What are the fish looking for? It is fun to solve that mystery.
About 30 minutes have passed since we entered the river, and it appears that the location is not very good. So we change the spot.
Arriving at the new spot, Keisuke was the first to enter the river. Looking closely at the surface of the water, he saw two fish, called amago, swimming in the water.
He said, "The river flows slowly here, so I stand upstream to the fish and cast downstream. This makes it easier for the fish to be fooled. If you stand downstream and cast upstream in a slow-moving river, the fish will spend more time looking at the hook, and they will know it is a fake.
Just as he was talking about this, his hook was sucked into a fish and he successfully caught an amago. Mr. Keisuke caught the fish within minutes of entering the river. He is indeed a professional.
The strategy worked. I happened to put a large size hair hook on the hook and threw it, and it turned out to be the right choice. When I examined its stomach with a stomache pump, I found that it was eating an insect called a dragonfly, so the size of the hook was just right.
Tomodairo could not remain silent at this development. He was aiming for another amago that he had just seen. As Keisuke had mentioned, Tomodairo also stands upstream against the fish and casts downstream.
After a few minutes of casting, Tomodairo's rod also got a hit. He caught an amago with flying colors. His skill in catching fish in such a short period of time was impressive.
The position you stand in relation to the fish is really important. Even if you have the right hair hook, you won't catch fish if you are not in the right position. I can tell which hair hook to set by the way the fish rises. I watch the way the water bounces off the hook and the way the fish opens its mouth. I try to put myself in the fish's mindset as I watch. Then you have to understand nature, and you have to be sensitive to changes in the environment, such as when it gets cold, hot, or windy. What are the fish looking for? It is really fun to solve mysteries while fully utilizing all five senses.
