ROD AND LINE

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 22 (Supplement)

ROD AND LINE

By “Irideus.”

THE NATIVE GRAYLING rare indigenous fish SIMILARITY TO THE TROUT LATE SEASON CONDITIONS In our remarks upon the indigenous fishes of New Zealand we have left to the last the most beautiful (and now the most scarce) of them all, in the upokororo or New Zealand grayling (Prototroctes oxvrhynchus.) When the colonists first appeared in New Zealand there' were relatively large numbers of these beautiful little fish to be found in the streams and lakes, but the more the pakeha has spread throughout the country the further back they have been driven, and now there are few streams outside of the more inaccessible West Coast rivers of the South Island where the angler can hope for even a sight of one. Until a few years ago, the writer understands, a few upokororo were to be seen occasionally in Lake Kanieri, in the South Island, but none have been reported captured for some considerable time. Resemblance to Trout It is, of course, possible that there are occasional specimens captured, but the superficial resemblance which the grayling bears to the brown trout causes their true identity t-o be mistaken, for the upokororo does strongly resemble the trout, both in its generally silvery colouring and in the position and form of its fins. There is, as in the case of the trout, only the one main dorsal fin, with the small adipose fln behind it, and the general shape of the .fish is trout-like. The mouth, it is true, is smaller than the trout's, as is the case with the European grayling (Thymallus vulgaris), and the fins are more dainty in shape, but the general effect is more or less that of a prim little trout. Extreme Fragility The writer's experience of New Zealand grayling does not extend beyond the examination of museum specimens, but a non-angler who had witnessed their capture by rod and line on the South Island West Coast in- _ formed him that one peculiarity of the e upokororo was its extreme fragility. Apparently West Coasters who went 3 a-grayling used great care in handling e their captures, carefully wrapping g them in soft grasses before commitI ting them to the creel. It was stated that if a grayling were dropped from y the hands on to the ground the force of the fall would break it in pieces. J This may be merely piscatorial exaggeration, but the members of the “ grayling family are almost all delicate in appearance, if not in constitution. ~ TJiere is a brief reference to the ® upokororo in the New Zealand Official 1 Year Book, in the section dealing with • fisheries, where mention is made of t the almost complete disappearance of * the fish “for some unknown reason.” b e Reason for Disappearance 0 e One would hardly think that in a 3 country where trout had spread and multiplied to such an extent as In 3 New Zealand a reason for the apparent g extinction of a minor indigenous fish f would be hard to find. It seems quite r certain that the trout have eaten the n grayling out of almost all our streams —merely another case of t.he European driving the native to extinction. That the native grayling has been rendered : extinct, however, has yet to be proved, 1 and some investigation in the South Island would seem justified, if only to try and preserve some representatives 1 of a particularly graceful and harmless species, e s Weather and Condition s Though there are few streams in the province which would not now be .1 the better of a good freshet, it is suro prising how clean the majority of - waters have remained, in spite of the prolonged dry spell. With remarkably little growth of glut and flannel-weed", t and the quality of the water apparently little impaired by the fine, warm weather, the condition of both brown and rainbow trout has been maintained at a high level since Christmas-time, and there has even been a marked improvement in the condition of the fish In some streams. When on the subject of condition, it may be mentioned that the writer recently had the pleasure of inspecting samples of the young fish being liberated by the Hamilton Acclimatisation Club from the Puket.urua hatchery. These young fish—only a few months old—were ;n uniformly first-class order, and included a large proportion which were about Gin in length by fully 3Jin in girth. The condition of these young fish was really phenomenal and constituted t.he best possible argument in favour of the system in operation at Puketurua. There is little doubt that there are many waters in the area which at the present time are undert stocked, but if the local club can carry on in the way it is doing, and the parent body in Auckland will give the Hamilton enthusiasts the support they merit, succeeding years should see marked improvement in Waikato angling. AROUND THE PROVINCE 26. The Mangatangl Flowing in the same direction and a

little to the south of the Mangatawhiri, which we dealt with in this column a week ago, is the Mangatangi, a small stream having about 10 miles of fairly good fishing water. The stream rises in the hills behind Hunua ar.d eventually flows into the Waikato, running under the main AucHlandHamilton highway near PokenoJ but Hamilton anglers wishing to fish the best stretches should go as far as Pokeno and then take the Thames highway, passing over the Mangatawhiri en route. For Auckland fishermen, the best route is through Hunua. Averaging about half a chain in width on the best stretches, the stream has a firm stone and shingle bed and in its general character resembles the Kani in its upper reaches at Karamu. There are good holding pools and attractive dry-fly ripples alternating, while the banks are reasonably clear and all the water accessible. The stream is, of course, wadeable. Another point of resemblance with the Kani is the fact that both rainbow and brown trout are to be found in the Mangatangi and fish of nib are quite common. The stock of brown trout has, indeed, been considerably augmented by liberations during the last two seasons. 35.000 young brownies being liberated there in 1937 and a similar number again this last season. As far as the smaller streams of the

area are concerned, this practice has everything to commend it, since the brown trout is a much freer rising fish than the rainbow and a much more stable inhabitant of the stream. Further, investigations have proved that the brown trout has a considerably longer active life than his American cousin. Accommodation may be secured at Pokeno, but there are also many excellent camping spots and the comparative proximity of the Mangatawhiri makes the area quite a suitable one for a week-end excursion. Dry-fly is recommended and the folic wing patterns should be successful under normal conditions: Hardie's Favourite. Hare's Ear, Pope's Nondescript, Coch-y-bondhu, Twilight Beauty.