From Passionable Fishing, our Japanese-language journal.

This happened last year.

The problem was that we had not brought a landing net onto the breakwater.

My wife—who is definitely a better angler than I am—hooked a madai, a red seabream, of around 50 cm.

“It is a madai! But we have no net.”

I went over to look. It was quite big, but perhaps I could lift it straight out…

Or so I decided, all by myself.

I thought I could lift it

She often hands the rod over to me for the landing. This time, too, I took over with an air of confidence.

From somewhere in the distance, I thought I faintly heard someone say, “You can borrow my net…”

But I thought I could lift it. That convenient conclusion became a plan, and the plan went straight into action.

A Lateo 86 seabass rod. PE #0.8 line.

I raised the rod with all my strength.

The madai appeared right in front of me.

That is BIG!

From the high breakwater, it had looked only forty-something centimetres long.

Ping… SNAP!

It… b-r-o-k-e… aaah…

The madai in front of my eyes slipped smoothly downwards.

SPLOOOSH! SPLAAASH!

In a way, it was a remarkably beautiful sound. It rang out all around us.

It seemed to me that frictional heat at the rod guides had caused the PE line to break.

A few days later

My wife caught another madai of about the same size.

That time, I used the landing net.

First published in November 2019; the Japanese source was updated in November 2023. “Last year” follows the original recollection. The proposed cause of the line break is the author’s impression. Another story from the journal: A red seabream’s magnificent farewell.

Originally published on our Japanese-language site, Passionable Fishing, on 13 Nov 2019. 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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