Hokkaido, Japan Fishing Report Today

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido fishing report. Up here the rainy season is just brushing the island. Around Sapporo, Otaru, and Ishikari Bay, skies have been partly cloudy with passing showers, light north–northeast wind, and air temps hovering 16 to 20 degrees. Inland toward Lake Shikotsu and Toya it’s a touch cooler and calmer. Offshore, seas have been modest, fine for small boats hugging the coast if you watch the squalls. Sunrise along the west coast came a little before 4 a.m., with sunset just after 7 p.m., so we’ve got a long, gentle daylight window. Water temps on the Sea of Japan side are running around the mid-teens Celsius, a hair warmer on the Pacific side off Kushiro and Akkeshi. That’s been enough to wake things up after the late-spring chill. Tides on the Ishikari–Otaru stretch were a small to moderate set today, with the morning high pushing bait tight to the rock walls and harbor mouths, then easing through midday before another useful push late afternoon into evening. Around Muroran and Tomakomai, the moving water has been a bit stronger, which is helping the bite on both flounder and rockfish. The slack periods have been predictably slow, so time your casts around that incoming water if you can. Recent catches have been steady rather than wild, but good quality. In Ishikari and Otaru harbors, anglers have been picking up decent numbers of surfperch, greenling, and small rockfish, with the occasional respectable sea bass cruising the light edges at night. Down on the Pacific side, boat anglers off Tomakomai and Muroran are seeing mixed bags of flounder, cod, and some early-season hokke. Up in eastern Hokkaido, rivers feeding into the Kushiro area are still giving up cherry and masu salmon, plus native trout, for those willing to walk. Best lures right now offshore and in the ports have been compact metal jigs in the 15 to 30 gram range in blue–silver, pink, and green–gold, worked mid-water for sea bass and closer to the bottom for rockfish and flounder. Small minnow plugs, 7 to 9 centimeters, in natural sardine or ayu patterns are doing well at dawn and dusk around harbor lights and river mouths. For shore rockfish and greenling, soft plastics on simple jig heads, 5 to 10 grams, in dark brown or glow are hard to beat. Bait fishers should stick with salted sardine, squid strips, or sandworms. Sabiki rigs tipped with a sliver of bait are pulling mixed mini-species for kids and filling the livewell with small baitfish when the schools move through. A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: first, Otaru’s outer breakwaters and nearby rock points. On calm evenings these have been giving up consistent rockfish and the odd sea bass to anglers who stay mobile and target the current seams. Second, the Tomakomai area piers and nearby sandy stretches. With the right tide the flounder bite has been very respectable, and night sessions are turning up good-sized cod for those soaking bait on the bottom. Overall fish activity has been best around the low-light windows and whenever the tide starts to move. Midday under bright skies has been slow unless you’re fishing deep or tucking into shaded structure. That’s it from Hokkaido for now. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido coastal fishing report. Let’s start with conditions. Around Ishikari Bay and the Sapporo coast, sunrise was just before 4 a.m. and sunset is around 7:15 p.m., giving us a long, bright window. Light north–northeast winds have been keeping the air cool, with coastal highs in the mid-teens Celsius and sea temps hovering around 13–15°C. Skies have been a mix of cloud and sun with patchy sea fog in the early morning on the Sea of Japan side. Tides today on both coasts are in a mellow neap pattern: moderate high water before dawn, easing into a gentle outgoing through the morning, then a smaller afternoon high. What this means for us: the **pre‑dawn to mid‑morning ebb** and the **late‑afternoon push** are the prime bite windows. On the **Sea of Japan side**, from Otaru up toward Yoichi, the rockfish game has been steady. Local anglers at the small ports report “aji‑mebaru” mixes at night: decent numbers of rockfish and a few jack mackerel cruising under the lights. Soft plastics on 3–7 g jig heads in dark colors—black, dark green, or purple—have outfished hard baits. Tip them with a touch of scent if you have it. Small metal jigs in the 10–20 g range, silver or blue-pink, have been taking a few mackerel and the odd small seabass on a fast retrieve. Over on the **Pacific side**, Muroran and Tomakomai have shown more