Fishing Japanese Secret

 Have you ever heard of the " Winding Technique "? It is popular among Japanese cutlassfish anglers. Using a specialized darter jig head, fishing cutlassfish from both offshore and shore.   Jerking a darter jig head, the lure randomly up and down, sliding left and right, it's appealing to the fish instinct. I mean we expect a reaction bite.   Applying that technique for the bottom fish, Japanese anglers catch rockfish, Flathead, and Japanese large-tooth flounder. When we use a light tackle and small jig head, it would be called "light bottom wind".   I've been watching many Japanese Youtube videos introducing this technique and decided to try it by myself. And the result was... Great!  Spotted Bay Bass, Barred Sand Bass, Calico. They love this technique. Let's check out my Youtube video to learn how to do it.  In Japan, we can find a specialized darter jig head. Many brands produce such items. But in the U.S., unfortunately, we can't have many choice

 When I first time moved to North America, I was surprised that I could not find any telescopic landing pole.  In Japan, Tamo-ami タモ網 is very popular and we can find it at any fishing store. It has a telescopic pole and net. The telescopic could be from 2m to 6m. When we fish from the rock, cliff, jetty, pier, etc.. we need a landing net with a very long pole. The telescopic landing pole makes it.  I introduce a Japanese-style landing net/pole. Tamo Ami.  In the U.S. (and Canada), I could not find it. So I bought some in Japan and brought it back. When I was into Bass Fishing, it was not always necessary. Since in many cases, I was fish at the water edge and could easily hand-landing the fish. But when I used Jerkbait with 3 triple hooks, the landing net was very useful. Multi triple hooks can be very dangerous for hand landing.  Then I started saltwater fishing a couple of years ago here in Southern California. The landing net got to be very important for me. I often fish from the roc

 I have some fishing tools I always bring for fishing. They're very important and essential to me. Without them, I'll be super nervous and would not be able to focus on fishing.  BogaGrip is one of them.   When I fished 20 years ago, Fish Grip was not that popular. When I caught Japanese Seabass and Japanese Rockfish, I simply lipped them as I'm doing for a Bass. When I caught a toothy fish like cutlassfish, I removed a hook by using a plier.  But now, I believe almost all avid anglers in Japan bring a fish grip. I don't remember when it started getting popular, but it's now a common fishing tool.  I tried several types of fish grip. And I came to the conclusion. BogaGrip is great. BogaGrip could be the best.   It surprisingly holds tightly the big fish. Super stable. And looks cool! Checking out Japanese internet articles, many anglers also says so.    There are many fishing grips way cheaper than  BogaGrip , but how often do we buy a grip? I believe I've been

  Carolina Rig . A very classic rig. Popular for any type of bait fishing like live baits, dead baits, and lures.  The rig is very simple but compared to other simple rigs like the Texas rig, this rig requires a couple of extra steps and parts. So that many young anglers prefer other modern rigs like the Free rig over this classic rig. But... this rig is still great! Rigging     The rig requires these items. Weight . I think a classic Carolina rig is using an egg sinker or a slim barrel-shaped weight. I prefer using a Texas rig tungsten bullet weight.  We also can use a drop shot weight with an open-eye just like a Free rig.  Plastic Bead / Rubber (optional) This is totally optional but when using a weight slipping the fishing line through, I prefer using a plastic bead or a soft rubber bead as a shock absorber protecting the knot.  Swivel The rig requires a swivel to tie the main knot and leader. A simple swivel without clips would be fine. A swivel would make sure the weight won'

  Weightless rig . A simple but deadly rig for shallow water.  Hook and soft lure. That's it. No weight. In Japan, we call this rig "No Sinker rig ノーシンカーリグ".   Yamamoto Senko must be the most popular soft bait for this technique. This is a super productive rig when we fish shallow water and shallow covers. When there are fish, well be able to get bites right away. Rigging     There are 2 types of major riggings. Weightless Texas Weightless setup using an Offset hook. This looks just like a Texas rig without a bullet weight. Good to fish cover because of the snag-free capability. Weightless Wacky Wacky style rigging suing standard single hook. I prefer using a hook with weedguards. We can have great natural action with this setup.  How to fish?   I generally use a spinning tackle or BFS for this since in general, weightless means the rig is lightweight could be too light for Baitcaster with mid to heavy setup. Fall and Stay This is the most common. Using soft baits like Ya

