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Today started off nice an early where we checked out of our hotel near Lake Biwa the Bass capitol of Japan and made the short trip to the marina to meet with our guide for the day Koji Hasagawa from Flashpoint. He had already put a plan in place as to how the day would plan out with some open grass bed fishing, then some rock wall reed structure followed by lunch. After lunch we would head North and fish the top lake grass beds and central weed fields.
We loaded the boat on dry land and then launched at about 0800, the banks were lined with local anglers targeting Funa. Funa is a native carp species that is very particular in its technique, any one who has been into a tackle store in Japan would have seen the copious amounts dry powered baits that you need to mix with water to get the consistency right, rods do not have reels and it is generally done with the assistance of a float. The rod holders are hand made from timber and are quite ornamental in their design. In many cases the rod holders and the rods out price most of our high end bream gear. We made our slow exit from the harbor and made a short trip south down the lake to a shallow grass and sand bed that is known for holding good sized Bass. I started with a Jointed Claw 178 tied to some 20lb G-Blood fluoro which was wound onto a Gan Craft T-3 Mago that had found itself seated on a Gan Craft Killers series Dead Sword Rod. We made plenty of casts with not a lot of activity. I made the quick Change to a Kilelrs Melt and Luvius spin outfit and had a crack at Gan Crafts new prototype 10 inch worm rigged weightless whackey. 
After the change I managed to get a solid hook up on a good fish, it was at his point we realized we left the net back at the marina and after a short fight and lots of jumping by the fish it came unstuck at the boat, I am sure we got it on film for later reference. Nothing really happened for a while after that so we continued further south to some 30meter water with artificial concrete structure on the bottom coming up through the water column to about 7 meters, we switched outfits and went to the Jointed Claw 230mm Magnum sinking model, big casts and lots of sink time was needed to get the lure down. After a short time we could not see any fish on the sounder and could not raise any interest so it was time to change that plan we had.
The sun was coming up so we headed across to a bank that had plenty of shade covered area's. Although we had some heart pumping follows we could not get the fish to commit to eating a lure. All hungry we decided to pack it up and head off to lunch at a nearby restaurant. for a feed, we tied the boat up jumped in the car and went and sat in a nice Air conditioned placed for lunch - I cant remember what I ate but it was pretty nice. On the way out I could not help but notice a soft serve icecream shop glistening on the promenade so I had no choice but to get icecream, on a nice warm day with the sun out who can refuse it, not me that's for sure. The restaurant was located in a tourist spot that showed a significant interest in the native Ayu fish and statues and fountains adorned the exterior. It amazing how much influence this native fish has in some regional area's.
All fed and with icecream stains on my t-shirt it was time to head back to the water, all pumped for a fresh session on Biwa. This time we bolted straight out and North under the bridge to the upper lake section. We fished a section of the lake that is massive meadows of grass. We both decided that a worm was the best option so back to the 10" whacky worm. We had only been there for about 10 minutes when a few boats around us started to bang a few smaller fish, we stuck with what we knew would work with some bigger models and kept at it. 
Mr Hasegawa was first to pull a fish with a cracking mid 40's fish pulled off the grass, I was having a bit of adjustment time getting used to the feel of the take from a bass on a 10inch worm pattern lure. Its not like most other plastics takes as you get a series of bites and then you need to wait until you have a solid take before setting a hook, for me that is a fair adjustment as over here you normally strike as soon as you feel a fish and was was struggling a bit to be fair. I felt a lot more comfortable with the Jointed Claw tied on my outfit so we made a short burst out to the middle of the lake where in 4 m of water you could see the weed touching the surface. This looked much better for me and kind of reminded me of the timber at many of the lakes at home that we would cast around in the hope of pulling a Cod or a yella from. We made a few drifts along one bank and we both experienced follows but again fish not committing. Another short move to another bank of weed and more casting. The water clarity was amazing and I could clearly see the bottom in 4 meters, it had a saltwater feel to it with the weed being very much like the Kelp forest we get in southern Victoria.