variety. Daytime has been slow, but the evening change has brought short flurries of flounder and small cod around the harbor mouths. Bait anglers using salted sardine strips or shrimp on simple bottom rigs report a “pick‑pick” bite: not on fire, but enough to keep you busy. A couple of locals mentioned modest catches of surf flatfish from sandy stretches west of Tomakomai—nothing huge, but several keepers per angler on good days. With water still cool, **best lures** right now are: - 2–3 inch soft plastics for rockfish and greenling - 10–20 g metals for mackerel and small seabass - Slim minnow plugs in natural baitfish patterns for low‑light seabass shots **Best bait**: - Sandworms and isome for flatfish and rockfish - Shrimp and squid strips for bottom mixes in harbors - Small pieces of sardine where you’re allowed to chum lightly A couple of **hot spots** to consider: - **Otaru North Breakwater and nearby rocks**: great structure, easy access, and good night lighting; bring light tackle for rockfish and mackerel. - **Muroran Irie Port area**: mixed bottom and current lines; fish the edges at dusk with bait on the bottom or small metals for roaming pelagics. Overall fish activity: not explosive, but if you match the small forage and time your session to that early‑morning ebb or evening push, you can put together a solid mixed bag. Keep leaders light, presentations subtle, and be ready to move if the bite dies—Hokkaido rewards the mobile angler. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido fishing report. Let’s start with conditions. Around the Ishikari Bay and Otaru coast, sunrise came in just after 3:50 a.m. and sunset is around 7:15 p.m., so we’re in those long Hokkaido summer days. Air temps along the west coast sat in the high teens to low 20s Celsius this afternoon with light northwest winds and scattered clouds. Inland lakes are a touch warmer, but nights are still cool enough to keep trout active. Tides on the Sea of Japan side are modest today, with an early morning high, a late-morning drop, and another push toward evening. That late-afternoon flood has lined up nicely with the sunset bite, especially around harbor mouths and rocky points. In the salt, the nearshore rockfish mix has been solid. Anglers working the breakwaters at Otaru and Yoichi have been picking up good numbers of **mebaru** and **suzuki** school-size seabass, with occasional better fish pushing 60 cm. Most folks are reporting 10–20 rockfish in a short session if they stay mobile, plus a couple of seabass when the current starts moving. Small metal jigs around 10–20 g, dark soft plastics on 5–10 g jig heads, and 80–100 mm minnow plugs have been the top producers. Natural bait like salted sardine strips or shrimp on simple bottom rigs is still outfishing lures for beginners. Out east in Kushiro and Nemuro waters, the early-season salmon and sea-run char talk is starting up again. While it’s not peak yet, a few **sakura masu** and **sea-run iwana** have been landed at river mouths and surf lines during the gray light hours. Anglers swinging 20–30 g spoons in silver/blue and pink, or drifting natural roe, are seeing the best action. Hook-ups are still a bit day-to-day, but when the swell lays down, short but intense windows of activity are happening right around first light. Freshwater has been quietly excellent. On the upper Sorachi and Tokachi tributaries, fly and light-spinning anglers are reporting steady numbers of wild **yamame** and **iwana** in the 20–28 cm range, with the odd 30+ cm fish. Small size 12–16 dries and nymphs, or 3–5 cm minnow plugs and single-hook spinners, are working well in the pocket water. Reservoir margins and weedy bays on lakes Shikotsu and Toya have produced mixed bags of **rainbow trout**, small **brown trout**, and some feisty **kokanee** for those trolling shallow crankbaits or fishing baited rigs with worms and corn. If you’re heading out, here are a couple of hot spots: - Ishikari Bay New Port: Great evening rockfish and seabass along the outer wall and tetrapods. Fish that pushing incoming tide with small jigs and minnow plugs, and don’t be shy about downsizing if the water’s clear. - Yoichi and Otaru breakwaters: Reliable rockfish and occasional flounder on bait rigs. Night sessions with 2–3 inch soft plastics in dark colors can be outstanding when the wind stays under 5 m/s. For bait, keep it simple: fresh **ika**, salted sardine, and shrimp for the salt; worms and salmon roe for rivers and lakes. For lures, think small and subtle under bright skies, then step up to slightly larger silhouettes at dusk and after dark. That’s it from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Hokkaido