Like salmon fishing, the most important technique in catching migrating
fish is to locate them. And not just the simple quantity, but those aggressive
fish ready to bite.
The day is short up north in H'kaido and it gets dark as early as 5p.m.
here in the eastern most point of Japan. Not having a torch light with
us, we were hurrying back to the car.
It was then, we ran into a shallow pool where big amemasu were pushing
and shoving each other claiming their own territory. Being a peace loving
person, I had to walk in to settle the dispute.
My first fish was also not bad.
At 53cm she was about the average. But considering it actually is a grown
up version of those timid little Iwana char, we cannot admire the wonder
of the nature.
We took the first flight off from Hiroshima to hitch a ride at Tokyo Haneda
airport.
Tokyo bay directly under our nose is a fascinating fishery in its own right.
A handsome trophy of 27inches in length, t dwarfs a double hand rod as
if it was a twig!
Often you find numbers of fish in big deep pools. But they tend to be fish
taking a rest or simply inactive. It is far more productive to look for
a school of fish positioned in a reasonably fast current. They are the
ones, when a fly drifts into their face, that would bite than dodge.
A nice Amemasu of 59cm. Not a bad start.
A fantastic straight road typical of the area.
What a free wheeling feeling, if it hadn't been a police car slowing us
down.
Off to Hokkaido anyhow. Kushiro in the north east of Hokkaido was blessed
with a perfect blue sky.
Our annual trip to Hokkaido in early Oct. Unlike that of the previous year
when we got hit by a nasty typhoon, this time we were promised with a week
of sunny Indian summer.
The approach of the darkness (and the sure fire presence of grizzly bears)
forced us to retreat.
A great eating out on Kushiro's fisherman's wharf. Place the pointer on
the pic to check out what you can buy for mere $10!!
H'kaido in Autumn - 2
'10 H'kaido in Autumn - 1Our target this time is sea run Amemasu, white spotted char, aka Umiame.
Statistics suggests they are growing bigger in the last decade or so, though
ironically enough, that is caused by the degradation of their fresh water
habitat forcing them to migrate to the sea earlier than before - that's
one of the theory.
Whatever the truth, must to make the best of the precious rare occurrence.
And early October is the best time to tangle up with the big ones.
As if to tease ourselves for a moment, we made a brief stop at the rest
house in Shiraoi. A bowl of charcoal grilled pork is the local speciality.
