October

Visited Lake Kussharo, in north-east Hokkaido.

Now this is an even more serious lake, with 57kms way around in the middle of a wilderness, which belongs to rich wildlife including 'Higuma', Grizzlies.

Fishing in such big water is never easy, but in late Autumn fish come nearer to the shore to feed on the wind-blown beetles. Very rare but there were catches of 70cm+ monster rainbows on record. reason enough to invite flyfishers from all Japan!

We eventually managed two fish. In fact, Sayuri my better half saved the day on her modest sized muddler minnow.

Our favourite is this rental cycling boat. Looks childish (and indeed it is) but does a great job exploring the numerous arms of the lake's branches, or to venture into this giant water fountain - on a hot day only!

- Next

September

We drove up to a big lake higher up in the Hiroshima's back mountains. With circumference of 30kms, quite a few places we can explore in a canoe.

Mid July

The monsoon clouds still lingering on, we went again for our 'easier choice'.

But for some reason it wasn't easy this afternoon. Too much rain had sunken the fish deeper perhaps, while lure fishermen were catching well, we couldn't invite them for a surface luncheon.

Mid June

A cloudy, perfect bass weather again.

This time I sized up the tackle to go for the grown-ups. An 8wt rod with #9 line casts a big #1/0 streamer comfortably in the air.. A hard presentation near a panicking school of bait fish produced this handsome 46cm.

Small but healthy population of Amego trout exist, as well as rainbow trout, which are released and managed with the effort of local angling fans.

On this day the temperature was too high for the trout and we could only say hi to a baby bass - here again.

October

Back from the northern land, it's still cheerfully warm in good old Hiroshima. We visited lake 'Yasaka', in the western end of Hiroshima.

This is our region's yet another popular bass lake. We often see American bassers stationed in the US military base in the nearby city of Iwakuni.

June

Went to Haji reservoir in the north of Hiroshima. One of the most famous bass venue in the western Japan, hosting the annual bass pro games.

The backwater, where Go-no-kawa river flows in, is a productive big fish spot early in the morning. Our catch? Well, we were just a tad too late!

End May

Cloudy sky is perfect for bass fishing.

In the areas around Hiroshima we have lakes and ponds at various altitudes, allowing us to take a pick depending on the day's condition. This dam is at an elevation of 300meters above sea, with bass still in spring feeding.

The surface water was 20c, perfect for top water games.

Bass fishing being so popular, most fish can tell lures by the brand names. But flyfishing for bass has not spread as widely yet, and we can still greet these curious ones, though they do tend to be smaller than on lures.