明けましておめでとうございます。
2025年のガイドを12/30で無事に終えて、大晦日は妻と協力して写真集の修正とデータ入稿をしていました。
ちょっと特殊なモモンガについての写真集なので、モモンガ好きをザワザワさせるであろう内容になっています。間も無く公開となりますが、詳しくはまた次回・・・。
Happy New Year!
I officially wrapped up my 2025 guiding season on December 30th. On New Year’s Eve, instead of just relaxing, my wife and I were busy working together—putting the finishing touches on my upcoming photo book and submitting the final data.
This book focuses on a rather “unique” side of the Ezo Momonga (Siberian flying squirrel). I suspect the content might cause quite a stir—in the best way possible—among fellow flying squirrel enthusiasts.
It will be released very soon, but I’ll save the details for my next post… Stay tuned!
風が少し強かった大晦日のお昼、子どもと凧揚げをしました。
ここらは雪が多くて安全に凧を上げられる場所がなかなか見つかりません。廃校のグラウンドや空き地や公園は除雪されていないので、川の近くの駐車場で控えめにやることに。
極寒でしたが、凧は風を受けてぐんぐん上がり、時折暴れて手に持った糸巻きをすごい力で引っ張ります。まるで80オーバーのブラウンかニジマスを釣っているような感じ！釣りも凧揚げも自然と遊んでいることに変わりなく、思わぬところで共通点を見つけて寒いという子どもに、もうちょっとやらせてとお願いしてしまいました。
20メートルほど糸を出し、気持ちよさそうに浮く凧を操作する間は2025年のガイドを振り返る良い時間になりました。
On New Year’s Eve, under a bit of a brisk wind, I went kite flying with my child.
Up here, the snow is so deep that finding a safe spot to fly a kite is harder than you’d think. School grounds, vacant lots, and parks are all buried under unplowed snow, so we settled for a quiet corner of a parking lot near the river.
It was freezing, but the kite caught the wind and soared, occasionally thumping and pulling on the reel in my hand with incredible force. It felt exactly like being hooked into an 80cm-plus Brown or Rainbow trout!
Whether it’s fly fishing or kite flying, we are simply playing with nature. Discovering this unexpected similarity, I found myself pleading with my kid—who was already complaining about the cold—to let me have “just a few more minutes.”
With about twenty meters of line out, watching the kite float so effortlessly became the perfect moment to quietly reflect on all the guiding I did in 2025.
雪解けのイトウ釣りから始まり、灼熱？のドライフライシーズン。たくさんのゲストの皆様と川や湖に立ちました。
一緒に釣りをしてくれた皆様、本当にありがとうございました。これからもやることは変わりません。地味なリサーチを繰り返し、観察力と技術で再現性を高め、その時、その場所に釣り人を立たせる。
まずは5月のイトウ釣り！昨シーズンの最大は97センチで、メーターまで惜しくもあと3センチでした。二馬力とエレキを付けたボートで岸際のカバーや駆け上がりを狙う釣りです。アメマスや鯉がいるところに必ずイトウはいます。問題はいつスイッチが入るのか。諦めずに根気よく、フライを泳がせ続けることが一番重要かもしれません。ロッドは8番シングル、最近は7番でも良いかな？と思いつつ、念の為。
タイプ2あたりのシンキングライン、シューティングヘッドでも良いのですがオススメは足元まで引っ張れるフルラインです。10メートル以内でのキャストをテンポよく、打ち込みます。リーダーは01x~2xを9ft、直結。
金山湖のボートからのイトウ釣りは、まだまだ未知数です。
釣れる気温や空気感があり、大物が動く気配があり、それでも釣れない時があり。まずは春、5月のGWから6月までがおすすめです。
大丈夫です、ちゃんと釣れます。
Our 2025 journey began with the snowmelt and the pursuit of the “Phantom Fish,” the Sakhalin Taimen (Itou), followed by an intensely hot dry-fly season. To all the guests who stood with me by the rivers and lakes: thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My mission remains unchanged: to repeat the quiet, steady research, to increase reproducibility through observation and skill, and ultimately, to place the angler in the right spot at the perfect moment.
First up: May’s Itou Season. Last season, our biggest catch was 97cm—just a heartbreaking 3cm shy of the meter mark. We hunt from a boat equipped with a 2hp outboard and an electric motor, targeting bank-side cover and drop-offs. Where there are White-spotted Char (Amemasu) or Carp, there are always Itou.
The real question is: when will they flip the switch? Perhaps the most important thing is to never give up and to keep your fly swimming with patience.
