When Ayu is around, seabass cannot be far behind.

Seabass are nocturnal creature but, interestingly, they are more active in the broad daylight when chasing Ayu - probably because Ayu run up the river during the day.

Fishing in the warmth of sun is sweet, particularly after having braved many a chilly nights.

Lighted jetties are obvious good spots, predators hiding in the shadows shooting out when a prey drifts by. Fish in such place tend to be well educated. First cast is of paramount importance.

Warm rain and rising water coinciding with big tide is the key ingredients of the success. A serious fisherman must be prepared at all times, ready to shut down the lap top and shoot off to the field.

In late April I managed one decent fish of 70cm, and some medium ones 50-60cm thanks to the monsoon rain later in June.

This game tends to be hit & miss, as it's dependent on those small baits that cannot swim much. They get blown by the winds this way that way, predicting the nigh's hot spots is not easy - but once in a while, the planets line up.

Illuminated strips of water right along the big bridges are their dinner tables. Sneaking up close with a fly rod in hand, I enjoyed many an intimate nights in the most unscenic places.

- Bream games

In the urban waters of Hiroshima center, I enjoyed several nights of red hot seabass action. Well, the primary target was Mebaru, a kind of Rock fish I mention later but we saw unusually thick schools of hungry seabass this year.

Mostly small around 30cms, but occasional adult ones put up thrilling battles on the light fly tackle.

Mebaru games

Yet another seasonal game I look forward to is flyfishing for Mebaru, a Japanese rock fish. They are shy fish that live in deeper water but, like snapper, come to the shallows in spring night, gorging on the shrimps and crustaceans a.k.a 'microbaits' pumped up into the urban waterways.

April sees the migration of baby Ayu, running up the rivers where they spend the summer to mature. They were very scarce in 2022 to the worries of us all, but the number seemed to have recovered somewhat this spring in 2023.

Red snappers normally live in deeper water, but in spring they occasionally come up to the shallows chasing delicious white baits. I managed a decent snapper of 55cm, the very first one I caught from the beach.

Seabass games

Baby squid and white baits are the favorite meals for these seabass in spring. Size tends to be modest averaging 50-60cms, but I managed a rare trophy - 80cm big mama, safely returned of course.

Spring came early this year making for a good start of the season. From mid May to mid July I was busy preparing for the upcoming relocation but managed some successful bream games nevertheless. At the beginning of August we left for Canada - ending up with only 35 outings though can't complain.

3 full years since our return from Russia, we enjoyed fishing our home waters to our hearts' content.

There came yet another chance to live abroad, in Canada. We made the best use of the few months left - chasing our favourite playmates as we always do anyhow!