SUPPLEMENT TO THE FISHING GAZETTE 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1893. 
Ipcovincial Botes 
FROM BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
On Tuesday evening last the members of the Queen’s 
Tavern Angling Society (late Eing of Bells Society) held 
their annual dinner at their new place of meeting, the 
Queen’s Tavern, Queen’s-road, Aston. About thirty- 
five of the members sat down to dinner, which was put 
upon the table in good style by Host Dingley. After the 
dinner was disposed of, Mr. T. Coles was voted to the 
chair, and Mr. J. Qnarterman vice-chair. The toast of 
“ Success to the Queen’s Tavern Anglers ” was given 
by Mr Coles, and responded to by Messrs. Qnarterman 
and White. All these gentlemen, in their remarks, 
spoke to the good step the club had made in re¬ 
moving to a more suitable place of meeting, and all 
expressed the wish that the club would be more 
prosperous in the future than in the past. Some first- 
rate songs were given by the members, whilst Mr. 
Buckley acted as accompanyist. The usual toast of the 
“ Host and Hostess ” was replied to by Host Dingley, 
after which votes of thanks were accorded to the visitors 
and chairman, which were replied to, and “ Auld Lang 
Syne ” brought the evening to a pleasant close. 
The concert and entertainment at the Birmingham 
Arms Hotel, on the 12th inst., was a grand success, 
the large assembly room being crowded to excess. Mr. 
T. Coles presided, and Mr. C. White occupied the vice¬ 
chair. The musical portion of the programme included 
organ, pianoforte, mandoline, and brass band selections. 
The latter item was the chief feature of the evening, 
and great praise is due to Professor Canldfield for the 
manner in which he and his family acquitted themselves. 
During the evening, Mr. Coles addressed the meeting 
upon the benefits of the Birmingham Anglers’ Benevo¬ 
lent Society, after which a collection was made on 
behalf of the society. A vote of thanks to the artists, 
to which Mr. Gamw'ell replied, brought the evening to 
a close. 
The Birmingham Association’s annual dinner, which 
takes place on Wednesday evening next at the head¬ 
quarters, promises to be a big success. An extension of 
time will he granted by the city magistrates. A host of 
first-class talent is engaged to make the evening as 
enjoyable as possible. Invitations have been sent out to 
the chief railway officials, and have been accepted, and 
the committee of management look forward to beating 
all previous records. 
The Small Heath, Highgate Park, and Eose and 
Crown Societies will have to look out or they will have 
the Camden Society pass them in their number of 
members. I visited the Camden club on Saturday 
evening last to see how they were progressing, and I was 
informed by Mr. H. Smith, the secretary, that they had 
made thirty-two members since Jan. 1, these with the 
old members on the books bringing up the total number 
of members to about 150; several other nominations 
were read out to the members. I must congratulate 
the club upon its progress. 
The Eose and Crown Society have decided to hold 
their Bye Contest at Alrewas, in the canal, on March 5. 
All members wishing to take part in the contest must 
give in their names and pay the entrance fee of Is. on 
or before Feb. 28, or they will not be allowed to take 
part in the contest. The entrance fees will be devoted 
to the purchasing of prizes, which will be augmented 
with several prizes given by the members, and a splendid 
marble timepiece and bronze ornaments to match, given 
by the host, Mr. H. Hodgets. I hope the members will 
be favoured with good weather, which will help to make 
the contest a big success. 
The Belmont Society, which hold their meetings at 
the Brunswick Hotel, Lancaster-street, intend holding 
a special concert on 'Tuesday evening next, Feb. 21, in 
aid of the prize fund of the society. A large number 
of artists have proffered their services, and the affair 
bids fair to be a success. Messrs. White and Mack will 
preside and conduct the entertainment. 
FROM DERBYSHIRE. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
The giant pike noticed in last week’s Notes has not 
yet been captured, and appearances, at present, are all 
in favour of his living to fight and afford sport another 
season. The best pike reported for some time was taken 
recently in the Dove, in the Uttoxeter district. I did 
not see the fish myself, but it weighed 201b. It was 
rather a poor fish, and had it been in good condition 
would have weighed a good deal more. This is certainly 
the largest fish taken this year from any of the Derby¬ 
shire rivers, if not the largest actually taken with rod 
and line in the county this season, though one of 191b. 
(reported some time ago) taken in a private pond near 
Derby, runs it pretty close. 
The tributaries have all been too full for angling, and 
tte grayling season may be regarded as practically over. 
There has been no scarcity of fish, but the uncertain 
state of the waters and the frequent occurrence of 
floods have rendered the season only a very partial 
success. Local anglers have, as a matter of fact, been 
most successful, as they were amongst the trout last 
season, from the fact that they were always on the spot 
and able to take advantage of favourable conditions of 
water and weather. In the Matlock and Oromford 
Angling Association’s water for example, the local 
anglers have done fairly well. There is every prospect 
this year that both grayling and pike will spawn early ; 
unlike the trout, all the last-mentioned have not yet 
spawned in the larger streams, though in most of the 
small brooks the operations are finished. The waters of 
the larger tributaries of the Trent have of late been too 
discoloured for observing the fish ; but in the brooks 
they are still long and lank and in miserable condition. 
