Fishing Spot Japan

White-spotted Char fishing in Lake Chuzenji

May and November are the prime months. A cooperative day permit is required.

When

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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.

Water
Freshwater
Prefecture
Tochigi
Region
Kanto
Getting there
2 h 30 from Tokyo via Nikko

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 permitChuzenjiko Fishery Cooperative
    Bag limits: himemasu 30 per person per day, other trout 3 per person per day, and no trout under 20 cm may be kept. Lake trout and brown trout must never be removed alive (prefectural committee directive). Everything except wakasagi and trout is catch-and-release, on barbless fly or lure only. Rods: 2 from shore, 4 per boat. Only boats approved by the Ministry of the Environment and the co-op may be used — kayaks and SUPs are not permitted. The French and Belgian embassy grounds and Kozukejima island are off limits.

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 White-spotted Char

Lives higher up the valley than yamame. The headwater fish.

Japanese
· iwana
Scientific name
Salvelinus leucomaenis
Typical size
20–40 cm (8–16 in)

How it is fished here

Fly fishing

Elsewhere

White-spotted Char is also listed at Lake Akan, Niseko mountain streams, Kitakami River system, Kinugawa system, Nagara River (Gujo). Everything caught in Lake Chuzenji.