FEATURE | TIE UP

Translated By DeepL

Good relationship between off the hook and fishing.
Good Thing, Good Fishing.

Good relationship between off the hook and fishing.

HOUYHNHNM's has so far published articles on fishing, mainly bass fishing, but there are many more ways to enjoy fishing. This time, we caught up with the team from "off the hook," a fanzine about the waterfront, which was brought together by photographer Taro Hirano, Nakamura Graph's director and designer Keisuke Nakamura, and writer Shunya Muraoka, to enjoy fishing for crucian carp. By the way, all three of them are now well into their twenties. They are all elderly men. Here is the story of their fishing experience and the "off the hook" magazine, divided into two parts.

  • Video Direct & Edit_Rui Shimamoto, Woomin Gen
  • Videography_Ryuichi Tani, Ray Otabe, Woomin Gen
  • Edit_Jun Nakada
  • Special Thanks_DAIWA

, we went to the swamp to fish for Japanese spoonbills.

Normally, each member of the off the hook team fishes differently. This time, however, Hirano suggested, "Why don't we all go fishing together? Hirano suggested, "Why don't we go fishing together? This was the start of this project. Mr. Hirano is an experienced angler. Mr. Hirano is an experienced angler, while Ms. Nakamura and Mr. Muraoka are beginners, so they decided to take on the challenge while listening to Mr. Hirano's lecture.

A few months ago . It was a chilly early morning in Shibuya. With small talk out of the way, we got into the car and headed for the Tomohara Dam Boat Center, a fishing pond (dam lake) in Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture.

Plain:Maybe I won't catch anything today and only two of us will.

Nakamura:No, they were all shaved (laughs).

Muraoka:Well, not catching fish is fishing, too. Come to think of it, is there a high season for Herabuna fishing?

Plain:Every season has its own way to enjoy it, and the good thing is that you can fish all year round, but I personally like fall because in spring the fish spawn, in summer the water temperature rises and the fish become too active, and the opposite is true in winter, when the fish don't move easily from the bottom. So, I think you can enjoy today.

The main tools used for Herabuna fishing are a rod, float, traps, bait, bowls for making bait, vise & pole hook. Reels are not used. The main tools used in Herabuna fishing are a rod, a float attached to a main line of about the same length as the rod, and two hooks with different lengths of bait, which are tied to the tip of the rod, and the bait is adjusted to the desired amount.

Two people take out their rods. They are impressed by its lightness beyond their expectations.

Vividly colored float. They look the same, but all are different sizes.

The key to eliciting a bite from a crucian carp lies in the fine settings of the float's buoyancy balance, the length of the line that matches it, and even the bait mix that fits the float!

Plain:The float has a scale on it like red-yellow-green-red-yellow-green, and the point where it stops with no bait on it is called the bait drop scale, and you have to adjust it properly and figure it out before you throw it, or you will miss a bite.

Nakamura:Indeed . It's going to be hard to distribute the food....

Plain:Yes, yes, everyone has their own ideal. Basically, there are two kinds of bait: barake bait (powdered fu) and kuwase bait (udon, tororo, etc.). The theory seems to be that the upper hook should have barake bait and the lower hook should have kuwase bait, but there is no need to worry. It seems to be the theory that the upper hook should have barake bait and the lower hook should have kuwase bait, but you don't have to worry about it. Let's give it a try!

When you put on the bait, it goes deep and gets acclimated, and when the bait runs out, the float comes up to its bait drop scale. Then, I lift the rod, reapply bait, and swing it in again. In this way, you will gradually improve your resolution to get a bite by repeating trial and error while visualizing in your mind the tana (swimming layer) in which the crucian carp migrate and how well the bait is biting.