Fishing Spot Japan

Cherry Salmon fishing in Kuma & Kawabe Rivers

May, June and July 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, and more for ayu.

Water
Freshwater
Prefecture
Kumamoto
Region
Kyushu
Getting there
1 h 30 from Kumamoto

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 permitKumagawa Fishery Cooperative
    Licence . Ayu is the main managed species, with yamame, carp, crucian carp, eel, oikawa and ugui also covered. Two banned methods are specific to the Kuma system: fishing by artificial light, and digging at night.

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

Kumamoto VERIFIED

Set by the Kumamoto Fisheries Adjustment Rules (arts. 35, 40, 48) and the Fisheries Act.

Applies to: Sea and inland. The sea rows come from the prefecture's sea guidance; the inland rows from its river and lake guidance. Each row says which water it applies to, because the ayu closure is genuinely different in the two.

Closed seasons

Ayu (sweetfish)1 Dec – 31 MarSea
Pen shell1 Jun – 30 SepSea
Soft-shell clam1 Jun – 30 SepSea
Abalone1 Nov – 20 DecSea Also nationally protected.
Spiny lobster1 May – 20 AugSea
Sea cucumber1 Apr – 30 SepSea Also nationally protected.
Ayu (sweetfish)1 Jan – 31 MayInland All sizes. Note this differs from the sea closure above.
Yamame and amago1 Oct – end of FebInland All sizes.

May not be taken at or under this size

Amberjack (buri)15 cm total length or underSea
Red seabream5 cm total length or underSea
Crimson seabream5 cm total length or underSea
Japanese eel21 cm total length or underSea
Flathead grey mullet10 cm total length or underSea
Spiny lobster15 cm body length or underSea
Kuruma prawn10 cm body length or underSea
Common octopus100 g or under (by weight)Sea
Manila clamunder 1.2 cm shell widthSea
Hard clam3 cm shell length or underSea
Abalone10 cm shell length or underSea
Horned turban2.5 cm operculum diameter or underSea
Pen shell15 cm shell length or underSea
Soft-shell clam4.5 cm shell length or underSea
Japanese eel21 cm total length or underInland A committee directive also closes eel over 21 cm from 1 Oct to 31 Mar.
Flathead grey mullet10 cm total length or underInland
Common carp10 cm total length or underInland

Prohibited methods

  • Sea — Any use of light — for attracting fish or merely for searching
  • Sea — Spears fitted with a launching mechanism
  • Sea — Walking push-net (etsuki-ami)
  • Harbours and within 30 m of breakwaters — Fishing using earth or sand
  • Sea except Ariake — Ami-dango bait for bakudan-zuri

Permitted: rod and handline; landing net, scoop net and basket scoop; cast net (not from a boat); spear without a launching mechanism, and gaff; hand gathering. Light may not be used with any of them. Five protected waters are closed outright, and further local restrictions apply — see below.

Local committee instructions

  • 1 Oct – 31 Mar: eel over 21 cm total length may not be taken, at sea or in rivers. Note this runs the opposite way to the size limit above, which protects juveniles — in this window the larger fish are protected instead.
  • Coastal waters from Uki City (excluding the Ariake side) to the Kagoshima border, and off Kami-Amakusa, Amakusa and Reihoku: red seabream of 15 cm total length or under may not be taken.
  • 1 Jun – 30 Jun in the Shiranui Sea: swimming crab may not be taken with landing or scoop nets. In the Ariake Sea the ban runs 1–15 Jun.
  • 1 Jun – 15 Nov: no fishing within 100 m of the mahi-mahi FAD set off Amakusa.
  • On the Kuma River, taking aquatic animals is banned from 30 m above to 80 m below the Kumagawa weir at Yatsushiro, and likewise at the Shin-Maekawa weir.
  • Carp may not be moved from one water to another anywhere in the prefecture, to stop koi herpes spreading.
  • In Kumamoto City, released or re-released non-native fish are banned by city ordinance in the Ezuko area — you may not put a bass back.
Source: Kumamoto Prefecture — rules and manners for recreational fishing at sea ; and its rules and manners for rivers and lakes https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/94/122478.html ; https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/94/1741.html✓ checked 2026-08-31

About Cherry Salmon

The landlocked form of masu salmon and the classic quarry of Japanese mountain streams.

Japanese
· yamame
Scientific name
Oncorhynchus masou
Typical size
20–35 cm (8–14 in)

How it is fished here

Tenkara, Fly fishing, Lure casting

Tenkara — Japanese fixed-line fly fishing. A long rod, a line, a fly — no reel. Developed by professional mountain-stream anglers and now followed internationally.

Elsewhere

Cherry Salmon is also listed at Niseko mountain streams, Kitakami River system, Kinugawa system. Everything caught in Kuma & Kawabe Rivers.