New Shimano Stella coming next spring?

This is some hot news. According to this japanese website, Shimano will be introducing the new Stella in spring 2014. I think this is the new regular standard model.
No news on the specs. Just need to wait and see.

Source: Meba Aji Fool

DUO Aomasa 188: Getting Ready For Launch!

This year DUO has got some attention when introduced a special diving pencil named Aomasa 148. The pencil has been a great hit in the market. Many reports of huge fishes caught with the Aomoasa have flooded the social media and blogs.
I read many times on DUO's facebook page that the 148 was a great achievement but that a bigger size was in the works but got blocked on some developing issues. The guys at DUO are always looking for the perfect lure and they didn't want to introduce to the market a different size of lure only. The lure had to be successful as the 148 size.
After many heavy testing and R&D hours the new lure is ready for launch.

The 148 size has received very positive reviews from the anglers worldwide.

The tester Jerremy has tried many setups looking to achieve the perfect castability and action. At the end of the day those are the key elements that makes a lure successful in the market.
Now I am eager to see it in store and start reading for some awesomes fish reports.

testing with different hook setups

yellowtails love the Aomasa

Source: DUO

Tackle House "Shores Streamer"

When it comes to original lure designs I think Tackle House is the first name that comes to my mind. Those guys are really creative and always push it forward for new ideas and designs.
The "Shores" series was introduced as a "ultra light" lure range for those anglers who love to chase small fishes around the world.

The newest entry to the series is this Streamer. What can I say? It looks crazy, a mixture of metal body with plastic with the shape of a fly streamer. I think we have a winner here as I am pretty sure the small 32mm lure will drive fishes crazy and produce amazing catches.
I am looking forward to hear and read more about this lure. I always welcome new designs and this one is definitely an hot product.

Source: Tackle House

GT fishing with Ripple Fisher

So it is winter and is snowing. In times like this I go online and check for some crazy fishing videos. Nothing beats an hot coffee and a cool youtube video.
Here is a nice GT fishing video by Japanese rod maker Ripple Fisher
The real action starts at 5:15 with an amazing top water strike!

The Interview: Markos Vidalis

Thanks to my blog and facebook I had the chance to meet many great anglers around the world. 
The passion is the same but the stories, the seas and the fishes change from continent to continent, and it is very interesting to listen and learn about others experiences in the different parts of the globe.

I have decided to do some brief interviews and give space on my blog to some of those special friends. 
I think it is very exciting to read about what anglers do around the world. The passion is one but it is what is behind it that makes us curious.

Today I decided to start with a very skilled angler and great guy: Markos Vidalis, a real angler with a great passion and dedication for fishing. 

I thank him for this short interview and hope one day I will have the honor to go fishing with him somewhere in the Aegean Sea.

Hello Markos, Can you please briefly introduce yourself?

Hi there! My name is Markos Vidalis and my origin is from an Aegean island in 

Greece called Tinos. Now I live in Athens and I’m head editor in the two most 

reputed Greek fishing magazines, one involving fishing from shore, and one 

from boat! I’m also the main product fishing field tester of many brands. 

When did you start fishing?

Well my family’s history was always involved with the sea, and with one 

grandfather being a fisherman, and the other being an angler, I made my first 

fishing steps at the age of three years old. My father was also an angler and a 

seaman so I guess fishing is in my DNA!

What type of fishing do you prefer?

Hard to answer because I use many different techniques, depending the 

weather and of course the mood! Yes I use many fishing ways with natural 

and live baits, but I think I mostly love fishing with artificial ones! You see with 

this way of fishing you have to give life to a piece of plastic or metal, so when 

you get the strike, you know that YOU made the predator to attack! Of course 

is far more difficult than with a live bait, but the psychical reward is much 

higher! On the other hand when you practice fishing techniques like spinning 

or shore jigging, preparation is almost eliminated.

Favorite places to cast a lure?

This is a tricky question and depends on what is my target! If a want to get 

a big Dentex or AJ (Amberjack), then I will climb down the most hard to approach rocky 

deep spots. If there are bluefish or sea bass on the menu, I will wear my 

waders and go straight to river ending places, and fish right there where 

the freshwater meet the sea. For bonitos and tunnies, I choose deep waters 

usually on the outer side of big ports, or I also climb down to deep rocky

spots. You see I believe there is nowhere in the world a place that holds all 

the type of fish, and you have to decide what you want to catch, and then 

decide the place!

What is your favorite fish to catch with lures?

Every fish has its own beauty, either it is in the way it strikes or in the way it 

fights. I love many fish for different reasons! I love sea bass for the difficulty 

they show to attack! I love the bluefish for the great fight and the jumps on the 

water. Amberjacks are masters of fight and strength, and barracudas are real 

ghosts! But if there is one fish that every time I catch it is like my first time, 

then this is the snapper! (Dentex Dentex) Hard to find, royal appearance and 

clever mind, are characteristics hard to beat!

What is your best catch ever?

I have lots of catches that I’m very proud of, but only one made my heart beat 

so fast! Even if it is not my biggest fish, the size of it and the light gear I had 

while I encounter it, made it my top trophy! It is a snapper (dentex dentex) 

weighting 8.650kg that was caught with a light shore jigging rod (20-60gr 

lure weight) with braid 0.18mm and leader 0.43mm in a very hard and rocky 

bottom! Many people told me that there is nowhere else in the world report of 

such a big snapper with so light tackle. I don’t know but at least for my country 

for sure there isn't! 

What kind of tackle do you use during your fishing trips? Rod and reel 

preferences?

