, a silver and red spoon, about Igin long, tackle for using live bait, and also salmon flys; particularly Silver Doctor. An occasional fish is caught by trolling around the lake, but it is hardly worth while when The outlet is available. The Upokeare not yet ready for fishing. The Upukerora comes into the lake about four miles above the hotel, and can be reached about one mile-behind the hotel. -The best water, however, is about 10 miles up. This was tried ,and three were caught, two on the fly and one on the Devon. The Eglington, which is 20 miles up the lake, was also tried, but without success. To get there it is necessary to take up a dinghy behind the steamer- and pick up the steamer on its return. This is an ideal fishing river, and ; in the proper season would be' very hard to beat. In another month or six weeks both these rivers should provide great More than that, the lake is falling fast, and in a short time, the /fiver between Te Ariau and Manapouri will' be available for fishing for practically the whole, Way. Te, Anau, in fact, ' should *Shortly-' be ’S 5 vefithble ‘fisherman’s paradise. Motorists will be pleased

to learn that the road formation is just on the point of completion, and that the road from Mossburn right through to Te Anau is in fine order. Mr Govan, of the Te Anau Hotel is an ideal host, and guests can be assured of every comfort. He is a keen fisherman, and anglers can depend on a hearty welcome, and on getting every assistance from him. . He has a boat on the lake which is available at all times. He also has a hut 10 miles up the Upokerora, which he places at the disposal of anglers. He will also arrange transport both ways. The Southland Acclimatisation Society is also out to cater for the anglers, and anyone going through can not do better than place themselves in the hands of their popular and capable ranger, Mr Norman Cameron, who resides at the hatchery a few hundred yards below the hotel. Although the fishing at the present time may not appeal to the fly fisherman, in a' month or more he should get his heart’s desire. (Thanks for contribution. —J. S.). , • • ’ “Creel” writes in a recent issue ot the Southland Times: “The fine weather for last week-end undoubtedly tempted a large number of folk to venture forth to the great ‘ outdoors,’ and included in this number were many devotees of that fascinating pastime, the pursuit of the wily trout. And verily, most anglers found ‘ his nibs ’ to be decidedly capricious as to the lure appealing to his somewhat fastidious taste. The bright sunny conditions, with ...ah easterly wind prevailing, were all in"favour of Mr Trout, yet .despite this fact some satisfactory bags "can be legitimately recorded.- The Oreti River especially received concentrated-' :attention by a .-vast number of rods. Indeed, when -one, reviews .the intensive fishing this river receives, it. sometimes appeals that truly - the Oreti'- is. a wonderfuT river in the way of yielding consistent results.” , ■ .('“Creel” quite justifiably lets himself Idos&ydn what is due from one angler, to another ~ when fishing the same streain. He-ysaysr- “While on,.,the subjectjj>f>. fly fishing,,it is. really., astonishing to find so many"'anglers oif"streahis nowadays ‘wnb do not seem to have any idea of the true

etiquette of angling. The good old days of ripple or pool about seems to be a; thing of the past, and.it is no uncommon sight for an alleged fisherman to come wallowing up the middle of a stream that is low and clear ' without an earthly chance of catching a fish, but effectively ‘water spoiling’ for himself and brother anglers in the same locality. When the streams are low and clear, ‘fine and far off ’ is surely the most effective method.” I thank “Creel” for his support of a few comments I recently made on the subject of “Angling Made Easy.” _He says: “Surely the most pleasing aspect of a day’s trouting is the prolonged playing experienced when fast to a good fighting fish. Memory can go back for years, and sueh encounters will be evergreen when other incidents will be entirely forgotten.” That is unquestionably true. I still talk of “my biggest fish” (9Jlb), which gave me a lot of pleasurable trouble. Perhaps, the most remarkable feature of the experience was that I took my second heaviest just afterwards from the same pool—this time a female about 81b. The Waitaki River is now in good fishing order, and some large fish have been taken by anglers recently. Fishing at the Waitaki mouth, Mr E. C. Berry, son of Constable Berry, of Glenavy, caught a trout measuring 2ft Bin and weighing 21ilb. Another paragraph says: “Anglers are meeting with good sport at the Waitaki River at present. Fishing at the mouth, Mr R. Sutherland landed no fewer than 10 fish, including some fair-sized trout, the total weight being 401 b. Several other fishermen had equally as good results, and fish were landed weighing from 101 b to 161 b. Mr A. Gibb, of Pareora, caught a large trout, which was in exceptionally c-nnd condition.”

“A delightful holiday resort” is the acknowledgment of Mr F. J. Anderson, of Balclutha, who visited Lake Te Anau last week, says the Free Press. Mr Anderson had a very pleasant timeamongst the trout and salmon in the lake, and succeeded in securing some fine specimens. His “bag” included a 141 b trout and a beautiful 91b salmon. He states that salmon up to l7lb have been taken from the lake this, season. Although there was abundance of fish and natural feed at the mouth of the Ashburton River during the week-end, the luck experienced by the majority of the anglers was rather disappointing. There were about 18 rods out, and several small fish were landed, the heaviest being about 51b. Owing to the discoloured state of the Rangitata very poor results were obtained at its mouth. A rather phenomenal catch was made by a local angler at the mouth of the Ashburton River on Thursday, when a trout was landed, and. on investigation it was found to contain no fewer than 51 “silveries.” The fish was well conditioned.

