Sweetfish fishing in Nagara River (Gujo)

When

Season grading is our editorial judgement, not a sourced figure. It says when the fish is catchable, not when the water is legally open — for that, read the closed seasons below.

Do you need a permit?

A cooperative day permit is required. Typically ¥1,000–2,000, and more for ayu. Ayu permits cost considerably more than general permits and are strictly enforced.

Water

Freshwater

Prefecture

Gifu

Region

Chubu

Getting there

1 h from Nagoya

How far our answer goes here

• ✓National lawApplies everywhere. Foreign-national gear limits, protected species, bluefin controls.
• ?PrefectureMinimum sizes, closed seasons and legal gear. This is a floor — local rules add to it, never subtract.
• ~Sea-area / inland committeeDirectives that close specific waters or periods. We hold these for a few prefectures only.
• ✓Cooperative permitGujo Fishery Cooperative 郡上漁業協同組合
  Licence 内共第17号, covering the Nagara, Yoshida and Kibushima Rivers. This is the home of Gujo ayu, national tasting-contest champion in 2008. The co-op publishes daily river-level readings for seven gauges.

Rules stack. Everything above the line we hold; everything below it you still need to confirm on the ground. That gap is exactly what a local guide is for.

Size limits and closed seasons

Not yet transcribed for this prefecture. The cooperative’s permit rules and national law still apply.

About Sweetfish

Grazes algae off river stones and defends a territory — which is what makes tomozuri possible. Smells of watermelon.

Japanese

アユ · ayu

Scientific name

Plecoglossus altivelis

Typical size

15–30 cm (6–12 in)

How it is fished here

Tomozuri

Tomozuri — Ayu are territorial, so a live ayu is swum through another's territory to provoke an attack onto trailing hooks. It exists nowhere else.

Elsewhere

Sweetfish is also listed at Kitakami River system, Kinugawa system, Kuma & Kawabe Rivers. Everything caught in Nagara River (Gujo).