Fishing waters around the world has what they refer to as “trash fish” or at least “the undesired”. I have always felt a certain affection for these species, perhaps because I know that locals treat them bad, perhaps because they are usually abundant and powerful (they are most of the times omnivorous) – fun to catch. Carp fishing has been pretty popular in other parts of the world, and seems to be taking a slow but steady hold in the US as well. I fished in Japan a few months ago and we fished the mouth of a river that connects to the ocean. We were targeting Iwana, and hoping to run into some that were sea running earlier in the season, as they are the larger of their kind. I caught a few Iwana but I hooked up with an Ugui, a carp looking fish, something locals did not want to catch. I was happy to catch an Ugui because it was larger and gave me a good run. I was happy to catch it because it was something that I knew the locals did not treasure. I was happy to catch it because I felt it would know (not really) that I treasured meeting it and would write about it someday. I don’t chase carp or other non prize fish intentionally, but when I do come across it, I value meeting it greatly. So here’s to you, Ugui – a beautiful fish.
(Ugui is the last two photos below)
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