eastern techniques western
teCHniqUeS PaGe tItle
waterways
meet
by aNDy maNahl
E
ver heard of Hayabusa? What about Gan- Craft, ito, ichiban, Megabass, decoy, damiki, Fish arrow, Bait Breath and the list goes on. You had better start paying attention to the Japanese tackle market, because it is hands down the top secret bait and or baits of all the guys that fish here on the West Coast as well as some of the elite anglers who fish B.a.S.S. Without letting all the secrets out, i am going to leave it up to you to do your homework on the above mentioned. The attention to detail on Japanese baits are getting so vivid and lifelike, it is truly remarkable. take for instance the new bait from Fish arrow called the Flash J. This bait is flat out sick! There is a foil inner lining of this soft plastic bait which gives off multiple colors, depending on the light conditions and the visibility of the water. They even have Brush Hog style baits with hair appendages, which give the bait constant movement even on the slickest of conditions. The Vision 110 was kept under wraps for a couple of years until it went mainstream. Japanese baits have been winning money for anglers for a long time and it’s about time you start getting with the program. Sure, you still have to find the fish; but some of these baits will help you get to them quicker. take a look at the new bait called “ Knockout” from damiki. it is a slight spin off of the earlier version
of their air Craw series. What makes this bait so unique is that it has air pockets in the soft plastic bait. in other words when this bait is sitting at motion on the bottom of the lake the tentacles flair up into an automatic defensive position, just like a real crawdad. The Knock out bait sits at about a 40-degree angle and the air Craw sits up more perpendicular. i did a demo tank for the iSe show at the Phoenix Cardinals Stadium about six months ago and it was really cool to see how this bait can make a bass want to eat it. i’m not saying the standby Chigger Craw is no longer useful; but the damiki air Craw and Knockout baits are something you may want to throw in your arsenal. i want to touch on hooks for just a second as well. i recently made a switch to the decoy Cover Finesse Hook. it is superior to any other hook out on the market for wacky rig presentations. My hookup ratios went up by staggering amounts just by making the switch alone. They have a fluorocarbon weed guard which gives you that extra stealth advantage when throwing your flick shake or Senko for those still fishing with the o ring on your Senkos. For those of you still throwing the a rig, i have two words for you dragon Chatter… enough said. Those who are worthy of the research will be rewarded with special multi-rig bait that makes the a rig look a little out of place.
Flash J Minnow - has a foil inner lining on the soft plastic bait giving off multiple colors, depending on light conditions and visibility of the water.
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