Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

I understand there's largemouth bass fishing in Korea; primarily in Gangwon-do as they were stocked in lakes and rivers about 30 years ago and are doing well here. There's not one factory in sight so that means it's a very clean part of Asia though trash is throwed into the river and left on the banks from men having drinking parties and BBQ's. No one picks up after themselves, so it seems. I'm seeing Koreans fish with long cane poles that go all the way into the water using dough bait who catch unidentified tiny fish. I found a string on the ground with the smallest hooks I ever seen. Oddly, I seen one man near the river yesterday evening just carrying around an American spinning reel with no rod and said, "In hangul, kay!" I suppose the Korean word for fish is kay. Maybe he's looking for a place to buy a rod that reel takes, but there's no stores selling them in small towns so he's whistling dixie or crazy as he looked crazy. LOL

I'm going to get a rod and reel when I get to an Emart as I didn't bring any due to luggage limits knowing that you can get fishing and camping gear at Emart. I brought bass lures, weights, and barbed hooks.

I wonder if there's catfish in these waters? I caught catfish and gourami in Thailand several months ago out of a small river on chicken liver. I caught lots of fish in America recently such as an 18 pound channel cat and a 15 pound striped bass and numerous crappie, bass, and bluegill. I understand fishing to be very similiar in principal in most parts of the world using typical western methods while locals use alternative methods like I'm seeing Koreans do.

Do Koreans sell chicken livers or is that all processed to make something else?

And last night, what did I see in a front fish tank of a restaurant? A big beautiful pink sriped American rainbow trout. I tried to ask to have a trout for dinner, but the ajumma couldn't or wouldn't do anything with me so it was no dice. That would be Korea's best dinner, if available as that might be just a display fish. I understand if it's on display, it's what they offer, but I'm not sure if my logic applies here. I sure want to catch and eat trout, bass, and catfish and I know there in the NE province of Gangwon.

Where are the trout streams? How do you find maps and information? The internet is turning up so little so I'm betting much is still undocumented in English as so few foreign travelers come here. I know of one American man in Changwon who does Gangwon fishing tours, but he doesn't give out specific info and I just moved up to Gangwon to get the real deal instead of doing expensive tours. This river I'm near has round rocks of all colors and is not cold water so it's not a trout stream, but maybe bass and other fish. It's one beautiful place, unlike much of the rest of Korea where it's developed.

What's the deal with fishing in Korea? How do you do it and what are you enjoying about it?

[Fishead soup]

In some of the clean rivers and lakes they catch Rainbow trout and eat it as Sashimi(Raw). I've had it once. At first it looked just like Salmon Sashimi. It's actually quite bland to eat. I'm not sure how safe it is to eat fresh water fish raw. I've been warned against it.

[nautilus]

Angling has exploded here in recent years as a hobby.Sadly though there has not been a corresponding care for the nations waterways.
You will find a lot of lakes and rivers have had their banks conreted and all natural vegetation has been removed. How are fish supposed to survive in rivers where the riverbed has been dredged or concreted, where there are no more insects to eat because the vegetation has been ripped out?

They started doing all this construction in Gangwon-do within the past 2 years. Really damaging the natural rivers there, in my view.

[kimchikowboy]

This should get you started.
http://landinglunkers.com/
http://www.anglerstown.com/
http://www.jamescard.net/

Do a search on Dave's. There have been lots of threads on fishing.

[Tobias]

Anybody do any fly fishing here in Korea? I once saw a well-used fly rod in a sports store in my city, so I'm guessing 'yes'.

[sojourner1]

James Card in Changwon fly fishes and has gear who does tours in Gangwon-do. His site is linked by Kimchikowboy.

This thread doesn't get many hits, but I'm sure those who are fishing are not spending much time online or on Daves. It's a rainy weekend so I didn't go to the river yesterday evening, but I might this afternoon since it looks like the rain is letting up.

[vlcupper]

I would kill half the people on this board for some decent fried catfish. I saw some "catfish" at Costco a couple of years go. Abomination.

[sojourner1]

Darn, this site won't let me post images or avatars anymore, but here is my nice lunker channel cat from about 3 weeks ago in the states. Just click the link.

[img=http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/4138/lunkerinthekitchen1se3.th.jpg]

[kimchikowboy]

Nice fish, Sojourner1. Where was it caught?

There are catfish here. The Korean name is megi, but they are eaten in a stew (mae-oon-tang) and not fried.

I've been fishing with James Card, and he is a great guy who really knows where the fish are. If you go with him, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Also, he has all the gear, so you don't have to shell out for that.

For bass gear, there are stores that have links on some of the Korean fishing sites. Here are a couple:
http://www.basslife.co.kr/
http://www.sportfishing.co.kr/
http://www.basspia.co.kr/

Also, most cities have bass clubs which you can join. A few years ago I did some outings with the Daegu Bass Club, and they can loan you the gear for the day, as well as take you to a lake. Often they have tournaments where there are awards (gear and such) for biggest fish, etc. There are also some pro-am bass tournaments here where you can fish in a boat with a pro. You can usually find tourney info here:
http://team-fatboy-asia.com/

Fishing gear here is more expensive than the U.S., especially for the better bass gear (and especially for lures). The best stuff here is imported from Japan, which has the second-highest number of bass anglers in the world after the U.S. However, Bass Pro Shops will ship to Korea.

