Mountain-stream bait fishing from a River / Mountain stream
Topmouth Gudgeon: Match a fine rig to the current and avoid repeatedly harvesting one spot. Check permits and harvest rules.
Waters: Rivers & lakes
Fish
Topmouth Gudgeon モツゴ
Pseudorasbora parva ・ Xenocyprididae (East Asian Minnows)
Catch season
- Catchable
- Peak
Months for Topmouth Gudgeon are a broad Japan-wide guide and shift with region, temperature and conditions; prefer local reports and rules.
About
A small cyprinid about 8 cm long, called kuchiboso ("thin mouth") in Japan for its tiny upturned jaw. A dark stripe runs along the silvery-white flank, and it has no barbels. Hardy enough for murky ponds and irrigation ditches, the male turns almost black in the breeding season and stands guard over the eggs.
Basics
- Scientific name
- Pseudorasbora parva
- Family
- Xenocyprididae (East Asian Minnows)
- Japanese name
- モツゴ
- Kana
- もつご
- Waters
- Rivers & lakes
- Size
- 5 cm (max 8 cm)
- Time of day
- Dawn, Daytime, Dusk
- Depth (tana)
- Near bottom in gentle flow, making short searches beside banks, behind rocks and in pools.
- Local names
- クチボソ, クチボソ, クチボソ
How to catch it
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.
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.