fishing report. Up here the rainy season is only lightly brushing the island, so we’ve had cool, mostly stable early‑summer weather: coastal highs around the high teens to low 20s Celsius, light north to northeast breeze, and patchy clouds. Along Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan side it’s been a bit more overcast and choppy, while the Pacific side from Muroran to Kushiro has cleaner skies but a more stubborn swell. Inland lakes like Shikotsu and Toya are calm and clear. Sunrise is coming early, just after 3:50 a.m., and sunset is around 7:10 p.m., so you’ve got long light. The bite has lined up best around first light and again in the last hour before dark, especially on the river mouths and rocky points. Tides today on the Pacific side, around Tomakomai and Muroran, are in a classic two‑cycle pattern with a stronger morning high and a softer evening push. On the Sea of Japan side, around Otaru and Rumoi, the swings are milder but that top half of the flood is still when the fish wake up. Plan your sessions so you’re casting the last of the incoming through the start of the outgoing; that’s been triggering the better fish all week. Saltwater action has picked up. Off Ishikari and Otaru, shore jigging with 20–40 g metal jigs in blue‑silver and pink‑silver has produced good numbers of **hokke** (Arabesque greenling) and smaller **shima‑aji** mixed in. A few respectable **hirame** have come from sandy pockets near river mouths on 3–4 inch soft‑plastic shads in ayu or clear gold, slow‑rolled just off bottom. Night sessions around port lights have seen solid schools of **chika** and **sardine**, and with them short but furious runs of **sea bass** smashing small minnows and 15 g jigs. Trout and char anglers are smiling. In the upper reaches of the Chitose and Tokachi systems, water temps are still cool, and the **yamame** and **iwana** are feeding hard in the riffles. Small inline spinners in silver or copper and 4–6 cm floating minnows in dark backs with light bellies are the ticket. On Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya, early‑morning trolling and long‑casting spoons are picking up **rainbow** and **lake trout** suspending over deeper water. If you’re bait‑minded, salted **ika** strips and **saba** chunks are outfishing plain shrimp in the harbors. For bottom fishing, a simple paternoster rig with bits of clam or mussel has been pulling in a mix of **kawahagi**, small **karei**, and the odd **eso**. On the rivers, live worms drifted along the seams are still deadly for yamame when the sun gets high and they turn shy toward hardware. A couple of current hot spots: • **Otaru Port & Ishikari Bay New Port** – Great mix right now: hokke, small rockfish, and surprise sea bass around the lights. Work metal jigs and small sinking minnows along the edges of the bait schools on the evening flood. • **Muroran coast and cape area** – Rocky shoreline with deeper drop‑offs. Perfect for shore jigging hirame and rockfish at dawn. Use 30–40 g jigs in natural baitfish colors and let them touch bottom before starting a sharp lift‑and‑fall retrieve. Overall activity is good, not crazy, but if you match the tide, hit low light, and keep your presentation slow and natural, you’ll put fish on the deck. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure, checking in with your Hokkaido fishing report. Out on the big water today we’ve got early-summer conditions settling in. Along the Ishikari Bay coast and up toward Otaru, light onshore winds with calm to slight chop and surface temps hanging in the mid-teens Celsius are keeping things comfortable but a bit clear. Morning skies have been partly cloudy, thickening into more cloud toward afternoon with a chance of light showers inland. Sunrise came early, just after 3:50 a.m., and sunset will slide in around 7:10 p.m., so there’s a long crepuscular window to work with. Tide-wise around Ishikari and Muroran, we’re on a moderate tide cycle, not a huge spring swing, but enough current to get predators moving on the turns. The better action has been right around first light incoming and again on the evening drop, especially at harbor mouths and rocky points where the flow pinches. Fish activity has ticked up nicely this week. Rockfish and greenling along the breakwaters are feeding steady on small baitfish and crustaceans, with plenty of 20–25 cm class fish and the odd bigger root fish mixed in. Off Otaru and Yoichi, boat anglers working soft plastics along reefs have been into decent numbers of sea bass and a few flounder. In eastern Hokkaido, from Kushiro up toward Nemuro, surf guys