Holoholo: Japan tackle shopping and fishing recap by Matthew

Frequent guest poster Matthew was able to travel with his family to Japan during Spring Break and enjoy the food, tackle deals and fishing opportunities. Thanks for sharing your experience with us Matt, makes me want to go to Japan now!

Matthew: Warning: this is going to be a long one, so if you don’t have time, stop right here.

Over spring break I had a lot of fun. The day after I got out of school, I went fishing at my secret spot and got two Kaku and a Papio on some JDM’s (Japan Domestic Model products). I left for Japan, hoping to find more JDM’s and some fish.

We arrived in Osaka, stayed one night, then rode a local train to Kyoto, where we saw the monkey park and some other attractions. I found a Tackle Berry store, where I got some new used lures, even some JDM’s, some such as the Ima P-CE, and a lot others I will not name. However, the highlight of that store was a used Daiwa Sealine 250, which I got for only eight bucks. Must be a fake right? Nope, tried it when I got home and everything works fine, except for a few scratches and it being an old model.

In Tokyo, the food was so good, and one ramen place had the best ramen I’ve ever tasted. We visited Ichigaya Fishing Center, which has carp ponds. You have to pay to fish there, but it is worth it as you can catch up to twenty in an hour. I enjoyed fighting the carp on an ultra light handpole and a barbless hook. I was happy for my family, which all landed a fish. My mom and sister even landed one!

We visited the Joshuya in Shibuya, where I found the new Duel Hardcore shallow runner, which may be a limited edition, so get it while you still can. At a good price it should be 11-12 dollars in US conversion. For a general Yen price move the decimal two to the left. The shallow runner works very well, and is better than most lipped minnows, as it is not lipped, and has sort of like a built in lip, like all other Japanese lures. It is 90 millimeters and is floating, and has a knocker. Be careful not to get the mid diver, which looks exactly like it. It runs less than a foot below water when used correctly.

I also got a Pugachev’s Cobra, which is a lure that Uncle Thad likes so much. Now that I’ve tried it myself, I can see why. But for 90 millimeters it is highly priced at 19 dollars or up, some even going for 24 dollars on Amazon and Ebay. It walks very well, with a wide side to side motion. I also got a few more lures, but I have been warned to not mention their names. One works very well, with a slim nose and a nice surface action, moving around very erratically. We went to Shinjuku the next day, where we tried a fish foot spa. Some of you may have seen the video of me in the foot spa on my instagram – @shorefishing_oahu_style, but if you haven’t, then go check it out, it’s kind of funny. We went to the Tackle Berry there, where I found a used conventional for only ten dollars. Seems like Tackle Berry has good deals on used items. On research, I found out it was last made in the mid to late 1960s and was an Abu Garcia reel.

I picked up a lure that Uncle Thad had recommended, called the Daiwa Switch Hitter. It is 105 millimeters and has a neat S moving pattern 2 inches under the surface, which should drive the Kaku mad. I was lucky to find it marked off 30% of its original price, 17 dollars.

We went to a tonkatsu place next, where the chicken and pork tonkatsu was so soft, it melted in my mouth. I really liked that place.

The last fishing store we stopped at was Sansui, which is very confusing. They have two different “parts” that are broken up into four different stores, all within 1000 feet of each other. It was a huge challenge to find the saltwater part, and although it is a great place, I would advise you to not come here unless you know exactly which store you are going to, and which kind of fishing you are looking for. I purchased a Ima Komomo, which also was 90 millimeters and a diving bait with a knocker.

After five days in Tokyo, we left for Hakone, by Lake Ashi. We arrived there when it was already cold, but I couldn’t resist but to throw some lures. We ended up catching 11 smelt, but no bass or trout. After, we ate a traditional Kaiseki meal, with nine courses, which made me think my belly was going to burst. We stayed in a traditional Ryokan, with even a real Onsen. An Onsen is a lava-fed spring pool with minerals that are supposed to help with relaxation and skin issues. Only bad thing is that you have to get naked to go in there. With strangers. It was packed too, which was not good for privacy. Overall, I enjoyed the Ryokan though. The next morning, the lake was so glassy, that I couldn’t resist throwing topwater even though it was only 30 degrees fahrenheit. I somehow got a bite on my switch hitter, but it missed and was too lazy to come back for it in the cold weather.

We left Odawara Station for Osaka shortly after. When we got there, we checked into our hotel, which was very nice and in a good location. The food in Osaka was very good, unlike the fishing. I had the best crab ever at a street vendor selling king crab, Kani as they call it.

We left at five in the morning for a place in Misaki, for fishing. It was supposed to be good, but I ended up not getting a bite for four hours, and just watched my bobber move with the waves. My mom bought live Halalu, or Aji as they call it, to try lure in the Hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail). I had one do a heart-stopping circle around it before watching it leave. Again. Back to bobber fishing. Waited for another hour and a half, until, finally, I saw my bobber twitch. I broke out of my trance and watched it more carefully. Sure enough, it started moving fast across the surface. I set the hook hard, and a screamer was on. What could it be? Finally done with the junk fish, I thought to myself, and for sure a new species. No. No. No. No. No. It seems like bad luck follows me everywhere. After 30 well-fought seconds, I pulled up a fully inflated… Puffer. A puffer. Not those same pests you catch all the time in Hawaii, these can sell for hundreds of dollars per fish. But still, I was happy to finally catch a fish, but sad that it was a puffer. I was so discouraged by that, so that we left shortly after giving the Tora Fugu to a local fisherman, who was enormously grateful.

We left for Hawaii the next day, thinking about the crummy fishing, but also about how good the food was. I didn’t have a single meal that tasted bad or even mediocre in Japan. Now, time to test the JDMs. I tried my luck with the Kaku and got very lucky. I quickly got three kaku within only 45 minutes.

Next, I wanted to try bass fishing. I went to a stream and casted my topwater lure. Almost instantly, a nice size smallie demolished my bait and put up a very nice fight. I later caught a smaller one that I trapped in a pond before taking pictures.

Overall, it was a very good break and I hope to get more action on my JDM’s, and more good food like in Japan.

Matt (who is too tired to complete another long bait report)

I will do a brief bait report.

Sardines: Few, rare at this time of season

Halalu: Two piles I know of

Oama: Starting to come in, seven spots I know of

Iao: Plenty, almost everywhere

Nehu: Same as Iao