From Passionable Fishing, our Japanese-language journal.

In this area, the water beneath the bridge is the better-known fishing spot. But apparently this side became one of the well-known places for strong-current ajing only about three years ago.

That is what I heard from the person who first opened up this spot as a fishing location. Back then, they apparently had it to themselves all the time.

A river in the sea

I heard about the place through someone else. I think I began coming here around May last year, at a pace of two or three visits a month.

The first time I stood here, I could not make sense of it. Just water rushing past. A river in the sea.

There are fish here? Really?

Even if there are, I will never catch them. Absolutely not.

I look back fondly on that moment now, and on thinking those thoughts. People change. All of us.

Cast, wait—and there they are

These days, it is more like this: cast, wait, and quite often catch a fish. That is how this place feels now.

How things have changed since then. Those first impressions seem so long ago.

And now there is sometimes a peculiar extra pleasure. It is precisely when nobody else is catching that I become especially keen.

Let us see. Are you really not here, little aji?

And then—yes, there you are!

But… recently, more and more people seem to be catching them too.

People certainly learn quickly. I had better keep working at it, or I will be left behind.

Written in April 2020; “May last year” refers to May 2019. The source does not name this fishing spot. Related: finding the narrow band where the aji are holding.

Originally published on our Japanese-language site, Passionable Fishing, on 2 Apr 2020. Translated for Avantgarde Fishing. These are the author’s personal observations at the time of writing. Product availability and fishing conditions may have changed.
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