先週は水〜金で岡山出張。帰着は夜８時半。でも来週新製品が発表されるのでその資料を準備して切りの良いところまで終わったらすでに夜の11時すぎに。。。
今週はサーフではなく別のところに行きたいと思い、前々から狙っていた犬吠埼の磯か、Facebook経由でアジが釣れたと聞いた波崎新港か迷い、とりあえずどちらも行けるようにアジングロッド、エギングロッド、サーフロッドの3本を準備。準備完了したときには０時。
出張疲れの体に鞭打って３時に起きて朝マヅメに間に合うように行くか迷いましたが、ギリギリで思いとどまり、とりあえず体力回復を優先し、土曜朝の釣りは断念。土曜日は特に家の予定もなかったので、仕事の残りを終わらせて、晩ごはんを食べてから出発し、オーバーナイトで朝まで釣りをすることに。
夜釣りがメインとなると、流石に初めての磯は危険すぎるので、波崎新港を目指して夜７時半に出発。
四街道の高速道路、１２０㌔制限速度は初体験。快適にぶっ飛ばして思ったよりも距離を感じずに到着。
非常に広い港と聞いていたけども、確かにその通り。ランガンで徒歩で歩き回るのは不可能。そして夜９時過ぎなのに釣り人がたくさん。
広い港なのに空いてるスポットを探すのが難しいほど。。。なので車で移動しながら釣る、というのも現実的ではなく、空いていたスポットに滑り込んでからは、そこに腰を据えて釣ることにしました。
選んだ場所は常夜灯のないところ。内湾側には明るい常夜灯が設置している場所もありましたが、既に場所はいっぱいというのと、かなり港の内側なので、少しでも外側の方が良いかなと思ったので。
位置的にはこの辺。
周りは皆、電気ウキをつかって餌釣り。そして誰一人釣れておらず。。。
よくよく考えると、この日は満月の大潮のあと（中潮）。しかも８月３１日はスーパームーンというとりわけ明るく大きな月がでたわけで、この日の月も非常に大きく、月明かりで辺りは明るく照らされていました。
これは魚はもうお腹いっぱいで、期待できないかな‐と思いながらも、水面からは小魚がちゃぱちゃぱ音を立てている状況。生命反応は豊富。
久しぶりのアジング。チョンチョンからのジグヘッドの重さを感じながらフォール２秒のサイクル。非常に細かい当たりがトン、トン、、とあるのであわせ続けるも全く乗らず。これは夜明けになって分かりましたが、小さいコノシロ？の群れがラインにぶつかっている振動でした。
釣り始めから20分程経ったときに、これまでにないハッキリとした、トンッ！と明確な当たりがあり、ビシッと合わせるとアジ特有の小気味良い振動の良い引き。投げた直後のヒットだったので、やり取りの距離もあり、しかも元気よくたくさん走ってくれたのでドラグを鳴らしながら久しぶりのやり取りを堪能できました。
上がってきたのは23cmのそこそこのサイズのアジ。
ここでバッカンも、活かしバケツも忘れていることに気付き、、、血抜きも活かしておくことも出来ず、仕方なくそのまま氷の入ったクーラーボックスへ直行。。。
このペースならそこそこ釣れるかな、と胸を躍らせましたが、その後沈黙。。。周りのサビキ釣り師たちもうんともすんとも言わないので交通事故的なヒットだった模様。
遠くならにいるかなと考えて、フロートリグを組んでエギングロッドで投げたりもしましたが、これも何もなし。。。ふと足元を見ると小さなカニが一杯。このカニを使ってぶっこみ釣りをすることに。
仕掛けを投げ込んで、その間もアジングをし続けるもどちらも沈黙。
０時の干潮の時間も近づいてきたので、潮が動き始める3時まで寝ることに。車のドアを開け放って、万が一、ブッコミ釣りに当たったらドラグ音で気づく（か微妙だけど）ことを期待して、就寝。
夜11時頃だったけども、急に風が出てきて寝やすい涼しさに。お隣で釣りをしているご老人が大胆にアルミシートを地面に引いて寝ていたけども、「あー、こりゃ気持ちいい、涼しい風じゃー」と大きな声。。。その後も何度も同じような趣旨の独り言を呟いていました。。。1回でいい。
アラームを3時に仕掛けて寝てから、物音に気づいて目を覚ましたのが2時半。ご老人とは逆サイドに新しい釣り客がきて準備をしている模様。3時まで寝るか、、、と迷ったけども潮汐表的に、もう潮が動き始めてちょうど良い時間だったので、めちゃくちゃ眠い目をこすりながら釣り再開。
ぶっこみ釣りは何も変化なく、付けたカニもそのまま。新しいカニに付け替えて再度投げ込んだあとはアジング。細かい当たりもなく、全くのノーバイト、ノーフィッシュ。他の餌釣り師たちも沈黙。しかし、寝る前から全く釣り人の数が減っておらず、むしろ増えたぐらい。福岡で徹夜で釣りをする人なんて数えるぐらいだったので、限られた釣り場に関東圏の釣りバカたちが集結しているんだなぁとおもいました。
しらじらと夜が明け始めた4時半頃からシーバス狙いを開始。ルアーをぶん投げては巻いてを繰り返すもこれまた生命反応なし。。。5時半には眠気に耐えられなくなり、満潮間近で潮も止まるので寝ようと思い仮眠。
７時に起きてもうひと頑張り、、、と色々やり続けるもノーバイト、ノーフィッシュで終了。偏光レンズをつけて水の中を見ると、多分コノシロの群れがワラワラと泳いでいるのが見え、釣り場としてはいいところなんだろうなと思いました。ただ、サビキ釣りにも反応していなかったので、今回はタイミングが悪かったのだろうと思います。
もう少し季節が進めばアジングのスポットとしては良さそう。距離はあるけどまた来たいと思える場所でした。
帰りの車、眠気がやばいだろうなと思っていたので、予めカフェイン錠剤を持参。大学で研究者をしていたときに買い込んでいたエスタロンモカ錠。企業に転職してから全く飲まなくなり溜まったままでした。