The Gear: I usually recommend an 8-weight single-handed rod—though lately, I’ve been thinking a 7-weight might suffice, I stick with the 8 just to be safe. While shooting heads work, my top recommendation is a full sinking line (around Type 2), which allows you to strip the fly all the way back to your feet. The key is to cast with a good rhythm, targeting within 10 meters. For the leader, I suggest a 9ft 01x to 2x, tied straight to the fly.
Fishing for Itou from a boat on Lake Kanayama is still full of unknowns. There are days when the temperature and the atmosphere feel perfect—when you can sense the giants moving—and yet, the fish stay quiet.
For those looking to try, I recommend the window from Golden Week in May through June.
Don’t worry. We will find them.
6月からはドライフライ！写真を見ると早く釣りに行きたくなりますね。
眩しい緑と溢れる虫たち、たくさんのライズと釣り人の背中。大きく賢い魚に悔しい思いをしたことも。ランディングミスは1回だけだった気がする・・・（ごめんなさい）。ブラウン、ニジマス、そしてとっておきのアメマス。
沈める必要がまったくないほど楽しめるので、6と7月はドライフライで通しました。
From June onwards, it’s all about the dry fly! Just looking at the photos makes me itch to get back out on the water. Bright, dazzling greenery, insects everywhere, countless rises, and the focused silhouettes of anglers… it’s a sight to behold.
There were moments of frustration, too, facing off against large, wary fish. Looking back, I think I only had one landing mistake all season (my sincerest apologies for that!). Brown trout, Rainbows, and my personal favorite—the White-spotted Char (Amemasu). The fishing was so incredible that there was absolutely no need to sink a fly; we spent the entirety of June and July dedicated to the surface. It’s the kind of fishing that reminds you why you fell in love with the sport in the first place.
そして8月は、子どもたち！
涼を求めて上流へ、清らかな清流には無垢な魚たち！
夏休みの自由研究にモモンガ観察と魚釣り。自分たちで魚を捌き、火を起こして、河原で塩焼きにしました。魚の釣り方とナイフの使い方、基本は道具を渡して見守るだけ。子どもを自然に放てば、ほとんど教えなくても自分たちで勝手に学び、成長します。
危険がないように横目で見つつ、大人たちも楽しめば良いのです！
Then came August—a time for the children!
Searching for cooler air, we headed upstream. In the pristine, crystal-clear currents, we found fish as innocent as the water itself. For their summer research projects, the kids took on a double feature: observing flying squirrels and fly fishing. They handled everything themselves—cleaning the fish, building the fire, and grilling their catch over salt on the riverbank.
When it comes to teaching them how to fish or handle a knife, my basic rule is simple: hand them the tools and just watch. If you release children into nature, they learn and grow on their own, almost without needing any instruction at all.
As long as I’m keeping a watchful eye to ensure their safety, we adults can—and should—simply enjoy the moment right alongside them!
夏が終わると、またやってくる秋のドライフライ。
コカゲロウとアワフキムシ。エゾモモンガの撮影ガイドとフライフィッシングのグラデーション。
紅葉が進み、虫が減って、静かになって・・・。
As summer ends, the autumn dry fly season returns once again.
It is the time of Small Mayflies and Spittlebugs. My days become a gradual transition—a subtle gradation between guiding for Ezo Momonga photography and fly fishing. The autumn leaves deepen in color, the insects gradually disappear, and the world begins to grow quiet.
Watching the forest transform as the air turns crisp, I prepare for the final chapters of the season.
いつの間にか毎日カメラを手に森を歩く日々に。
昨シーズンの秋は撮影ガイドの依頼が多く、釣りの割合が少なかったのですが、今年はもう少し長くロッドを持ってられるかな？
2026年もたくさんのご予約ありがとうございます。
新しい発見と変わらない楽しみと、グリーンシーズンは魚たちと遊びます。
今年もどうぞ宜しくお願いいたします！
As summer ends, the autumn dry fly season returns once again. It is the time of Small Mayflies and Spittlebugs. My days become a gradual transition—a subtle gradation between guiding for Ezo Momonga photography and fly fishing. The autumn leaves deepen in color, the insects gradually disappear, and the world begins to grow quiet.
Before I knew it, my days became defined by walking through the forest with a camera in hand. Last autumn, I had many requests for photography guiding, which meant less time for fishing. I wonder if I will be able to hold my fly rod a little longer this year?
Thank you so much for the many bookings already made for 2026. With new discoveries and the same timeless joys, I look forward to playing with the fish throughout the green season.
I am deeply grateful to all the guests who shared the river and the forest with me in 2025. My mission remains unchanged: to repeat the steady research, to increase reproducibility through observation, and to place the angler in the right spot at the perfect moment.
I look forward to another wonderful year with all of you!