are reporting more flatfish—mainly marbled flounder and some good-sized yellowfin flounder—especially on the cleaner pockets between weed beds. Salmon offshore are still spotty and mostly a boat game, but inside the bays there’ve been scattered reports of small sea-run fish crashing bait early and late. Nothing thick yet, but enough to keep lures in the water. As for what’s working: For the **breakwaters and rocky shores**, 3–4 inch soft plastic shads and grub tails in natural baitfish colors on 7–14 g jig heads are hard to beat. Let them sink to bottom and hop slowly; most hits are on the lift. Small metal jigs in the 15–25 g range, silver or blue-pink, are also producing when there’s a bit more wind and current. For the **surf and flatfish**, go with bottom rigs tipped with salted sandworms, squid strips, or good-quality clam. A simple two-hook paternoster with 15–20 g of lead is enough in the calmer pockets. Cast, let it sit, and slowly drag it along until you feel that tap-tap of a flounder mouthing the bait. For the **sea bass and roaming predators**, minnow plugs around 90–120 mm in sardine or anchovy patterns are doing the work, especially in low light along harbor edges and river mouths. If the water’s stained from rain, a slightly louder, brighter pattern helps fish key in. Hot spots to keep on your radar: • Ishikari Bay New Port: Long concrete walls, mixed sand and rock, and good tidal flow. Early-morning incoming tide here has been consistent for rockfish and greenling, with the occasional sea bass cruising the surface. Work the corners and where the current bends along the wall. • Otaru harbor and nearby rocky shoreline: The inner harbor lights pull baitfish in at night, and the outer rocks hold quality root fish. Soft plastics fished tight to structure and small metals fan-cast into the channel will keep your rod busy. If you’re heading farther east, the open surf around Kushiro has been sneaky-good when the wind lays down, especially at first light with bait rigs for flounder. Look for slightly deeper troughs and any section where the waves break unevenly. That’s the situation in and around Hokkaido for today. Pack light, fish the tide changes, and don’t be afraid to slow your presentation down—early summer fish are feeding, but they’re still picky about effort versus reward. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Artificial Lure here, checking in with your Hokkaido fishing report. Around Hokkaido today we’ve got early summer conditions: cool mornings, mild afternoons, and a bit of wind on most coasts. Local weather services are calling for partly cloudy skies with light onshore breeze, seas generally calm to slight. Air temps are sitting in the mid-teens to low 20s Celsius, so it’s comfortable bank- and boat-fishing weather. Sunrise was just after 3:50 a.m. up here, and sunset will come a little before 7:20 p.m., giving us a long, bright window. The usual story holds: the first couple of hours after sunrise and the last two before sunset are when the inshore bites really pick up, especially on clearer water days. Tides around Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan side are running a modest daytime range. The morning incoming has been the more productive, pushing bait tight to the breakwaters and river mouths. On the Pacific side from Muroran down toward Kushiro, the afternoon outgoing has been concentrating fish off points and harbor mouths; if you can time your session to the top or bottom of the tide, you’ll find the current edges and bait lines easier. Fish activity is good for early June. Water temps have nudged up just enough to wake things up without pushing anything too deep. Inshore, anglers have been picking up good numbers of rockfish and greenling along tetrapods and harbor walls, with the odd decent-sized flounder mixed in. Offshore skiffs and small boats are reporting steady action on cod and some early-season mix of mackerel and small bonito farther south. Around Otaru and Ishikari, locals have been doing well with small metal jigs in the 10–20 gram range, natural baitfish colors, hopped near bottom for rockfish and flounder. Soft plastic grubs and paddle tails on 5–10 gram jig heads, in brown, dark green, and glow, have been taking solid numbers too. A strip of salted herring or squid on a simple bottom rig is still hard to beat when the fish get fussy. On the Pacific side near Muroran and Tomakomai, sardine and anchovy schools have been in and out. When the bait shows, small casting jigs and slim minnow plugs burned just under the surface have been picking off mackerel and the occasional sea-run trout tight to the river