Fishing Spot Japan

Fishing in Lake Ikehara

Freshwater in Nara, Kansai. 2 h 30 from Osaka

Do you need a permit?

No cooperative permit is required for what we list here. The cooperative's right covers ayu, amago, crucian carp, wakasagi, eel and carp — not black bass. So no permit is required to fish for bass, though you do need one (¥2,000–3,000 a day) if you target ayu or amago. Bass is a designated invasive species: you may not move it live or release it elsewhere.

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 permitShimokitayama-mura Fishery Cooperative — tel 07468-5-9555
    Its fifth-class right covers ayu, amago, crucian carp, wakasagi, eel and carp. Black bass is not among them. Ikehara is Japan's most celebrated big-bass water — the national record of 69 cm came from here — yet bass sits outside the fishery right, so no cooperative permit is required to fish for it. A permit is required if you fish for ayu or amago: ¥10,000 for the season, ¥3,000 for a day in the first three days after the opening, ¥2,000 thereafter. Ayu opens the first Sunday in June and closes 30 September; amago runs 1 March to 30 September. Tickets are sold by five local shops, not online. Bass being outside the right does not make the lake unregulated: largemouth bass is a designated invasive species under national law, so you may not transport it live or release it elsewhere.

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.

What we have checked here

A starting point, not a full species list. Plenty else swims here. These are the fish we have paired with the rules that govern them.