  Drop shot rig . Super popular rig for Bass fishing.   In Japan, we call it "DOWN SHOT RIG ダウンショットリグ". The word "DROP SHOT RIG" is not common there. When we say "DOWN SHOT RIG", I believe the majority of people would imagine a lightweight drop shot sinker with a light spinning tackle set. But there is a heavy version of it. We call it "Heavy DOWN SHOT". Using a heavier weight with heavy baitcasting tackle.   My preference is a light finesse style Drop shot rig setup. G-Loomis IMX 6feet Ex-fast, Shimano #2000 spinning (Stradic Ci4+), Berkley Nanofil 6lb or 8lb, and Fluorocarbon 6 to 8 lb. The weight is 1/32 (0.9g) to 1/8 (3.5g). This is my main tackle set. What do you think? It's too light? Or too heavy? I believe this can be seen as a heavier setup in Japan. There, anglers are using 3lb, 4lb Fluorocarbon line to catch bass using a drop shot rig. Wow... 3lb!? 4lb!? For me, it sounds too extreme...   This rig is not just for Bass Fishing. Can

 Free rig. These days, this rig may be popular than other classic rigs like the Carolina rig and the Texas rig.  I believe the rig was invented in South Korea by Korean Bass anglers. Then it quickly spread around the Asian countries including Japan. Now, this rig is one of the standard rigs for Bass fishing in Japan. Rigging.  A Free rig looks like this.  It looks just like a Texas rig but the difference is weight. The free rig is using a teardrop/stick-shaped weight with an open eye we generally use for the drop shot rig.  Using this type of weight, we can make a weight faster and vertically fall compared to a bullet weight we use for the Texas rig because of less friction. This could mean when it falls, the distance between a lure and weight can be bigger than the case of a non-pegged Texas rig. The lure would naturally slow fall or drift in the current like a weightless rig does.   A very interesting point here is as the weight falls faster, we can have longer Free moments. I mean

 Texas rig. The standard classic rig for Bass Fishing. But is this rig only for Bass Fishing? Texas rig. The popular classic rig for Bass Fishing.  The answer is "NO". This rig is a super versatile rig that can be used for both Bass Fishing and Saltwater Fishing.  For Bass Fishing, when I fish grass covers, this rig would be the first option as well as Jika rig and Jigs. For saltwater, this rig is my go-to rig for fishing rocky areas. I caught Calico, Spotted Bay Bass, Barred Sand Bass, Yellowfin Croaker, California Scorpionfish, California Halibut, and even Mackerel on Texas rig. A big Spotted Bay Bass on Texas rig. Rigging.  How to rig it? The rig looks like this. Texas rig.  A bullet weight, and a plastic bead (optional), and an offset hook. The biggest reason to use this rig is to avoid getting snagged. So, using an offset hook is very important. When we fish in a short-range, we also often use a straight shank hook with a snag-free setting. To peg or not to peg?  Texas

 What is the essential fishing gear? Hmm. they'll be fishing rods, reels, lines, weights, hooks, baits. Yeah, all of them are essential for fishing.  But in this article, I'd like to focus more on the support tools. We can fish without them, but I do recommend bringing them with you to fish. In the fact, if I have to fish without them, I'll be so nervous and can't focus on fishing. I probably would stop fishing and go home.  Here is the list of my 5 essential fishing support tools. Sunglasses and a cap Scissors A fishing plier Gloves A fish grip  Yes. We can fish without all the above tools. But.. they're really important and useful. And the fact is "All those items are sort of safety goods protecting you from the potential incident" (except for scissors :P). This is a very important point. Especially when you go fishing with kids, I'd say you should bring them for sure.  Sunglasses and a cap   When you go fishing, would you wear a cap or a hat? How ab