Largescale blackfish fishing trip to Shimane Prefecture Sotowa
catch
■ Largescale blackfish 28-36cm
Black porgy 45cm
Fishing spot
■Shimane Prefecture Hamada offshore rocks "Yana Island Kabuto"
Ground bait used
■ Gmax
■Great Gure
■ Ikki ukase gure
■ Hyper Grey Z
In mid-January, I went fishing for largescale blackfish in Shimane Prefecture.
Speaking of fishing in Shimane Prefecture, this time of year is the peak season for cold-weather largescale blackfish on Oki Island, and the island is bustling with anglers every day, but this time I chose the Hamada area in the western part of Shimane Prefecture.
Although large fish are rarely caught here, I really like the terrain and the atmosphere of the ocean, and think it's a great area for practice.
I was assisted by Keiroku Ferry, who knows the Hamada area well and provided me with safe and careful support, even though I was unfamiliar with the open sea.
The rocky shore we came across was "Yana Island Kabuto."
In shallow water, the seabed is faintly visible up to 20m ahead, and beyond that it gradually gets deeper.
When I got up onto the rocks, it was still dark, and normally I would wait until it got light, but this time we had anticipated this and prepared some chemiluminescent lights.
Attach a chemiluminescent light to a long-legged float with a tube, and drop in some bait to create the right atmosphere.
As I was watching the surface of the sea to see if there were any changes, I got a strong bite that made the float disappear all at once.
A large long-tailed largescale blackfish crossed my mind, but it was a satisfying pull that I hadn't felt in a long time.
It turned out to be a good-sized black porgy over 45cm long. It was my first time catching one in the Hamada area.
Then it started to get brighter, so I removed the chemiluminescent light and set up a conical float.
I recently started practicing and tried putting together a rig using a long line.
Use the weight of the line to slowly drop the bait into the Makiesa belt.
The Great Gure and Hyper Gure Z that are mixed into the ground bait are turbid, making it easy to see where I cast, which is very helpful when casting ahead of time.
First, I caught a few small largescale blackfish, and then a few casts later I caught a foot-sized one.
I had a relaxed time and enjoyed myself, occasionally catching single 30 to 33 cm long-tailed largescale blackfish.
Then, an hour before the end of fishing, I felt a good weight.
I carefully brought the fish close and just as it was about to come into view, the tip unfortunately snapped off.
Being frustrated, I quickly cast it again and got consecutive bites.
The fish I caught was a 36cm largescale blackfish, which is a good size for the Hamada area.
The bait used was small raw krill for largescale blackfish. On this day, the bait was not being taken so I mainly used raw krill.
Then, on the next cast, I got another bite. I was surprised, but I was sure it was a good size, so I dealt with it carefully.
A long-tailed largescale blackfish, larger than the one I had caught earlier, floated up at my feet. The moment I hurriedly prepared my dip net, all of a sudden my tension went away.
Once again, the tip of the line broke. I was frustrated by the time to call it a day.
In the Hamada area, a single fish over 40 cm has been caught, and you can enjoy catching a lot of fish of that size.
It takes 10 to 20 minutes from the port to reach the rocky shore, so you can board the boat in a relaxed atmosphere. Please be mindful of the weather and enjoy the cold largescale blackfish season.