The 62nd Meetup - October 30, 2022 - Sumida River

 
Participants: Borahide-san, Nami Tsugi Cob-chan, Elbow-san, Miwa
 
After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we finally held our first meetup. The location was the Sumida River. Two days prior, Borahide-san scouted the area and prepared the feed, so everything was ready! Under the clear blue sky, Miwa will report on this hot day.
 

 
The three of us from Tokyo gathered at the site early in the morning. As for me, I came from Tochigi and arrived after taking the train, a little past 8:30 am. There were fish stirring here and there, creating a lively and active atmosphere. Elbow-san, Cob-chan, myself, and finally Borahide-san, we entered the river in that order, starting from upstream.
 
The first strike came to Cob-chan. Based on the tide graph, I thought the bites would concentrate in the afternoon, but it happened before noon. It was a promising catch, and Cob-chan's face lit up.
"I usually don't take pictures of fish this size!"
But in the MCF meetups, it's a rule to hold and take photos regardless of the size (lol). The bait used was a homemade miso boilie, made with "haccho miso".
 

 
During lunchtime, Borahide-san and I went out to buy lunch for the four of us. One of the great advantages of urban fishing spots is that you don't have any inconvenience when it comes to shopping. We ordered three hamburger sets and one tempura bowl. While waiting in line to place the order, Borahide-san received a call from the "stay-at-base" team. They told him that I had a strike on my rod, so he asked, "What should we do?" and I replied, "Lift it!" When leaving the fishing spot, I always expect something like this to happen anytime. Later, when I checked my smartphone, I noticed that there were missed calls from them several times. I didn't realize because I was in a noisy shop, and I didn't hear the sound of my phone in my bag. I'm sorry!
 
The hamburgers were quite popular today, so we returned to the fishing spot after a considerable amount of time.
"I hope you didn't leave it in the net the whole time?!"

We joked with Borahide-san while returning, and it turned out to be true (lol). They had been waiting for quite a long time, showing their warm feelings. We lifted it out of the water, unhooked it, and took commemorative photos. It was a moment of joy, although my timing for the photo was a bit off, resulting in an awkward expression. For this bait, I borrowed a boilie drill from Borahide-san and used it to make a hole in a 20mm Quattro boilie, stuffing it with cork. Since it was my first time, Borahide-san taught me how to set it up. After this catch, I thought about buying this drill for myself.
 

 
Now, after the enjoyable lunchtime, it was finally the golden time of the day. While eagerly waiting, Borahide-san's alarm went off. It was a rod with corn potage boilie. Borahide-san's fight began with a light resistance at first, but then there was a moment when the fish made a sudden move, and it got tense. Borahide-san changed his standing position and resumed the fight, but the fish kept darting into the depressions along the bank near our feet. The line was 20lb, but if it touched the concrete bank, it would be game over. Borahide-san desperately pushed the rod out to keep the fish afloat, while Cob-chan prepared the landing net with a nervous expression. Elbow-san cheered them on. After surfacing a few times and lying on its side, we swiftly landed it in the net! There was a resounding "wow!" for the splendid carp of the Sumida River. Borahide-san also took a photo holding a carp, saying, "It can't be helped that we haven't had offline meetings due to COVID!" It was a delightful catch, a heavyweight carp.
 

 

 
During this time of year, dusk comes quickly. We packed up early and each went home. Afterwards, I received this LINE message from Elbow-san (lol):
Elbow: "Post-meeting reflections... The only conceivable reasons for our failure were not eating yakisoba bread and bringing melon bread. I won't accept any other opinions. It's inevitable. Ultimately, we had no skills." Not following our usual routine means luck escapes us, huh? (lol)
It had been three years since our last meetup. It's really fun when we all fish together. Look forward to the next one!