DAY 2 The boat is ready to go out. Can you meet a big bass?

6:00 AM. We arrive at the marina just in time for sunrise. Our guide this time is bass pro Takahiro Miyake. He has won many professional tournaments and is also involved in the development of Daiwa rods and lures. HOUYHNHNM FISHING CLUB has been a member of our club for three years in a row.

Miyake:Lake Biwa has been severely dewatered this year due to typhoons and a lack of significant rainfall, and the lake has been in a very low water level recently. We will be touring around Lake Minami this time, and among those areas, we would like to visit points where the water is deep enough for all of us to fish together.


This time, we rented a boat and set out with four boats! Mr. Murayama, Mr. Saisu, and Mr. Hayashida, all of whom hold marine licenses, will be operating the boats. The exhilarating feeling of cruising across the lake at breakneck speed in the beautiful morning glow is always great, no matter how many times you experience it. The cruising is short-lived, and we have arrived at the first point.
Miyake:The body of water here runs from north to south, and waterweeds grow along the edges of the body of water. Target the edges of the waterweeds and the tips of the waterweeds. Let's try using a cat-rig.
It is morning time, when the fish are very active. I cast with a sense of excitement.


Hayashida:The lures I usually use are mainly spinnerbaits, cranks, and big baits, and I haven't used straight worms recently. Feeling like I am returning to my roots, I would like to catch one fish first.
Komatsu:I am throwing a cat rig, and it is definitely biting. This seems to be a good way to catch fish. I want to take my time and see how it goes.
Murayama:As Mr. Miyake had taught me, I used a worm-type worm first thing in the morning. He told me that while I was catching small ones, I could also catch a big one, so I was searching in hopes of catching one! It was a size not worth photographing, so I won't take a picture of it (laughs).
Soon after, Ishii's rod responded.

Ishii:As taught by Mr. Miyake, I focused on cat rigs. I was using a large size straight worm, which I usually do not throw, but it did not respond at all. I wanted to catch fish anyway, so I dropped the size of the worm and caught them. It was crazy small, though (laughs). I will do my best to surpass last year's 51 cm.
Mr. Saisu, who is riding with me, seems to be throwing a different lure.
Saisu:I've used the cat rig a little bit, but I haven't done much with it, so I decided to fish what I'm used to rather than what I'm unfamiliar with. The bass were jumping, and I was throwing a topwater plug, the Double Swisher.
Ikemoto, who was riding with Miyake, also got a hit!

Ikemoto:I caught it when I was slurping around the edge of waterweeds with a down-shot rig. The lure was the HP 3D Wacky by O.S.P., which is supported by Mr. Miyake. I was conscious of not stretching the line too much. I am happy to have caught fish using my new Daiwa Black Label SG rod and my first Daiwa Iggisto reel.
