With Golden Week only a few weeks off, serious fly-fishing enthusiasts throughout Japan are staying up late tying new flies in preparation. Now is the best time of year for fly-fishing because this is when mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies start hatching at many rivers across the country, making trout more active.
While the general populace knows little about fly-fishing, the concept is very simple -- catching fish with "flies" fashioned around a hook and made to look like they're swimming or drifting on the water.
Achieving success at this, however, is not so simple. Before taking out the rod, you must figure out what kinds of aquatic insects inhabit the river where you will be fishing and under what conditions (such as temperature and water level) those insects are likely to hatch.