Well-shaped largescale blackfish on the first-class rocks of Kitaura Sotowa

Ground bait used

■Bakutobi Master Gure

■ Gmax

■ Ikki ukase gure

■ Hyper Grey Z

In mid-December, I went on a three-day fishing trip to Kitaura in Miyazaki Prefecture, including the manufacturer-sponsored semi-final and practice.

With the help of Kifukumaru Ferry, I was able to cast my rod at two different locations, and on the first day I made an effort to get as much of a feel as possible for the atmosphere of the rocky shore, the feel of the tide, and the reaction of the bait.

On the second day, I went to Nakanohae Pier, which is considered to be one of the best rocky shores in Kitaura.

A senior angler who came with me from Hiroshima Prefecture and we took turns fishing in the area, keeping an eye on the semi-final the next day.

The mix of bait used was the two base types, plus the "Ikki Ukase Gure" which has a lot of good-tasted ingredients, and the white "Hyper Gure Z" to improve visibility.

The main bait is raw krill. I mixed 3 kg of small krill for largescale blackfish into the ground bait, being careful not to crush them into small pieces.

From the start of fishing, there were many large sea chubs swarming around the bait that I had cast at my feet, and I could see some largescale blackfish flickering among them and in the layer slightly below.

It seems that some ground bait is added every day, and the fish reacted well at first, but the fish behaved completely different depending on the tide.

While catching a few 30cm-class longtail largescale blackfish one by one, I suddenly felt a strong pull.

It seemed like the fish had swallowed the hook, as the eye part broke off several times during handling, which was frustrating.

In the midst of all this, I caught a good-sized longtail largescale blackfish measuring nearly 45cm, which gave the strongest pull.

I was so overwhelmed with joy that I forgot about practicing for the semi-finals.

After that, I continued fishing enthusiastically until the end of the day at 4pm, and I caught several more fish in the 40cm class, enjoying the first-class rocky shores of Kitaura.

In the semi-finals, I was lucky with the lottery and with good fish, and I came in first place and advanced to the national tournament.

This will be my first national largescale blackfish fishing tournament, so I plan to make the most of it, accumulating as many positive experiences as possible.

We are still in the early stages of the cold fishing season, so please be mindful of the weather and enjoy some fun largescale blackfish fishing.