RAINBOW TROUTING!

We continue on our Japanese Alps journey with the targeting of a different species of Trout - the introduced Rainbow. This is undoubtedly the most known an targeted species of Trout. They have been introduced since centuries past and are constantly still being released into wild waterways for fishermen to enjoy...

Of course when Trouting the scenery is bliss...

Like when going for the Yamame in the vicinity, we were armed to the teeth with FCL Labos latest and greatest mini minnows for Trout...

The Rainbows in this tight stream weren't big but were much fun none the less...

They were feisty little fighters which went after the lures hard...

The FCL minnows proved to be really stable in the tight a fast flowing streams. They were made for these exact conditions so we wouldn't expect anything less...

The trick was to get past the smaller ones and hope to fool the better specimens like this one before they get spooked...

We did manage a few decent fish, which were a handful in the tight confines...

And the FCL Labo samples kept them busy...

The small ones proved a lot of fun as well...

But bigger is almost always better...

Deep runners were able to get down in the darker pools where the fish were hanging under ledges...

They were all beautifully marked. And an awesome wonder of nature...

As a beautiful surprise this next capture turned out to be a big Iwana or Japanese Char. Displaying awesome colour and markings, and that characteristic hooked jaw of a mature fish, this was a big fish but it soon jumped out of the deep net before we could get any better pictures taken. Waste...

We then settled back into the steady stream of Rainbows which came from the likely ambush points along the stream as we trekked up...

They were well-fed healthy specimens as illustrated...

And they sure liked the FCL Labo lures we were casting...

We caught plenty on this day, but traversing the terrain and negotiating the stream made the game most interesting...

We found that with the right lures they weren't hard to fool...

So long as the pools they inhabit were not spooked...



In all we spent half a day and came away totally satisfied and energised...

Later in the day at a rest stop we found Yamame or Cherry Salmon fresh from the streams, sold as a delicacy. We couldn't pass on the chance to get a taste...

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