Maihama / Old Edogawa Seabass Guide (Sat 6/20)

① Time & Tide

6/20 (Sat), Old Edogawa river mouth, medium tide. The afternoon is a low-tide bottom-out, then the tide rises all the way into night high tide—the incoming current overlaps perfectly with the low-light evening window, making it the golden period of the day.

② Fishing Spots (Real Map)

Green shore section: basically the entire east bank of the Old Edogawa is fishable, with few hard restrictions at the waterside.
1Fujimi seawall—recommended main spot, on the upstream side of Maihama Bridge, along the east bank on the Fujimi side.
The waterside around the downstream river mouth / Maihama area is also fishable; the Miake River confluence (bottom right of the map) is a backup spot with current-speed differences.

The entire east-bank waterside is easy to fish from. Choose places with structure: bridge piers/bridge shadows, current-change zones, seawall back eddies, and edges where baitfish gather. Main spot ① is the Fujimi seawall upstream of Maihama Bridge, where it is easy to find space. If any section on-site happens to have construction fencing or a separate notice sign, just avoid that small section—the rest of the waterside is open to fish.

③ How to Use the Three Lure Types

④ How to Choose Lures That Day

• Baitfish / surface boils / birds → minnow (highest priority when there is chasing on the surface)
• Muddy water / strong wind / need long casts → VIB · metal blade
• No bites but you feel fish are there → paddle-tail, slow search near bottom
• Morning/evening low light → prioritize minnow; high daytime sun → search the middle-lower layer with metal blade/paddle-tail

⑤ Reading the Current: A Gentle Ebb Has Potential; an Overly Fast Ebb Is Hard to Fish

Seabass/black seabream are not afraid of current; the problem is when the “current speed/water color keeps them off the bank, off the bottom, and unwilling to bite.” Before casting, use four visible indicators to judge whether the current is fishable:

Too weak is no good either (completely dead water, line nearly vertical, dull feedback from the VIB)—if it still has not started moving 30 minutes after the ebb begins, change spots.

⑥ Early Signals Before Casting (More Accurate Than “Is There Surface Busting?”)

Sea bass often feed quietly near the bottom, and there may not be visible surface busting. Before casting, scan these things first:

• “Signs of life” along the bank: Are there small crabs in the rock gaps, small shrimp jumping near the water’s edge, or small fish tight to the shell beds? If the bank feels like a dead tank, with not even tiny creatures around, the bite is usually poor too.
• Water color “muddy but not dirty”: Green/tea-green, slightly turbid, layered = good; whitish, gray-yellow milk tea, a freshwater-looking layer, lots of foam and trash = bad (the Old Edo River is flushing dirty water).
• Are there “edges”?: Clear/muddy boundaries, fast/slow current seams, main current/back eddy seams, shadow lines along walls, shell bottom/sand-mud bottom transitions, bridge shade/boat-channel edges—these are far stronger than open dead water. Straight, featureless open areas with no edges are easy blanks.
• Bottom feedback on the first cast: Occasionally touching shell or gravel without constantly snagging, water pressure in the mid-lower layer, light ticks/short sharp taps as it comes near the bank = stay; soft and mushy all the way with no feedback, either never reaching bottom or snagging dead as soon as it touches down = don’t waste time.
• You do not need many birds; one or two “working low” are valuable: Flying low, searching close to the water, repeatedly pecking along a fixed stretch of bank (not just passing by) → means baitfish/shrimp are concentrated on that line.
• Other anglers’ movements appear earlier than actual catches: Frequently changing angles to cast along the same line, people suddenly concentrating casts on one stretch, landing nets coming out = promising; a row of people scrolling phones, nobody changing lures for half an hour, experienced anglers starting to pack up = not promising.

⑦ When to Change Spots / Call It Quits Decisively (Avoid Blanking)

After arriving, observe for 5 minutes first and divide the situation into three categories:

• Leave/change spots immediately: The water is completely still and still has not started moving 30 minutes after the ebb begins; the water is whitish · milk-tea colored · lots of trash drifting with the flow; the current is so fast that the lure shoots sideways as soon as it lands; 30–45 minutes straight with no bites · no follows · no baitfish · no birds; the VIB keeps snagging bottom with absolutely no fish signals.
• Stay and observe for 30 minutes: The tide has started ebbing but has not really run yet; slightly turbid water still shows nearshore layers; occasional baitfish flipping/surface busting/low-flying birds; someone nearby gets a touch but misses; the lure can still be controlled in the mid-lower layer.
• Worth grinding: Slow ebb, floating debris moving steadily, line angle 20–45°, VIB can come back steadily through the mid-lower layer, there are edges, small life along the bank, someone nearby catches fish.

Discipline: if nothing happens at a spot for 20–30 minutes, move; do not stand and camp. If three spots all blank, call it quits—do not burn yourself out until your mood collapses.

⑧ Should You Go After Rain?

It is not that “you cannot go when it rains,” but rather that “if the Old Edo River is flushing dirty water on the ebb after rain, do not stubbornly camp the nearshore dead water.” Before heading out, check three things: accumulated rainfall over the past 24h near the bank, wind direction (south/southeast winds can push saltwater back in, while north wind + ebb feels more like freshwater flushing out), and on-site water color (whitish is more dangerous than tea-colored).