I kept punching away with the Jointed Claw, we cam across a nice patch of tall weed and I had the perfect cast opportunity between 2 sections of weed, I could see some timber in the distance on the bottom laying on the sand, it just looked good. About 4 cranks into the retrieve 'BANG' this little bass took this 178mm Jointed Claw like it was its last feed, it made a good account of itself and fought to the end, this time I decided that i was not waiting for a net, the rod and line was much heavier than previous so I just pole lifted the fish straight in and high 5's were issued all round. The pressure was off I had a fish in the boat, that's the thing about fishing, you can go from the struggling low to a confident high in a matter of seconds. We worked this area for another 1/2 an hour or so, the only real interest we had after that was from a stonker 60cm model that nudged Mr Hasegawa'a Pink Jointed Claw 230 Magnum. The sun had slightly hanged its position and the conditions back on the grass meadows seemed favorable so armed ith a new sense of confidence we headed back to the field of grass to rig some of the new prototype worms
We punched these things around for a while and got lots of attention, we ended up landing a few more for the day. For those who have not experienced Bass fishing in Japan or the States it is something worth doing, they do not fight like our bass, they do not bite like our bass and they grow a lot bigger than our Bass. There are plenty of places in Japan that you can simply pull up and target Bass but the price of a guide is reasonable and Flashpoint with Koji Hasagowa who is located central or Masaki Onaka who works in the Northern reaches of Lake Biwa. They both have an incredible knowledge of the Biwa system and work very hard to keep the punters happy.We finished up for the day and made a quick trip back to the hotel for a freshen up before heading out for dinner at a traditional Japanese eating house located near the hotel, because much alcohol can be consumed during your dinner the eating house was kind enough to pick us all up from the hotel and take us for the feed. Upon arrival it looked just like you would imagine in a movie scene, dark timber building with bonsai all around, we slid the rice paper covered door open to a large open area where hard wood met the tatami mats with wall mounted pigeon holes for shoes. We were ushered into a small private room where another sliding rice paper door was closed behind us for privacy. Kotaro explained that this restaurant was one that was traditionally designed to feed Sumo wrestlers and that the meal we would be eating was a staple part of a Sumo diet, this sounded like it was going to suit me down to a tea.
We took our seats (yes seats) that were very low to the ground at a low table that had a hot pot, a large tray of veg and a large tray of meat sitting next to it and more sauces and spices as you could poke a stick at. An older lady came in and put a fire under the hot pot and took our drinks orders. It was beers all round. When she returned with the beers the hot pot was beginning to boil so the tray of veg was added to the pot - I am not sure how she got it all in but she did. she returned a short time later to top up drinks and added the meat to the pot after the veg had reduced. The smell was amazing with the stock veggies and meat bubbling away. 
Now that smell was only to be short lived as Kotaro had decided to order dish called Funazushi, this dish is fresh Funa that is scaled and gutted through their gills keeping the body and roe of the fish intact. The fish are then packed with salt and wrapped in fermented rice, a traditional lacto-fermented rice dish and aged for a year before being repacked annually in rice for up to four years. The fermentation of the rice prevented the fish from spoiling. The fermented rice was discarded and fish was the only part consumed. Now this thing looked terrible and smelled like old sweaty socks so I kept my chopsticks well clear of this dish and stuck to the hotpot. After smashing the first one I thought that was it but the staff returned with yet another tray of meat as there was still broth bubbling away you need to use as much as possible up for the next process of the meal. We destroyed that tray of meat and polished off the last of the vegetables. The staff returned and took the pot away with the small amount of liquid remaining. They then added rice to form a savory style kind of porridge out of the remaining broth. Now I have to say that I am not too bad on the chew but I was getting full. This dish knocked me around a bit and must admit that I had to stand and pace around the room for a bit to make room to finish it off. 
All in all an incredibly memorable day on Lake Biwa with some great company in Kotaro and Koji Hasegawa. I can not wait till I return to this place to give it another crack.
