FISHING SEASON

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVI, Issue 23013, 3 October 1944, Page 4

FISHING SEASON

Average Catch Not Large

Although fishing conditions were good for the opening of the fishing season on Sunday, there was not the usual number of fishermen on the rivers for the opening day, said the Curator-ranger of the South Canterbury Acclimatisation Society (Mr F. W. Pellett) yesterday. Petrol restrictions limited the range of anglers and confined most of them to the more easily accessible portions of the rivers. Many made the trip to the rivers on bicycles. A number of bags examined showed that the average catch was not large, said Mr Pellett, although a number of anglers got up to half a dozen trout. These fish were mostly in good condition. There were few anglers on the Te Ngawai and those seen reported little success. The lower reaches of the Pareora were well patronised, and baskets of five and six trout averaging 11b in weight were examined. Luck varied on the Opihi, but the lower reaches of the Temuka yielded good fishing. Some excellent bags were obtained by bait fishermen at the Opihi mouth. There was a good run of whitebait and the trout were following them in. One limit bag was obtained early on Sunday morning at the Rangitata mouth on the bully, but the fish, which ranged up to three and four pounds, were in poor condition. There was a large number of anglers at the Orari mouth, and one bag of 10 fish is reported.