１粒で１００ｍｇのカフェインが接種できるもの。モンスター１本が１４０ｍｇぐらいのカフェインなので、２錠飲めばモンスターよりも多い量のカフェインが接種できます。それでいて24個入りで400円もしないというので、大学時代は常用していました。。。
えいやと2錠を一度に接種し、帰宅の途に。流石に眠くなるんじゃないかなと思いましたが、一切眠気を感じず自宅へ到着。その後、どこかで電池が切れるかのように眠くなるんじゃないかなと思いましたが、夕方まで保持。久しぶりにカフェイン錠剤の力を借りましたが、コーヒー自体もほとんど飲まなくなったところに一気に200mg接種したら、中々の効果を発揮してくれました。正直、ここまで効くとは予想外でした。コーヒーを大量に飲んだ上で、エナジードリンクもとりつつ、カフェイン錠剤も飲んでいた私の大学での生活が如何に狂ったものだったのか理解できました。。。
釣れたアジちゃんはとりあえず３枚おろしにして刺身用として冷蔵庫に。血抜きもせずいきなりクーラーボックスに突っ込んだのでアニサキスも怖いし、味もどうかなぁと思いますが、さばいたときにパっと見はアニサキスは見当たらず。明日まで熟成させて食べようと思います。もっと釣りたい！
Last week, I had a business trip to Okayama from Wednesday to Friday. When I returned my home, it was already 8:30pm. However, as our company will announce a new product next week, so I had to prepare the materials for that. By the time I finished preparing everything, it was already past 11:00pm.
This week, instead of going surfing as usual, I wanted to go somewhere else. I had been eyeing the rocky shores of Inubosaki or the newly heard fishing spot in Hazaki Shin-kou, which I learned about through Facebook. To be prepared for both options, I got three different fishing rods: one for Ajing, one for Eging, and one for surf fishing. When I finished preparing all the equipment, it was midnight.
Considering my tiredness from the business trip, I contemplated waking up at 3:00 in the morning to make it to the early dawn fishing, but I decided not to do that at the last moment. I prioritized getting some rest to recover my energy, so I abandoned the idea of Saturday morning fishing. Since I had no particular plans for Saturday, so I finished my work in the morning and afternoon. Then I set off for an overnight fishing trip after having dinner.
As night fishing was going to be the main focus, I thought it would be too risky to go to a rocky shore I'd never been to before. So, I aimed for Hazaki Shin-kou, departing at 7:30 in the evening. The highway from Yotsukaido with a speed limit of 120 km/h was a new experience for me, and I arrived without feeling the distance too much.
I had heard that the harbor was quite spacious, and indeed, it was. Walking around the entire place on foot was impossible. Moreover, even though it was past 9:00 in the evening, there were many anglers around. It was challenging to find an empty spot even in such a large harbor. So, the idea of fishing while moving around in a car was not practical. Once I found an available spot, I decided to settle down there.
