From Haneda airport in transit, we saw the silhouette of Mt. Fuji, beyond
the industrial port of Tokyo. Still some more heat of summer in the mainland
Japan.
- Back
We called it a short day, packed up wet waders and all, drove to Nakashibetsu
airport and made it just in time.
A nice female fish also. We could only thank the timely rain, without which
we would have missed out the party completely.
A handsome male fish for me too.
Meanwhile I fished with a double hand. Though it may look a tad overkill
for the river's modest size, the longer reach is a help for longer drift.
Drove back to Nakashibetsu.
Gyoza dumplings go very well with beer.
Sure enough, the pools which had been occupied by the pinks were now claimed by fresh run chums a.k.a dog salmon.
A small female one to start the party.
Chuurui river where we fished under a blue sky 2 days ago now looked quite
different in cold rain. But we fishermen know that is an good omen, especially
for salmon fishing.
With the Kombu (sea weed) harvesting over, all the fishermen's shacks were
closed by now. Shame we couldn't meet Kuro the watch dog, she too had moved
home till next summer.
Anyhow salmon were running thick right along the beach. Sayuri was quick
to nail one down.
Sayuri's next game was a fish of a different class. Seconds after the hook
up, Chum salmon reveals its identity with flashes of its brown body colour.
An angler must make the best use of the precious few seconds before the fish starts their frantic charge, to look around, secure footholds, reel in the loose line and prepare oneself for the dog fight.
Day 4 - the day to fly home. We had a choice of sleeping late or waking
up early to go fishing. After much contemplating I decided for the latter.
The solid rain that started in late evening was what improved our morale.
A great fun on a light rod.
Sayuri loves pinks in saltwater, a game that requires a combination of
fish sighting and accurate casting.
Another important thing is choice of the fly. Because pink salmon spends
their lives eating small shrimps and crustaceans, small streamers in pink,
on a hook size #8 seem to work the best.
Day 3 we drove up to Shiretoko.
The numerous streams running into the sea was now packed with pink salmon
on their return journey.
Fresh run chums are no ordinary dogs. They are stately game that can break
rods in ill prepared hands.
'11 H'kaido in Autumn - 2Another fresh run specimen.
Our quarries were karafutomasu only but a solid fish like this did not
fail to impress.
