A great weekend and some fishes

Just came back from a wonderful fishing weekend. I had the chance to try my new tackle and land a couple of interesting fishes.
Wait for a good review and report soon!

The UrbanCastMan Strikes Again!

I was going to publish my report and put the picture of the fishes I caught but then I received in the mailbox the photo of the last fish (Dentex Dentex) caught by my friend UrbanCastman. I have to postpone my photo reports and share with you this beauty.  The location is top secret but the lure is a nice DUO Press Saira.
Nothing much to add...just some jealousy :)

Review: YGK G-soul X3

Here is an interesting PE line. YGK is a very famous and respected Japanese brand of PE line. I actually consider them to be at the top together with Varivas.

 I was eager to try the brand but given the high prices of the latest 4 and 8 strand models I have always took a step back and didn't have the courage to spend all that cash on a PE line.
I was, however, lucky enough to find about the lowest and cheapest model of the YGK brand: the G-Soul X3.

On paper it is supposed to be something not worth buying: only "3" strands Dyneema braid sold at a very cheap price (1200-1500YEN). I started doing some researches and read positive opinions about it, enough to convince to give it a try.

During that period I had just purchased the Shimano ELF reel 2000s for some LRF action and I was looking for a 0.4 PE to fill the spool. After a couple of google searches I found the PE online and ordered it.

How it is? Well, the first impression I got was very good. Before even pooling it I have touched and analyzed the braid closely and the smoothness surprised me a lot. I almost couldn't tell the difference between this 3 strand and a regular 8 strand like the Shimano PP 8 Slick. I was, in other words, very baffled by the first impression it gave to me. I read about the special YGK coating that give superb finish and smoothness.
The braid was a 0.4PE which is very thin but somehow the smoothness gives an extra feel of "thinness" and strength. I think YGK did a great job with tightening the strands.

Finally last week I have  used it and I can give my first "on the field" impressions about it.

Castability: The braid casts great. Period. It is thin and it never created me any problem during my casts. I was able to shoot lures at great distances. No bird nests so far.

Line Retrieving: Here is the only spot where this line loses some points. The PE just twists a lot. It is supposed to be round (and feels like it) but during the retrieve I couldn't help but notice that the line got twisted. As for the reel, the Elf managed the line without problem. See photo

Line is smooth and well laid on the spool. I think the merit goes to both the
line and the reel.

Noise: It is smooth but I think not as smooth like a 8 strand (obvious I guess). I could hear some guide noise during the retrieve. Nothing major or annoying for me.

Feel: The line felt good after every cast. No worry for bird nests.

Durability: Very early to tell. The color is still vivid and I don't see any fray or damage after at least 50 - 60 casts. I need some more time for this.

Overall: Definitely a great buy. Accessing the quality of YGK with only 15-20 dollars for a 100 mt spool. It is a 3 strand and in a period were 8 strand rules the market seems like a bad choice but you will be impressed.  Quality/price ratio is unbeatable.  I would go with this braid in other PE diameters too.
The line twist is the only downside of this product but it didn't bother me much.
Last bonus is the spool. A patented design that allows an easy spool filling. Ingenious stuff.

Give it a try!

Looks and feels good on the spool. No problem handling this thin braid with
the Shimano Elf.

Source: YGK
Where to buy: Japan Tackle  , Samurai Tackle

A short trip to the shore

I have spent the morning in a local beach 70km from my home. The condition of the sea weren't that good and the fishing was a disappointment.
A weak breeze from Southeast wasn't enough to produce choppy water and the suspending weeds were a pain...
Anyway, as usual, I spent two hours casting with no result. At least I have enjoyed trying my IMA Komomo 120, Lucky Craft Flat Side 110 and the Seaspin Pro-Q.
I took some photos to share on my blog. A calm morning on the seaside is still relaxing and enjoyable. I hope to have more luck next week!

This is an old first gen IMA komomo. I got it used
when I was in Tokyo. Time to try it.

The location: shallow waters. The seabass likes to cruise the submerged
structure around the rocks.

This is me casting a lure.

Custom 7 ft rod + Shimano Elf 2500 + PP Slick 10lb
+ Ima Komomo 120 First Gen.

