ANGLING IN SOUTH CANTERBURY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19598, 19 September 1933, Page 8

ANGLING IN SOUTH CANTERBURY

To the Editor of “ The Tlmaru Herald 1 Sir, —I notice in your paper this morning a letter by one signing himself “Only a Sprat,” and he is asserting very definitely that our rivers are depleted of fish. That his contention is not wholly true, perhaps the following will show. Mr. Maddox, of Geraldine, informed me recently, that on having to look at the Opihi one day, he say a number of very big fish that he felt sure must be quinnat. as he could not believe trout of so large a size would be in the river above the main road. I readily accepted his kind offer to take me down to see, if we could identify them, as I also wished to make an examination of the river, as to the quantity and kind of fish food available for the purpose of finding, if any light could be shed on the cause of the poor condition of the fish in the Opihi last season. With the Editor’s permission some remarks on this question may appear in the course of a few days. We went down on Friday last, the Bth inst. The day was ideal for the purpose, bright sun and no wind. On coming to the pool, the fish were lying out in the sun in calm water. There would be from ! forty to fifty of these big fish, and 1 getting a good view of them, we could | definitely say that they were brown trout, fish running from 61b. to 81b. up to 141 b. or 151 b., quite half of the number being of an out size. When these big fish moved up into the head of the pool, a shoal of smaller fish of lib. to lilb, and numbering probably 200, came down and took up a position where we had first seen the big fish. This was a deep pool 8 ft. to 10 ft. at 1 the top end, and was probably 200 j yards long. On going on down the 1 bank, fish were to be seen all over ! the pool, the majority appearing to be j round about a pound in weight. There j were also many fish from 21b. to 31b. ! in the pool, a number of which were | rising freely. We were up on a high i bank, about 20ft. above the water, so it will be seen that we had a splendid opportunity of seeing these fish, and in making an estimate of the total number of fish in that pool. We did not think it would be an exaggeration to say , that there would be 1000 fish there. So that in spite of what some people say to the contrary, there are still fish in our rivers, if one takes the trouble to look for them. The interesting part of all this was the finding of so many big fish as far up the river so late in the year. I am etc., J. MCDONALD. Geraldine September 14.