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Satoshi
11-28-2009, 10:38 PM
I don't know who should I thank for making this great forum come back... Gus? Adam? or Nick? Anyway, I thank who have done the job very much. It must have been a lot of work.

I love small stream fly fishing (This is the single most important qualification to be a member of this forum, I believe). Certainly, one major reason is that we have virtually only small streams (for flyfishing trout) in Japan. Many of the trout streams in the U.S. would be called "a large river" in our country.
After the old forum went down, I have kept taking pictures as usual.
So, I would like to share some of the fishing experiences with people here.

I live in a rather warm place, and we seldom have snow here. We have some small trout streams in the mountains around, but fishing season is very short; usually from late March to June, with April being the best, though trout fishing is legal from March to the end of September.

From April through May, I went fishing to my home waters every weekend. This year, we had a lot of rain in Japan. We have a rainy season from the middle of June to the middle of July every year, but this year, the rainy season seemed to have extended to the whole summer.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/villageinrain.jpg
A small village in the rain on the way to the stream.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/streaminrain.jpg
When the weather is overcast with occasional trickles of rain, it's the best condition for fishing dryflies for these streams. Seeing this picture, you might think that the water level is low. It is on the contrary actually. Water level is a little higher than usual. You see no vegetation to a certain height from the stream bed in the picture. This is because water goes to this height when a big typhoon comes, which occurs every year.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/amago-1.jpg
I caught several chubby small amago (we pronounce it "ah-mah-go") in each outing. This is the only native trout in this area.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/amago-2.jpg
As I wrote before, this is the landlocked form of a subspecies of the masu salmon. Masu (Onchorhynchus masou) is one of the Pacific salmons but live only on the Asian side of the Ocean. Most of the populations of amago is landlocked.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/streamingreen.jpg
As the season deepens, mountains become green everywhere. Even the water seem to be stained green. This is the season I love most.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/amago-3.jpg
When it rains a little heavier, nymph fishing is truely rewarding. One day, in such a condition, I had almost "one cast one fish" fishing. On that rainy day, fish didn't often come to the surface, so I switched to nymphs. Every time, no sooner had I put a nymph in the water than trout eagerly snatched it. This is one of such fish.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/sunnystream.jpg
We had some bright sunny days still.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/amagowithmanyorengespots.jpg
OK, who blotted this fish with orange paint!?

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/fdrwd421/May%202009/kawamutsu.jpg
As the water temp rose, some unwelcome guests also start to appear. This cyprinid fish is very surface-oriented, and bite anything floating on the surface. Though the size of the fish is small as you see, it has a large mouth and easily grab a #10 dryfly. It's still OK, but the worst thing is, once a dry fly is taken by this fish, it is impossible to regain the buoyancy of the fly by any magical floatant because of the strong mucus of the fish. The appearance of this fish tells us the trout fishing is slowing down. Well...., you can't blame the fish, which is certainly a part of the ecosystem in this area.

In the next post, I will show some of my summer fishing experiences in northern part of Japan for yamame and iwana.

rayfound
11-28-2009, 11:48 PM
YEAH!

You're pictures of those Masu Salmon may be the one thing I've missed the most about this forum while it was down. Thanks for the post!

palewatery
11-29-2009, 12:56 AM
I'll second that.... Those bright orange spots on the last one are stunning.

I love seeing the different fish species but as well as that I love to see the scenery and read about how the fishing works in your part of the world.

Thank you for sharing. Always a pleasure to read your posts.

Jim

edeltrouts
11-29-2009, 04:02 AM
Welcome back!

Missed your posts & pics.
I enjoy your fish pics very much because of the exotic looking creatures in your streams and the great landscape.
Maybe I'll catch one some day. Its a little dream to come to Japan.

Thomas

ofuros
11-29-2009, 04:48 AM
A beautiful marked fish species. Can't say I've ever heard of an amago, but I can imagine myself slowly wandering along banks of that serene looking stream. Great pics & a interesting insite into another country's stream fishing.

