Fly fishing in Hokkaido, the Trout paradise

Trout fishing in Hokkaido !

JAPAN’S northern island lies under snow from November to April, but in summer Hokkaido hums to the sound of cicadas and bees, while foxes, deer and bears make the most of the fleeting sunshine. The warmer months are also peak season for the trout and salmon that make fly-fishing in Hokkaido one of Japan’s best-kept secrets.

 

 Fly bait fishing in Hokkaido, Peche a la mouche a Hokkaido, Truite du Japon a Hokkaido, Trout in Hokkaido, River fishing tour

“Japanese are passionate about fishing”

Japanese are passionate about fishing, but imagined it to be a cheek-by-jowl affair carried out in pre-stocked ponds. That you can cast into a crystal-clear lake on Hokkaido, and parts of the main island of Honshu, with few other anglers around, came as a surprise.

While itoh is a native species, >t’s the introduced rainbow trout that offers the best fly-fishing in Hokkaido. Throughout summer these trout feed voraciously on cicadas, spiders, bees, wasps and caterpillars — whatever drops into the water.

Tying on a cicada-patterned fly about the size of a cigarette lighter and watching as it’s gulped down by an impressively sized trout in a gin-clear stream is about as good as it gets in this sport. Landing a fish is not a given, however — they are powerful creatures, having bulked up over summer thanks to a conveyor belt of insects drifting down the river. Despite Hokkaido’s proximity to Siberia, summer can be surprisingly benign, and an enticing calendar of fly-fishing opportunities has evolved.

 June, on beautiful Lake Akan in Akan National Park on the island’s eastern side, a large species of mayfly emerges from the bottom of the lake and squirms about enticingly on the surface for a few seconds before taking to the air. It creates a feeding frenzy for the fish, a native salmonid species called amemasu, or white-spotted char.

Checklist
Fishing in Hokkaido is best between May and November, and temperatures are most comfortable from June to October. A guide is not essential, but advisable, as there is little information available in English and a licence might be required depending on the area.

Please contact us if you are interested in Fishing tour in Hokkaido !

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