Fly fishing in Hokkaido, the Trout paradise
Trout fishing in Hokkaido !
“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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