Fishing Spot Japan

Pond Smelt fishing in Lake Shinotsu

Fish from a tent, a pre-built hut, or out in the open.

January, February and December 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
Hokkaido
Region
Hokkaido
Getting there
under 1 h from Sapporo by public transport

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 permitNone — no cooperative holds a fishery right here
    Lake Shinotsu appears nowhere in the prefecture-wide list of fifth-class rights, so there is no cooperative permit to buy and no cooperative rule to follow. National law, the Hokkaido rules and the inland committee's directives still apply, and the lake is managed for winter wakasagi by local operators who charge their own access fees — that is a private arrangement, not a fishery-right permit. Basis: Hokkaido Inland Fisheries Management Committee notice no. 3 of 2 Dec 2025, which lists every fifth-class common fishery right in Hokkaido and the species each one covers.

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

Hokkaido VERIFIED

Set by the Hokkaido Fisheries Adjustment Rules and Sea-area Commission directives.

Applies to: Sea and inland. The source regulation covers both sea and inland waters. Cooperatives add further rules on rivers and lakes.

Closed seasons

Salmon and trout in inland watersAll yearTaking salmon and trout in rivers and lakes is prohibited across Hokkaido. River-mouth closures apply at sea too. This is the rule visitors break most often.
Yamabe — Kamikawa, Sorachi, Ishikari, Shiribeshi, Hiyama, Oshima, Iburi1 Apr – 31 MayYamabe is the Hokkaido name for yamame.
Yamabe — Hidaka, Tokachi, Kushiro, Nemuro, Okhotsk, Souya, Rumoi1 May – 30 Jun
Ayu — inland waters1 Apr – 30 Jun and 16 Sep – 31 Oct

May not be taken at or under this size

Salmon and trout at seaunder 20 cm must be released
Barfin flounder — Pacific coast, Kobe-cho in Hakodate to the east end of Erimounder 35 cm total length must be returned to the sea promptly (commission instruction)
Landing netnet entrance must be under 40 cm — anything wider counts as a fishing net, which anglers may not use

Prohibited methods

  • Inland — Taking salmon and trout anywhere except designated areas
  • River mouths — Taking salmon and trout inside the posted closure zones
  • Everywhere — Snagging (hikkake-zuri) — jerking the rod to foul-hook fish. Named as the commonest illegal method in Hokkaido; usually aimed at salmon and pond smelt
  • Harbours, breakwaters, rocky shores — Karame-tori — a pole tipped with shredded vinyl tape, dragged along the wall to snag urchin, crab, whelk or sea cucumber
  • Harbours, rivers, lakes — Zaru-tori and trap baskets — a baited basket or folding trap lowered on a rope for whelk, crab, urchin or greenling
  • Beaches and shallows — Joren-biki — dragging a scoop through the sand to sieve out clams, surf clams or corbicula
  • Harbours and shorelines — Hanger fishing for scallop — a hanger-shaped rig dragged along the bottom
  • Harbours, breakwaters, beaches — Crab netting — a baited net cast in to entangle crab
  • Everywhere — Diving apparatus of any kind, to take abalone, urchin, sea cucumber or whelk
  • Common Fishery Right areas — Taking octopus by rod, or free-diving for abalone and urchin — both are infringement of the fishery right, not merely gear offences

Hokkaido is the most restrictive prefecture on the Fisheries Agency's national gear table: trolling, scoop net, cast net, spear and rake are all marked ×. Only rod and handline, a landing net under 40 cm, and hand gathering are open to anglers. The prefecture publishes an illustrated catalogue of the illegal methods it actually sees — worth reading, because several of them look entirely innocent to a visitor.

Local committee instructions

  • Barfin flounder (matsukawa) under 35 cm must be released promptly on the Pacific coast between Hakodate and Erimo — a recovery programme for a fish that was nearly gone.
  • Pacific bluefin is under the national controls described above; Hokkaido asks anglers to cooperate with the quota.
  • Hokkaido asks anglers to report their catch — a voluntary recreational catch-reporting scheme runs alongside the rules.
  • Moving fish or eggs between waters is prohibited; the prefecture campaigns against releasing non-native fish.

Hokkaido publishes a full booklet, 'Fishing Rule & Manner', distributed free from April through the subprefectural fisheries offices — the most thorough angler guide any prefecture produces.

Source: Hokkaido Fisheries Management Division — 'Fishing Rule & Manner 2026' booklet, pages 6–9. Figures read from the rendered pages; the PDFs carry no text layer. https://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/sr/ggk/ggs/turi-r-m/rule-manner.html✓ checked 2026-08-28

About Pond Smelt

The target of Japan's winter ice fishing. Usually eaten as tempura on the spot.

Japanese
· wakasagi
Scientific name
Hypomesus nipponensis
Typical size
8–15 cm (3–6 in)

How it is fished here

Ice fishing, Bait fishing

Elsewhere

Pond Smelt is also listed at Barato River, Lake Kasumigaura, Lake Ashi, Lake Kawaguchi. Everything caught in Lake Shinotsu.