Mikata Lake is the most popular and easiest to fish of the 3 lakes in the complex.  It is shallow (generally less than 2m), has lots of access and a good stock of carp.  The lake is very weedy in the summer and generally unfishable from June to October.  The Hasu River flows into the lake in the south-east corner and flows out of the lake, into Suigetsu Lake, through the Seto Channel.  There is also a cut-through between Mikata Lake and Suga Lake.  There is no fishing from the bank accessed by crossing the small bridge across the cut-through.

Tackle and baits

Standard tactics work here (Western and Japanese).  There is no need to cast really far however I would always cast around 30 meters to get away from the bank side disturbance. I tend to use `method` feeders and/or PVA bags.  Pineapple or shellfish boilies tend to work best.  Tackle needs to be on the strong side as there are many snags and things that the line can rub against.  Crabs can be a problem so you need hard baits and you need to recast regularly to make sure that you still have bait on and to make sure you haven`t been pulled into a snag.

Locations

Detailed below are brief guides the spots that I have fished and any specific information about those locations.   As a rule, wherever you can get to the bank you can fish and so there are many more spots than these.

Hasu River.  There are 4 locations on the Hasu River; directly below the bridge behind the gas station, the pontoon behind the museum, the mouth of the river (gas station side) and the mouth of the river (museum side).  The river is shallow on the museum side so you should be looking to fish in the deeper water which is closest to the gas station bank.  This could mean fishing only 10m out from the gas station side.  The river is favoured in the spring time but any time is OK.

Youth Center.  This is the area of the lake to the left hand side of the Hasu River mouth inside the netting.  The netting has a 10m gap at the left hand side allowing the fish to enter and leave.  There are 2 main spots - the right hand side of the youth center and half way between the visitor center and the gap in the net where there is a path from the road.  Both areas have lots of snags so you should use abrasion resistant line.

Narude.  This is in the corner by the big car-park next to the main road and is very popular with the locals (i haven`t fished here....yet).

Plastic plant houses.  Travelling from the youth center towards Seto, the road bends sharply to the left and rejoins the lake after a mile or so of running in land.  A small stream enters the lake here as well.  I haven`t fished here either but the area behind the plastic plant houses is popular with the locals.

Drop down wall.  This is the area next to the old boat houses where there are 2 small gaps in the wall which runs around the lake.  There are short vertical steel posts in each of the gaps.

Seto Channel.  This is the area where the Hasu River flows out of Mikata Lake.  It is approximately 40m wide and up to 2m deep with a gravel bottom.  This is good spot but it can get busy at night and you might wake up to find that you are sharing your peg with someone else!  If you fish towards Suigetsu Lake becareful to make sure that you are fishing on gravel to avoid the black silt (see the Suigetsu Lake page for more information).

Dogan Island.  On the right hand side of the Hasu River mouth towards the corner of the lake a stream enters the lake and there is a track from the main road to the lake.  This area is quite shallow but is popular with the locals.  There is another peg further to the right hand side next to the hut which is also popular.

Cut-through.  This is the cut-through between Mikata Lake and Suga Lake.  The peg is on the left hand side of the mouth and there is another spot a little further up on the left hand side.

Last updated 13th November 2011