ANGLERS’ CLUB ACTIVITIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVI, Issue 22934, 3 July 1944, Page 4

ANGLERS’ CLUB ACTIVITIES

Criticism By Council 111-considered Notices Of Motion The number of notices of motion brought forward at the annual meeting of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, particularly by members of the South Canterbury Anglers’ Club, was commented on by the chairman (Ml- J. McDonald) at the first meeting of the new council of the Society held on Saturday afternoon at Temuka.

"One would think that a body like the South Canterbury Anglers’ Club would give some previous consideration to these notices of motion, of which there were eight presented at the annual meeting,” said Mr McDonald. "Many of them were ill-considered and one of them was the most stupid and absurd motion ever placed before a public meeting. Members of the Council who are also members of the Anglers’ Club should see that these motions are brought forward in a form that expresses the considered viewpoint of the majority of the members of the Club and that they are not presented at the annual meeting with a demand for alteration of the original motion. There was a surfeit of notices of motion at the annual meeting and nearly two-thirds of the members had left the hall when general business was asked for."

Mr B. Triggs said that certain members of the Anglers’ Club did not seem to know what they wanted, and seemed to be trying to run the fishing in South Canterbury. They were still carrying on with it and had further notices of motion for their own annual meeting. “Stupid” In discussing the notices of motion “that a few male brown trout be obtained from Taupo or elsewhere for fertilisation purposes, with a view to providing new blood in our trout,” the chairman said that he was surprised that anything so stupid should have been carried at an annual meeting. It should never have been allowed to go through the Anglers’ Club in the first place. Mr F. Agnew said that the motion came at such a late stage in the meeting that everyone wanted to gel home and many did not vote on it. It was ridiculous from the beginning. If it had been suggested to obtain fry it would not have been so bad. "It seems that a few members are merely making the Anglers’ Club ridiculous,” said the chairman. “We should be able to look to them as a responsible body of men.” Further discussion took place on a notice of motion regarding the arnalgation of Acclimatisation Societies advertised for- consideration at the annual meeting of the Anglers’ Club. He knew nothing about it, said Mr H. B. Timmings. He believed that it was got up to create an argument. Mr J. Stevens: For such a thing to be advertised in the paper reflects discredit on angling control in South Canterbury. If the Government still has any idea of taking over control, this is the very thing to make them do so. It was a very dangerous thing to do. Before it was put in .the paper, it should have been discussed oy ---ill members of the Angling Club and submitted to the Acclimatisation Societies concerned, said the chairman.

Notices of motion given at the annual meeting and approved by the Council were “that the bag limit for fishing be reduced from 20 to 12” and “that the wood o-rub be classed as an illegal bait in South Canterbury rivers.” It was decided to grant half-priced fishing licences to members of the Armed Forces and to all men returned from overseas since the close of last fishing season and to print special soldiers’ licences. An offer by Mr V. W. Nicholas to plant 150 to 200 trees on the Rang'itata Reserve to replace those which have died was accepted with thanks. Mr J. Smillie was appointed to fill a vacancy as Mackenzie representative of the council. Curator Kanger’s Report “All my time during the month of June has been taken up with trout spawning operations,” stated the cura-tor-ranger (Mr F. W. Pellett) in his report. “Fish trapping began on May 22 and this week will finish trapping. To date 400,000 eggs have been deposited in the hatching boxes and ther are a number of fish in the pens yet to spawn. Fish traps have been washed out three times, but have been erected again. On certain days, with assistance, I have gone to the Opihi River in search of shags. We saw 16 birds, but could not get within shotgun range. A block has been placed at Scott’s Creek and the spawning of rainbow trout will be gone on with. Some brown trout ova was obtained from MacGregor Creek and 70 large spawning trout were put over the erid into Lake Alexandrina. The first brown trout ova put down eyed in 29 days in a water temperature of 49 degrees."