It will certainly be the middle of April before trout will 
be in anything approaching condition unless we have a 
very early spring and some exceptionally warm weather. 
The demand for trout licences is rather greater than 
usual at this early season of the year, and this is in it¬ 
self a hopeful sign, though, as it is to be feared that 
many people who ought to know better still fish without 
licences, the increase may only be due to the prickings 
of conscience. 
With regard to salmon, I noted last week that a few 
fresh-run fish had been seen in the Beeston district, but 
personally I have as yet seen none in the Trent. I was 
informed, however, when at Weston on Saturday, that 
a very large fish had been showing in the water below 
King's Mills. Considering the extremely favourable 
condition of the water for running, it would be very ex¬ 
traordinary if some fish had not found their way 
up. Should the weather settle there is every pros¬ 
pect of the first fish being taken at a much earlier 
date than last year. In the course of conversation 
with one of the regular canal fishers (men, that 
is to say, who fish every day for the purpose of 
supplying tackle dealers with live bait), he informed me 
that be had recently taken four parr in the canal. He 
promptly cony eyed them to the Trent and put them in. 
Of this I haye no doubt, as he is a thoroughly trust¬ 
worthy man. I mention the incident because it is a bit 
of a mystery to me how these parr get into the cana’. 
There is nothing, of course, to prevent a salmon pene¬ 
trating so far into the canal at the junction of the 
Derwent and the Trent, but they have never, so far as I 
am aware, been seen in the canal, and in any view it 
would not be a natural water for them to take, though 
they have been known to attempt to ascend an overflow 
from the canal somewhere near Wilne weir, though 
these attempts were, no doubt, by reason of the fact 
that the fish had failed in their efforts to get further up 
the Derwent. Parr have frequently been taken in the 
canal between Chellaston and Willington, notably about 
Twyford, and the presumption is that they pass below 
the gates at the various locks. The most important 
aspect of the question is, do these fish succeed in getting 
down again to the main river when they reach the smolt 
stage t The presumption is that many of them do not, 
and yet there is no recorded instance of a land-locked 
salmon having been taken in the canal. Under normal 
conditions, a three-year-old land-locked salmon should 
weigh ilb. or so, but as only parr have been taken, they 
must either die off, or succeed in getting out of the 
canal. 
I had the pleasure last week of being present at the 
netting of a large pond, or small lake, in Derbyshire, 
which has a great reputation for bream, in fact, it may 
be questioned if there is a better pond for bream any¬ 
where. The intention of the owner in running the 
water off and netting it was to remove as many coarse 
fish of every kind from it as possible, with a view to 
stocking it with trout. In three hauls with the net we 
took some thousands of bream, some 300 pike, 2 carp, 
2 tench, 2 perch, and some hundreds of roach. The 
bream were too numerous for the net, large as it was, 
and we could not possibly have taken more. The dis¬ 
appointing part rf the matter was the size of the fish 
taken. They are often taken with the rod in it up to 
51b. and (ilb., and are said to attain the weight of 71b. 
and 81b., but not one of those taken was over 41b., 
though the average size was extremely good. These 
fish were distributed amongst the people of the district. 
The pike, too, were disappointing—none being over 61b., 
though they have been taken by rod as heavy as 25lh. 
The best carp would be about 121b., and the roach were 
large and extremely good fish to come out of a pond. 
The roach and pike were transferred to neighbouring 
ponds and public waters. The whole show of fish was 
something worth going a long way to see. Indeed, I 
question if any of those present had ever seen so many 
fresh-water fish gathered together at one time and 
place. 
So far as the plebiscite in connection with the exten¬ 
sion of the trout season to Oct. 15 has gone, the majority 
seem strongly in favour of it, and I shall not be the least 
surprised if the Trent Board, at its general meeting in 
March, adopt the proposed change. 
At the time of dispatching, the weather, though dull, 
is fine, and if we have no further rain the rivers should 
soon run into order. _ 
FROM FEN DISTRICT (LINCOLNSHIRE). 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
The boisterous weather which prevailed towards the 
end of last tveek greatly militated against sport, and 
very little angling was done on either Thursday or Friday. 
Saturday, however, was more favourable, and I hear of 
two rods, those of Mr. Hambling and Mr. Smith, doing 
good work on the Forty-foot in a reach south of Gunn’s 
Bridge. The gentlemen named began operations at 10a.m., 
and by three o’clock had secured, between them, seven 
pike, weighing respectively 81b., 6Jlb., 61b., 41b. lOoz., 
4jlb., 31b. 8oz., and 2jlb. Both fishermen used natural 
bait, and I believe they have never had a better day in 
the Fens. Another angler, Mr. Kitchen caught two 
nice ones the same day, and lost one further up the 
river. The reports to hand this week show that the pike 
continue to offer capital sport. On Monday Mr. Winter 
and Mr. Pearson, both “ old hands,” had a successful 
day on the Becker side of the Forty-foot, the former 
ta'king four fish, the largest 51b., and the latter three. 
one of 61b. 3oz. being the best. On the same river, 
nearer Boston, Mr. Parker got a 9-pounder this week, 
and another gentleman is reported to have captured one 
of the same weight near Swineshead. 
