ANGLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 4014, 17 February 1931, Page 50

ANGLING.

By

Jock Scott.

To be a perfect fisherman you require more excellencies than are usually to lie found in such a small space as is allotted to a man’s carcass.— PABKKR GILMOUR. Readers are invited to contribute items of local fishing news for insertion in this column. For insertion fn the ensuing issue they should reach Dunedin by Saturday night’s mail.

Following Is the list of competitions fixed by the Otago Anglers’ Association for the current season:— February 21.—Special competition ; Tomahawk Lagoon. Any legal bait. February 28.—Shag River. Dare fly.

In connection with the competition for the Hardy fly rod, presented by Mr Harry Williams, the first is to take place on Tomahawk Lagoon on the 21st inst. between the hours of 3 p.m. and midnight. the use of any legal bait being permissable. The second competition is to be held on the Shag River on the 28th inst. between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight, the lure being confined to the bare fly. The winner of two consecutive competitions, or with three wins at intervals, is entitled to the rod. Should the rod not be won this season special competitions will be arranged for next season. The jubilee smoke social has been arranged for March 11. A boys’ competition will take place on the Tomahawk Lagoon on March 14. A correspondent writing from Oamaru says, “ Just a line to say that the Kakanui and Waitaki Rivers are running high. The Kakanui is fishing fairly well. There was a competition held on this river last Saturday, and a good number of rods turned out from Oamaru, Maheno, and Herbert. The result has not been published, so far, but as far as I can learn Goorge Gillespie was first with 16 fish, weighin'* 101 b; Alexander Lindsay second with 15 fish, BUb; Jack Lindsay third with eight fish weighing 51b 14oz; and J. Martyn fourth with four fish the weight of which was 4?.1b.” The letter is dated the 14th. inst. I am obliged to my correspondent for his information. —J.S. Some remarkably fine perch were taken from the Makarewa River recently. A recent report from the Pomahaka River stated that it was in fairly good angling condition. A party of three Dunedin anglers managed to secure only four fish. The river was slightly high, but was falling.

An angler who paid a visit to the Silverstream reports taking five fish ranging from “a minnow to a sprat.’ Needless to say, none of these found their way into the frying pan.

A correspondent writing from Cromwell states that the weather since Christmas has been so very changeable and stormy that it was only occasionally that they could venture put. At the Makarora and its tributaries floods and milky water prevented many anxious anglers from carrying out week-end excursions. Since, however the weather had become more ’ settled, he expected to see many local parties week-ending on the Makarora and other streams in its vicinity. He anticipated that during the months of February, March, and April the fishing •would be good. Mr H. A. Salmon, of Dunedin, recently spent a few weeks with the writer at Camp Creek, Wanaka, and although the weather was very bad Mr Salmon was fairly successful, and caught some fine-conditioned rainbow and Loch Leven, and several land-locked quinnat. The quinnat weighed about 121 b. He estimated the average weight at 41b. Mr Pryor, a first-year fisherman, had also been very successful, while Mr Jas. Templeton and party, and _ Mr Geo. Connor and party had occasionally enjoyed good sport. Two parties had spent a "week-end at Makarora mouth, but the lake was too high for fishing. The fish were either “ not on the job,” or had moved further down the lake, probably during the flood time. All along the shore, and at the creek mouths fishing was good. Mr Pryor and Mr Templeton brought in some nice fish from the Albertburn side, and these were sent to the Cromwell Hospital. The fishing was not much good without a boat. The weather in Southland appears to be just about as inclement as ours, according to ‘‘Creel’s” remarks in the Southland Times. The Oreti, Aparima, and Makarewa have all been carrying too much discoloured water for fly fishing. Writing’further, he Pays: “Whipping the Hedgehope River with the fly recently Mr J. M'Chesney landed two brace of nice trout averaging about 21b. Messrs G. W. Braxton, J. Critchfield, and H. T. Braxton visited the Dunsdale and the Hedgehope streams over the week-end. Activities commenced on the former stream about mid-day, and the river was very low and clear. A large number of small fish were caught and carefully returned, and at the end of operations five brace from 41b to lib was the total catch. The Kedgebope River was tried for an hour, and two two-pounders were removed. Dark Red Spinner and Greenwell’s Glory were the killing flies. A nice 41b fish was taken on the dry fly from the Aparima River by Mr H. Henderson. At a meeting of the executive of the Southland Anglers’ Club recently the quadruple competition between Gore, Mataura, Wyndham. and Southland Clubs was set down for Wednesday, March 11. The teams of four _ anglers from each club will meet at Winton at 8 a.m., and the water from Winton to Dipton on the Oreti will be available. It is satisfactory to note that a fairly extensive stretch of water may be fished, so that the competing anglers should have some good trouting on the specified day. The Waiau River recently apparently returned somewhat to its old form, owing to a prolific run of silveries, and some very good bags were taken by several anglers. One party comprising four rode? had a total of 70 trout, weighing about 3501 b for Saturday and the following night’s fishing. The individual bags were as follows: Messrs J. D. Baker 11, W. Weavers 12. W. Beleski 14, W. Erskine 33. The fish were caught on the Pap. side of' s *we river, and ranged