Thanks for sharing, you have me very intrigued to see your yamame and iwana species too.
Good post Satoshi. :thumbup:

Cheers,
Ofuros

LMarshall
11-29-2009, 09:30 AM
Satoshi,

Those amago are beautiful! I was under the impression they were a charr, not a salmon. What about Iwana and Yamame? Good info on these fish is hard to find in English.

Do you ever fish tenkara? Even if you don't I'm sure the folks over on the TenkaraUSA forum would love to hear from you.

http://www.tenkarausa.com/forum/

jdm5047
11-29-2009, 11:05 AM
Beautiful pictures, satoshi, it is great to hear from you again. The mountains in the first two pictures look amazing. Fishing in such deep, lush gorges and valleys must make for quite a setting to catch those beautiful trout in.

I am intrigued by the parallels between the trout fishing in worlds so far apart.


As the season deepens, mountains become green everywhere. Even the water seem to be stained green. This is the season I love most.

This is one of my favorite seasons, too. Green tinted water always meant great fishing to me.


As the water temp rose, some unwelcome guests also start to appear

These sound exactly like what I call chubs, or creek chubs. The description is spot-on the same. Can't wait to see the summer adventures!

mikeytwoshoes
11-29-2009, 11:20 AM
great to see you back satoshi. as usual your pics are stupendous. great stuff.

terry
11-29-2009, 11:37 AM
Awesome! I love your pics and those trout. Thanks

Satoshi
11-29-2009, 07:28 PM
Thank you for your kind comments guys!
I'm really happy to know that people in some different continents enjoy my post.

LMarshall,
I've tried tenkara once, but I soon moved to flyfishing. So I don't have much experience about it. I'm surprised about the fact that some people in the US are enjoying tenkara. I wonder it might be difficult to play a big fish with tenkara, because you don't use a reel for this fishing, which is no problem in Japan where you don't worry about hooking a very big fish. On the other hand, it is extremely effective in small streams of a certain size. I know a tenkara fisherman who always catch more fish than other fly fishers. Because tenkara rods are much longer than ordinary fly rods, it is easy to control the fly directly by the rod. But because the length of the line is fixed, and because the rod is long, you have difficulty in extremely small streams, or in large rivers. This is why I prefer fly fishing. It's far more flexible. While tenkara is principally a wet fly fishing, you can fish dries, wet flies, nymphs, streamers in fly fishing. You can cast long, or you can just dip your fly from your rod tip. So, if you just want to catch as many fish as possible, tenkara might be a better way at least in Japanese streams. But fly fishing is more appealing to me.

LMarshall
11-30-2009, 12:05 AM
LMarshall,
I've tried tenkara once, but I soon moved to flyfishing. So I don't have much experience about it. I'm surprised about the fact that some people in the US are enjoying tenkara. I wonder it might be difficult to play a big fish with tenkara, because you don't use a reel for this fishing, which is no problem in Japan where you don't worry about hooking a very big fish. On the other hand, it is extremely effective in small streams of a certain size. I know a tenkara fisherman who always catch more fish than other fly fishers. Because tenkara rods are much longer than ordinary fly rods, it is easy to control the fly directly by the rod. But because the length of the line is fixed, and because the rod is long, you have difficulty in extremely small streams, or in large rivers. This is why I prefer fly fishing. It's far more flexible. While tenkara is principally a wet fly fishing, you can fish dries, wet flies, nymphs, streamers in fly fishing. You can cast long, or you can just dip your fly from your rod tip. So, if you just want to catch as many fish as possible, tenkara might be a better way at least in Japanese streams. But fly fishing is more appealing to me.

I found out about tenkara this summer and purchased a rod to give it a shot. I like it a lot for certain streams and fish. I'm not giving up my fly fishing rod for still-water and big rivers though! For me it's a fun way to fish small streams and pocket water. I especially enjoy fishing for for wild brook trout here in New England with tenkara, which I'd imagine is a lot like some of the fishing you have in Japan.