The spot I chose had no streetlights. There were well-lit spots on the inner side of the harbor, but they were already occupied, and I thought being closer to the outer side might be better. According to the map, it was around this area.
Everyone around me was using electric floats for bait fishing, but no one seemed to be catching anything. Upon closer inspection, I realized that this day fell just after a full moon (a neap tide). Moreover, August 31st was a supermoon, which meant an exceptionally bright and large moon. Even though it was not a full moon but the moonlight was illuminating the surroundings brightly.
I thought the fish might be full and not very active due to these factors, but there were still plenty of small fish making splashing sounds on the water surface. There was plenty of life in the water.
It had been a while since I last went Ajing fishing. I started with a two-second cycle, feeling the weight of the jighead as it fell. I kept getting very subtle taps, so I kept trying to hook them, but nothing seemed to be biting. Later, I realized that it was vibrations caused by a school of small fish, probably Konoshiro, bumping into my line.
About 20 minutes into fishing, I got a clear and distinct bite, unlike any I had experienced before. I set the hook and felt the characteristic, enjoyable vibration of an Ajing fish. It was a hit right after casting, so there was some distance to cover, and the fish was lively, providing a thrilling fight. It was a 23cm-sized Ajing, a decent catch.
It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten both a bucket and a live fish bag, and I couldn't even bleed the fish properly. So, I had no choice but to put it directly into a cooler box with ice. At this pace, I thought I might catch a good number of fish, but after that, it went silent. The bait fishing anglers around me also seemed to have no luck. It seemed like the earlier hit was just a lucky accident.
I considered trying farther out and set up a float rig with an Eging rod but still had no luck. I noticed a lot of small crabs around my feet. I decided to use these crabs for bottom fishing.
I cast my rig and continued Ajing fishing in the meantime, but there was still no activity from either method. As the midnight low tide was approaching, I decided to get some sleep until the tide started moving around 3:00 AM. I left the car door open, hoping to hear the drag if I happened to get a bite (though it was a subtle hope), and then I went to sleep.
It was around 11:00 PM at that time, but suddenly, a breeze started blowing, making it comfortably cool for sleeping. The elderly gentleman fishing next to me boldly laid down an aluminum sheet on the ground and said aloud, "Ah, this feels nice, a refreshing breeze!" He repeated similar comments multiple times. Once would have been enough.
I set the alarm for 3:00 AM and went to sleep, but I woke up around 2:30 AM due to some noise. It seemed that a new angler had arrived on the opposite side and was getting ready. I debated whether to go back to sleep until 3:00 AM, but according to the tide chart, the tide had already started moving, and it was just the right time to fish. Despite being incredibly sleepy, I rubbed my eyes and resumed fishing.
The bottom fishing remained unchanged, with the same crab on the hook. After changing to a new crab and casting again, I returned to Ajing. There were no subtle bites, no action whatsoever—no bites, no fish. The other bait fishermen were also silent. However, I noticed that there were still plenty of anglers around, and if anything, it seemed like more had arrived. Coming from Fukuoka, where overnight fishing was rare, it was clear that Kanto region fishing enthusiasts had gathered at this limited fishing spot.
As dawn started breaking around 4:30 AM, I switched to Seabass fishing. I cast and retrieved lures repeatedly, but there was still no sign of life. By 5:30 AM, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I decided to take a nap.
I woke up around 7:00 AM and made one last effort, but there were still no bites and no fish. With polarized lenses, I could see schools of Konoshiro swimming around in the water, making it seem like a good fishing spot. However, since they weren't biting even for the bait fishermen, I assumed it was just bad timing.
I wanted to fish a bit more, but I had to give up. I was looking forward to coming back when the season was more favorable.
On the way back, I was concerned about getting drowsy, so I had brought caffeine tablets with me. I had Estalon Mocha tablets, which I used to buy in bulk when I was a researcher at the university. After I switched jobs to a corporate role, I had stopped using them, and they had been sitting unused.
I took two tablets at once, and I was surprised that I didn't feel drowsy at all on the way back home. I thought I might get drowsy later, but I maintained my alertness until the evening. It was a reminder of how much caffeine I used to consume during my university days, when I would drink a lot of coffee, energy drinks, and take caffeine tablets like these.
I kept the Ajing I caught, which was about 23 cm, in the refrigerator for sashimi. Since I didn't bleed or prepare it properly initially, I'm a bit concerned about potential parasites like Anisakis, but I plan to let it age until tomorrow before eating it. I really want to go fishing again!