Fantastic scenery of standing trees. Aiming at the gaps between them, I cast!
The biggest feature of Katakura Dam is the standing timbers. You can enjoy bass fishing in a wild landscape like a lake in a foreign country. Bass are said to be living around the standing timbers, and your fishing success will depend on how you tackle the standing timbers. Aside from that, all of us were impressed by the beautiful scenery.
Ishii:There are areas of standing trees in various places, so it's nice to see different views as the boat progresses. The surrounding trees are so tall that you can't see the road or anything, so you feel like you are floating on the lake.
Ikemoto:I wonder what this stand of trees would look like on an orange sunset or a foggy day. It's such a nice view that even if I wasn't fishing, I would want to come here to take pictures.
Komatsu:Moving through standing trees and entering narrow tributaries, Katakura Dam has a sense of adventure and fun!
Then, before noon, the Ishii/Hiramoto pair led by Mr. Orikin made a move! It was Mr. Hiramoto who caught the fish.
Hiramoto:I used a bubblegum pink leg worm by Gary Yamamoto as a downshot. Orikin had advised me to use an offset hook, as the area is prone to rooting. I dropped the worm to the bottom and shook it several times, and when I hooked it, I was able to catch a cute little fish no bigger than 30 cm!
At the same point, Ishii was also hit in succession!
Ishii:I set the same "HP Shad Tail 2.5 inch" lure from "O.S.P." that I had fished in Lake Biwa, using a down-shot. When I changed to a worm, it reacted better and I got about two bites. I could see bass in the shallows, and I threw it just like Orikin told me to, and I caught it beautifully. I felt like I could catch it, so I wasn't in a hurry at the moment I caught it. I had trained with a down-shot in Lake Biwa, so I had my own tricks of the trade.
Each guide also fished well, completing the first half of the morning session. TK and Komatsu pair and Mr. Ikemoto, who still had no luck, were looking forward to the afternoon. At Orikin's suggestion, we moved to a different point.
FOLDINGS:We target bass that are ambushing small fish or migrating near the confluence of the main stream and tributaries. There are responses on the fish finder, so it looks like a good place to catch them.
Ikemoto-san was the one who responded here.
Ikemoto:I had a reaction to a no-sinker worm in the morning, so I was trying that. As I was bottoming and moving the worm softly, I felt a bite. The bass went wild and the worm came off the hook, but I was glad I managed to catch it.
Then there was the TK and Komatsu pair, led by Muramatsu-san, who were not catching any fish, but were only having a lively conversation.
TK:I got a bite when I used a double swisher lure, a collaboration between Karamba and HIGHSOX SKATEBOARDS, but I couldn't catch it. ......
A nice cast was made, about 100 shots out of 100, but there seemed to be no bass there.
Komatsu:They were bouncing repeatedly on the current headlands and near the shore, but they were not looking at my lure. Bass are a cut above the rest.
How about the Ishii/Hiramoto pair, who fished in the morning and have a lot on their minds?
Hiramoto:In the afternoon, the wind started blowing, so I threw reels as I had done at the beginning of the morning, but there was no response. I set a Gary Yamamoto leg worm on a down shot and caught a big bluegill.
Ishii:Likewise, the reaction is not so good. At least I caught one fish, so I want to catch a fish over 40 cm. The "Black Label (BLX SG 662L+FS)" rod from Daiwa is easy to handle in terms of length and stiffness, and I feel like I am casting better.
Time passes, and it is first light of the evening. With our last bit of concentration, we continued casting. The guides were catching fish one after another.
