Second day of the monitoring tour.We took a snowmobile to a point where itou live in order to see itou, the largest freshwater fish in Japan.
After a lecture from the fishermen’s cooperative, we made a hole in the thick ice at each spot, dropped a fishing line, and just waited….While waiting for a hit, we fished for wakasagi tempura for lunch, slid on the slope with snow boards, and lay down on the lake surface, spending time at Shumarinai Lake.

Snowmobile from the Fisheries Cooperative Management Building to the point where itou live.

Lecture by a guide.

Drilling a hole in the thick ice of Shumarinai Lake. Participants are eager to fish.

Soon after casting a fishing line, a cherry salmon hit the lake.

Sleep and wait for good news.

The long-awaited Itou! The size is 66 cm. It’s quite a fish!

I lifted it up just for a moment and took a picture. I quickly released it when I was done.

In between fishing for itou, we also fished for wakasagi.

Break time – tasting Shumarinai-ko Itou & Ugui cookies made with buckwheat flour and buckwheat seeds produced in Horokanai Town.

American trout hit! Of all the trout that live in Lake Shumarinai, the Itou, the Sakuramasu, and the Amemasu are all here!
Natural fish of Shumarinai Lake All fish were so beautiful and clear!

For lunch, we went to Lake House Shumarinai and tasted Horokanai Wagyu Beef Soba Noodles with a hot egg on top!

Of course, there was also Wakasagi Tempura, a specialty of Shumarinai Lake!