Makomani River, Sapporo Japan

In 2018 my wife and I spent a few days in Sapporo, Japan. There were a lot of things we wanted to do and our itinerary filled up quickly. This meant I only had a few hours in the morning to fish. OY VEY! I had done a little research and knew there were a few streams and rivers that flowed through the city. After studying the Google maps and taking a look at the structure of the rivers plus accessibility- there was a point were the Makomani and the Toyohira run parallel. My logic was that I could try both, as they were within walking distance of Makomani Station. Destination set!

After a short walk I laid eyes on the Makomani River. It definitely looked fishy. After walking up river, craning my neck at every opportunity, I spotted an elderly gentleman with a tenkara rod. That gave me the conformation I needed. I walked for about ten more minutes and ducked down to the river, and was greeted with the perfect 0-1 weight small stream. I tied on a sz 18 cdc midge and quickly got into fish. Every likely spot held beautifully colored cherry trout (average 4-6 inches). Every hundred yards or so were some concrete structures that created deep pools and pockets. These were the most productive spots. I was having a great morning and then disaster struck! As I was walking along the river, I was stung by a large hornet right on top of the head. This was enough for me to call it quits and find the closest pharmacy in search of anti histamines. Until next time Sapporo.