Mountain-stream bait fishing from a River / Mountain stream
Whitespotted Char: Feed the bait from upstream and let it travel at current speed without tightening the line. Check opening dates and permits.
Waters: Rivers & lakes
Fish
Whitespotted Char イワナ
Salvelinus leucomaenis ・ Salmonidae (Salmons, Trouts, and Whitefishes)
Catch season
- Catchable
- Peak
Months for Whitespotted Char are a broad Japan-wide guide and shift with region, temperature and conditions; prefer local reports and rules.
About
Brown to grey, with white or pale yellow spots scattered from the back down the flanks. Those pale spots are the giveaway: yamame carries small black spots instead, and amago crimson ones. It needs cold water that stays under about 15 °C even in summer, so it holds the highest reaches of mountain streams, where it takes everything from falling insects to frogs and freshwater crabs.
Basics
- Scientific name
- Salvelinus leucomaenis
- Family
- Salmonidae (Salmons, Trouts, and Whitefishes)
- Japanese name
- イワナ
- Kana
- いわな
- Waters
- Rivers & lakes
- Size
- 28 cm (max 50 cm)
- Time of day
- Dawn, Dusk
- Depth (tana)
- Near the streambed, drifting naturally behind rocks, below drops and beside the main current.
How to catch it
It holds in the highest reaches of mountain streams, above the water yamame use. From the March opening until the autumn closure, anglers take it on bait, tenkara fly fishing, or small lures.
Kit for this fish
Stream bait-fishing starter kit ・ Kit total ¥13,000–35,000
- 4.5 m fixed-line stream rodAn approachable fixed-line length for ordinary open mountain streams. ¥5,000–20,000AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
- Stream bait-fishing rigA complete fixed-line rig with top line, main line, markers, shot and hook. ¥500–1,800AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
- Fishing wormsGeneral river bait; never release unused live bait at the water. ¥400–900AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
- Fishing pliers / hook removerEssential protection from venomous spines and sharp teeth. Most injuries happen when someone unhooks a fish bare-handed. ¥800–4,000AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
- Cap and polarised sunglassesAlso safety equipment, protecting your eyes from a flying rig. Polarised lenses additionally let you read the bottom. ¥2,000–20,000AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
- Life jacket, adult (Japan Craft Inspection approved)The first thing to buy, and worn on piers, rocks and boats alike. Boat fishing requires the government-approved type marked with the cherry-blossom stamp. ¥5,000–20,000AdFind on AmazonFind on Rakuten
Before buying tackle, confirm the river permit, season and allowed bait and hooks.
Product links may be affiliate links. Prices move, so treat the ranges as a guide.
Eating
Food use varies locally. Check harvest rules and water quality, avoid raw consumption and cook thoroughly.
Best eating: March–June
Rules
Inland rules are water-specific. Check the fishery cooperative and prefecture for day or annual permits, closed seasons, minimum sizes, tackle, harvest and release rules.
Closed seasons and size limits — how to find the numbers, which differ by prefecture
This article organises general information and is not legal advice. Rules differ by municipality and by fishery cooperative, and they change. Always check the current rules for where you are going.
Other fish taken the same way
Other fish from the same kind of place
Seasons, sizes and eating quality are general guides. Rules change, so check the latest prefectural, fishery-cooperative and site rules before fishing. This app provides general information, not legal advice.