The PCS Blogosphere
Tuna on the Move
As we were rigging our tackle two days prior to our yellowfin tuna trip, Mr. Hayashi showed me the fish he had recently landed--an 88 pound yellowfin tuna with long yellow fins.
That got me all pumped up for our trip, but the next two days saw the main body of larger (45 to 80 lb.) yellowfin tuna move way up the line, out of one day reach. Still hoping for a shot at the fish, six of us departed from Wagu, Mie Prefecture.
As we were rigging our tackle two days prior to our yellowfin tuna trip, Mr. Hayashi showed me the fish he had recently landed--an 88 pound yellowfin tuna with long yellow fins.
That got me all pumped up for our trip, but the next two days saw the main body of larger (45 to 80 lb.) yellowfin tuna move way up the line, out of one day reach. Still hoping for a shot at the fish, six of us departed from Wagu, Mie Prefecture.
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Jumbo Local Yellowfin Tuna are here!
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Each year, the Pacific side of Japan's main Island of Honshu sees a local run of schoolie yellowfin tuna similar in size to the one-day tuna the SoCal anglers catch. These fish are from 10 to 25 pounds, and are fun on light popping tackle.
Each year, the Pacific side of Japan's main Island of Honshu sees a local run of schoolie yellowfin tuna similar in size to the one-day tuna the SoCal anglers catch. These fish are from 10 to 25 pounds, and are fun on light popping tackle.
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Getting Ready!
Although we fish offshore year-round here in central Japan, due to the warm Japanese Current, many make the most out of the "summer" season's variety of offshore fish. Our season has gotten off to a slow start due to cooler-than-normal water temperatures in my area. Depending on how far offshore you go, the water temperature is hovering around the 20 degree C (68F) range. Typically, the middle of June sees 21 to 23 (70 to 73.4 F) water temperatures.
I had a half day to kill, so I drove down to Wakayama Prefecture to talk with the commercial fisherman.
Although we fish offshore year-round here in central Japan, due to the warm Japanese Current, many make the most out of the "summer" season's variety of offshore fish. Our season has gotten off to a slow start due to cooler-than-normal water temperatures in my area. Depending on how far offshore you go, the water temperature is hovering around the 20 degree C (68F) range. Typically, the middle of June sees 21 to 23 (70 to 73.4 F) water temperatures.
I had a half day to kill, so I drove down to Wakayama Prefecture to talk with the commercial fisherman.
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Sea of Japan Jigging
The weather outlook for our yellowtail trip out of Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan did not look good--6 to 10 foot swells, with plenty of wind, with heavy rain all day. We checked in with the captain of the "Korine" the night before at 7p.m., and he said it was a go, but to bring full slicker gear.
Only nine of us showed up at the boat, which can comfortably fish twenty anglers.
We boarded, and left the harbor at 22 knots, which quickly was reduced to 15, then to ten knots. We made it about halfway out to the 50-fathom pinnacles, when we started taking green water over the wheelhouse. The captain announced that we might have to turn back before we made the edge of the bank, but skillfully worked the throttles on the big twin screw Yanmars, so the ride was not that bad. All nine of us stayed in the lower salon area, and kept the heater on to stay warm.
The Sea of Japan side of Japan is much colder, and has much rougher sea conditions, on average, than the Pacific Ocean side.
My plan for the day was to use California style tackle--a 90 J with a Trinidad, loaded with spectra, topped off with a 50 lb. topshot of fluoro. I had brought some straight wind Salas, Tady, and Kicker jigs. Since last year, I have been using Unibutter (another similar product will work fine) on my yo yo iron, and butterfly jigs.
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The weather outlook for our yellowtail trip out of Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan did not look good--6 to 10 foot swells, with plenty of wind, with heavy rain all day. We checked in with the captain of the "Korine" the night before at 7p.m., and he said it was a go, but to bring full slicker gear.
Only nine of us showed up at the boat, which can comfortably fish twenty anglers.
We boarded, and left the harbor at 22 knots, which quickly was reduced to 15, then to ten knots. We made it about halfway out to the 50-fathom pinnacles, when we started taking green water over the wheelhouse. The captain announced that we might have to turn back before we made the edge of the bank, but skillfully worked the throttles on the big twin screw Yanmars, so the ride was not that bad. All nine of us stayed in the lower salon area, and kept the heater on to stay warm.
