Stillwater · Volcanic · Hokkaido

Lake Kussharo

130713 Lake Kussharo Teshikaga Hokkaido Japan01s5

Lake Kussharo is Japan's largest caldera lake, a vast cold sweep of water in the Akan-Mashū highlands with hot springs welling through its sandy shallows.

Marginal · White Spotted Char
Chironomid pupa / buzzer · 10–14
Slow going — pick your moments
Good wave on — drift country. Slow going — pick your moments and do not force it.
40% confidence
limited data
What moved it
  • WindS 12 km/hGentle breeze
Today's fly
Chironomid pupa / buzzer
Chironomid pupa / buzzer10–14
Static or slow on a long leader — the staple stillwater chironomid.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Gentle breeze
S 12 km/h
N
S
from the south
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp—
Air temp21°C
CloudBroken
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for White Spotted Char
When
Spring and autumn cold windows
Where
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.
The plan
Plan A

Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Boat — drift

A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

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Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
White Spotted Char fly box
SF
Smelt-fry baitfish streamer
8–10 · Streamer
Strip it for fish chasing fry or in coloured water.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Local rules and any access charges apply; confirm the current water-specific rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
65%
Cloud70%
Wind65%
Temp60%

A reasonable day here, though temperature isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 1
Lake Akan
24 km
White spotted char · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. 130713 Lake Kussharo Teshikaga Hokkaido Japan01s5
    Japan's largest caldera lake by surface area.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Lake Kussharo is Japan's largest caldera lake, a vast cold sweep of water in the Akan-Mashū highlands with hot springs welling through its sandy shallows. Amemasu and rainbow trout cruise its long shorelines, fished in the cold spring and autumn windows much as on neighbouring Akan — big, open, atmospheric stillwater.

Under the surface

Kussharo is the largest caldera lake in Japan, a broad sweep of cold water in the Akan-Mashū highlands where hot springs bubble up through the lakebed sand and steam drifts off the shallows in winter. It holds amemasu and rainbow trout along its great shorelines, fished — like its neighbour Akan — in the cold clear windows of spring and autumn.

Wading: Vast open caldera lake, wind and sudden weather — boat/shore

  • Lake
  • Volcanic
  • Stillwater
  • Shoal
Why this score
  • summer conditions with mixed skies and breezy wind.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Char spring → late autumn

    Hokkaido is largely open-access here, with managed/charged zones the exception. Species surfaced in prose only. Legal status: guidance_not_permission.

Related guides
Thermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts