From Passionable Fishing, our Japanese-language journal.

Aji numbers around Amakusa have seemed to be declining for about three years. I have also heard talk of them moving north through the Sea of Japan. When I looked into it, there did seem to be a tendency in that direction.

This year, they also seem to be growing slowly: the fish are smaller than usual. I have plenty of ajing rods, but will I eventually have no use for them? I wonder.

Sagoshi are getting harder to tempt too

For now, I went fishing for sagoshi—young Japanese Spanish mackerel—but that has been getting tougher as well.

Three years ago, when they could be caught throughout the day, I heard that one expert angler landed 60 in a single day. Back then, repeated pulls of the rod followed by winding in the slack would still catch them.

That no longer works for me. Now, they only respond to a relentless, extraordinarily fast retrieve.

It used to be easy enough. Two years ago, I began to feel that they had become wary of lures; last year, very wary. This year feels much the same.

Originally published on our Japanese-language site, Passionable Fishing, on 20 Oct 2023. Translated for Avantgarde Fishing. These are the author’s personal observations at the time of writing. Product availability and fishing conditions may have changed.
Read this article on Passionable Fishing (日本語) ↗