Rebun Island, in the northern part of Hokkaido Prefecture, is a paradise for anglers. Hugo, a fishing guide, enjoys fishing in different aquatic environments and trying various baits depending on the situation.
There's one! It's big!
Both freshwater and saltwater fish can be caught right here.
This big catch was caught on a fishing expedition on Rebun Island.
It's really unique to have all the different environments and conditions
to do all of this on such a small island.
In this episode, we'll fish rivers, lakes, and seas
on an island in the northern region of Hokkaido.
Wild Hokkaido!
Rebun Island, in the north of Hokkaido,
stretches 30 kilometers from north to south.
Hugo Tremoliere has arrived here on Rebun.
He has more than 30 years of fishing experience,
and works as a fishing guide in the Niseko region.
It's my first time on the island of Rebun.
It's a beautiful island, lots of green,
and lots of different types of fishing are possible so I'm really excited.
Let's go!
Surrounded by the ocean, Rebun is also blessed with rivers and lakes.
The question now is, where to start fishing?
To begin, Hugo treks inland through the mountains and finds a small river.
Once he arrives at the river,
Hugo appears to start surveying the surrounding environment.
It's my first time to see that river.
It's a really small creek, which is to be expected on a small island.
So I'm going to pay attention to all the environment
to see what types of insects there are.
Just then, Hugo spots something in the water.
This is Caddis, the nymph.
This one is the nymph, inside.
Once they grow up, they'll become like the Caddisfly,
that's a fly around the river, and it's the main food source for those fish.
Hugo uses flies that appear like insects to attract fish to his line.
Surveying the environment is the first step in successful fly fishing.
I've already seen a little bit of the insects and I know this type of river.
So I'm going to start with something not too big but not too small.
I'm going to put a dry fly.
Hugo chooses a floating fly that matches bugs the fish eat.
Will it work?
He casts the first line and...
It's a really small White-spotted Char.
A really beautiful one.
This fish's genetics are really adapted to the river
so the top is really dark because the river is dark,
but the bottom for some reason is extremely orange.
It's really beautiful.
And just like that, Hugo has snagged a catch.
His choice of fly is perfect and he continues to hook White-spotted Char.
But all of them are only about ten centimeters in length.
So, Hugo decides to go further up the beautiful canyon
in search of a bigger catch.
He arrives at a deep pool.
Are there any fish to be found here?
The floating dry fly doesn't appear to attract any attention.
It's here that Hugo decides to try a different fishing strategy.
I think I'll put this in here
because I don't think they will be feeding on the top of the water
in this type of pool.
It's a lot of slow-moving water
so I think they're feeding on the bottom.
So, that's why I put the nymph.
And it works.
He chooses a sinking fly that resembles the larva of a Caddisfly.
The red-decorated fly sinks in the water.
Will he catch something this time?
A fish has taken a bite!
It's the biggest so far.
Twenty-one centimeters.
Biggest one of the day.
Looks like Hugo's decision to change strategy has paid off.
He gently puts the fish back into the water,
as is common for those who practice catch and release.
It was a really beautiful river.
Like, the forest is amazing and then using dry fly and nymph,
I was able to catch so many fish today.
It was a really good day.
After fishing in the canyon,
Hugo is heading to a lake a few kilometers away.
He'll attempt to catch even bigger fish in this large lake.
The lake is really big.
Especially, that one, the water isn't clear,
so you can't see the bottom.
So, that's why I won't even know if my lures are deep enough or not,
but that's part of fishing.
Because the grass is quite long, fly fishing might be difficult here,
as it involves swinging the rod back and forth,
so Hugo devises a plan...
I've taken two different setups.
One is for fly fishing and one is for lure fishing.
But because there are so many herbs around,
I'm just going to focus on lure fishing at the moment.
The water's quite dirty.
This time, he decides to try lure fishing instead.
Noticing the murky water,
he makes sure to use a brightly colored lure, which is easier to see.
He wades through the grass and casts the lure.
It's been an hour, but not a single bite.
Okay, it's finished.
Okay, let's change places.
As he was searching the area surrounding the lake,
Hugo came across a section without any grass.
Could this be where the big fish are hiding?
I'm trying to make this lure float sort of in the middle of the water column.
Since it's hard to see in the water, he keeps using lures.
There's one!
I think...
It's a really cute Japanese Dace.
Finally, he got a lake fish.
A Japanese Dace, 25 centimeters long.
It usually stays in the same water as trout,
but usually in the warmer parts of rivers, and they stay in groups.
Hugo is certain there are even bigger fish to be found here.
I got one.
Nice!
It's big.
It's pretty big.
It's a nice White-spotted Char.
Thirty-six centimeters.
It's super beautiful.
Wow, he's definitely a fishing pro.
I think they're bigger in the lakes because there's more food year-round,
there are more places to hide, the water is also much warmer.
It's all of these factors that make the fish usually bigger in lakes.
Hugo read the lake well and chose a lure instead of a fly,
so he could catch bigger fish.
Now for "SENSEI's Tips."
When fishing, it's essential to tie the hook
and lure very securely to your fishing line.
Today, we'll look at how a pro ties a knot in a simple way
that's suitable for everyday use.
If you have two different lines that you want to attach together,
or if your line is broken in the middle,
a really simple knot is the "double surgeon's knot."
When you want to tie two lines together, make two overlapping loops,
then tie them to make a lump.
If you wrap them around once more, you can make them even stronger.
See? The two lines are now firmly attached to each other.
Lines can often come loose easily, but this knot stays firm.
Try it yourself.
We've covered the canyon and the lake,
and now the time has come to try fishing in the sea.
Now I'm going to go fish in the sea
but I'm not too sure what types of fish there are
so I'm going to go ask a local person.
There's a much wider variety of fish in the sea.
It's a great idea to ask the locals.
This is Kawamura Takeru, born and raised in Rebun.
He loves fishing so much, he even has his own boat.
Wow, it's really beautiful and clear.
The sea is so peaceful.
So, what kind of fish can you catch on Rebun Island?
During this season, you can catch different varieties of Rockfish.
They live on the seafloor.
Bottom feeders, yeah?
Yes, you can catch those.
As he did at the river and lake,
Hugo begins by surveying the sea and its surroundings.
You use Ragworms to catch the Rockfish.
Where do they live, these worms?
They're under the rocks.
This type of worm is what the fish are eating.
So that's what we're searching for to put as bait.
To learn the difference between the fish from the sea and rivers,
what they eat, and where they hide,
that's what's interesting about fishing.
Hugo is finished assessing the sea area.
To start, he's going to try using a real worm as bait.
Now, he can just sit back and wait for the fish to bite.
Fishing in the sea and river is very different.
I can identify really well where the fish are living in the river,
but the sea is so big.
It's really difficult.
But after waiting a while, the fish are still not biting.
Hugo, who's grown impatient, changes to his preferred style of lure fishing.
He's chosen a worm lure that's shaped like the Ragworms by the beach.
Yeah, we can see everything. That's actually quite cool.
We can see the fish attacking the lure.
It's really clear.
Will the new lure have the desired effect?
Oh, it's huge!
Someone's forgotten how to speak English!
It's a big White-edged Rockfish.
Nice catch.
That was a much bigger one.
It's actually bigger than I thought, 23 centimeters.
He also tries the lure out by the rocks.
Hugo's lure technique pays off in the sea, too,
and he catches fish after fish.
He's had a great time fishing in a variety of different environments.
I had an amazing time here on Rebun Island.
I was able to do so many different types of fishing.
Dry fly, nymph, lure fishing in the lake,
lure fishing in the sea, and bait fishing as well.
It's really unique to have all the different environments and conditions
to do all of this on such a small island.
Yeah, it was amazing.
Rebun Island...
From rivers to lakes to seas,
Hugo enjoyed all these amazing fishing environments in a single trip.
Wild Hokkaido!
takes you on great activities in the great outdoors of northern Japan.
Join us next time for another adventure!