A Canterbury gentleman given to fly fishing speaks highly of Marokopo as a sport stream. He and a friend spent the Christmas holidays there, and although they were disappointed from a fishing point of view, because of the rain, enjoyed the trip greatly. The district lies some 25 miles from Waitomo Caves, and the roads, being of limestone, are a pleasure both to walk and motor across. The scenenry he describes as almost equal to the Buller Gorge, huge crags of limestone, crowned with virgin bush, overlook a splendid stream. that possesses a waterfall, which he places nearly equal with the Bowen Falls. Unfortunately there is no accommodation house, though the locality is ideal for a walking holiday. For those who wish to see fine scenery and to fish an almost unfished stream, the Marokopo offers the best facilities. Trout are said to be plentiful in the south branch of the Waimakariri River, at the back of the Belfast Hotel. The stream is very low at present. They are also numerous in the Selwyn River, where good catches were made at the week-end. Tho abundance of feed is making it difficult for anglers, however. The Rakaia River has been discoloured a great deal lately. Local anglers are anticipating good sport on the Wanganui River in a year or two, when the efforts of the Fisheries Department in stocking the upper reaches will, it is hoped, be crowned with success. Anglers will be interested to hear that a quinnat salmon weighing 181 b was caught . by .ono of the boats of the Nugget Bay fishing fleet, near the Clutha River. Such fish have rarely been caught off the South Otago coast-, and the appearance of this fine specimen caused much interest among the fishermen and visitors. It was caught by an ordinary groper line. The doughy deeds of the fortunate few who catch big-game fish in northern waters are so spectacular that they frequently overshadow the exploits of the humbler anglers of New Zealand. Of course, schnapper cannot be compared with swordfish, in this angler’s paradise, a catch has to be well over 1001 b in weight before it attracts much notice, but even so, the pursuit of the smaller fish gives sport and recreation to thousands of people. Good baskets were secured in various reaches of Auckland harbour during the last week-end, the schnapper grounds in the deep water adjoining Rangitoto channel being the scene of two hours of particular brisk sport early on Saturday ’ morning. On the whole, it is the opinion of those best qualified to know that the season bids fair to come well up to the average of recent years, though there are others who maintain that fishing has been “killed” in the Gulf by trawling. A strange phenomenon was observed at the mouths of rivers in South Taranaki the other day (states the Hawera Star). For some time fair-sized shoals of ’-nEawai have been seen and good catches have been made. However, the rivers are now literally teeming with fish. Mr J. .S. M‘Kay, who has been camping at the mouth of the Kaupokonui, said the river was literally blocked with fish, which were all trying to ente- the stream. So close to one another were they that they appeared to be touching. Away out to sea the tails of what appeared to be an endless school of kahawai could be seen. Large numbers were’landed by fishermen with rods. . -

Anglers who indulged in sea fishing with rod and line .at tire , mouth of the Ashburton River/, the other evening, spent an exciting time catching kahawai almost as fast as they equid land the fish and make a freshcast.'.T'ho best bag for one rod was 72 .fish*'while another landed .3CL A local 'angler fishing the other evening in the Mataura River at Gore, landed a

beautiful trout which turned the scales nt. seven pounds and a few ounces. TTjo piscatorial beauty was caught with a light tackle and with a fly, the angler reporting that, it put up a lively fight and'provided good sport before he eventually landed it. The experience of anglers generally is that the streams are well stocked this year (reports our special correspondent in Wellington), and the fish are in fine condition, but the fishing, due no doubt to the patchy nature of the weather, has been only spasmodically good. The total cash taken in licenses by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society up till January 17 was £1316, which represents at least 1550 licenses as many of them are bovs’ licenses. It is generally believed that the quinnat salmon do not make their appearance in the Rangitata until February, but this year the first run of salmon was noticed in the river on January 2, and since then a few more salmon have been noticed (says the Ashburton Guardian). During a tour of the Marlborough Sounds recently undertaken by Mr O. F. Newham, of the Government Publicity Office photographic staff, an elephant fish was caught by one of the passengers of the steamer Tamahine, which was on a New Year cruise (says the Nelson Evening Mail). Mr Newham secured some fine moving pictures of the catch It is understood that elephant fish are rarely seen in the Sounds. While fishing from the beach near St. Andrews (says the Christchurch Star). Mr R. Fenwick, of Woodlands road, landed a shark which measured about sft in length. Those interested in angling know that eels prey on trout. Apparently they are not particular as to what comes their way (says the Dannevirke News). ' Fishing recently in Dore Creek, at Tiratu. Mr R. S. Redward, of Palmerston North, had the luck to catch an eel weighing 13Jlb. It was nice and plump, and on being"opened was found to contain, amongst other things, a weasel 13in in length! A telegram was received at Auckland on Tuesday stating that Mr E. Ellis, of Hamilton, while fishing off Whangaroa, caught a mako shark of the record weight of 5501 b (reports our special correspondent). The heaviest mako captured from a road last season was also taken off Whangaroa, the weight being 4341 b.