ANGLING

Southland Times, Issue 20903, 12 October 1929, Page 18

ANGLING

(By

“Creel.”)

The high winds which have prevailed since the opening day have made the pursuit of the wily trout somewhat of an arduous proposition, and over last week-end, “thin” bags were the “order of the day.” It is pleasing to learn that the upper waters of the Oreti have returned sofne very fair bags to the fly enthusiasts. Mr N. R. McKay, (Dipton) landed 22 nice fish recently for two hours’ fishing, while Messrs C. B. Tapley and E. McLaughlan on the opening secured a total of 40 for their efforts. At Josephville, during the week-end, Messrs J. and R. Ure and Bruce Ireland beached a nice lot of fly fish up to 21b. weight. Haggard was the killing fly, and the trout were in good condition. In the same locality, Mr R. Sinclair has been successful in catching some good trout on the worm lure. The Morley river at Ohai is reported by Mr W. Excell to be in good order, a bag of 6 fish averaging 21b. being tempted on the fly and creeper lure. From the Orawia Mr J. Porter caught 2 fish weighing 21b. each. An old Southland angler in the person of Mr Walter Aitken, visited the Waiau mouth for the first five days of the season, and fishing from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m., secured a total of 35 fish on the Willesden minnow. The heaviest brown trout weighed 81b. and was the first fish taken out by this angier. All the catch were in the pink of condition, and included in the bag were five Atlantic Salmon, weighing from 31b. to 9jlb. This latter information is specially interesting to the local Acclimatization Society, as the presence of the 31b. specimen is evidence of the fact that the Salmon are finding their way down the Waiau from Lake Te Anau, and it is to be hoped will eventually migrate out to the sea for a few years, returning later as 20 or 30 pound salmon. Prospects promise in the future that we will have in our famous Waiau, Spring and Autumn runs of worth-while salmon. When this happy day arrives, Southland will undoubtedly lure wealthy rods from’ all over the world. On the opening day at Josephville, Mr K. Garrick creeled a limit bag on the fly. Samuel, Peveris, and Hardy’s Favourite were effective flies.

The Aparima river has bo far not yield- | d anything exceptional in numbers, but 1 dth the worm lure on the opening day wo local enthusiasts secured 12 fish up o 31b. weight. At Wreys Bush recently i party comprising Messrs G. F. Strang, C. S. Mackie and T. Mackie Jnr., encounterd a heavy down stream wind. In spite if this fact the latter angler produced 4 ;ood trout averaging just on 21b. on the loating worm. An item worthy of a special paragraph s the reported capture on the minnow ’rom the Aparima River, by Mr H. Morris, if a 41b. Rainbow trout. Here is an ixample of exceptional growth insofar is Southland is concerned, and the authorties responsible for the establishment of ;his species in this lovely river should be lighly gratified at the results of their nitial efforts. An intensive stocking campaign should be now of paramount inioortance. . For the half-holiday trouting on the Mimihau river the following bags have been reported: Messrs W. A. Leitch, G. Johnston and W. Ayres, limit bags, and several other anglers up to 21 tallies. Further information discloses that on this river on the opening day a Waitaki visitor bagged 13 trout averaging 51b, Male March Brown being the killing pattern of fly. The Otapiri river, in common with the smaller streams, is already showing signs of the dry spell of weather, and most anglers are hoping for a necessary fresh in the smaller streams. A visit by Mr E. Morgan was rewarded with five brace of nice fly fish recently. The Makarewa river has been visited by a large number of rods, but so far very few trout have been taken out. On the opening day', Mr A. EUans caught eight on the worm lure, the heaviest of which weighed 2Mb, while Mr L. Taylor landed two on the minnow. Last Sunday several “wormers” were found to be operating in the vicinity of the Settlers’ Bridge, and the results were somewhat meagre, the river being more suitable for fly fishing. “Creel” visited this water in the afternoon, and it was a case of “study” for successful results. Owing to the high wind and bright sunshine, the correct method was the odd sheltered corners, and a bright fly to tempt the fish. A Silver Alexander was used as a top fly, and by consistent presentation, four splendidly conditioned fish were taken, three of which were easily 1 Jib each. The satisfaction experienced was the excellent virile playing the fish gave on a 3x cast and light rod. Similar conditions to those prevailing last Sunday have been met before, and the same method adopted, so that the procedure can safely be claimed as being the best plan to adopt. The sheen of the bright fly often tempts the trout to grasp the fly out of sheer viciousness. It is necessary to work the fly (wet), by moving the point of the rod up and down, as the mere “chuck and chance it,” letting the flies just float down, is generally barren of results. Further information as to bags on the opening day in the Eastern District is to hand. Fishing the Mataura and the Wyndham rivers, Messrs George Dickson (20) and R. Robertson (17) were among the successful anglers. From the Mataura the following catches were made: Messrs James Bain (12), R. K. Bain (7), \V. Stirling (7), G. Williamson (6), E. Frame (6). Fishing the Wyndham the following fly bags were also present: Messrs J. Brand (15), F. Lindsay (17), William Gregory