From Passionable Fishing, our Japanese-language journal.

The rig

At this spot, where a strong current pushes towards the breakwater, I use only split rigs.

  • To drift near the bottom along the close light-and-shadow boundary: a jighead of about 0.4 g with a 2.5 g sinker, roughly 3 g in total.
  • To drift above and below mid-water, 7–15 m out: a 4–6 g sinker.
  • To search near the bottom: 5–7.5 g, working the rig with a slow draw while keeping it slightly raised.

These are guides, not fixed rules; the tide changes everything. Because the current comes towards you, a free fall can carry the rig into the rocks close in.

Follow the right-hand flow

On the ebb, the current runs from left to right. The familiar fishing position is where it meets the breakwater. If the rig follows the flow that turns left after impact, bites decrease sharply—although very large fish can sometimes be there. Looking down in daylight once, I saw four or five horse mackerel of around 35 cm swimming slowly through that area.

As a rule, I let the rig follow the flow to the right. Where the current strikes the breakwater shifts with its strength, across a range of about 5 m. It moves left when weaker and right when stronger. The useful area also narrows and widens, becoming broader when the current is stronger.

In weaker flow, a sweet spot sometimes forms in mid-water, 5–7 m in front. It can be like fishing in a stocked pond.

A moving sweet spot

With a current just below medium strength, a mid-water pocket about 3–5 m across sometimes forms around 10 m out. It can extend towards the tip of the breakwater on the right, becoming what I would call a “sweet belt”.

Occasionally, the right-hand side fishes better. That is easy to recognise when more of the ripples from the incoming current spread towards it.

The close-in rocks

The first 2 m are a snagging zone. Be especially careful if, after working the rig or letting it drift, the line becomes taut diagonally down to the right. Total rig weights above 3.5 g are risky there.

The depth of the fish changes constantly. Mid-water fish are easier. But searching deeper with a slow drawing action is essential if you want the larger ones. I have met people who do nothing else.

Originally published on our Japanese-language site, Passionable Fishing, on 22 Dec 2022. 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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