The Welland. —Numerous anglers have been out this 
week with the trolling bait, and most of them have 
taken pike. The heaviest single fish reported is one of 
8Jlb. ,by a Mr. Dawson. Mr. Green, amongst smaller 
ones, has secured during the last ten days pike weighing 
111b., 81b. 2oz., 71b., (l^lb., and 51b. Mr. Jackson and 
Mr. 'I’rafford have also done well near Stamford. 
The Witham. —The best pikeing on this river can 
undoubtedly be obtained between Lincoln and Boston. 
Mr. Taylor has, this week, captured three near Bardney, 
weighing close upon 201b., and Mr. Bryce landed'a 
brace near Langrick of 131b. the pair. Other anglers 
have also done uncommonly well, but the above weight.! 
are the best recorded this week. 
FRCM HAMPSHIRE AND DISTRICT. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
The Marsh Court Estate, with excellent fishing rig'uts 
upon some of the best trout and grayling waters of 
Hampshire, was sold on Friday last, and realised 
.£7,500. 
Several Itchin trout have lately been found dead 
in the College Mill pond at Winchester. They have 
been examined closely by a Field expert, but no cause 
for death has been found, although it has been locally 
ascribed to poisoning. They were fine fish, and 
averaged 2Jlb. each, one, a female, being full of eggs 
well developed. 
A strange capture has just been made in t'ue Solent, 
between Eyde and Portsmouth. A large swan was 
noticed in the water, and after an exciting chase it wa.! 
captured, and brought to Portsmouth Harbour pier, 
where it was kept a prisoner. The swan was a powerfa 
wild bird. 
The Itchen is justly celebrated for it.s grayling, and 
at various stages along the river they are to be met 
with, and can often be found at Twyford and Bambridge. 
Trout are pretty plentiful, both in the Itchin and the 
Test. October is the best period for the grayling, but 
trout fishing will be commenced almost directly. 
Considerable poaching is being carried on in the local 
streams by the light-fingered gentry, with the aid of 
nets. The authorities, however, are pretty brisk, and if 
caught. Master Poacher can rely upon getting proper 
attention from the magistrates. Only the other day, a 
policeman might have been seen eagerly engaged in 
searching a well-known “ snatcher,” but although he 
was found to have unmistakeable signs of having been 
among the trout, none were found upon him. 
St. Valentine is recognised, locally, as the commence¬ 
ment of the season, but most anglers prefer to wait a 
few weeks longer before plying their rods. 
FROM LANCASHIRE. 
To the Editor of the Fishing Gazette. 
An old association has been resuscitated under the 
title of The Old Preseverance Angling Society, having 
its headquarters at the Blue Bell, Oldbam-road, Man 
Chester. The first executive is as follows ; President, 
Mr. Wm. Mawdesley ; vie s-presilent, Mr. J. Fitton; 
treasurer, Mr. F. Blundell; secretary', Mr. AV. H. 
Harris ; committee, Messrs. James Fitton, F. Hartley, 
and T. Hamilton. The society is to be c.irried on for 
the sport in its broadest character, and liberal support 
is to be given to every movement tending to elevate or 
extend the art of angling. 
The King’s Head Angling Society held a very suc¬ 
cessful business meeting on the 8th. twenty-one members 
attending. Mr. Welch occupied the chair, and it was 
announced during the evening that the first contest of 
the club is to be held in a few week's time, towar s 
which voluntary prizes bad been given by seven gentle 
men. The club is progressing steadily, and doubtless 
will render a good account of itself in the future. 
The Worsley Canal Fishery Board held a meeting on 
the 8th inst. for the transaction of ordinary business, a 
lengthy agenda being under consideration. It has been 
generally understood that some alteration would be 
necessary in the price of the season tickets for the 
coming season, but the board of management, after 
taking into consideration the fact of the late period last 
season when they began operations, have decided to try 
one more season on the old lines, and be guided by re¬ 
sults in the price to be charged in the future. Intend¬ 
ing visitors are reminded that from this date they must 
provide themselves with tickets before commencing to 
fish, or in all probability they will find themselves in the 
position of trespassers. Arrangements will be made for 
the sale of tickets at every available place possible. 
The Manchester anglers are at present in a better 
position for obtaining fishing than at any former period, 
and with a little combination and enterprise can develop 
two good resorts into as attractive waters as any body 
of men need wish for in the coarse fishing line. AVe 
refer to the Worsley Canal Fishery and the AV'haley 
Bridge Eeservoir. It is an open secret that the former 
was a financial failure last year, but let us hope, for the 
credit of Manchester fishermen, that they will remove 
this state of things in the coming season by liberally 
supporting both ventures. 
A fine specimen pike, considering the water, has been 
taken from Boynton Pool by Mr. H. Brickwood, of the 
Mechanics’ Arms Angling Society, Heaton Norris, its 
weight is lOjlb., and measures exactly 36in. long, and 
its various proportions are so beautiful that it is to be 
set up. The capture is the talk of the club, Nr. Brick- 
wood being a very popular angler. 
