LINE AND TRIGGER

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XII, Issue 707, 24 September 1903, Page 13

LINE AND TRIGGER

(By

”Gillie.”)

OPENING OF THE FISHING SEASON. On October 1 the season will commence for trout fishing, and the most encouraging reports have come to hand as to. the quantity and size of fish in the various lakes and streams. It is very evident that New Zealand is to become a paradise for the By fisherman, and it is quite remarkable the number of people who are taking to the sport. To all anglers, but to those tyros especially, the following advice on how to throw a fly will be found highly interesting. It is taken from a well-written article in the Fishing Gazette ” just to hand :— First learn the ordinary simple overhead throw up-stream. Let out about a dozen yards of line, or as much line as you find you can easily control, and without moving the arm below the elbow, which should be kept within a few inches of the hip for this cast ; swish the top of the rod forwards in a straight line at a moderate pace, until both the line and the cast are fully extended in front of you high in the air, about the level of your own head ; then throw the rod top backwards, not in a straight line like-the forward throw, but in a big half-circle, still keeping the hip and line as high as your head until it passes you, when it should rise with this back theow. Again wait until the line is fully extended well up in the air behind you, before you repeat this forward and backward swing, which should be done four or five times in succession (to dry the fly) before you finally permit the fly to drop on the surface of the water. The novice is here warned against the followino- bad but usual faults in making the cast :—Fault 1 : Trying to throw with the whole arm. This is both tiring to attempt and. impossible to manage. The throw ought to be made by the wrist, with, perhaps a little help from the forearm ; on no account use the part of the arm which is above the elbow. Fault 2 : Letting the rod-tip go too far back and too low down. This results in the fly bein<z caught up behind, the angler, and on the return forward a stroke smash goes the rod-top, or it receives a ruinous strain. Fault 3 : Cracking off- flies and getting tangled up. This comes from swinging the. line and fly too straight backwards and forwards, instead of making them travel round in the backward (and sometimes forward) sweep of the rod. Fault 4 : Knots in the gut cast near the fly, especially if the wind is at all awkward. These are often produced by the. same faulty throwing and the struggles of a good fish then often result in a breakage at a knot of this sort on fine single gut, as the gut cuts itself there when pulled hard. Because you are facing up the stream the current - will bring the fly and line back towards you on the surface : therefore as they come back raise the rod-top enough to keep it just in touch with the fly. If you are too slow you will have a little slack line between the fly and the rod-tip, when it will not be possible for you if a fish rises to be quick enough to hook him with a littletwitch, or strike, as it is called, because the trout will reject the fly far more rapidly than you can jerk up the slack line. In quick water it is a great help io pull in the slack with the disengaged hand while raisins- the top of the rod.

On the other hand, after casting, if you take in your slack faster than the pace of the current, the fly will make a streak, or drag, as it is called, upon the surface, which every trout knows is never done by a natural fly, and the fish stops rising instantly. You have then put him down. If he has not been fished for much, he may start rising again in a few minutes if you keep quiet and do nothing further to alarm him ; but a well-educated trout will either make right oil' at once to safer quarters, pro tern., or go down to the bottom and lie there without rising for half an hour or moie, and will then only resume very carefully and shyly, closely inspecting every fly before taking it, and perhaps coming, if, indeed, he rises at all, very short at your artificial fly- . -

Next, in taking up your slack line after the fly has travelled down about three yards, and your rod-top is raised in consequence pretty high, you can still let the fly come on, and take in the slack by drawing the running line down through the rod rings with the hand you are not casting with, laying hold of it just below the lowest ring, letting- it hang- down even to the ground when you wish to fish fast water close to you under your own bank. 'Phe line is easily worked out again by swinging the rod forwards and backwards a few times as already described (paying out the line through the disengaged hand), which dries the fly for the next cast. In dry-fly fishing in clear and pretty smooth water only throw at fish you can see, and if they are rising so much the better. It is only in fast-running water that you work it all on the chance of raising a fish, or you will scare and educate still further trout you or others might find rising steadily later on, and then kill. On spotting a fish, get up within reach, keeping as low down and as much out of sight as you can. Remember the first throw- is far more likely to get your fish than any other subsequent one, and therefore be sure you put all you know into that chuck. Let the fish rise a few times before throwing to him, in order - to make sure to an inch, not only of the best spot for your llv, but also where you ought to settle yourself to get the deadliest throw possible. Many men fail even after yearsi of angling to select exactly the right point from which to make, the attack ; other men seem to know at a glance ; distance, cover, wind, set of current, and position of fish, if all carefully considered before that first throw, tell tremendously in your favour. Always drop your fly just on your own side of the fish, and generally near his head —an inch or two above, for choice. Thus, the fly and net the- gut line is what he sees; ; but should you overthrow, and put the fly beyond him, or much above ,the gut comes over him first, and even if he takesi the fly afterwards, lie is never as -well hooked as by the proper throw, which enables you to strike the fly back into the corner of his mouth, as he must always turn a little to you to reach a well-placed fly, and as he closes on it will instantly commence to turn his nose back again to meet the current, when the strike, coming at that moment, hits the fly into the shut corner of the jaws, and should fasten it well in one or other of them. ■' Aim your fly as if the water were on a level with your elbow.” The full force of the throw is then spent in the air, and the fly will drop on the water as lightly as a natural one, with the. wing cocked up. If you try to pitch the fly right down on the spot where you intended to alig-ht he will bang- it into the stream like a stone, with a little splash which scares the. fish away. Gradually learn to lengthen your throw until you cast eighteen or twenty yards of straight line, and lightly drop your fly within an inch or two of the place you intend. The late George Selwvn Marryat. probably the most. perfect fisherman that ever handled a trout rod or tied a fly,

could drop his fly nearly every cast he made on to a sixpence placed on the lawn twenty yards from him. Remember that the majority , of fish are killed by accurate and light casting at a moderate distance, where the line, and especially the strike, is well under the control of the caster. The deadly rod never throws a foot further than he sees is necessary, though at times a very long chuck is compulsory.'

The final competition for the Inanimate Pigeon Association’s handsome silver cup (a trophy valued at £65) took place on the Northern Gun Club’s grounds, Mount Eden, on Saturday afternoon, when 76 competitors took part. The handicap was_ by points, all the competitors shooting off the 15 yards mark. Scoring was somewhat difficult owing to the breeze blowing. Mr Duvall proved to be the winner of the cup, with the score of 29 points (including handicap points), one point below the possible. Mr Rubery finished second with a score of 28 points (including handicap), while Mr V. Kelly, who was scratch, took third place. The last-named competitor also scored 27 points with his second nomination, bringing his total score for the day to 54 of a possible 60. At the conclusion three cheers were given for the winner (Air Duvall), and Mr Walters, who kindly acted ,as referee and gave e ver v sati sf act ion.