Report from participants

STUDYING CO-EXISTENCE OF POND SMELT AND LARGE-MOUTH BASS
Nakano 7th Junior High School Nature Investigation Club(July 3)

June 13, 2000
As one of our school's events, we had a field trip to Lake Onogawa in Urabandai area of Fukushima Prefecture. The purpose of the trip was to study various matters regarding black bass, the subject of our current "Comprehensive Study Class." We asked the chief of Hibara Fishermen's Cooperative Association to tell us about the fish in Lake Hibara and Lake Onogawa.

We're on our way to Lake Onogawa to catch bass! They say 80% of the fish in the lake is small-mouth bass.	There's a bass. Let's hurry and catch it. Lake Onogawa is beautiful. I can't wait to ride on the boat.	We asked the chief of Hibara Fishermen's Cooperative Association to tell us about the fish in Lake Hibara and Lake Onogawa. He also told us about the way the collected fishing fee is spent, about bad-mannered anglers who litter trash, and about the study regarding how pond smelt and other native Japanese fish can co-exist with imported large-mouth bass and small-mouth bass. Thank you, chief.	The rig made with potato works well here. They showed us how to make the rig.
Such a long wait … Have those on the boat caught anything?	What's that? A huge swan? The motorway near Lake Inawashiro that we took on our way back Many swans migrate to Lake Inawashiro in winter, and there was a swan displayed at the entrance to a tunnel.	The following day, I presented to all the second-graders what I learned from the chief of Hibara Fishermen's Cooperative Association about the fish in Lake Hibara and Lake Onogawa,

Comments from Students
Tap, tap, tap … Clear sounds of water hit my ears. Although wanting more sleep, I crawl out of FUTON quilt. It's raining outside. My sleepy eyes see the wooden ceilings … Now I remember, I'm in Joyo. I'm in the bungalow, immersed in wooden fragrance. Day Two … yes, today is the day for the field work … After changing, I sprang out. The air was fragrant with the mixed smell of water and the trees, and unconsciously I inhaled deeply. It's such a nice place. To me, a nature lover, Joyo is a pleasant place. I returned to the lodge, finished breakfast, and got in the bus with the fishing rod in my hand. What I wanted to fish today was small-mouth bass. But I was a complete amateur, and my fishing rod was brand new. As soon as we arrived at Lake Onogawa, we saw splendid scenery. It was quiet, except for the chirping of the birds. I asked my friends and teachers to teach me how to handle the rod and started casting it. I cast and cast, because I wanted to improve quickly. "Ayaaaaaaaaa!" I knew that my shout would scare the fish away. But I didn't care. All I wanted to do was to cast and cast (a nuisance, wasn't I?). I could hear cuckoos singing here and there but I could not spot them. I cast the rod again. My dear worm (the bait), transform to a bird. Whiz! My worm flew into the sky, as if dreaming of the day when it could turn to a bird. And it never came back to me ... the fishing line was cut. The worm was now at the bottom of the lake. It was my third. After all, I could catch absolutely nothing and I started wondering if any fish lived here at all. Nevertheless, the worm that sank to the lake's bottom, the birds' chirping and the wind must have been trying to let me feel something. I want to go fishing again one day and find out what that something is. (Y, 2nd grade)