ANGLING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 142, 2 November 1912, Page 7

ANGLING.

(By "Ripple.") The Waiwakaiho continues to afford good sport to those anglers who prefer throwing the % to any other form of baiting. There is no doubt that angling with the fly is the most artistic of all forms of trout fishing. If the angler can select the fly that the fish are "taking," he gets some ripping sport, and has not the trouble of continually changing his bait necessary when fishing with minnow, worm, '•bully" or other lures. During the past week good results have been attained with such flies as the Peverill of the Peak, Zulu, teal and red, R.A.8., Hardy's favourite and Irish March brown. I have not heard of any big catches during the past week. Mr. W-. Boildam secured a basket of five nice even fish and Mr. Ron. Bayly three! I Mr. W. Ogier reports the streams in the Inglewood district as being in good fishing order and tha trout m capital condition. Fishing for a couple of hours a few days ago he secured six good, b)*WB trout.

I regret to have to report that the Society's caretaker at the hatcheries lias had a severe bout of influenza during the past few days. He has, however, been able to attend to his duties in looking after the young fish. A better lot of fry than at present is in the hatcheries would be difficult to find. The youngsters are feeding splendidly with the result that they are growing into fine sturdy little fellows. Up to the present the Taranaki Society has distributed about 60,000 young fisih since October Ist. The fry has been placed in the following rivers:—Waiwakaiho 32,000 rainbows; Tariki streams, 10,000 browns; Inglewood ponds, 10,000 rainbows; Henui, 10,000 browns. Five hundred browns were sold by the Society for private waters in the Okato district. Mr. J. Gibson, Mangorei, has also taken 1000 rainbows to place in a small stream which runs into the Waiwakaiho.

The fishing season in the Auckland district opened yesterday. There is every prospect that the season is going to be a successful one, for most favorable reports are being received daily of the condition of the fish. In conversation with Mr. W. H. Hazard (chairman of the Acclimatisation Society), a reporter learned that the local streams were in good order, and the fish were in excellent condition. This particularly applied to the Henderson River and Canty's Creek, where the society had recently liberated 1200 rainbow yearlings. The Waihou, Waimakariri, Ongarue and Waimea rivers had also been reported upon most favorably, and it was expected that anglers would make their first excursions to well-known points on these streams. There was also a likelihood that the streams in the Clevedon district, the Southern Wairoa, and Maungatawhiri would be well patronised, as good trout had been reported there. With regard to the Rotorua district, which has been in the past such an excellent attraction from the angler's point of view, and especially for the oversea tourist, Mr. Hazard said that there were no indications of the sport dwindling, for the lakes and streams were very fully stocked with fish. The trout in this district were, of course, growing very gradually smaller in size, because the food supply in the waters'was ever on the decrease. This season, however, the fish had spawned well, and there were still abundant supplies. This Applied to the beautiful Taupo district, as well, and the lake there was reported to be productive of excellent fishing. There was absolutely no truth in the assumption that because the fish in this district were smaller they were diseased. The food supply in the lakes and streams was decreasing naturally because of the large number of trout in these waters, so that a natural deduction was a smaller average size vn the whole of the fish. The Waikato, Mr. Hazard continued, was also showing indications of being a good fishing stream, as the fish were increasing, and the continual stocking by the society had had a good effect.