mouths. If the water goes a bit murky, switch to something with more flash or chartreuse, and slow your retrieve. For bait, squid strips, salted herring, and clam are the staples right now. Squid for rockfish and greenling on the structure, herring or clam for flatfish on sandy pockets just off the wall. For lures, keep it simple: - Light jig heads with 2–3 inch soft plastics - 10–20 g metal jigs in silver, blue, or pink - Small sinking minnows for river mouths and surf edges A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: - The breakwaters and inside walls of **Otaru Port**: great early and late in the day on the flood tide. Work the edges of the tetrapods with soft plastics, and let your jig sink right down the face before starting a slow lift-and-drop. - The sandy stretches and harbor mouths around **Tomakomai**: target the seams where river water meets the sea, especially on a dropping tide. Start with metal jigs for pelagics; if it goes quiet, switch to bottom rigs for flounder and the odd surprise. If you’re heading out tonight, bring a light and try small glow jigs or soft plastics around harbor lights—night rockfish and greenling have been very cooperative when the wind allows. That’s all from Artificial Lure for today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido fishing report. Up here the early-summer pattern is settling in. Along Ishikari Bay and the Sapporo coast, dawn starts around 3:50 a.m. and it doesn’t get dark until just after 7:00 p.m. That long light window is helping the bite, especially on the edges of the day. Tides on the Sea of Japan side are modest right now, but the best action has lined up around the morning and late-afternoon pushes when current picks up along harbor mouths and rock points. Weather has been classic Hokkaido early summer: cool mornings in the low teens, afternoons nudging toward the low 20s, mostly light northwest winds with some onshore breeze building after lunch. Water temps have crept up into the mid-teens offshore and slightly cooler in river mouths, which has really woken up the coastal predators. Shore anglers around Otaru and Yoichi have been reporting steady catches of **masu salmon**, decent **sea‑run char**, and the ever-reliable **hokke** and **saba** roaming the outer harbor walls. Night sessions are giving up good numbers of **rockfish** and **greenling** in the boulder fields. Boat anglers working a bit wider off Rumoi and Mashike have found mixed bags of **flounder**, **cod**, and some early-season **hirame** when the drift is right. Lure-wise, metal is still king on the open coast. Slim 20–40 g shore jigs in blue silver, pink, or sardine patterns have been the top producers for salmon and mackerel, especially on a fast lift‑and‑fall retrieve. For bottom fish, short, stubby jigs in glow or chartreuse hopped along the rocks have been deadly. If you’re bait fishing, fresh **squid strips** and **sardine** chunks on simple dropper rigs are outfishing everything else, particularly for flounder and cod in 20–40 m of water. In the harbors, small 5–10 cm minnows and vib baits in natural baitfish colors are drawing reaction bites from schooling fish under birds at first light. Once the sun gets high, downsizing to soft plastics on 5–10 g jig heads and crawling them tight to structure is the ticket for rockfish and greenling. Night anglers are doing well with glow soft baits tipped with a bit of real bait for added scent. As for hot spots, two areas stand out right now: - **Otaru Port breakwaters**: The outer wall and nearby rock piles have been holding mixed salmon, mackerel, and plenty of rockfish. Hit it at first light with metals for pelagics, then switch to soft plastics and bait as the sun comes up. - **Ishikari River mouth and adjacent surf**: When the tide is moving, the color line and rip edges have produced sea‑run char and flounder. Long-casting metals and 15–30 g jig heads with shad-style plastics are working well; bait anglers using clam and squid on bottom rigs are also scoring. Overall fish activity is good whenever you can line up a tide change with low light and a bit of wind chop. Midday on a dead calm, slack tide is still slow almost everywhere, so plan your sessions around that moving water. That’s it from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Good evening, this is **Artificial Lure** with your Hokkaido fishing report. Around **June 3rd**, the water is waking up fast in northern Japan, with long daylight, active bait, and better odds on the edges of moving tide and current. I don’t have live tide or weather data in the provided results, so check your local harbor or coast station