Origin of Tenkara Style Fishing
Tenkara (Japanese traditional fly fishing) is now established as one of the major fishing styles in the freshwater fishing market in Japan. Many people are enjoying this in many types of streams, where main target fish live. In Japan, there are even artificial fisheries dedicated to Tenkara. Though this fishing style can be applied to […]
Why so many kinds of hooks in Japan?
There are many kinds of hooks in Japan. Since angling became a kind of a leisure activity in the Edo period, there came a lot of shapes of hooks. In a fishing guide book, Kasenroku, written in 1723, the author recorded the various kinds of hooks. This book was written by an author who lived […]
Angling for Kurodai, Blackhead Seabream
Kurodai has been a very popular target fish for anglers. This fish lives close to the shore, dwells in various types of coast, and feeds on many kinds of food sources. It makes the fish a good game fish, for which anglers try to catch in various fishing methods. Species Kurodai (Blackhead seabream, Acanthopagrus schlegelii) […]
Japan’s Favorite Fish; Madai
Tai is the favorite fish for Japanese people. There are many fish called -tai or -dai (“dai” is the variant pronunciation of “tai”, so here tai and dai means the same.) There are Kuro-dai, Me-dai, Fuefuki-dai, etc. You can say that Tai is the typical image of fish for Japanese people. And it is highly […]
Fishing for Kue, the King of Iso
The goliath grouper is the big entertainment on YouTube. But Japan has monster groupers, too. One of the most prestigious targets is a fish called Kue (Longtooth grouper, Epinephelus bruneus). There are several ways to catch Kue. Iso (rocky coast) fishing (cast-and-wait style, called Sokomono fishing) and offshore boat fishing. Since the uniqueness of the […]
Fishing with Tai Rubber
Fishing with Tai Rubber, often called Eye Drop Jig, is one of the very popular lures to catch red seabream or Madai (Pagrus Major.) In this article, I would like to introduce the tackle, history and a bit of tips to select Tai Rubber. What is Tai Rubber? Tai Rubber is a special type of […]
Sea Bass Fisihing in Tokyo Bay
Sea bass is a very popular target fish for anglers in Tokyo. It is accessible and a great game fish to catch. Please let me explain about this fish for you. Photo from this link. The species and distribution What we call sea bass can be seen in many parts of the world. Among them, […]
Herabuna Fishing
In Herabuna fishing, you can find the roots of angling in Japan. The fish, rod, rigs, and baits all are reflecting the typical Japanese style of angling. Currently Herabuna fishing (or Hera fishing) is enjoyed by many enthusiasts. There are artificial ponds dedicated to this fish. Many natural lakes, ponds and rivers have Herabuna, also. Let […]
One Perspective on Tenkara and Fly Fishing in Japan, part 1
(This is the translation of the preface in 「読んではいけない毛バリ釣りの真実」(Trapping Truth about Fishing with Fly), Hisao Ishigaki, 2000, Ningensya Publishing.) Tenkara and fly fishing are like half-brothers, because both use the hook with feathers, though they are born in different lands, Japan and Europe. This is my opinion, but some fly fishermen say that fly fishing […]
Black bass fishing in Japan
Introduction Black bass fishing is one of the most popular fishing art in Japan. Here I would like to describe how and why it is so. And some of the typical techniques for bass fishing will be introduced. History of Black bass in Japan Black bass (large mouth bass, Micropterus psalmodies) is not the native […]