Bucket List For Later – Japan’s Monster Bass Factory

Biwa in Japan It’s difficult to accept that the country that holds the most coveted freshwater record, and possibly the fishery with the largest concentration of trophy-sized Largemouth Bass, also considers bass to be enemy number one! When Japanese businessman Akabishi Tetsuma first imported bass into Japan from California in 1932 he couldn’t have anticipated that it would change the shape of bass fishing forever, from the tackle we use today to the techniques which are dominating professional trails in the U.S. At first bass were widely accepted as a great table fish, but many anglers didn’t want to adjust to the Americanised style of fishing to target them, and considered bass a nuisance species because it preyed on Japan’s fish populations. But towards the late 1970’s bass began gaining acceptance as a thrilling freshwater species to catch, but that ended when one bad apple decided to stock bass in the sacred waters of the royal palace, which destroyed a rare goldfish population that had been specifically propagated for over 400 years. This atrocity caused a widespread uprising by government officials, to such an extent that the Japanese government legislated that all bass caught had to be killed. The result is that commercial harvesting of bass is in place - walking into any large grocery store will have you foaming at the mouth when you see the size of the bass on ice! Inadvertently this harvesting – actually a management tool applied by fisheries to reduce the numbers of smaller fish and increase the numbers of really large specimens - has propelled Japan to the top of list as far as big bass capitals goes. This position in the bassing world was cemented when Manabu Kurita snatched the current IGFA bass world record at Lake Biwa in the Shiga prefecture with a 22lb 5oz bass caught in August 2009. But Biwa isn’t the only lake to harbour big largemouth and smallmouth bass, although there is very little information regarding other venues such as the Ikehara chain of lakes, which according to local bassing legend Seiji Cato is even better than El Salto in terms of big bass on offer, which can mostly be sight fished. LAKE BIWA Lake Biwa, or Biwako as it is also known, has been the stomping ground for many of the techniques we take for granted, even the tackle tested at the venue makes it one of the most prestigious bass fisheries in the entire world. Being Japan’s largest natural lake it spans more than 65km in length with a surface area of more than 670.4 km², and according Japan’s “Lure Magazine” sees the highest percentage of bass anglers per square kilometer of any venue in the world! Although Biwa rocketed to fame in western bassing circles after Kurita’s world record catch, for Japan’s bass anglers it has been regarded as their best bass lake, regularly producing bass in excess of 66cm, or “10lbers” as we know them. Many US anglers have speculated as to why the bass at Biwa are growing to such large proportions, with some even going so far as to aver that the world record was genetically engineered. But according to Kurta the real reason for the high number of quality bass swimming in its waters is its massive, protein-rich forage base which includes more than 21 species, including anything from crucian carp, goldfish, trout, bluegill, American Shad and the indigenous Ayu. “Bass in Biwako are never hungry, that’s why they are so difficult to catch,” he points out. With the combined effects of a rich food base and commercial harvesting, it’s no wonder that the lake produces numerous 16 -20lb bass each year. World record holder Manabu says that when he caught the world record he didn’t think it was that big. “I’ve seen schools of 20lb bass and have lost fish on a 16-inch Roman Made Mother swimbait which would go close to 28lb, so 20lb is not so big!” he comments. For a lake that experiences frigid winters and only mild summers you wouldn’t expect the average tournament on Biwa to be won with 40lb-plus bags throughout the year. What Biwa lacks in quantity – with anglers catching an average of 20-plus fish for a day - it easily makes up in quality with fish in the 8 – 12lb class, and if an active school is located it could mean giant bass on back to back casts! Biwa can be fished in two ways: from a tournament perspective fishing it with smaller, highly realistic conventional baits, or large, 10-16 inch swimbaits for the trophy hunter. And don’t count out livebait fishing either, as Japan is one of the only countries that actively encourages the use of livebait to more effectively target bass as the world record shows. Biwa can be considered as Japan’s equivalent of Califorinia’s Clear Lake, an ultra-deep fishery with crystal clear waters with a magnitude of bass-holding structure and cover on offer. Most fishing at Biwa is done around large grass mats or deep offshore structure including submerged islands and old buildings, so having a local guide is absolutely essential. And on no other bass fishery in the world is having local knowledge as essential as it is on Biwa, firstly in terms of finding bass (the sonar units used in Japan are locally manufactured and understanding the controls without being able to read Japanese is downright impossible) and secondly without an understanding of local presentations so too is catching them as with most successful techniques being nothing we South Africans are accustomed to. Many of the local guides on Lake Biwa double as pro staffers for tackle brands such as Deps, Jackall, Megabass and Evergreen International, and includes anglers such as Shigenori Nakajima, world record holder Manabu Kurita and Kim Ken. Embarking on a guided trip not only allows you to fish the lake that delivered the world record from a fully rigged bass boat, but also exposes some of the latest innovations that even the Japanse bassing public have yet to see, never mind the Americans. On a special note: hire a translator during your stay so you can fully understand and absorb the wealth of knowledge and specific techniques that are used. LAKE BIWA VITAL INFO Best Time to visit: April to AugustWhere to Stay: Hikonewww.tripadvisor.comGuides Available: www.nakazy.com