This year was no exception. However, this was my first time for Biwako bass fishing.
Lake Biwako is Japan's largest fresh water lake.
The weather was cold, but allowed for some spectacular views.
We had a guide for today, as bass fishing in the winter is a lost hope and you need all the help you can get.
Our ride for the day:
We set off from a small harbor
Great guy, you can check him out in action here on the same lake we fished or here on his old stomping grounds in Nagoya.
Keisuke was ready to fish from the get go.
The views were breathtaking. It was hard to focus on fishing with scenery like this...
No bites here...
No bites here...
No bites here...
No bites here...
After fishing four of what usually are good fishing spots, we decided to take a break and get some lunch.
We pulled into Chomeiji Port.
Apparently this is how Fujinami san usually parks here...
Here is a view walking up from the harbor.
Looks good to me... apparently Fujinami san always stops here when he is out on a guide trip.
I ordered the 天とじ for 700 yen ($5.89) and got this.
It was excellent, as most food is here. Most notably the rice bowl on the right and the small dish of shrimp top center. The rice was cooked to a creamy texture I haven't had before. The shrimp were caught just that morning - whatever they did to them, the briny and sweet flavor came in small explosions as each shrimp popped in my mouth. To top it off, Fujinami san picked up the bill...
After lunch it was on to the final two spots there may be fish...
The speedometer on the boat didn't work, but when we got up to speed it was cold... I swear the icicle that formed in my right nostril didn't thaw for three days.
No fish here...
But he has the electronics to supplement it. Seriously, all day with a pro on his lake with this gear and not a single bite.
Fujinami san was worried about no fish by this point and decided to take us to the north side of Biwako. Where the morning spots on the south end were crammed with many fishermen, there was nobody up here. Apparently the weather can shift suddenly and the unprotected stretch of north Biwako can get pretty nasty. However, other than some light rain, the weather cooperated.
We were in the center of the lake now, depth about 12 meters. There was some structure on the bottom that Fujinami san knew the lethargic, winter bass were occupying.
Fujinami san, while joking about his reputation as a guide if no fish were caught, sent a lure flying to judge the general area we should target. Then BAM, just like that, he pulls up a 30+ cm fat bass onto the boat.
I shook my head in disbelief thinking the one fish we were going to catch was now lying on the deck of the boat, eyes bulging with Fujinami's lure stuck in its throat.
Fujinami san was currently testing out some prototype gear he had helped develop for his sponsers. His rod, for Abu Garcia, had arrived from the prototype facility recently so he let me give it a try. This rod, with excellent feel for the bottom, caused me all sorts of fits for casting.
As my casting improved, I was able to cover more ground on the bottom. I could feel the structures pinging against the lure, sliding up tall rocks and swimming back down to the surface below. Several times it would get caught in these structures, giving me false hope something had bit and sending me on an excited, but short and pointless celebration.
However, with a lot of guidance and a lot of luck, I managed to get my first bass - ever.
I don't know who was the most excited - me, Fujinami san, or Keisuke... Probably everyone was happy that the day didn't end up with no fish. In any case, according to our guide, two fish on a cold December day in Biwako is an accomplishment in itself.
Nice Bass.
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