I think some American fly anglers are attracted to tenkara for a few reasons, chiefly it's simplicity and portability. It's easy to put a fishing kit for tenkara together that weighs under 200 grams, including the rod. So gram-conscious backpackers are really excited about it. Fishing with simple tackle like this puts a premium on skillful presentation, rather than all the equipment choices that a lot of people get bogged down in. So for those that don't find satisfaction in tools and equipment it's a way to simplify their fishing by shedding some gear; spend less time worrying about all that stuff and more time fishing.

A lot of US anglers trying out tenkara have found it suitable for fishing dry flies and nymphing, in addition to the traditional wet flies. I actually haven't fished any wet flies with it yet. I love it for dries though, the long rod and light line let you get some crazy drag free drifts in pocket water with current going every which way. I'm sure a lot of US anglers are doing some stuff with tenkara gear that looks pretty strange from the perspective of a Japanese fly fisher! Like bass fishing :?

Mostyn
11-30-2009, 05:54 AM
I love the photos of your stream and the bright spotty fish!

Great stuff!!

Satoshi
11-30-2009, 09:11 AM
Mostyn, thank you for your encouraging comment.


LMarshall,
I think some American fly anglers are attracted to tenkara for a few reasons, chiefly it's simplicity and portability. It's easy to put a fishing kit for tenkara together that weighs under 200 grams, including the rod. So gram-conscious backpackers are really excited about it. Fishing with simple tackle like this puts a premium on skillful presentation, rather than all the equipment choices that a lot of people get bogged down in. So for those that don't find satisfaction in tools and equipment it's a way to simplify their fishing by shedding some gear; spend less time worrying about all that stuff and more time fishing.
You are right. Light tackle is a very attractive point of tenkara.
By the way, when I decided to try flyfishing almost 30 years ago, I first put a dry fly that I tied by myself on a tenkara tackle. I learned how to tie flies by some books. There was nobody who were doing flyfishing around me at that time, and I felt a bit ashamed of swinging a strange short rod with a reel. After I confirmed that I could actually catch amago with a dry fly (Boy! What an exciting moment it was when I first saw a small amago snatched the dry fly I tied! ), I bought a true fly rod and a reel.

rossa
11-30-2009, 01:23 PM
Those fish are amazing, can't wait for the yaname, don't think we seen those before?

LMarshall
11-30-2009, 01:31 PM
You are right. Light tackle is a very attractive point of tenkara.
By the way, when I decided to try flyfishing almost 30 years ago, I first put a dry fly that I tied by myself on a tenkara tackle. I learned how to tie flies by some books. There was nobody who were doing flyfishing around me at that time, and I felt a bit ashamed of swinging a strange short rod with a reel. After I confirmed that I could actually catch amago with a dry fly (Boy! What an exciting moment it was when I first saw a small amago snatched the dry fly I tied! ), I bought a true fly rod and a reel.

I haven't tied any of my own flies yet, but I remember quite well the first trout I caught on a dry fly. Man that was a rush!

Satoshi
12-01-2009, 04:38 AM
Those fish are amazing, can't wait for the yaname, don't think we seen those before?
rossa,
I haven't posted a picture of yamame, but don't expect too much. Yamame just looks like a orange-spotless version of amago. ;)

papasequoia
12-01-2009, 11:39 AM
Beautiful fish and countryside; thanks for sharing! Jon

Alpinefly
12-02-2009, 09:29 PM
Very beautiful pictures and fish !!! I am curious :think: , with all the overcast (rain), do you have a species of Blue Winged Olive Mayfly that hatches there in Japan ????

BrkTrt
12-02-2009, 10:02 PM
My friend,

You have some very special water to fish.

Those fish are brilliant, natural art.

I enjoy your posts, its almost as if my fly were floating through a riffle.



Thank you,




- Brk Trt

jmp
12-02-2009, 10:59 PM
Amazing creek. Amazing fish. Thanks!