from Jib to 1411 b (cleaned weight). This latter fish was a splendid specimen, and was a ‘jack’ trout in beautiful condition. The presence of the smaller fish among the sea-run shoals is of particular interest, as it would appear that a large number of the trout which mature from planted eyed ova develop the' sea-gqjng propensities of their forebears, and migrate to the sea as soon as they are able to fend for themselves. This probably accounts for the scarcity of fish in the lower waters of rivers flowing directly into the sea, and an experiment should be carried out by the liberation of yearlings which have been reared from ova stripped from land-locked lakes, or tlie head waters of up-country streams. Better still, the introduction of ‘new blood from some of the Tasmanian hatcheries would undoubtedly have a beneficial effect within the course of a feu seasons. I ishing the Mimihau about a lortn.’ght ago, Messrs R. Barnett (Invercargi 1) and P. Barnett (Wyndham) struck the river in good order and fairly on the job.” For a few hours’ trouting a total of 40 trout was grassed, with the heaviest specimens about 21b. Dark Red Spinner and Hardy’s Favourite were the killing flies From the same river Mr E. Ball had two brace on the fly, with several lost by misadventure. There is no doubt that this river this season is carrying a better head of trout than for several seasons past.” Anglers often wonder to what a<*e brown trout live, remarks “ Black Gnat in the Christchurch Press. Dahl ascertained by fcale reading that a large sea-run fish was 13 years old. Calderwood mentions two searun fish each 15 years old, one of which had spawned for nine consecutive years. Harvie-Brown wrote of a brown trout that had lived for 19 years in a small drain and had in that time only attained a length of 13 inches. These ages are, however, altogether exceptional, and it is seldom that a fish lives to be more than nine years old, the great majority being caught or dying from natural" cause's before they attain the age of nine years.

It has long been known that eels are a menace to trout, which they devour with evident relish, but evidence has now been found of the fact that the trout turns the tables on his enemy and makes a meal of him on occasions (says the Taranaki Herald). This matter will be of interest to fishermen and to naturalists. Mr W. Jarvis, while fishing in the beach hole in the Waiwakaiho the other evening, landed a nice 14in trout, weighing about a pound, and on cleaning his catch he found inside the trout an Sin eel. Many anglers will be very sceptical as to the trout “turning the tables” on an eel.— J.S.

Mr R. Hislop, of Southland, in a discussion on the problems of the deterioration of trout, expresses his firm opinion that a concentrated effort should be made on the greatest enemy to the trout, the eel, and suggests that organised parties should be formed to cope with the trouble. Dr Lewis Smith, consulting physician to the London Hospital, who is" visiting Christchurch, has done a great deal of fishing in various parts of the world. On his last visit to New Zealand he caught over a ton of rainbow trout, and visited Russell for the big game fishing. Two years ago, in British Columbia, he caught the record salmon for the season, a beautiful fish of"’s3?lb. Dr Smith is a member of the Fly-fishers’ Club and vice-pre-sident of the Red Spinners’ Angling Society. both of London. He is an M.D. of the University of London, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and consulting physician to the London Hospital, which is the largest in Great Britain. He is making a world tour with his wife and Colonel Fry. They have come to New Zealand from Australia, Java, Sumatra, and Singapore.