The Sea of Japan side of Japan is much colder, and has much rougher sea conditions, on average, than the Pacific Ocean side.
My plan for the day was to use California style tackle--a 90 J with a Trinidad, loaded with spectra, topped off with a 50 lb. topshot of fluoro. I had brought some straight wind Salas, Tady, and Kicker jigs. Since last year, I have been using Unibutter (another similar product will work fine) on my yo yo iron, and butterfly jigs.
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Anatomy of a Japanese Jig Fisherman
Soon after I moved to Japan twenty years ago, I was invited to go "jig fishing" for Japanese yellowtail. Having grown up in Southern California, and later received my 100 ton Masters License and run sport boats, "jig fishing" to me was a 9 or 10 foot surface iron rod, and a yo yo iron workhorse, my favorite being a Truline D8. I showed up with these two rods, and a handful of 6X jigs, and a few surface iron.
The first thing I noticed when I boarded the boat was all the spinning reels, and really short (by California standards) rods. To make a long story short, the day passed with all on board catching a few yellowtail, even the "foreigner" with the long rods.
Since that day, I have studied the way the Japanese fish jigs, which is almost exclusively a vertical presentation. Some ask me which is better, the way we do it in California, or the "butterfly" method, as it has become known. I have seen it where I could not buy a strike on the traditional straight grind yo yo method, and vice versa. In the end, I think it is best to be versatile--have a lot of different arrows in your quiver.
Rather than show you my tackle, I went by a Japanese friend's house, and asked to borrow his gear, so I could photographs and explain it to you here.
Soon after I moved to Japan twenty years ago, I was invited to go "jig fishing" for Japanese yellowtail. Having grown up in Southern California, and later received my 100 ton Masters License and run sport boats, "jig fishing" to me was a 9 or 10 foot surface iron rod, and a yo yo iron workhorse, my favorite being a Truline D8. I showed up with these two rods, and a handful of 6X jigs, and a few surface iron.
The first thing I noticed when I boarded the boat was all the spinning reels, and really short (by California standards) rods. To make a long story short, the day passed with all on board catching a few yellowtail, even the "foreigner" with the long rods.
Since that day, I have studied the way the Japanese fish jigs, which is almost exclusively a vertical presentation. Some ask me which is better, the way we do it in California, or the "butterfly" method, as it has become known. I have seen it where I could not buy a strike on the traditional straight grind yo yo method, and vice versa. In the end, I think it is best to be versatile--have a lot of different arrows in your quiver.
Rather than show you my tackle, I went by a Japanese friend's house, and asked to borrow his gear, so I could photographs and explain it to you here.
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Electric Reels
Electric reels have been around forever, and are mostly used for deep drop/bottom fish.
The past ten years has seen "Temochi-Concept" electric reels that are designed to be much smaller, and held (Temochi) rather than mounted on rods set in rod holders.
These reels are used for super high speed jigging in Japan for buri and hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail) amberjack, wahoo, and their smaller cousins, the sawara (like a Sierra, or Cero Mackerel).
The first time I saw these type of reels in use was about ten years ago, in the Sea of Japan. We were fishing for sawara and yellowtail, and one guy with a small electric reel was getting bit way more than anyone on the boat. I watched him do his thing-he put the reel on about 1\2 max speed, and as the 150 gram jig screamed up from the bottom, he would use either a regular "fast pitch" jerking action, or an irregular action. The water was very clear, and I could see how fast the jig was moving--I estimated about three times faster than what I could do with my 6:1 gear ratio reels.
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Electric reels have been around forever, and are mostly used for deep drop/bottom fish.
The past ten years has seen "Temochi-Concept" electric reels that are designed to be much smaller, and held (Temochi) rather than mounted on rods set in rod holders.
These reels are used for super high speed jigging in Japan for buri and hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail) amberjack, wahoo, and their smaller cousins, the sawara (like a Sierra, or Cero Mackerel).
