WITH THE ROD.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1922, Page 7

WITH THE ROD.

( By Ripple.) The perfect weather of the opening week of the angling season was broken by rain and cold winds, and conditions have been all in favour of the fish. However, the streams have received a thorough scouring out of weed and moss, and should be the better for it. Trout have had an aounuance or good feeding from the flooded waters and should readily “rise” 1 , to fly as soon as the streams get down to normal size. There are indications- that sea run trout are coming up, and the recent floods will accelerate the movement, as is has been found that these fish always appear well up the rivers after a flood.

Anglers will find the following flies well worth a trial:—Cochabondhu, Bradshaw’s Fancy, Twilight Beauty, Hardy’s Favourite, and Hoffland’s Fancy very suitable for day angling, and Peveril of the Peak and the Coachman good evening lures.

A few evenings ago an eel, a little over three feet in length, was caught in the Te Henui river, New Plymouth, When opened the eel had in its stomach a trout weighing over a quarter of a pound and ten inches in length. The trout was on view in the window of Messrs Austin and Son’s tobacco shop and sporting depot. It was con*jectured by many people that the eel had captured and killed the trout, but this is not at all likely. It is more than probable that the trout was killed by being buffeted about by the waters of the recent floods. During flood time trout generally keep to the edges of streams and as the water recedes drop back into the stream beds. On most of the river banks blackberry and fern grow in profusion, and it is not unusual for trout to become hung up by the gills in these bushes. In the struggle for freedom the trout often injure themselves considerably, and when eventually they drop into the water they are too much knocked about to recover and are washed down into the deep holes. Naturally after a flood eel-s hujnt eagerly for food, and any dead trout or birds, and sometimes even rats and young hares, are found floating in the stream. The larger eels arc out in search of such spoil, and eagerly snap them up. In fact eels are very voracious creatures and something of ecavangers, and will even lie under the carcases of cattle or sheep and keep gorging themselves with the meat until every vestige of flesh is gone and only the bones and hide are left. Put a trout of ten, or even five inches, would not, in ordinary circumstances, fall a victim to any marauding eel. Trout are much too alert and swift in action to be so taken. Many anglers believe that our streams are largely depleted of trout by eels, but a little reflection will show this is not the ease. Twenty years ago the | rivers around Mount Egmont were famous fishing waters in which trout abounded. There were perhaps more eels in our streams in those days because of the amount of suitable cover , available in submerged logs and drift--wood. Gradually our atreams began to

produce leas and less trout, but it is thought that poaching brought about the diminishing quantity. In many rivers practically all the deep ‘holes were systematically dynamited, and the stock fish (that each autumn would have given hundreds of thousands of young trout) were ruthlessly destroyed. During the war period trout hatching operations in Turanaki were severely curtailed and the hatcheries at New Plymouth were out of action entirely for several years. The past three years, however, have given splendid results in our hatcheries, and the streams give fine promise for future angling, practically all our rivers showing a remarkable good supply of young fish. If only owners of properties on the banks of our waters would take an interest in trout, and see that none were taken illegally for a few years, it is safe to* say that Taranaki rivers would be numbered amongst the best angling waters of the Dominion. But so long as the poacher is allowed to go unmolested with his plugs of explosive, spear and acetyline lamp and such unsportsmanlike weapons, there will be little chance of the natural increase in trout we are hoping for. If we can “settle” the poacher the eel will never take sufficient toll of trout to materially interfere with the stocking of our str.-Axas.