BANK NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 64

BANK NOTES

Perch-fishing in Waihola Lak«. — I made • second trip to the Waihola Lake on Saturday, having been encouraged to do so by previous experience. The perch did not take quite so freely, but I besketed 15 nice fish, some half dozen being of good size : J about a pound. I was told by a local : «hgler that the best fish are to be got in the river, and no doubt the information is correct, but I failed to get even a rise, though I spent an hour in spinning the j minnow over the water. Along the edge of j the lake, however, they seem to be fairly j plentiful, but are evidently at times a little j capricious in the matter of rising. If anyone should decide on a day'e perch-fishing in the lake my advice is to go to Titri and i walk from there to the lake — that is. in the direction of Waihola. The distance to the water is not great, and can be | covered in about a quarter of an hour. Take a dark-bodied minnow that will spin ■well ; and in order to ensure this I would advise anglers to dispense with the third triangle placed near the head of the minnow. The two remaining ones are amply sufficient for perch, and with them the man •with the rod can afford to take his minnow ! lrji-ch slower through the water, and yet ;joi .i good spinning movement out of it. Perch do not rise nearly so quickly as trout ; they are, in fact, a comparatively sluggish fish, and the angler wants to give them time. Do not be disappointed if you find the water very shallow. I was on Saturday, but as the tide made there is lots of depth. Lay in a stooJc of patience, for the grass drifting about with the <dvind is sometimes exasperating in the persistence with which it fouls your hooks. Water of Leith.— The- Water of Leith i 6 apparently not quite depleted of trout yet, although very few anglers have been rempted lately to try their skill on thie stream. This week Mr Bradbury, of Leith Valley, caught oae fish 4lb, one l^lb, one lib, and one ilb. These were caught on the upper waters in less than two hours' time. Rivers about Winton. — The Winton Record of Friday last contains the following : The recent rains have much improved the condition of the rivers from an angling | point of view. As a result anglers have been getting go.otl sport lately, and a few nice baskets nave been obtained on the Oreti. v The Avon. — The following is from an exchange : Due doubtless to the prohibition of fishing in the Avon between the Riocarton bend and the Colombo street bridge, tho river between these points is at preBent well stocked with trout, as far ac can Jbe seen from the bridges in the city, and "'The^obiect of the Acclimatisation Society has been achieved, for the fish add to the attractiveness of the stream from the casual pedestrian's point of view, and give promise of sport eUewhere to visitors and anglere from further afield. From one f.ide of the Hospital Bridge the other day about 20 fish of varying sizes could be counted, and nine of them were very plainly discernible against a white patch of bottom. Previously the Avon would have been practically cleared by this stage of the season. Inadequacy of Fines for Poaching. — "One of Us," writing in the Tapanui Courier, is evidently not well pleased with the manner i|t which 'punishment is "dealt out" to poachers, and while he may be to some extent right T do not quite see how he can compare breaches of the Licensing Act with those of the Fishing Regulations. He WTites,: "There was quite a field day Idmongat the poachers at last sitting of the Magistrate's Court at Tapanui. and a good display of the Implements of war.' These included a home-made net. with a 'Jrame of fencing wire, so shaped that when .placed in small etreams the fish could not ,?soape. But the most common weapon was J manuka stick some 9ft or 10ft long, with * gaff attached. By this meafls the big £sh can be taken out of the deep pools without much difficulty. The district ranger has-been specially active this season, but apparently there is a good deal bf sympathy with the poachers, and fines inflicted are not in proportion to the •Amount of trouble required in detecting illegal practices. Why this should be is 'jiot easily understood. For instance, compare breaches of the Licensing Act and j?iehing Regulations. In one case fines frequently range up to £50 and imprisonment, whilst in the other — if the defend-

ants give am thing hko a feasible explanation — a couple of pounds Ie the amount Inflicted. It is a matter for wonder that

