Seabass in Autumn – Great Game to Be
Breaking news came in 3 days ago that a man caught 93cm seabass on fly in Tokyo Bay. I tell you fish on fly this size is very hard to come by. Only 1 or 2 per year the most. You can probably set up several conditions correctly to expect big fish, but it really depends where the big fish is when you happen to cast. Pure opportunity, but you have to have basic skills to be there in the first place.
So, I made a reservation with Capt. Shikanai of Pallas FGS, asking him to take us to the spot where I saw him caught 86cm before. It’s been quite sometime since the last time I went out for seabass fishing, and I’m honored to ride with guest: Prince Shino.
While I was making ready my two-handed Beach Rod to slack out from tiresome double-haul casting, Shino-san got the first fish of the day on his Ichthyc custom 8wt rod. Very nice 8wt which feels like you are holding 6wt, but the reflex and butt strength are splendid. Look at the beautiful arc! Shino-san, well-known in tournaments for the highest catch & release rate, is no doubt a excellent fly fisher who doesn’t waste strikes and makes every cast worthwhile.
As for me, I wanted to catch my first one on Jiggy, but bass had hard time catching up with its jiggling motion on strikes. They are never perfect hunter like blue runners such as amberjacks and tunas, and which makes the game more interesting and creative. I switched to feather weight Peanut Butter with strip & pause, then made the first game fish in 2 months. Nice fat seabass in 50’s cm.
It’s really liberating to cast really far with two-handed in open area like this. It just felt great except that I admit that it would be so much nicer, if I don’t see or smell big city all around. However, this is a sport of urban angling aiming to catch game fish who have adopted to urban water over centuries. Japanese seabass have been around Tokyo as far back as record exists. There was a time bass are devastated in the ages of economic high-rise which polluted the whole bay, but they survived until things turned brighter then they are flourishing now. Record size seabass, who take years to grow to their size, are true trophy of nature co-mexisiting with humanity
Result
– Japanese sea bass: 40’s and 50’s