Successful angling at Hawea is reported in a telegram received on Wednesday at the local office of the Government Tourist Department, An angler caught six large fish, all in excellent condition, last Saturday evening. The weather is reported to be settled and the river is falling. Fly fishing in the Selwyn River is at present better than it has been for several seasons (states the Christchurch Times). There are very few bullies in the river, and the fish consequently are taking the fly, chiefly the Alexandra, very well. Large baskets have been caught by nearly every fly fisherman who lias visited the river during the past week, and the present indications are that the rise will last for some time yet. Although the average weight of the trout being caught is only from 21b to 31b, many have been taken up to 61b or 71b. The fish are all in excellent condition.

Further reports of successful angling at Hawea have been received by the secretary of the Otago Acclimatisation Society (Mr R. Hanning). A letter received from a resident of Hawea states that the' fishing has not been good at the head of the lake, and the writer attributes this to the fact that the fish would probably move lower down during the time the lake was high as a result of wet weather. The correspondent states that conditions are improving daily and good catches have been fairly frequent. Anglers had a thrilling day among the big fish at Whangaroa recently. Mr Stanley Ellis, of Hamilton, on the launch Reclemiu, captured two striped marlin weighing 2791 b and 2811 b respectively. The latter fish was.a great fighter. The South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. decided recently to place nets iu tire principal rivers to prevent salmon trout from traversing too far inland, thus injuring the ordinary fresh-water trout (says the Timaru Herald). All salmon caught are to be sent to hospitals and charitable institutions.

The following will be of interest to those who engage in deep sea fishing with the line, as it indicates that some good sport may be looked for: —“With the spell of favourable weather, fish have been caught in very large quantities by the trawlers. Soles have been in large supply, and in consequence these have been sold at cheap rates, with the result that the prices for other classes of fish have been affected. Some of the trawlers have operated at the Nuggets, but have not produced better results than those which operated off Taiaroa Heads. As the fine weather still continues, the supplies should be supplemented during the next few days. It was

i eported that groper are not nearly so P le priful as they ? vcre two J’ ears a S°- The laieii .Mouth fishermen are not securing large catches. The fishing grounds appear to be affected by the recent flood waters. A lengthy tour by one of Dunedin’s most prominent and oldest anglers of many of the trout streams of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, was brought to a close recently, and apparently was a most enjoyable time. While intent upon taking an active part in his favourite sport the fishei man was at the time of the tour piloting a party of visitors from Sydney, who desired to exploit the angling capabilities of the rivers in the southern part of the Dominion. Following are some of the experiences met with. Lake Alexandrina was visited, but the weather conditions were too bad for good sport, and the party went on to Lake lekapo, where two trout between 21b and 31b were taken. Other lakes were also visited, but again the weather conditions were such as to make good angling impossible. The fly and minnow were used successfully on the Omarania and Ahuriri Streams, and baskets of fish averaging 21b were taken. Fish up to ljlb were taken on the Lindis River, all the catches providing excellent sport. Lake Hawea provided good trolling, and exceptionally good sport was obtained on the river with the fly. The red-tipped Governor was used to a considerable extent. The fishing was found to be very poor at the head of the lake. Some nice fish were taken on the minnow where the Wanaka River leaves the lake, and trolling on the Makarora was also productive of good sport. The best basket. taken there consisted of 13 fish, consisting of salmon and trout mixed. The trout ranged from 141 b in weight up to 71b, and the best salmon weighed 241 b. During the two weeks spent on the Lower Mataura the best fishing of the trip was had. The river rose while the party was there, however, and that put an end to the sport. It was found that the bed of the Canterbury rivers during the months of October and November was the Opihi, which was full of nice fish Both dry and wet flys proved successful lures, a small fly being used in the daytime and a larger one at night. Baskets of brown trout averaging over 11b in weight were taken, the largest going 74'b Smaller fish were caught on the Pareora, Temuka, Winchester, and Orari Streams. Here again the fly was a satisfactory lure, and although the fish were not large, they gave good sport. The Rangitata was fished with the minnow for several days, and some nice trout were landed. They were in good condition, and ranged up to 61b in weight. The mouth of the Rakaia also yielded fair minnow fishing, trout up to 31b or 41b being taken. The Ashburton was a good stream to fish, .particularly in the evening, and several good baskets were taken.