before heading out, but the **best windows** are still the same: dawn, the last hour of light, and any tide change pushing water through points, river mouths, and reef edges. Around this time of year in Hokkaido, anglers are often working cooler inshore water, so keep your eyes on sea eagles, bird piles, and slicks where small baitfish are getting pushed around. Recent catch talk from Hokkaido waters tends to center on a mix of **sea bass, flounder, surf species, greenling, rockfish, and squid**, depending on the shoreline and harbor you’re fishing. In many areas, the bite has been better on smaller bait and finesse presentations than on heavy gear, especially where the current is clean and the water still has that spring chill. For lures, the local favorites are still the tools that cover water and match the hatch: - **Small minnows** for harbor edges, estuaries, and river mouths - **Soft plastics** on light jigheads for flounder and bottom fish - **Metal jigs** when bait is thick or birds are working - **Sinking pencils and twitch baits** for baitfish on top - **Small squid jigs** if you’re fishing after dark or around lit piers Best bait right now is usually simple and natural: **shrimp, small cut bait, sandworms, and squid strips**. If you’re targeting flounder or other bottom feeders, fresh bait fished low and slow is hard to beat. For rocky areas, a tougher bait rigged to stay put in current will save you from constant misses. If I were calling a couple of **hot spots** in Hokkaido, I’d look at: - **Otaru and nearby harbor structures**, for easy access, mixed species, and evening bites around lighted water - **Hakodate side shores and current seams**, especially near points, breakwalls, and river mouths where bait stacks up A good local-style game plan is to start shallow with moving water, then slide deeper if the sun gets high or the wind lays down. If you find bait, stay put. In Hokkaido, where the water can still run cool in early summer, the fish often tell you where to fish before the tide chart does. Thanks for tuning in, and please **subscribe** for more fishing reports. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido fishing report. A cool early-summer pattern has settled over Hokkaido. The Japan Meteorological Agency reports daytime highs around the mid‑teens Celsius along the Sea of Japan side and a touch warmer in eastern Hokkaido, with scattered clouds and a light north to northeast breeze. Sunrise around Sapporo came just after 4:10 a.m., with sunset just before 7:00 p.m., giving us a long, cool fishing window. According to the Japan Coast Guard tide tables for Ishikari Bay, we’ve got a modest semi‑diurnal swing today: a pre‑dawn high followed by a late‑morning ebb, then another push in the evening. Nothing extreme, but enough moving water to turn fish on around the top and bottom of the tide, especially near river mouths and harbor entrances. Sea temps along the Pacific side from Muroran to Kushiro are sitting in the low‑teens Celsius, and the Sea of Okhotsk is still chilly but waking up. Local boats out of Otaru and Yoichi report steady spring chinook (cherry salmon, sakura‑masu) and a mix of coastal rockfish—kuromebaru and hokke—over reefs in 20–40 meters. Anglers casting from breakwaters around Ishikari and Tomakomai have been seeing small schools of surf perch, greenling, and the odd flounder on the evening high. Trout fans up in eastern Hokkaido say the Shiretoko and Akan regions are fishing well where snowmelt has finally eased. Wild iwana and amemasu are taking small minnows and spoons in the upper reaches, especially in the first two hours after sunrise when the water is clear and cool. For lures, stick to natural, bait‑fish colors. Offshore and harbor salmon are hitting 60–90 g metal jigs in blue‑silver or pink‑silver, worked with a slow pitch near the bottom on the start of the flood tide. Inshore rockfish are responding to 3–4 inch soft plastics on 10–20 g jig heads, in brown, green, or glow, hopped tight to structure. On the trout side, 5–7 cm minnow plugs in yamame, wakasagi, or silver patterns, and 7–10 g spoons in gold/green or copper are solid choices. Bait anglers along the surf from Ishikari down toward Horoizumi are doing well soaking salted iwashi strips and squid on simple bottom rigs for flounder and hokke, particularly late afternoon into dusk when the wind dies. Around river mouths, small live shrimp or worms drifted near the bottom are taking a few sea‑run trout where regulations allow—always check the latest local rules. Two spots to put on your list: First, the Otaru harbor area and adjacent rock walls. The mix of structure and