September 25, 2013

Bluefish Feeding on Bunker

What you do when you work a lot and don't have time for fishing? You go to youtube and check some fishing video in order to cure the craving for fishing. As usual I checked some links on youtube and found this nice video shot by Mike Laptew. It is a short one but check how the bluefish attacks the poor bunkers.
Bunker is one of the favorite forage of the bluefish on the East Coast in USA. I remember those days when I saw some blitz close to shore with the poor fishes jumping around trying to escape the deadly jaws of the Pomatomus Saltatrix.
Anyway, enjoy. I miss fishing.



September 20, 2013

Do Your Own Mini Jig Heads with 3D Eyes

When I saw this video I remembered by old (quite recent) days doing fly tying. I usually buy my small jigheads for LRF and don't spend time making them with hooks and gluing BB weights. This approach with the 3D eyes however is very interesting and quite tempting. I might get some and try soon.
If you like doing some of your lure by yourself you might enjoy this short video.

September 14, 2013

Some Popping and Jigging at the Andamans

Nice video I just found online.


September 10, 2013

Minnows for Pelagics

I was having a nice conversation with a fellow angler about minnows that are suited for blue water and pelagic. In other words we were discussing those minnows that are strong, heavy and that fishes like bonito, tuna, dorado, false albacore love so much. 
I am not a guy who casts lures in deep and open waters for pelagic therefore my personal experience is limited. Nevertheless I like to read other blogs, check online catalogs and see what is very suited for this kind of fishing.
There are some lures that I consider very worthy in those situations when you need to cast for blue water fishes.


DUO Larus Minnow 80/24

This is a lure that I like a lot. It is in my lure box and I had the chance to use it only once in some nice rocky shore with a 60mt drop-off. I knew of the presence of pelagics like bonito and false albacore 
(Euthynnus alletteratus) . 
This lure is heavy and very strong. What I really like are two incredible features: Metal lip and swivel hook eye.

The lip is metal therefore very strong and virtually unbreakable. The sviwel is an interesting design option. It allows the hook to rotate freely and when the fishes is hooked the rotation of the swivel basically takes out any chances of pulling the hook with applied torsion by the fish.  The hooks are OK but I think the bigger brother (95mm /34g.)
The action is a very dense and fast rolling. This thing likes fast retrieve all the way to your feet.
The weight is 24 grams and given the short length  (80mm) it casts like a bullet even in windy situation. Very suited for windy rocky shore. 




Here is what DUO says about it:

The Larus Minnow 80/24 is best suited when one wants to downsize the lure to small bait-fish. With a compact 80mm body, it shares the characteristics of the other Larus Minnows: a heavy weight, metal lip, and rolling swivel hook-eye to withstand the attacks of offshore fish. 
The weight is 24g, giving not only a favorable casting distance, but also a good swimming response at slow to medium reeling speeds. It is not only great offshore, but also for fishing from shore if targeting powerful species.


The bigger brothers spots better hooks (ST56 /4 ) and is heavier. I would go with the bigger one for medium sized pelagics and perhaps tuna (with a hook upgrade to ST66 or single hooks) 

More info: DUO Larus Project

Tackle House Contact Bezel

The other minnow is from a company that I love: Tackle House.




These guys make some incredible lures. The Contact series along with the K-ten series have made the history of lure fishing. The Contact series includes some gems like the Feed Popper, Brit, Flitz and the Bezel.
The Bezel is the minnow I'd like to write about. This is a pure jig/minnow with a lip, and it is really tough. How tough? Thru-wire and ST66 (Tuna class) hooks are a good introduction. 
It comes in two sizes : 100mm/36g and 120/48g


This is what Tackle Houses says (google translate helped here)

High precision Jigumino 
Main target is, joints, bonito. It is Jigumino which is indispensable to shoot nabla offshore. Falling trembling little by little with the head bent forward after the splashdown. High speed retrieve the basic course, slide also doing in the twitch in the case of emergency. For controlling the attitude with "bezel lip", in response to the flow of water efficiently in the Berry region, and swim in U~obunroru stable distinguished for the high-speed range, I do not miss the chance.

I have tried this and I can tell you that it is a little difficult to use and animate. It requires some skilled work with the rod and wrist. You can make a fast retrieve for skipping purposes but I think the secret is in giving it fast and hard twitches in order to make it slide and roll a little. For me is still a work in progress but the potential is there.
Also I think it can get a nice attack on the fall.

Here is a video in Japanese. Just check the guys hands to get an idea :)






Source: Tackle House 

September 8, 2013

Something New: Spybaiting Technique by DUO


In lure fishing every year we see news lures and techniques entering the market with the promise of catching more fishes. Every day you see new jigs, lures, soft-baits, retrieve techniques and so on.
Lately Japanese DUO has introduced a technique called "spybaiting" and is already taking the world of bass fishing by storm.
I am not a bass angler but this new lure/retrieve combo looks like a very interesting approach to be used with saltwater seabass. I always consider the bass and seabass close relative when it comes to catching them in mostly calm waters. Example? Well, the seabass loves biting softbaits and the bass cousin and when lurking in low salinity zones (read river mouths) you can be very successful with bass equipment.

What about the "spybaiting"?
The videos below are very good at explaining it all.
Basically the secret is in the double propeller sinking 80mm Realis Spinbait 80 minnow and the slow retrieve that has to be done very gently and slowly.

Already many magazine are covering it with many articles. Just google it and you will see many results.




My idea is to try it in calm portal zones where the seabass lurks around in deep water and is very difficult to engage with regular minnows.
I will let you know once I start some tests.

Check the videos below to fully understand the SPYBAITING.

Enjoy.










Source: DUO Realis

September 3, 2013

Shore Jigging with Daiko

When I see a video with a guy on a rocky shore and a yellowtail in his hands I just press the play button.
Enjoy.