Good Angling For Rest Of Season

Southland Times, Issue 24012, 30 December 1939, Page 11

Good Angling For Rest Of Season

By

MATUKU

With the advent of fine weather the dry-fly angler can expect excellent sport from now until the end of the season. The larger rivers are now rapidly getting into excellent fly-fishing order and will provide good sport from now on. The usual tantalizing rise of “Mataura midge” can be expected on the Mataura and will provide excellent sport to those anglers sufficiently skilful to outwit these Mataura fish. If the usual dry-fly patterns are unsuccessful the angler will be well advised to try a very small wet fly or alternatively a nymph fished upstream, or even downstrcnm* On the upper Oreti, about Mossbum, and on the Mararoa and Waiau a fairly large fly will prove successful. A redtipped Governor on a No. 12 hook is a fair imitation of the cicada or cricket and will prove quite successful when tire trout are feeding on the cricket. A Cochy-bondhu on a No. 14 hook with a Peacock herl body is a good imitation of the manuka beetle and is readily taken by the trout feeding on the beetle. On the smaller rain-fed streams where there is a more prolific hatch of aquatic mayflies the small dark flies such as Dad’s Favourite or Greenwell s Glory will generally prove more successful. CASTING A FLY With the holiday season and ample leisure on hand anglers in camp can always spend an interesting half hour practising casting. Anglers should measure their casts accurately and they will find how far they fall short of the tournament casters. Mr H. D. Hughes, the international champion caster, m his book on the subject tries to teach the

secret of his success. In New Zealand practically all anglers use the overhead cast for fly fishing. Mr Hughes m his advice to anglers gives the following principles which should be remembered by all anglers.

The hold of the rod should be with the fingers as far as possible and not in the palm of the hand. The grip should be easy, as it is in holding a cricket ball or stone in the act of throwing. The actual course of the rod should be confined to a quarter of a' circle in the back cast or lift and also in the forward cast. The course of the rod should always be in a plane backwards and forwards though the forward cast may be on a separate plane to the back cast or lift. Whatever the conditions avoid effort and try to realize that the cast whicn is most effective in a dead calm is also most effective when contending with a wind, because the resistance of the air is the main obstacle, and it is merely a auestion of degree. Considering the horizontal position ot the rod to be the normal one when fishing and the rod in that position to be pointing to 9 o’clock, then m the vertical position the rod points to 12 o’clock. Thus from 9 to 12 represents the course of the rod through the quarter circle. On reaching 12 o clock, however, the rod may be carried back as far as is necessary or convenient in lifting a long line, but it must m this case never be allowed to fall towards 1 o’clock or below a line passing through 12 o’clock parallel with the ground. It may be raised but never lowered behind the caster. The pause at the top of the back cast is equal in length to .the time taken to cast the line back. The main cast or speed in casting both forwards and backwards takes place between half-past 10 and 12 o’clock but the entire cast forwards and backwards should be perfectly smooth throughout and entirely free from jerk or effort. The cast should be made from the top or back position and forward not down. While the line is extending behind, the rod must be allowed to remain

steady and not brought forward in the slightest degree. Failure to observe this rule is one of the commonest faults and in every case the result is shown in that the line does not straighten out on the water.

If the hint about the level of the rod is carried out and compared with the usual practice it will be noticed that the line when cast forward straightens out at right angles to the position the rod is in at the start of the cast. If this rule be observed and the rod point not lowered behind, the actual cast forward will occur between 12 o’clock, or the vertical position and 10.30. The rod is allowed to follow through to the horizontal position as the line travels forward, until, if the performance has been correct, when the rod is in the horizontal position it and the line are in one straight line. The cast should always be made forward, not down. Our object is to overcome the resistance of the air and to do this not by the application of force but by reason. We require that the entry or forward curve of the line shall be narrow, and that the line following shall be straight. The proper cut forward requires that the rod tip travels almost straight during the cut and this results in a narrow entry or curve. If as is usually done, the drive is made downwards we obtain a wide curve or entry and when casting against a wind it is a question whether we can apply sufficient force, or, in other words, whether the wind is stronger than us. This drive forwards ensures that the tip of the rod is used as it should be. To obtain a straight following line it is necessary that the line be fully extended behind in the preliminary back-cast and that the forward cast does not start with a jerk or kick off. It must be short and quick but absolutely smooth. WRIST ACTION Another question often asked is wrist-action or no wrist-action. Mr Hughes states that too much wrist action is to be condemned, as is too rigid a wrist. The joint, however, that should be called into use above all others is the shoulder joint, and not

only that but the shoulder blade as well. This allows the rod point to make the cast in a straight line horizontally forward. If the wrist alone is used it is impossible to avoid a circular course being taken by the rod point. If the wrist is held rigid delicacy is impossible and in this case the elbow joint is the only one used, making again for a circular course of the rod tip. Keeping these instructions in mind the angler should practise his casting on dry land and endeavour to see how he can improve it and where his faults lie. In most sports the novice has the advantage of a coach’s advice and instruction. Most anglers, however, after one or two elementary lessons proceed with their own tuition and attain a greater or less degreee of skill without the benefit of expert advice. Any time they can spare is devoted to endeavouring to catch fish rather than acquiring proficiency in casting.