After nine months in Japan I finally managed to get a chance to go fishing. Not the wilderness experience I was thinking of when I first arrived in Japan, but a fish is a fish. I only brought my light flyfishing gear to Japan so I was "forced" to buy an eight weight outfit with the expectation that I would be getting some invitations to head out to some of the lakes near Tokyo for a spot of bass fishing and also trips out on Tokyo bay to chase larger flathead and other ocean species.
With all of my equipment arriving I was a little toey to get out and wet a line and one of the guys I work with was talking about chasing seabass in the canals near where I live and I thought why not?
The first thing is that you need to fish on the ebbing tide with a full moon, apparently, so that means late nights. After leaving home around eight I walked the thirty minutes to the canals and while crossing one of the roads got this great view of Tokyo tower.
It's a surreal expereince casting along the walls of these canals (where the seabass are supposed to live and ambush any struggling worms) while bullet trains and monorails are travelling over head. After trying a spot where I saw a few fish moving and missed a few subtle takes I decided to head to another area where I had previously seen fish. While walking along the side of the canal I passed loads of people and not one of them looked at me strangely. Thinking about it I figure if people can hop on trains and sit in the corner dressed as dogs or women can be led around the streets on leashes a guy carrying a fly rod in the middle of the night could almost be considered the norm.
At this spot I was fishing for about 15 minutes and looked up to see about a dozen people on the bridge behind me watching me fish. They stayed there for about 30 minutes, no pressure and I always thought there was plenty to do in Tokyo.
I was just considering heading home when I hooked up to a grey mullet - not what I was expecting. After playing the fish for five minutes I looked around and figured that landing the fish would be a challenge given the height of the canal banks. I managed to lie down and reach into the canal and grab the fish but as I was standing up I managed to lose it back into the canal - so no photo (though I did manage to get a photo from another source of a similar fish). I also managed to control my disappointment to express it in a word that was a lot more socially acceptable than some that may have been used in similar situations in the past. I am now the proud owner of a landing net that has an extendable two metre handle - no more escapees.
5:41 PM |
Category:
Fishing
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Comments (2)
Wow! Great pictures of Tokyo! Your best so far I would say. Maybe because of the city lights and water reflection or maybe because of the full moon inspiration.
What did you use to catch the famous fish that managed to escape you? An expensive Royal Wullf?
Thank you - Night time in Tokyo is colourful and bright. No - no royal wulff just a little bait fish imitation.