Satoshi
12-02-2009, 11:24 PM
Brk Trt, jimp,
Thank you very much for your comments.

Alpinefly,

Very beautiful pictures and fish !!! I am curious :think: , with all the overcast (rain), do you have a species of Blue Winged Olive Mayfly that hatches there in Japan ????
I don't know much about insects. Besides, I haven't seen the mayflies you call "BWO" by my eyes. But I think the answer depends on the definition of BWO. If you call mayflies belong to the genus Ephemerella "BWO", we certainly have some BWOs hatching usually from spring to early summer, though I don't think they are the same species you have in your country.

mikeytwoshoes
12-03-2009, 10:25 AM
ephermerella are not bwo's.
ephermerellae genus icludes pmd's, drakes and flavs.

bwo's are baetis.

Satoshi
12-03-2009, 11:34 PM
mikey,

ephermerella are not bwo's.
ephermerellae genus icludes pmd's, drakes and flavs.

bwo's are baetis.


Thank you for the information. I know BWOs are abundant in the rivers in the US. Then, the flyfishing in the US seems actually a little bit more difficult than I thought.
And yes, we have several baetis species (BWOs), in Japan, though I think they are probably different species from those you have in your country. Baetis mayflies are also thought to be very important insects in fly fishing by many people here.

mikeytwoshoes
12-04-2009, 12:19 AM
eh...fly fishing here can be stupid easy or stupid tough.
part of the beauty of it.

palewatery
12-04-2009, 09:09 AM
BWO as a common fly name is a strange one. As Mikey said in the US they are Baetis, here in the UK and in Western Europe they are Ephemerella (In the UK specifically Ephemerella Ignita, not sure about the rest of Europe)....... Also just to confuse matters further.... the Ephemerella Ignita has been re-classified as Seratella Ignita.
If you buy pre-dyed dubbing packs from any of the big companies the "BWO" colour of dubbing is usually a lot darker than the BWO insects we get here in the UK as most of the companies are geared toward the bigger US market.

Satoshi
12-04-2009, 10:05 PM
BWO as a common fly name is a strange one. As Mikey said in the US they are Baetis, here in the UK and in Western Europe they are Ephemerella (In the UK specifically Ephemerella Ignita, not sure about the rest of Europe)....... Also just to confuse matters further.... the Ephemerella Ignita has been re-classified as Seratella Ignita.
If you buy pre-dyed dubbing packs from any of the big companies the "BWO" colour of dubbing is usually a lot darker than the BWO insects we get here in the UK as most of the companies are geared toward the bigger US market.
BWO as a common fly name is a strange one. As Mikey said in the US they are Baetis, here in the UK and in Western Europe they are Ephemerella (In the UK specifically Ephemerella Ignita, not sure about the rest of Europe)....... Also just to confuse matters further.... the Ephemerella Ignita has been re-classified as Seratella Ignita.
If you buy pre-dyed dubbing packs from any of the big companies the "BWO" colour of dubbing is usually a lot darker than the BWO insects we get here in the UK as most of the companies are geared toward the bigger US market.
Oh :o
I know you call a single group of insect different names, caddis and sedge, but now, you call different groups of insects the same name!? As I wrote, I thought baetis were Ephemerella. Perhaps this knowledge came from UK. Thank you, palewatery. Latin names are useful in these situations (that's why it was invented from the first place...), if only they wouldn't often change them. In Japan, we call the mayflies belong to baetis "kokagerou (koh-kah-gue-rou)." "ko"means "small" and "kahguerou" means "mayfly". So, the word literally means "small mayfly."

Wallyran
12-05-2009, 06:25 PM
I enjoy your posts immensely Satoshi. I envy the "exotic" and beautiful species of your land as I believe you marvel at the beauty of the brook trout we have here. If only we could switch places for a day...

Satoshi
12-05-2009, 09:05 PM
If only we could switch places for a day...

Wallyran, this is exactly what I wish.