Toyohira Rainbow Trout Wonderland

Last weekend we cycled down to the Toyohira River, amongst the urban sprawl, to try and catch some yamame. The few times we bait fished on this stretch last year saw moderate success: a few yamame, some ugui, some sunburn. This time our result was unlike anything I have experienced this close to the city. I landed three decent sized rainbow trout, my wife landed one, and our friend netted five! Completely unexpected. Even stranger, all of our takes came under or around a dreary cement bridge (below). The setting wasn’t idyllic, but the fish were.

Sometimes you would be surprised where the best fishing can be.

Our technique remained the same. We used our Keiryu rigs (3.60 meter, reel-less, fixed line rods), some light line, split shot, and some hardware store (Homac) ikura bait on a hook. Simple, idiot proof fishing. After about an hour of barely a nibble (6:30-7:30), the strikes started to come pretty regularly from that point on. Rainbow trout are know to exist in the Toyohira, but never this far downstream into the city center.