Fishing Japanese Secret

 Shimano and Daiwa are 2 big Japanese fishing brands. I could say they are now the WORLD biggest fishing brands. Especially for the mid-end to high-end fishing reels, believe they've been dominating the global market.   In this article, I'll explain how to read the Shimano Fishing Rod (Bass rods) spec code.   This rod is Shimano Scorpion 1581F-2. What does " 1581F-2 " mean?  We can factorize the code into these 5 parts.   [1] - [58] - [1] - [F] - [-2]  Type  [1] The first number means the rod type. 1: Baitcasting rod. 2: Spinning rod.  Length  [58] The next 2 digits "58" means 5 feet 8 inches. When the rod is 6 feet 10 inches, this can be "610", 3 digits. When the rod length is over 10 feet, it can be 3 digits, too.  Power  [1] This number describes the rod power. This rod has the number "1" which means this rod is 'Light Power". 0: Ultra Light 1: Light 2: Medium Light 3: Medium 4: Medium-Heavy 5: Heavy 6: Extra

 When I'm using light tackle for Saltwater fishing targetting California Halibut, Spotted Bay Bass, and Yellowfin Croaker, I'm mainly using soft baits. But I also enjoy Micro Shore JIgging using light tackles. MajorCraft Jigpara Micro SLIM 7g    Micro shore jigging is one of the shore jigging styles popular in Japan. In Japan, anglers are targetting Horse Mackerel (アジ、鯵,、AJI), Black Rockfish (メバル、 Mebaru), Japanese barracuda (カマス、Kamasu), etc, etc.  In Japan, it's much more extreme than you may think. Jig weight is from 1g to 10g. It sounds a bit insane that there are 1g to 3g small jigs!!   Anyway, here in California, I'm using 7g Major Craft Jigpara Micro and Micro SLIM. You can check out my fishing footage here.  In the video above, I caught Queenfish by the jerking/shaking technique. In the video below, I caught California Halibut by slow steady retrieving.  When we say Shore Jigging, we imagine repeating strong and sharp jerking using heavy tackle . But for Micro

 How to cast a Baitcaster? Compared to the spinning reel casting, Baitcaster can be a bit difficult because of a birdnest problem.   The fact is... making a super precise accurate casting with a Spinning tackle should be a much bigger technical challenge but yes, casting Baitcaster would not be as simple and easy as what Spinning and Spincast reel do. * Please note that the casting style and practice I'm talking about here is what we call "Casting for Bass fishing". Meaning using 5.6 to 7 feet rods with Baitcaster. [Overhead Cast] How to cast a baitcaster. [Casting tutorial / Japanese style] Two Legendary Japanese Casting Masters.  In Japan, we have many famous pro fishermen who have a huge influence on Japanese anglers. For casting style, I'd say Jim Murata (村田基) and Toshinari Namiki (並木敏成) are THE BIG 2 LEGENDS .  Jim Murata has been closely working with Shimano producing many Shimano gear like Shimano Scorpion and World Shaula. Shimano's flagship reels, Stella

Bass fishing technique for Saltwater - Finesse approach  I've been into Bass fishing for over 10 years.  I used to be a saltwater-only angler who's chasing Japanese seabass in Tokyo bay every night. I honestly said I did not have any good image for Bass fishing. At that time in Japan, a HUGE Bass fishing movement had been happening. Lots of young anglers made a long line at the fishing tackle store seeking cool lures like MEGABASS lures. As a saltwater fisherman, I saw it with a cynical smile.  But in 2008, I moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I spent 3 years there. In Ontario, there was no chance to fish saltwater since no ocean there. I went to lakes, rivers, and canals. I tried my luck with a small spinner and got a surprising catch! It was Smallmouth bass! At that time, Smallmouth bass was a very rare species in Japan. Wow. Cool! I also caught Largemouth bass, Northan Pike, Yellow perch, Crappie, Walleye, etc, etc. Super cool!! Since then, I've been a

 Finesse Fishing. This is a very popular fishing style in the Japanese Bass fishing scene. Everybody goes Finesse.  What is Finesse Style Fishing?  As far as I'm aware, when using less than 5g lures with a light spinning tackle, we could call it "Finesse Fishing". These days, as technology evolves. Baitcaster also can handle such lightweight lures, "Bait Finesse System (BFS)" is also getting popular. I personally think spinning tackles are much flexible and useful for finesse rigs. But I also admit BFS looks cool.  Why go Finesse?  In Japan, fishing is a popular outdoor activity. While Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass are not Japanese native species, Bass Fishing is also a big business. Many small lakes and ponds have Bass habitats. It's mainly because of the past Illegal releases. Bass, Bluegill, and Channel Catfish are recognized as invasive species. One of the big social problems. But for anglers, they're the best game fishing target. I know this i