Stillwater · Volcanic · Hokkaido, JP

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.

Fair · White Spotted Char
Chironomid pupa / buzzer · 10–14
A side-water session, not the main event
Glassy and bright — hard work without a breeze. Hard work without breeze. Look for the dimples.
49% confidence
limited data

Lake Kussharo is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindN 4 km/hCalm · Gusts to 10 km/h
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
Estimate
Wind
Calm · Gusts to 10 km/h
N 4 km/h
N
N
from the north
WaveFlat calm
Water temp7.7°C
Air temp8°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

How to fish it · for White Spotted Char
When
Spring and autumn cold windows
Where
With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.
The plan
Plan A

With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.

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

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank

Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Claret DunHatch
2
3
2
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
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
Chironomid pupa / buzzer
Chironomid pupa / buzzerTop
10–14 · Buzzer
Static or slow on a long leader — the staple stillwater chironomid.
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
71%
Cloud50%
Wind65%
Temp100%

A good match for Lake Kussharo — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

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
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for autumn fishing.
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