The type of rods and reels are once again chosen depending the type of 

fishing I want to practice. Generally if we talk about brands I love Zenaq for 

rods and Daiwa and Shimano for reels. For most spinning trips I use rods with 

height around 2.70 and with an average lure weight 10 – 35gr. A 2500 – 3000 

spinning reel fits well on it in most cases. For shore jigging, I prefer rods with 

jig weight 60 – 120gr, height 3.00m combined with a 5000 – 6000 reel.

If you had to choose only three lures to put in your lure box, which ones would 

you pick?

You kill me Rehacan! Only three?   %&*#@!!! That would be my worst 

nightmare but if so, then I would get DUO Tide minnow slim in 120, 140 & 175 

sizes!

I know you have a close cooperation with DUO Japan. How did it happen?

I use DUO lures far before they appear in the European market, thanks to 

the internet shops. Of course then I could acquire them only from Japan. 

The results where great so time passed until a very good friend of mine 

(Dinos Panayi) became the Greek and Cyprus Importer! When I learned it, I 

was so happy to open champagne! He introduced me to Martin, who is the 

“ambassador” of DUO and we started chatting every now and then. DUO was 

very new to Greek market and needed help to stand strong so I offer them my 

help without expecting anything back! Time passed and one day DUO made 

its move and told me that they were interested in me as a Pro Stuff! Of course 

I agreed and I’m very proud to be an official pro stuffer in one of the most 

important lure brands in the world! In the past before, and after this, I had 

rejected other offers mostly from Italian and Chinese brands.

Where do you see lure fishing in 10 years?

With the rapid evolution of fishing gear and the fishing population becoming 

less in number and more intelligent, I believe that in future will have to take 

too much effort to get a big fish! Fishing is becoming even more popular in all 

of its morphs, but especially with lures, gains day by day more and more fans. 

It’s not a secret that lures once where “killers” now are going unseen by fish! 

So I think we should get prepared!

What do you think of catch and release?

I support C&R as much as I can. Many videos of mine shows it very clear and 

I have my own rules in my head about size and number of fish I can keep or 

release. Sometimes I argue with foreign anglers because they demand from 

me to release all of my catch! I wish I could but as I mentioned before I come 

from a fisherman family. All my life I’m eating fish, more than meat or any 

other food. So I’m not intending to change this in my 34 years of life! When I 

get a big fish I can’t wait the time that I will call my best friends or my family 

and eat it together! In contrary to that, I have strong rules and I release no 

matter what, most fish less than 1kg.

Again, thank you very much for your time!!

Enjoy Light Game With Palms

Palms is a very respectable Japanese rod and lure maker. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to cast one but only to play with it at the stores in Tokyo. I am keeping my eye on the ShoreGun series which has the widest range of rods that suits every kind of fishing. İt goes from UL to XH shore jigging with all the types and lengths in between.

Here is a nice video of light fishing with the newest arrival in the family: the TW "twitcher" series.

Enjoy the video and check how those two guys are having fun with small jacks in calm waters.

New lures join the DUO Tetra Works family

DUO's Tetra Works series has some serious lineup of models for all light fishing lovers around the world.
Yesterday I have found that the famous TOTO model has received two more variations that will satisfy certain situation we encounter during light fishing.

The TOTO is a little great minnow that was first introduced as a 42mm size and later joined by the 48mm version for bigger predators and longer casting.

Now we have two more models : the TOTO 48HS and the TOTO Shad 48S.

The 48HS has the name suggest is a TOTO with Heavy Sinking. The model receives a little bump in weight from 3.7g to 4.5g) and a new lip design. 

Since there is no English news yet here is what DUO JAPAN says (google translated)

Update model with improved water involved performance and cast performance micro minnow is a weak-based Toto 48S, Toto 48 heavy thinking. Rather than just adding weight, lip changed to square lip of the falling tendency with an emphasis on water bite. Fast retrieval of game day, of course, also in the center of the night game, slow retrieve will grasp the change of flow which is the byte chance...

The translation is a little funny but basically we have a heavier minnow with a lip suited for fast retrieve but also slow during night fishing. 

The Shad 48S  

The size and weight remains the same as the HS but the lip is definitely suited for deeper waters. The advantage of this model is the ability to scan a deeper water column. I cannot see the range in meters but I will wait and see if I can get more info about it.


These are just introduced in Japan. Hopefully we will see them for sale around the world soon!



Source: DUO Japan

DUO Catalog (PDF)

In case you have missed DUO's 2013 catalog, it is here in PDF

Winter Session by Urbancastman

Winter is here and so are the bonito photos from the Urbancastman.
I am starting to think that there is a love affair between the bonitos and the DUO Press Bait Saira.
I know that my friend is consistently using the DUO lure for the pelagic fishes  but the success rate is pretty high nevertheless.
Keep the good work my friend!

New Guides For Major Craft

I wanted to write about this before but never had the time. Major Craft has just introduced a new top and it is placed just at the top of the lineup. The Truzer is an expensive rod and looks quite cool. The real novelty is the new guide named Torzite.
Besides being a name reminiscent of intergalattic planets, we are dealing with an ultra light and low profile guide that makes look the SIC fat and old. I need to investigate and read more about it but this new guides looks promising. Questions like eat dissipation qualities and durability will be answered soon I guess.
Have a look here: (courtesy of PLAT)

Seabass Fishing Video!

This is nice, this is cool, this is a seabass video that goes very well if you are alone in a cold night dreaming about fishing. Courtesy of Longin