men will attempt illegal practices when a license can bo obtained for the small sum of £1, knowing at the same time that paid and honoiary rangers may show up at any moment. I am oure the general feeling amongst sportsmen is not a desire to see heavy fines inflicted, but sufficient to proteot Ejame and fish, so that the rivers will lot be depleted. Systematic poaching %\ ill clean out a stream very quickly, and therefore the offence should not be condoned or regarded with too much s-enriment." The Tongariro, River. — Mr R. Jones, writing from Tokaarm on February 21, save: ''The following is a fair catch of brown trout caught in the Tonga riro river with fly and minnow by myself. Judge Palmer, and Mr Ea6t (of the Native Department), in two hours' fishing. Two 141b, one 131b, one I2ilb, one lOilb, eight 101b. five 81b. one 61b, one 41b, making 20 fish, weighing 1961b; average 9ilb each." Waimate Anglers' Society. — At a committee meeting of ihe Waimate Anglers' Society the advisability of holding another angling competition was discussed, and it was decided to hold same on Thursday, March 5. Angling about Queen&town.— The Wakatipu Mail complains of the Tourist Department discouraging anglers from visiting the district, and of ignorance as to the district's ifi-shing capabilities, and it is bcarcely reasonable to expect everyone connected with the Tourist Department to be in possession of full knowledge concerning e\ery stream or lake in the Dominion. ' The Mail's paragraph is a» follows: — "We have been informed by a visitor to our town who is an enthusiastic angler that he ! wa6 advised by the head of the Tourist Department in Wellington not to bring any fishing material to Queenstown ac there was not sufficient sport to be had. This gentleman, in spite of thia advice, was evidently determined to see for himself. During the last day or so he hae, done a good deal of fishing in the Jake and elsewhere and has been well satisfied with his catches. Several other visitors who have been similarly advi&ed ha^ c fiehed the lak<?6 and streams of the district with good remit «. Anyone who wishes to verify these ftatpments can f>o io the secretary of the local Acclimatisation Society, who has issued the tickets. Il is really too bad that the Tourier Department should discourage the \ isits of anglers to these parts, and it 6hows a palpable ignorance as to the attractions of the district. For the benefit of thoee in authority at Wellington an^l tourists generally we can truthfully sa> that there is Kood sport to be had in our lakes, and particularly in the streams in the district. The Acclimatisation Society ie ( the body that should deal with this matter, and the sooner the better." — In connection with the paragraph Mr Jas. Duncan writes on February 27: — "For the benefit of anglers in general. I am enclosing two clippings from t^ie Lake Wakatipu Mail, re fishing in tins (Glenorchy) district, and will be very | thankful if you will give it publicity in your widely-read paper. The fish in Diamond Lake are in splendid condition, and eight to 10 ar'a caught every morning in net 6, 10 fish averaging 31b to 71b weight, and are declared by visitors to be the finest quality ever eaten. [I only find the one •clipping enclosed, but the following ie probably the second paragraph referred to. — J.S.I " "The English tourists. Mr Stewart and Sir Robert Walker, who have been staying at Arcadia. Paradise, during. the last week, express themselves as highly pleased with the accommodation afforded and their general treatment. They were delighted with the surrounding &eenery and. being anglers, got some really good 6port in Diamond Lake. We arc informed that they fUtied with the fly. Their catches included 13 beauties, varying from 21b to 51b. This only servos again to show the Tourist Department that there is good fishing in tho district." Poaching Prosecutions. — At Tapanui recently, before Mr Kenrick, S.M., D. M'Gill and Thos. Middlemiss were charged with using improper instruments for taking trout. — Mr Inder, who appeared to defend, submitted that the information was bad in that defendants were ehai-ged with an offence against the statute, whilst it should ha-se been against the regulations. After legal argument the information was dismissed. — On the same occasion Thos. Rae. J Thos. Anderson, Chas. M'Farlane, Alfred Meighan, and E. Webb were charged with taking fi-.li without a license, and with fishing contrary to the regulations. The charge of fishing without a license was dismissed on the ground that there was no evidence before the court. On the second | information the charges against Webb and | M'Farlane were dismissed. His Worship said he was satisfied that Rae. Meighau, and Anderson were guilty, and they would be convicted and fined £2 each, with court eo«ts £?> 9s. Quinnat Salmon. — The Fishing Gazette of January 11 contains some rather interesting reading concerning the Quinnat salmon. After referring to its successful introduction into New Zealand waters, the article goes on to speak of some particulars about the fish, and quotes Jordan and Everaiann's American Game Fishes as follows: — I find the following information about the Quinnat salmon, which seems destined to play an important part in the future history of Xew Zealand. The late Sir Ro-=e Price, Bart., warned us in this country against trying to establish thie fish in our waters; he said it would destroy our native ealrnon if it i-eally "got hteld," and that it is subject to a bad disease. The Quinnat salmon is sl*o called ''Chinook salmon, " "King salmon," "Columbia River salmon,'' "Sacramento salmon,"' -"Tyee,"' "Tchaviche," and "Tschawytscha."' It is found on both coasts of the Pacific, from Monterey Ba}", California, and China, north to fiehring Strait*, aecending all large streams, especially the Sacramento, Columbia, and Yukon. It ascends the large rivers in spring and summer, moving up (without feeding) until the spawning season, by which time many of thoee which started first may have travelled 1000 miles or more. The run begins in the Columbia River as early as February or March. At first the fish travel leisurely, moving up only a few miles each day. Many of the Columbia River fish ascend as high as Salmon River, in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, more than IdOO miles from ihe sea. American observations show that the Quinnat salmon will not spawn until the temperature of the water has fallen to 54deg Fahr. It was long supposed that the fish got injured during ite long fight to get to the spawning beds, but it is now knowr that this is not the case, as fish, which b a <J passed up through 1000 miles of water and waterfalls were quite perfect. It is from the severe fighting at spawning time, and in the spawning process itself, when the fish make ihe gra\el spawning beds, thai they got mjuicd. Soon after the male and female

Quinnat salmon June spawned They die each individual spawning only once Thit< is said to be true of all these fi^li, whether they spawn remote from salt w,wer o> - close to it. "The cause of their dying is not, conditioned upon distance from Hit? sea, but is general in its application to all species of Pacific Coa^t salmon."' In addition to being by far the most important salmon ac fopd for man, if the quantity consunwd is considered (as compared with our Salmo salar, the canned Quinnat is — well, it cannot be compared, and is not worth eating if our fish can be got). The Quinnat is also one of the largest of the Salmonidje, reaching a weight of over 1001b, but the average of the Columbia River fish is said to he 221b, and of the Sacramento 16lb. It would be very interesting to have some scales of Quinnat of different sizes. This fish is said to be unknown in Japan, irs range extending little south of Kamchatka on the Asiatic side of rhe Pacific.— [The thing I cannot quite understand is that the fish, concerning which I am not very fully informed, should reach 1001b weight, and yet die after spawning onco. I presume the Quinnat, like other fish of the same family, spawns every year after it is two or three years old, and if it dies after its first spawning I do not see how it can attain tho weight of 1001b, unless it grows at the rate of 251b or 301b a year, which is simply enormous. — J. S.]