tidal flow has kept rockfish and greenling active, and boats working just outside the breakwaters reported a handful of decent salmon yesterday on jigs and troll rigs. Second, the mouth of the Tokachi River and nearby Pacific surf. When the evening tide lines up with a light onshore breeze, surf flounder and the occasional sea‑run trout push in tight. Metal jigs around 20–30 g, cast far and retrieved slow and low, have been the ticket. Overall fish activity is best around first light and the evening high, especially when the wind stays under 5 m/s. Midday has been slower and suited to prospecting deeper rock piles or sheltered harbors. That’s the latest from Artificial Lure, keeping you dialed in on Hokkaido’s waters. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This is Artificial Lure with your Hokkaido fishing report. Low pressure brushed past the Sea of Japan side overnight, leaving a cool northwest breeze and patchy clouds. Coastal stations like Otaru and Ishikari reported afternoon highs around the mid-teens Celsius, with water temps hovering 10–12°C offshore and a touch colder in the river mouths. Light showers flickered through in spots, but winds stayed mostly under 6–7 m/s, leaving fishable chop rather than heavy swell. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, sunrise on the Ishikari coast was just after 4 a.m., with sunset a little before 7 p.m. The early-morning window was the star today: clear breaks at dawn lined up with a mid-morning rising tide on both the Pacific (Tomakomai–Hidaka) and Sea of Japan sides, and that tide push really kicked the bite into gear. The Japan Coast Guard tide tables showed a modest low around first light and a steady climb through late morning. That incoming tide pushed bait into the river mouths and along the harbor walls, and the fish followed. Around Ishikari Bay, local anglers on the south breakwater picked up a mix of spring masu salmon and decent-sized sakura-masu, mostly in the 40–55 cm range. Catch rates weren’t wild, but steady—think one or two fish per angler over a few hours if you stuck it out. Best producers there were 18–28 g metal jigs in blue-pink or green-gold, worked mid-depth, along with slim minnow plugs in sardine or anchovy patterns. Old timers drifting salted herring strips behind small spoons also reported hook-ups, especially when they slowed the retrieve and let the lure swing in the current seam. On the Pacific side, Tomakomai’s east port saw a good morning flurry of jigging for bottom fish. Local shop reports had anglers boxing up decent numbers of kurosoi (black rockfish) and some solid hokke (Arabesque greenling) from just outside the harbor. Soft plastic grub tails on 10–20 g jig heads in dark brown or purple, bounced close to structure, outfished plain bait. That said, strips of squid and salted sardine still put fish on the deck for those fishing simple dropper rigs. In the rivers, snowmelt is easing but levels are still on the high side and cold. Shibetsu and Nemuro-area streams on the east side produced a few nice iwana (white-spotted char) and yamame. Anglers swinging small 4–5 cm sinking minnows in natural trout patterns or drifting single salmon eggs under light floats did best, especially in slower edges away from the main push. Activity there picked up once the sun was a bit higher and warmed the shallows; dawn was quiet, but late morning to early afternoon gave the most consistent taps. Hot spot number one today: the south side of Ishikari Bay New Port. Focus on the corner sections of the breakwater where the tide bends and bait stacks. Work metal jigs low and slow on the incoming, and switch to shallow-running minnows once the current eases. Keep an eye out for bird activity—when the gulls picked up, so did the salmon. Hot spot number two: Tomakomai East Port outer wall. Fish just off the bottom on the seaward side for rockfish and hokke. A 10–12 lb fluorocarbon leader, 15–20 g jig head, and a 3-inch curly tail will handle most of what bites. If the wind lays down toward evening, try small shore jigging for late-arriving salmonids along the same wall. Live bait that earned its keep today: fresh squid, sand lance where you can find it, and salmon eggs upriver. For lures, stick to natural baitfish colors with a hint of pink or chartreuse—Hokkaido water is clear but the extra flash helps in that cold, broken light. The pattern right now is simple: catch the rising tide, fish the first two hours after sunrise or the last two before sunset, and stay near structure where the current slows—harbor corners, river mouths, and rocky points. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn