At the beginning of April, my daughter Cherry and I set off for a destination we had talked about for years — Japan.
It is a country we have both loved for a long time. Between us, that comes from a shared interest in anime, manga, Japanese culture and, of course, the food. But for me there was another side to this trip that had been on my mind for a long time as well — fishing, and more specifically, carp fishing in Japan.
Carp fishing in Japan is very different to what we know in Europe. In Europe, carp fishing is a huge part of angling culture. In Japan, it is much more niche. A lot of the fishing is either sea fishing for food or bass fishing on lakes. Carp are there, but they are viewed differently. In Japan, “carp” or “koi” are deeply symbolic. They are seen as symbols of strength, courage, perseverance and good fortune. There is a deep-rooted belief in their ability to swim upstream against strong currents, and the old legend of the carp becoming a dragon only adds to that sense of respect and reverence.
That said, there is still a small group of very keen, dedicated and talented carp anglers in Japan, and that is exactly what I wanted to experience.
One other thing worth mentioning is that, unlike back home, Japanese anglers generally prefer to measure their fish rather than weigh them. That was something different straight away, and another little insight into how their carp scene has its own identity.
First days in Japan
We landed late on Saturday night and got to the hotel just before midnight. By the following day, we were already out getting a feel for the place — learning the trains, the pace of life, the people, and naturally, eating as much good food as possible.
While walking along the rivers past the castle in Osaka, we arranged to meet up with Scott from UK Carp Osaka. UK Carp Japan has two stores across Japan, one in Tokyo run by James and one in Osaka run by Scott. For carp anglers travelling in Japan, they are an incredible resource. They stock well-known brands such as Korda, Mainline, Fox and OMC, just to name a few, and with enough notice can pretty much get you whatever you need.
After chatting with Scott, he very kindly offered to lend me a drop net for fishing the Osaka rivers. That turned out to be essential. Because of the high walls and railings along the river, using a conventional landing net simply is not practical. The locals tend to use sea fishing-style drop nets lowered down over the side, and that was a whole new challenge in itself. Straight away, I was realising that even though the target species was the same, this style of fishing was going to be completely different.
First evening on the river with Yoshi
That evening, I got a message from the main man himself, Yoshihiro aka “Yoshi” or “Mune-San” he asked if we wanted to fish?.
There was only one answer to that - YES.
We headed back to the apartment, grabbed the fishing gear, and made our way back to the river. It felt surreal — first day in Japan and I was already getting the rods out.
We spent a few hours on the river that evening with Yoshi, talking about carp fishing, the Nash video, skateboarding, life in general, and of course the unique nature of Japanese river carp fishing. While we were talking, we were watching fish show all over the river. Carp were jumping and rolling, and naturally hopes were sky high.
Unfortunately, neither of us had a bite.
Yoshi explained that it could easily have been down to the heavy rainfall during the week before our arrival. The water had coloured up badly, and with it came debris being washed down the river. It made perfect sense, and it was a reminder that even on the other side of the world, carp fishing can still humble you very quickly.
We said our goodbyes that evening and agreed to catch up again the following weekend when Yoshi would be back from work commitments. Even though we had blanked, that first evening was still hugely valuable. Fishing these rivers for years, Yoshi had learned a lot about how the carp behave, where they travel, and most importantly, how much the tide affects everything.
That was one of the biggest eye-openers for me. He explained how the carp feed best when the tide is dropping. Looking at the tide tables and weather forecasts together, we agreed that the following Saturday looked perfect. There would be an early high tide followed by a slow drop through the day, and with a little rain forecast the day before, there was every chance of increased oxygen and natural food being pulled into the river too.
With that in mind, we made the plan and carried on with the rest of our trip.
A quick taste of Japanese commercial-style fishing
During a day in Tokyo, we stopped off to try something totally different — a local, concrete commercial-style carp venue, fishing the way many locals do, with a small pole and pellets, much like the scenes seen in the Nash video with Alan Blair.
It did not take long to realise how pressured the fish were. There were plenty of carp feeding on the surface and moving confidently for loose offerings, but as soon as a hookbait went in, they changed their behaviour instantly. You could literally see them identify danger and turn away, preferring the freebies over anything attached to a hook.
Even so, in an hour we managed four bites and landed one fish. It was easy to see the appeal. For a quick, technical and enjoyable session after work or school, it made perfect sense why this style of fishing is popular over there. Much like the animal cafes around Japan its a way for the locals to relax and take their mind off work or school.
Lake Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji
Midweek brought the best weather of the trip, so we decided to make the long seven-hour train journey to Lake Kawaguchiko, at the base of Mt. Fuji.
This place was especially exciting for me because it had featured in Monster Carp, with Ali Hamidi, Tom Dove and Darrell Peck. To be there in person was a real moment. We could not have timed it better either. The sky was crystal clear and the view of Mt. Fuji was absolutely incredible.
Straight away, one thought entered my head — I wanted a carp photo with Mt. Fuji in the background.
After walking a section of the lake near the apartment I had booked for us, I found signs of carp and got fishing. I chose to fish two bright pop-ups at showing fish, hoping for a quick opportunity.
Unfortunately, that evening nothing happened. We fished for around four hours, but between the travelling and the walking, both of us were completely done in. The closest I got to a carp was actually watching a bright orange koi cruise underneath my rod tips in about three feet of water. Even though I did not catch, it was still a brilliant experience just sitting there, taking in the lake, the mountain backdrop, and having a little bankside picnic with Cherry.
We headed back for food and sleep, telling ourselves tomorrow morning was another chance.
I woke early the next day, grabbed a coffee and went out to get my fishing permit while having another look round the lake. On the walk back towards the apartment, I found them — a group of five or six carp feeding in the margin near the docks, taking food just under the surface. I honestly felt like a kid at Christmas.
I rushed back, grabbed the rods and Cherry, and we hurried straight back to the spot.
The fish were still there. I quickly changed approach, ditched the leads and fished buoyant pop-ups with a few handfuls of pellet over the top. I was absolutely shaking with excitement. The carp kept drifting back through the area, eating the pellets, moving close to the hookbaits, clearly inspecting them… then backing off. They knew something was wrong.
Then, after about ten minutes, a man started shouting from behind me. At first I did not realise he was shouting at me, but it turned out I was fishing in a no-fishing area around the boats and dock.
As frustrating as it was, I apologised straight away, packed up and moved on without any fuss. The last thing I wanted to do was upset local people or disrespect the area.
We tried a few more spots that morning, sharing the banks with predator anglers, but no one seemed to be catching much and, with another seven-hour train back to Osaka ahead of us, we eventually called it a day.
Before leaving, though, I wanted to stop in at a local carp shop called Carp Road, just off the banks of the lake. It was a lovely little tackle shop and again stocked proper carp brands such as Mainline, Korda and OMC. Seeing that in Japan, where the carp scene is much smaller, was genuinely nice to see.
Preparing for the main river session
Eventually, the weekend came around and it was time to meet up with Yoshi again, bright and early on the banks of the Osaka river.
One thing that became clear when planning the trip was that my tackle setup would need to be a compromise. I did not want to spend huge money on dedicated travel rods and reels, nor did I want to pay extra luggage charges. That limited my choices quite a bit.
In the end, I went with a pair of NGT Profiler 9ft 4-piece rods, which pack down small enough to fit into a standard suitcase. They are technically more of a lure or spinning rod, with a 30–50g casting weight, but given the situation they were the best compromise.
I paired them with NGT Profiler 60 reels, loaded with Commando Tackle 15lb Monostealth X line. The reels also come with spare spools, so I loaded braid onto those as a backup option just in case I needed it.
For the rest of the setup, I kept things compact and practical:
NGT 4-fold unhooking mat
Advanta bank sticks
Advanta Discovery bite alarms
2m telescopic landing net pole
Steel-rimmed landing net
For terminal tackle, I packed a selection of Commando Tackle size 4 Curve Shanks, Wide Gapes and Dagger Suture hooks, along with Covert Link semi-stiff braid, pre-tied helicopter leaders made from 45lb Bombproof, bait screws, silicone tubing, and the usual useful bits like Commando scissors, crimp tool, hook puller and field dressing.
Bait was one of the biggest question marks before travelling. Import rules around animal products are not especially clear, and I was not entirely sure what would or would not be allowed through customs. In the end, I took a small amount and hoped for the best:
1kg Octopus Butter Crunch boilie
15mm Cherry Bakewell pop-ups
15mm Pineapple BP pop-ups
15mm Butter Crunch hard hookers
Thankfully, on my visit, customs were no issue at all, (mainly because I was in a rush, messed up the customs form and they couldn’t be bothered to process it) so all that worry turned out to be for nothing.
The Osaka session begins
Meeting Yoshi that morning, he suggested I fish the left-hand side near the bridge. He explained it was the prime area and, as I was the guest, I could have first go on it.
I set up two rods, both on 1m heli-safe leaders with 2.5oz gripper style leads, fished down to a 6-inch semi-stiff braided hooklink, spinner swivel and size 4 Curve Shank, with bait screws for easy bait changes.
I decided to fish one rod with a pop-up and the other with a match-the-hatch bottom bait.
Both rods were placed around 25 yards out, with a small scattering of boilies over the top. Once both were positioned, Yoshi and I sat down, relaxed and chatted about the trip so far, completely unaware of the madness that was about to unfold.
First Japanese carp
Less than thirty minutes later, my left-hand rod — the one nearest the bridge, fishing the match-the-hatch bottom bait — gave a single beep.
Both of us turned to look.
The rod tip then hooped over and the alarm let out one solid tone.
That was it. I was in.
I could not believe it. My first Japanese carp, hooked in the Osaka river.
I was shaking. Not knowing for sure what I was attached to, not knowing how this light little travel rod was going to cope, questioning everything in a split second. Anyone who has caught carp knows the feeling — that mix of excitement, panic, fear and doubt all at once.
As I played the fish closer, it eventually surfaced and rolled. A lovely wild Osaka common. Seeing it was nailed properly in the bottom lip was an immediate relief. In that moment, I knew I had done it — I had caught my first carp in Japan.
With Yoshi’s help, and Cherry filming and taking photos, we got the fish safely into the net. A huge sigh of relief followed from both me and Yoshi.
Once the fish was secured, Yoshi went off with his camera to find the perfect photo spot — under the spring cherry blossom, the Sakura. It could not have been more fitting.
With everything ready, we lifted the fish out, unhooked it, treated the hook hold and just took a second to appreciate the moment. As I mentioned earlier, the Japanese generally measure rather than weigh their fish, and because of that I had not brought scales. I am also terrible at guessing weights, but if I had to, I would say that first fish was at least 20lb.
What a start.
Photos done, fish safely returned, big smiles all round — then it was straight back to work. I recast the same rod onto the same spot with the same bottom bait and a few boilies catapulted over the top one by one, Terry Hearn style.
The 30-pounder
Around fifteen minutes after returning that first fish, the same rod absolutely melted off again.
The moment I lifted into it, I knew this one was different. That little 9ft 4-piece rod was bent double, the tip almost touching the reel. I immediately slackened the clutch and let the fish take line because I honestly had visions of snapping the rod. Yoshi reassured me that there were no snags or obstacles in the area, so there was no danger in giving it room.
Eventually the run slowed and, just like big carp so often do, the fish began to plod in with that heavy, stubborn weight.
When it surfaced and we saw the depth of frame, both of us erupted. This was an A-star river fish and easily a 30lb-plus common.
I was honestly lost for words.
Getting it up the river wall and over the railings was a proper two-man job, but once we had it sorted and another photo spot prepped, we did everything properly — unhooking, fish care, photos, and back she went.
At that point I genuinely did not know what to think. In the space of an hour I had caught my first Japanese carp and then followed it with a proper 30-pound wild river common.
The pattern becomes clear
By this stage, a clear pattern was emerging. The carp clearly wanted the match-the-hatch bottom bait.
So I brought in the right-hand rod, removed the pop-up, switched it over to a bottom bait as well, and put both rods straight back on the money.
Then it was Yoshi’s turn.
His homemade alarms — built from walkie talkies — burst into life on his modified sea-fishing-style rod holders clipped to the railings. This, he told me, was the true Osaka way.
Yoshi landed his fish quickly and, deciding it was a smaller one, unhooked and released it without fuss before getting his rod back out.
Mayhem: doubles, triples and total chaos
Then the mayhem really started.
No more than ten minutes later, Yoshi was away again, but this time he handed the rod over to Cherry so she could have her first taste of Japanese carp fishing. With his guidance and coaching, she played and landed another beautiful common — the biggest carp she had caught up to that point.
As soon as her fish touched the net, my right-hand rod — now also fishing a bottom bait — screamed off. We had a double take on our hands.
Landing fish with a drop net in those conditions is a challenge in itself. You have to lower the net into the water and guide the fish over it, all while trying to avoid the fish already inside making an escape. Thanks to Yoshi’s experience, though, we got through it smoothly.
But before we could even settle, my left-hand rod burst off too.
Now we had a triple take in progress.
Thankfully, we had the second drop net Scott had lent me, because squeezing three fish into one net would not have been safe or sensible. With fish welfare always the priority, using the second net made much more sense, especially considering how awkward lifting them up the wall already was.
Once all three commons were safely secured and no rods remained in the water, we finally had time to stop and catch our breath. We all sat down for five minutes, had a drink and a snack, and just laughed at what had just happened. Then it was back to the fish — unhooking, treating, photographing and returning them safely.
By now I was completely blown away. I had got my first Japanese carp, got photos under the Sakura, backed it up with a 30-pounder, and then been part of a triple take. It already felt like one of those sessions you remember for the rest of your life.
Scott joins the action and another giant appears
By this point, Scott from UK Carp Japan had joined us for a few hours on the bank.
The social side of the session was brilliant. We fished, talked, ate, and just enjoyed the atmosphere. At the same time, the action simply kept coming. Between the three of us, multiple bites continued. I had four fish to my rods one after another without even getting the chance to properly settle them on the rests. My area was absolutely rocking.
Both Yoshi and Scott said they had never seen the river fish like it.
Then, out of nowhere, one of Scott’s alarms absolutely screamed off.
The fish was clearly special from the start. It stayed deep, hugged the bottom and took serious effort to shift. When it finally came up, all of us looked at each other thinking the same thing: could this be one of the biggest carp in the Osaka river?
This time, it definitely had to be weighed, and luckily Scott had brought his scales.
Once it was safely in the net and resting, Scott went to find his scales while Yoshi and I got the mat and camera gear ready. Getting the fish out of the river took all three of us due to the height of the banks and the railings. Once on the mat, we were convinced it was close to the 40lb mark. Scott’s PB was around 37lb, and for a moment we thought he had beaten it.
We weighed the mat first and confirmed that it was roughly 3lb. Then we weighed the fish.
The dial spun to around 39.5lb with the mat, which put the carp at approximately 36.5lb. Not the magical 40, and not a new PB for Scott, but an absolutely unbelievable river common all the same.
Photos were taken, fish care was done properly, and the fish was released safely.
Bento on the bank
By lunchtime, Yoshi had gone to the store and Cherry and I took the opportunity to sit down and eat our steak bento boxes.
That in itself became one of those little memories that sticks with you. Bento boxes in Japan are brilliant. They are like microwave meals without the microwave — light wooden boxes filled with whatever food you want, from fish and sushi to noodles, ramen, duck, beef and rice. Once you have chosen what you want, you pull a little string which activates the heating element inside, and after five or six minutes your food is hot and ready to eat.
Honestly, they were incredible, mix that with a bottle of Milk Tea (basically cold tea) and lunch was served.
Cherry’s PB and the perfect end
As expected, the afternoon quietened down a bit as the temperature rose into the mid-20s and the tide continued to drop. We had all agreed we would fish until around 4pm.
Then, while watching the rod tips, I saw my left-hand rod hoop over violently. The rod came off the rest completely and the reel hammered into the railings. At that exact moment, I thought I had lost the rod, but managed to grab it just in time.
After the laughter settled, I remembered I had promised Cherry the next fish.
So I handed her the rod.
This fish immediately made things awkward by kiting hard left, going under the bridge and around a concrete structure. Cherry has never really fished for big carp — most of our fishing together is on small match lakes for fish up to around 10lb — so I knew this was a massive moment for her. Slowly and carefully, I talked her through it, helping her regain control and guide the fish back the right side of the bridge.
Eventually it surfaced.
Again, I was in shock. This looked like another very serious fish.
When it finally slid safely into the net, I gave Cherry a huge hug and told her that was a new PB and possibly even a 30-pound common.
The look on her face, and hearing her say, “This has been the best day ever,” is something I will remember forever.
We decided to weigh that fish, and once again my guessing was miles off. It went 26lb. Not the 30 I had thought, but still an incredible carp, a massive PB for Cherry, and a fish neither of us will ever forget.
Yoshi once again handled the photos, and after that we all agreed the day had already given us more than enough.
The final tally
At the end of the session, we sat down and tried to process what had just happened.
Between the three of us, we had:
20 bites
20 fish landed
3 for Scott
5 for Yoshi
12 for Me/Cherry
I had travelled to Japan hoping to catch just one carp for the album.
Instead, I ended up with my first Japanese carp, a 30-pounder, a triple take, photos under the Sakura, and memories with my daughter that I will keep for life.
More than a fishing trip
I came to Japan on holiday with my daughter, but I left with so much more than that.
I left with memories, experiences and friendships I genuinely hope will last a lifetime.
Massive thank you to Yoshi (@munemushi_carp_japan) for absolutely everything. You are a true legend and one in a million. We could not have done any of it without you.
Thank you as well to James and Scott at UK Carp Japan / UK Carp Osaka (@uk carp Japan and @ukcarposaka) for the help, advice, hospitality and for lending the drop net that played a huge part in making the session possible.
And finally, a big thank you to my sponsors Commando Tackle (@commandotackle) and Octopus Baits (@octopusbaits) for supporting me and providing equipment and bait that performed exactly as I needed them to. From the reliability of the tackle to the confidence in the bait, it all played a massive part in a trip I will never forget.
