THE SALMON FAMILY 183 



rise. My note-book shows a capital season's sport, brought to 

 a great climax of two days on the Waiau River. This river is 

 comparatively unknown, even to New Zealand anglers, but it 

 is an angler's paradise. Before going, I had been advised to 

 take extra strong gear and long line ; I thought eighty yards 

 would do, but I required a special line of one hundred and fifty 

 yards. It is hard to describe fishing on the Waiau. The river 

 itself is a very big one ; I should judge it to be at least one 

 hundred and thirty yards across, deep and swift, yet with some 

 splendid ripples. On the night of my arrival I went out at 

 about eight o'clock, lit a huge fire on the shingle with big 

 driftwood, and started. My first fish was about 10 lb., and a 

 nice job it was trying to gaff him in the flickering light from 

 the fire. It is all very well to write about it, but I should like 

 to see some of your readers having the fun. It is not an easy 

 matter to land a 10 lb. trout of a fast river even in the daytime, 

 but at night it is a caution. However, by twelve o'clock I 

 had landed fifteen fish, weighing T04 lb., and lost four supposed 

 to be extra strong casts ; goodness knows what size the fish 

 were that broke my casts, but had they not broken my casts 

 the line must have gone. The following day I caught seventeen 

 fish, averaging 6 lb., and lost another cast, apparently in exactly 

 the same way as overnight ; the fish took the minnow, and 

 made straight for the opposite bank, did not go up or down 

 stream, but straight across. With a salmon rod, and the 

 strongest gut procurable, I could do nothing with these very 

 big ones, but have made up my mind to find out how big they 

 are next season, by having a line which will reach across this 

 river. As for sport, it is not to be beaten. If any of your 

 readers desire exciting angling, let them try the Waiau River in 

 January or February. My experience is not by any means an 

 unusual one ; many of the local fishermen tell the same story. 

 — C. H. Osmond, Dunedin^ N.Z.^ June yd, 1902." 



A remarkable change has manifested itself not only in the 



