Found next to container ships and factory docks, the urban, grungy Japanese seabass is our new obsession. Noguchi (Guchi) Kazuhiko who works for Patagonia Japan weighs in on Tokyo’s unique night-time fishery.

WHAT 

Unrelated to the motor brand with which it shares a name, the Japanese seabass aka suzuki/maru suzuki (Lateolabrax japonicus), is a species of Pacific sea perch that grows as large as 120cm in Tokyo Bay. The colloquial names change according to size and age. Fish below 35cm are known as “seigo”, 35-60cm “fukko”, and 4 years/60cm+ “suzuki”.

The average size caught on fly is fukko class, but occasionally suzuki, which Guchi says are “career fish”,  are caught in a good season. Within the greater predatory seabass family of Lateolabracidae, this one is known as maru suzuki. There are other sub-species like the hira suzuki aka blackfin seabass (Lateolabrax latus) and tairiku suzuki aka Chinese seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) throughout the Asian Pacific. 

WHERE 

You can find suzuki everywhere around the coast of Japan’s four largest islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. Guchi says, “Tokyo Bay might be the best, but Osaka Bay and Nagoya Bay are good seabass fishing areas too.” In Tokyo Bay seabass fishing is done from a boat at night in areas surrounded by industrial lighting, which attracts both baitfish and predatory sea bass.

“The approach is simple,” he says. “Find structure. At night, we cast into shaded sections near walls or ship hulls, then strip a swimming fly from the shadows through water that is lit up by factory or ship lights.” Suzuki tend to stay deep during the day, especially when the sun is high. During certain times of year, from September to November, fishing early morning and evening under daylight conditions can provide a chance for surface action bust-ups.  

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HOW 

Guchi overlines his rigs in order to quickly and easily load casts. He says, “Suzuki don’t run fast, and rarely get onto the reel. I use a 7-weight with an 8-weight WF-line; good enough to fight even 80cm+ fish.” Choice of fly line is also important. “You need lines for cold to moderate temperatures. Don’t bring tropical lines, otherwise you will wrestle with line memory and tangling. The average casting range is 15 to 20 metres. It depends on the season and time of day, but you can use floating, intermediate, and fast-sinking (Sink 4) lines. Intermediate must be most versatile, but it depends in which range of water you want to trace your fly.” 

Suzuki are not leader-shy. “The total leader length is nine feet, with tippet strengths of 16-25lb. I use 20lb tippet in most cases, down to 16lb if I feel the fish are spooky.”  

Choice of flies varies, says Guchi. “I mainly use Zonkers, and EP, Clouser, and floating minnows, ranging between 7cm and 12cm. Some people use huge 20cm streamers, especially during winter (December), when the natural baitfish are bigger too.” 

WHO 

Shore-based DIY fly fishing for suzuki is not recommended because of restricted access throughout Tokyo Bay. Instead, Guchi recommends contacting Tokyo Bay guide boat operators like Seakuro (seakuro.com) and Pallas. Otherwise local man Ed Yoshida of the Tokyo Fly Fishing and Country Club (TFFCC) can help with a budget-friendly guided boat fish-along. hideto@urbanislander.co.jp

A PLAN IN JAPAN 

If you find yourself in Tokyo, try to combine an early morning guided boat session with an après-fish visit to Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji/Toyosu Market. Open from 3am, with auctions starting at 5:30am, if you can find a spot in the queue, try to get the omakase for breakfast at Sushi Dai. Thank us later. 

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