The first time I saw these type of reels in use was about ten years ago, in the Sea of Japan. We were fishing for sawara and yellowtail, and one guy with a small electric reel was getting bit way more than anyone on the boat. I watched him do his thing-he put the reel on about 1\2 max speed, and as the 150 gram jig screamed up from the bottom, he would use either a regular "fast pitch" jerking action, or an irregular action. The water was very clear, and I could see how fast the jig was moving--I estimated about three times faster than what I could do with my 6:1 gear ratio reels.
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Winter Hamachi (Japanese Yellowtail) Jigging
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
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Successful Designs
For the third trip in a row, today's yellowtail trip to the Sea of Japan was canceled due to weather.
The express way had been closed recently due to heavy snow, but opened up yesterday.
Getting to the harbor was no problem, but the 12 to 15 foot seas, with 20 to 30 knots of wind meant another reschedule.
Since I had taken the day(s) off from work, and could not go fishing, I spent time going over my tackle, and winding on new line. I have also been working on some topwater lures made from balsa and cedar, that I plan to use for both dorado and yellowtail here in Japan. So, I thought I would share a couple of designs that have been good for me the past few years in both the Pacific Ocean, and the Sea of Japan.
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For the third trip in a row, today's yellowtail trip to the Sea of Japan was canceled due to weather.
The express way had been closed recently due to heavy snow, but opened up yesterday.
Getting to the harbor was no problem, but the 12 to 15 foot seas, with 20 to 30 knots of wind meant another reschedule.
Since I had taken the day(s) off from work, and could not go fishing, I spent time going over my tackle, and winding on new line. I have also been working on some topwater lures made from balsa and cedar, that I plan to use for both dorado and yellowtail here in Japan. So, I thought I would share a couple of designs that have been good for me the past few years in both the Pacific Ocean, and the Sea of Japan.
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Escolar in Wakayama, Japan
Escolar, or oilfish, are found throughout the Pacific Ocean, and are sometimes caught off Mexico on 2-day-plus trips. I usually make two or three trips a year in the fall, which is high season for these fish. I have made all my trips out of Shizuoka Prefecture, which is considered the "Mecca" of Escolar fishing. My best to date is 81.4 pounds. I heard of a boat to the south in Wakayama Prefecture called the Yoyomaru, that has taken several escolar over the 100-pound mark, so I set up a charter.
Here is a pic of one that a customer on the Yoyomaru caught that went over 100 pounds and was over 6 feet long.
Escolar, or oilfish, are found throughout the Pacific Ocean, and are sometimes caught off Mexico on 2-day-plus trips. I usually make two or three trips a year in the fall, which is high season for these fish. I have made all my trips out of Shizuoka Prefecture, which is considered the "Mecca" of Escolar fishing. My best to date is 81.4 pounds. I heard of a boat to the south in Wakayama Prefecture called the Yoyomaru, that has taken several escolar over the 100-pound mark, so I set up a charter.
Here is a pic of one that a customer on the Yoyomaru caught that went over 100 pounds and was over 6 feet long.
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Fishing the river mouths for Japanese seabass (suzuki)
Every year about this time, the seabass mover from the inner harbor to the river mouths to gorge on the abundant baitfish. What has been different about the pattern this year, is that in addition to catching seabass and mullet, we are also catching giant carp and funa (Japanese flat, short carp).
Not snagging--these fish are eating our seabass lures, such as the Ito 110 Jerkbaits, and 60-gram butterfly type jigs.
I met up with my crew, and I opted to fish a Cali-style 5-inch swimbait, with a 5/0 leadhead. I got two small seabass right off the bat, and was feeling pretty good that my Old Skool Cali swimmie was doing OK when up against some of the Japanese high tech lures.
Every year about this time, the seabass mover from the inner harbor to the river mouths to gorge on the abundant baitfish. What has been different about the pattern this year, is that in addition to catching seabass and mullet, we are also catching giant carp and funa (Japanese flat, short carp).
Not snagging--these fish are eating our seabass lures, such as the Ito 110 Jerkbaits, and 60-gram butterfly type jigs.
I met up with my crew, and I opted to fish a Cali-style 5-inch swimbait, with a 5/0 leadhead. I got two small seabass right off the bat, and was feeling pretty good that my Old Skool Cali swimmie was doing OK when up against some of the Japanese high tech lures.
Read More...
