 |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
I am not sure if it is true but it is often said that Japanese people eat
way more fish than others do over the world. Japan is surrounded by ocean
and sea, so probably it was natural that our ancestors started living on
fish more than game meat. This is why all types of fishing have developed
across the nation. Just like in other countries, fishing with baits was
widely exercised but some types of fishing with artificial baits were originated.
For a long time, people have fished with wooden lures. Still traditional
lures are used for squid fishing.
In the world of trout fishing, a traditional fishing style with flies was
invented and developed by some people. This fishing is called Tenkara and some people love it to this date. I guess many foreigners know of
it, since there are some avid Tenkara fishers outside Japan. Tenkara fishers
use a pole about 5m (16 feet) long with no reel. A strand of horse hairs
was originally used for the fly line part. Although they use dry flies
and wet flies, most flies look like western soft hackle wet flies. Thinking
of the length of the line you can handle, it was not practical to cast
long and I guess Tenkara was basically good for streams. It was impossible
to cast a fly at a long distance so lake fishing is not suitable with Tenkara.
Tenkara can outfish bait fishing, as you don't need to change baits after
each catch. Commercial fishermen used to use Tenkara to catch and sell
mountain trout to restaurants, Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), etc.
But with civilization the number of fish declined and they started aquaculture
for the stable harvest. Those Tenkara commercial fishermen left the industry
1 by a then I doubt that fishermen can make a living by catching trout
nowadays. But still many people love Tenkara fishing as a hobby.
For some reason most Tenkara fishermen are old so I guess the Tenkara population
will be dramatically down in the future.
Western fly fishing arrived in Japan around middle of the 1900's. I don't know the exact details, but some books say the western type of fly fishing was taken to Japan by some American people in the army. Fly fishing has spread out in popularity here as it has in other countries.
Japan has approximately 120 million people in such a small land. You can imagine how hard to find a secret spot in the forests. After WW2, Japan was westernized and we got cars and other stuff , thanks to the quick civilization. In the 60's through 70's, in many rivers, most native fish were caught and killed. Catch and release wasn't common in those days so most rivers could fall prey to over-harvesting.
Fisheries were established in many watersheds and those rivers under operation are re-stocked every year.
Now that fly fishing has become popular in Japan, most outdoor people at
least know of fly fishing but non-outdoor people may not know what it is
like. On the other hand, lure fishing for largemouth bass became very popular
in the 80's and 90's so bass fishing, which is usually done with lures,
has high publicity today. Some people, esp. young girls, make mistake fly
fishing for lure fishing.
As the catch and release movement spreads in western countries, some fisheries
started employing it in Japan as well. Fishing for trout used to be basically
always with eating trout , but nowadays many people exercise catch and
release. The fun in trout fishing has changed from hunting for foods to
playing an exciting game with smart fish.
In the fly fishing industry, some Japanese companies became well known world-wide for their high quality and credibility. At the same time, some people started making bamboo rods, following the western legendary rod builders.
People fly fish for many fish species but trout fishing is the mainstream just like Europe. Non-trout freshwater fly fishing and saltwater fly fishing are becoming popular in Japan, since trout streams and lakes tend to be fished out easily. For the last 10 years, Spey casting has been very popular and some people are keen on joining casting competitions.
Some urban fishers got tired of driving a long way then shifted from wild
waters to private fishing ponds. This type of fishing has been very popular
and many people start and learn fly fishing in there as the first stage.
Or some people continue only this type of fishing.
In the past, the number of the trout became so small in many mountain rivers and streams, but people's thoughts about catch and release changed the water environment. Probably the number of trout will become larger than the past, if not native trout. We hope our kids and offspring can enjoy this great sport forever.
|
|
|
|
