HIRONORI KITADE: THE LuRE OF ASIAN FISHINg
JAPAN ‘‘ Growing up in a small Japanese village with
my family, exposed me at a very young age to the enjoyment of fishing. It was my father who really influenced and guided me onto the path of angling, which would later define my life and livelihood. My name is Hironori Kitade, but you can call me KD. I am the founder of a famous Japanese fishing
A TRUE FISHING PARADISE
brand known as NORTH CRAFT, which was acquired by Rapala VMC Corporation in 2012, at which point I also joined the Rapala group as the lure designer for North Craft, as well as Storm and Williamson lures in order to inject my rich Japanese expertise into the DNA of these brands. I am stationed in Japan, where I work on
my lure development as Japan is one of the key industry drivers in the world; if it’s new and innovative, chances are it will show here first! Japan is at the forefront of advanced development and technology when it comes to fishing lures and fishing in general. As a country spanning 2,787km from north to
south, Japan experiences multiple climates and different fish species from one town to the next. The land is surrounded by ocean with tall, steep mountains in the centre of the country from which over 40,000 named rivers run. There are 763 natural lakes and 197 named reservoirs, and together with these rivers and ocean coastline, combine to create a true water world with countless angling opportunities. Japanese anglers tend to fish any time that
they have spare; we fish before and after work on weekdays, as well as on weekends. Japan is very developed as a country so many of our fishable waters run through residential areas making access quick and easy to our favourite fishing spot.
“Akame” – the ultimate goal for Japanese lure anglers ..
The ultimate prize catch for Japanese lure anglers is our local freshwater predator species ‘akame’ (Lates japonicus) or sometime the Japanese Barramundi. If you asked any Japanese angler “What is
the dream fish for you?”, many would reply that they would love to catch akame just once in their lifetime. The akame has a big mouth and caudal fin with a bulging back. Its body shape is beautiful and well balanced which captivates Japanese anglers. The fish is very powerful both in looks and in fighting nature. It is not uncommon to capture an akame in excess of one metre in length with an official record of 137cm, weighing 30kg on rod and reel. There are however uncertified captures of fish longer than 140cm. Akame fishing is not widely available in Japan as the fish tends to prefer the Pacific Ocean side
of the southwestern part of Japan; and even then, the fishable areas are limited to Kochi prefecture in Shikoku. Urado-wan (which means ‘bay’ in Japanese) is the most famous akame fishery in Japan along with the feeder rivers that flow into the urban areas of Kochi City. Often visitors come for a chance to simply view the akame from the bridge at night and dream that one day they might be fortunate enough to fight and catch one of these magnificent creatures.
So much mystery and so many questions ..
Anglers love to talk about their catches and share with their friends how great their recent fishing trip was; it is because of this that the akame has become so famous. Every once in a while someone leaks
information of good fishing results and the reaction of anglers is instantaneous as they head to try to catch one for themselves. Even with all of this, it is still not uncommon for a persistent angler to fish many years with zero results - when is the best time? When is the best season? What do they eat? What’s the best lure? Which colour and why?… These questions continue to puzzle everyone and maintain a cloud of mystery over
Lure designer and innovator, Hironori Kitade, is the founder of Japanese fishing brand North Craft and is a man who describes the waters of Japan that are full of eastern promise
‘‘
It turns out this fish is triggered as the tide comes to its highest and the water becomes slack, and for a few moments after as the tide begins to turn
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