I haven't been fishing all year, mostly because I was finishing up my doctoral dissertation, which was on recreational angling in Korea and Japan. Consequently, I guess for the time being I'm the world expert on the topic as it hadn't been studied before Now that it is done, I hope to get out on the water after the rains let up.

There is quite a bit of info on the links I've posted. Let me know if you need more. James is the real expert on fishing here (you should check his writing section on his site), and you really should try an outing with him, especially for fly fishing for trout.

Tight lines.

[sojourner1]

I caught that catfish in a lake up in north Missouri just before they were going to spawn. Me and my brother had numerous fish fries in the past couple months. I brought several bags of cornmeal with me on my trip over a few days ago in case I can get some fish to fry in Korea. Last year I was frying fresh mackerel bought at a 5 day market and then grilling fresh Alaskan Salmon I bought at Homeplus. The mackerel I got near Busan tasted dirty due to the pollution. I'm ready for my new apartment with a kitchen as the local ocean fish at the market may be much better up in Gangwon than in the South or West if caught off the East coast or further north. Here's a link showing Korean catfish, some from where I'm at. Just scroll down the bottom and click the blue links to see them. They are indeed very strange looking.
http://naris.science.go.kr/v2_en/naris_search/search_instance_sub.jsp?recordId=1894

What is used as bait around here?

I'm up in Jeongseon, Gangwon this year where a nice river runs around the town and looking to give it my first shot in a couple hours to see if anything might be hitting.

I used to live by James Card in Changwon, but never did get a change to go fishing with him as he's very busy. We chatted regularly when we both ran into each other outside on the street. He seems like a really nice feller.

[Baummer]

I got a chance to do quite a bit of fly fishing last season throughout Gangwan-do. The rivers are ridiculously over fished, nets and electro fishing used to take any and all fish. There are Mongolian (Lenok) trout and Cherry Trout in Korea, two rare and beautiful fish. If you or anyone who reads this does go fishing please, PLEASE practice catch and release. If you are employed in Korea you can afford to buy fish at the grocery store. There is no need to kill what are probably endangered fish if you're not starving to death. The rivers are almost fished out, us lucky foreigners don't need to add to the problem. And if you release the fish back into the stream, it might just be there next time you go back.
I hope all readers here will practice responsible conservation and catch and release fishing.
I'll be back in Korea in a couple weeks, and if anyone wants to hit up some streams, shoot me an email. [email protected]

[sojourner1]

Yes, there appears to be no conservation what so ever in Korea. It's a take all and leave your trash behind kind of situation though I won't leave my trash. I know Korea is destroying it's natural environment like much of Asia and it's probably not as clean anywhere like North America nor has as much fish and game. Yes, the river I live near is heavily fished and no one picks up their trash. Why? It's a lovely place, but they don't care about it despite enjoying going there to fish and party.

Can you buy fresh trout? I seen trout and catfish in a big fish tank on the front of a small restaurant next to where I stay. I haven't seen any one eating in there and believe it's meant to be eaten raw, not cooked.

Yes, I agree, it's just fun to go out there and get out of the apartment and school some and get a little exercise and fresh air.

In 10 years, there probably will be little or no fish left due to over fishing and pollution from reckless development. Even Gangwon is in the process of developing in a big way.

[Arthur Dent]

Here is a thread with some info. I went once so far this year with a long time resident of Korea. A Frenchman who had fished many places around the world. Unfortunately, our trip was marred by a car accident before we had even left Gyeong-gido. This delayed us, and we were unable to link up with his Korean friend who knew where the fish were biting. We were very close though. We picked a spot and tried it but had no luck. I hope to go again in the fall. I have been too busy to go this spring and now I am going home for a break (and fishing!).

I have another friend - a pilot for Asiana - who is keen and has fished here for a couple of years. He was with us and the Frenchman's Korean wife. The main problem for me is that I do not have a car. Without that, it is difficult to fish succesfully here until you really now the rivers well. I was hoping to go before I left but I don't think that is going to happen. I also prefer to camp and fish, but few are into that.

Renting a decent vehicle for a weekend by yourself is a little expensive. Splitting the cost and the driving would be the best way. Find the map store near Sinyongsan station in Seoul, pick an area on one side or the other of the Gangwando mountains and the corresponding map, and head out early on a friday night. Take the les traveled backroads and expore a small region.

*Which city are you in, Sojourner? When I return, perhaps we can meet up. My friend will be back in October. Winter fishing can also be good.

During our forcibly short and late start last time, I saw quite a few fly fishers. There were fish rising but none taking the flies we had. They also seemed quite small.

Despite the environmental problems and construction as well as aesthetic problems with garbage (Yves joked that wherever he stopped in Korea there was always a single white cotton glove and a black plastic bag) there seems to be a growing (albeit minor) movement for care of the environment here. Anyway, drop me a line (barbless hook) and maybe we can plan for the fall.

*Oh, Jongseon, didn't see that, don't know it. Near Donghae or one of the other two bigger cities? Baummer, right there with you on all counts. Maybe we can all meet up and get a regular thing going.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=96028&highlight=