The Pro Q has a great WTD action.  I hoped for a seabass surface hit.
Next Time

Very pleased by the casting performance of the LCraft Flat Side 110

Flat 110

Ready to be casted

Close up on the Seaspin Pro-Q

Shallow waters but calm.

Detail of the Flat 110

Another shot of the Flat 110

Short Report

I spent Sunday morning fishing a spot close to home. The purpose was actually trying the new tackle I got. I already knew that the water would be slow and that getting an hit almost impossible.
I was eager to wet the line on a couple of lures and try my new Shimano Elf reel spooled with some Power Pro  Slick 8 braid.

The lure:

I have tried a couple of new lures but I was eager to try the Seaspin Pro-Q 90. This is a very fine WTD lure indeed. It casts very well and it is really easy to give action. Retrieve it slow or fast and the lure comes to life. With a slow retrieve you get a wide WTD action, with a fast retrieve it starts going up and down with some tight movements. It reminds me of the action of the zara spook but you get a far better casting and a more erratic movement on the fast retrieve.

The Line:

I was very curious about the new Power Pro Slick 8 braid. I spooled a 10lb in aqua green color. The line casts very good and smooth. The retrieve was effortless and very easy on the guides. I liked it a lot but the line is too new for a complete evaluation. Right now I can feel the silky surface but only time will tell if it will stay this way for long or start fraying after a couple of fishing trips. For the moment is looks like a bigger improvement over the previous 4 strand lines by Power Pro.

2500 Shimano Elf

The Reel:

The 2500 Elf does not only look good on photos. It is indeed a nice piece of equipment priced at the right range. The casting was effortless and the retrieve silky smooth. It needs some time to see how it holds on heavy and constant use. Definitely a good choice. I didn't see any problems in the winding of the braid. The whole casting-retrieving was done without problems.

The reel spooled with 10lb Power Pro 

My tackle box: Seaspin Pro-Q, Coixedda 100, Maria Miss Carna
River2Sea Valor Minnow , Rapala MaxRap and  K-Ten Blue Ocean HG

Links:
Seaspin 
Shimano Elf (Online Store)

RC in Tokyo Part I

Here is, the first part of my report. 

I have dreamed about going to Tokyo for at least 7 years. I tried to make plans before (and save money) without much success. This time I just went online, booked the hotel and pack my bags.
My interest for Japan goes beyond fishing. I have always been fascinated by the country's culture. It is not only a world of anime and fishing tackle, but also food, landscapes, architecture, arts, religion and other cultural aspects that makes this country unique.
Anyways, as a fishing blogger, I can write a little about Tokyo from that aspect we all love: fishing.

My blog deals mostly with JDM lures and tackle, so going to Japan was a big thing for me. I only had 5 days to spare for my trip so unfortunately I had to skip some plans I made before but still had time to manage some important visits and meetings.

First Day

I stayed in Shinjuku so the first thing to do was to visit the famous Sansui shop located in Shinjuku. I went there in the afternoon and despite being a small shop I managed to stay there for 45 minutes. The shelves are movable and all of them contained lots of stuff. One wall was full of saltwater lures, another one full of hooks , another lines, freshwater tackle and so on. It was lacking a little bit on fishing clothing but was pretty much stacked with hundreds of lures. I realized that they stock tackle according to the season. The LRF section was great but the offshore or, let's say, "heavy lures" section was not that great. Anyway the staff was very courteous and helped me with the limited communication. I couldn't take photos inside. Too bad.
I also got a Salt Lure magazine which I enjoyed "looking at it" a lot.

Sansui in Shinjuku was my first stop related to fishing tackle. The famous shop
is quite small but has lots of gear on the shelves. Too bad they don't allow
to take pictures inside. 

Second Day

The second day was the busiest one. I met with my great friend Takatoshi. He is an amazing guy who has

become quite a sensation on Facebook. One of the objectives of this trip was to meet him and spend some time together. I really value this kind of strong bonds with angler worldwide and meeting him was a great honor for me. 

He took me to Sansui Shibuya and Jumbo. These two are one of the biggest stores in central Tokyo and indeed it was quite a great experience.

One of the most important moments of my visit. Meeting with my fellow friend
Takatoshi. We spent a great day together. I thank him again for the great
hospitality.

I spent most of my money in these two stores. I got some nice lures and gear which I will review in my second part of the Tokyo Report.

Jumbo looked a little more spartan than Sansui, but nevertheless it had many products on sale. I really enjoyed the saltwater lures and the bag/clothing section. I got myself a nice hip bag and some lures for seabass and LRF.  

Also I got myself a shore jigging mook (magazine style book) and lots of Meiho boxes which I love to use.

Just before leaving the store I saw some nice and hard to find (for European anglers like us) 2012 tackle catalogs. I figured out they were free and I took those by makers like Shimano, Smith, Valleyhill and Tidewalk. Too bad they were missing the Daiwa master catalog but I cannot complain.

Second stop to the 3 stores Jumbo shop in Shibuya.
I found many interesting lures and gear at this shop.
This is where I have used my credit card heavily.

Second Sansui store. This is the famous one located in Shibuya. The first
floor is all saltwater stuff and this is where I have spent lots of time.

Second floor was full of fly fishing gear. This shop is just amazing.

My last stop was at Shibuya's Tackle Berry shop. These chain shop sells mostly used tackle which in many cases lets you find the deal you always looked for. The lures section was good and I managed to find some nice lures in mint condition at some ridiculous prices. Also found a brand new fish gripper and some treble hooks.

If you need second hand lures and gear just visit Tackle Berry.
This is the shop in Shibuya. I have found some amazing deals on lures
made by Skagit Designs and Smith LTD.

2012 Smith catalog.

Third Day

On my third day I have met for dinner with Jed, the owner of the famous online tackle store Cloud Nine Tackle. Again I was very excited about meeting him. I bought many items from his shop and meeting him in person was a great honor for me. We went to a nice restaurant where we had nice food and talked a lot about fishing techniques, lures and his online store business. We discussed the tackle and fishing trends in Europe, the comparison with the Japanese market, YEN and Euro currency exchange fluctuations and so on. It was definitely an amazing evening.
Almost forgot. I even ate some Mebaru Sashimi. I never had the chance to catch it but at least I tasted it.

Jed and myself at dinner. I thank him for the great evening.

If you go to Tokyo you cannot skip some great sushi and interesting places like Akihabara. I couldn't stop taking hundreds of photos. Here are some of them. Enjoy.

Anime everywhere.

Fish market. Notice the Aji on the left.

An icon for Japan: Gundam.

Nice Toyota GT car at the Toyota Car Museum.

Colorful night at Ueno.

Sake.

Sashimi. Delicious.

This is the rail system. Amazing.

Sake and more Sake.

I really liked this. I think it is a flounder.

Two beers I have enjoyed drinking during my stay: Asahi and
Sapporo.

More to come soon. Please wait for my part II.

Bonito on lures

This blog thing is great. I check my mailbox and see emails coming from friends I just met thanks to RC Fishing.
I have already wrote a short post about a great angler from Italy. He likes to go fishing almost on a daily basis (lucky!) and whenever catches something he just shares some cool pictures.
This one was just dropped to my inbox :

The fish is a bonito, a fast pelagic fish that loves jigs and slim type lures. This one got fooled on a DUO Press Bait 175 Saira. I thank him for the photo.

175mm for 50g. 

Fishing Report vol.1: Night Fishing for Seabass

A good fishing blog should definitely include some nice fishing reports with cool fish pictures.
So, as a start, I am posting the report of this nice catch made by my friend Savaş back in 2009.

Savaş is a very skilled angler with a special interest in catching enormous European seabass. I can honestly say that he is very good at it :)

Savaş with the 3.3 Kg seabass.

3.8 Kg!

Below is the short report written directly by Savaş:

"It was a very exciting night of fishing back in September 2009. Actually I wasn't planning to go after seabass that night as I was just fishing for mullets. After witnessing an attack of a good sized seabass on a mullet I had hooked, I decided to switch to my spinning setup and put on a lure resembling a juvenile mullet. While I was retrieving the lure for the thirtieth time, I got a huge hit and after an hard fight I landed my first 3.8 kg bass. After the catch I kept fishing and had to wait for almost two hours before a second bass hit my lure again. The second one weighted 3.3 kg. That was an unforgettable night of fishing and made me a good seabass fisherman..."