THE WHAREAMA RIVER AND MR AYSON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9049, 7 February 1908, Page 5

THE WHAREAMA RIVER AND MR AYSON.

(To the Editor). Sir, —In your issue of yesterday, Mr Ayson told the story of his experiences of the Whareama as a fishing ground, and truly it was a tale of woe. Here is another side to the picture. For the past twenty years I have, at different times, exploited the Whareama for fish, and at all periods of the year the supply was unlimited. During the whole of one year I practically supplied the Wairarapa with fish—the best of moki, schnapper, soles, mullet, and flounder". In a single catch I have taken as many as 300 flounders. The fishing ground is an ideal one, as fish can be taken in great quantities from the mouth of the river to a distance of ten miles up. The bar, at high tide, has from twelve to fifteen feet of water, quite sufficient for a boat suitable for the work in every day in the week. My experience of fishing and fishing grounds extends over a period of thirty years, and for a long time I worked on trawlers in the Meditteranean, and I ( never struck a better fishing ground than the Whareama. Of course, a proper plant is necessary to work the ground, and access is required through Kohiwai. Mr Ayson might tell us where he got his experience from, and the nature of the plant used by him in testing the Whareama. His statement appears to be the outcome of a general surmise, rather than a decision arrived at after a practical test. Last year myself and my boy supplied Mr Maltby,of Masterton, with fresh fish, and in less than three months he paid us over £7O for the same. Quite two-thirds of the fish we left the river with was spoilt ;n the course of transit to Masterton, through having to pack it over eighteen miles over a very heavy road, whereas if the Government would acquire the, road being agitated fo~, fish could be landed in Masterton three and a-half hours after they were caught. Mr Ayson makes a comparison of the Whareama and Castlepoint as a tourist resort, and "taboos" the former on account of the sharks that abound there. The Whareama beach is one of the prettiest spots on the coast, and there is a big plantation and a never-failing stream of purest water . close by. It is a magnificent spot as a holiday resort. If sharks abound at Whareama (as per Mr Ayson), why not at Castlepoint, which is only six miles distant? When we get the road through Kohiwai, no, doubt, Mr Ayson will stick to the Napier supply. But before he gets his supply from there residents in Wairarapa and Wellington will have enjoyed their daily flounders for breakfast, caught in the Whareama only a few hours before. If Mr Ayson is wise he will join a company shortly to be formed in Masterton to supply the Wairarapa with fish > from the Whareama, and I can guarantee that if he does so the first year's operations will return him in the way of profits the stupendous loss he incurred in testing the Whareama with a trout lina and a few fish-hooks. —Yours very truly, H. COLE. Lincoln Road, Masterton.