What 2010 Brought. My Year in Review

Well what can I say about this year? The year 2010 has been something else. For starters, the year seemed to have done by rather fast. I have been fishing for roughly 2 years now and have fallen in love with this sport. I find it quite entertaining seeing how much I have progressed both in a technical aspect and tackle aspect in this relatively short time period I have been bass fishing.

It’s a funny how I started fishing anyways. It began with a project my girlfriend had to do for class; she needed to take photos of people in the park. At that time, I just started trying out trout fishing with a friend of mine I knew from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I would frequent this particular park but that night I saw a bass angler nail a huge bass, and another one was pulled out of the small city pond almost immediately by another angler. That guy who caught the first bass became somewhat of a fishing mentor to me as I soon found myself buying bass gear and fishing the park often. I kept up on this hobby despite the fact it took me nearly 4 months to finally catch a fish at this city pond known to the locals as being the hardest pond to catch a bass.

A year later, my rod collection had grown considerably, now consisting of high end JDM bass rods and high end fishing reels. It didn’t stop there; lures were now costing me roughly $15 a piece. The year 2010 brought to my attention that you absolutely get what you pay for and that these high end lures are priced as such because it really does make a difference.

2010 also brought in a new style of fishing for me. Nearly all of 2009, I finesse fished approximately 90% of the time. This year, I probably drop-shotted about 5 days total. Results of this? Much less fish hooked, but I made up for quality fish by nearly Texas-Rigging the majority of the time. This was also the year I fell in love with “Hard Baits”. I never really liked hard baits such as cranks, vibration baits, and spinnerbaits, but I caught great fish off these lures and some were the most vicious strikes I have ever felt in my few yrs of bass fishing. I also got my largest fish of the year off a shallow crankbait; a beautiful 5lb 1oz bass.

Unfortunately this year has seen a decrease in amount of bass pulled out of the pond. Numerous people were keeping bass; some even over 6 lbs. Don’t get me wrong; I believe it’s their right to keep bass, but it’s also their responsibility to help keep and maintain a population of bass, especially at small city ponds like the types I love fishing at. By November of last year, I had caught at least six fish over 5 lbs; this year… only one.

This year, I have lost friends too. It seems like people want to fish with a particular person because it’s “cool” to fish with that person. I did not let that bother me much though as I didn’t feel the need to go to their secret ponds for guaranteed catches. I was completely at home at the “hardest pond to catch bass”. I found it funny though as once that person moved away, I got phone calls asking if I wanted to fish. I consider myself an urban angler and although these private lakes are tempting with 10+ bass days, I was fine at my park where it was a good day if you caught one. This pond is where my fishing friends are at anyways.

Lastly, and probably the best part of the year is the friends I have made by fishing. When I started this blog, I never meant for anybody to find it, yet alone read what I have to say. I had probably 2 followers at the beginning of the year, and little to no updates. Now I’m currently at 22 followers and according to the stats of my blog, it has been visited over 400 different people. Social networking had a great role in my blog being known to others. Many of these people I talk to here, I have yet to meet in person; the guys at Bass Brigade especially Lloyd Gomez, Chris Jackson of Fins-n-Grins, Tyler Brinks, Sinjin Kim, and even the guys on Twitter like @Tairyo28 and @HataTakuma of Jackall, and @DDBethke of Optimum Baits to name a few.

2011 is just a day away, I’ll be renewing my fishing license soon. I wish you all a great New Year! Keep casting and keep fishing! Thanks for visiting.

Jackall's Knockin' Jaw

Jackall's new vibration lure from Japan is their Knockin Jaw. This lure is a metal vibration lure that differs than your standard rattle trap. The lure is called "Knockin' Jaw" due to its large jaw shape that allows it to bounce off rocks and stumps much better and the two hook design lessens it becoming snagged on such obstacles.

This is a silent vibration lure that has three options of retrieve. If you clip the lure (clip comes attached) on the front most hole, closest to the jaw, it is meant for a Fast Retrieve style. Clipping it on the middle hole gives it a more standard retrieve, fast or slow, lifting and letting it fall. The last hole, towards the back is meant for slow retrieving, good for shallow water and enticing finicky bass to bite.

Just got it in, and I want to try it at the city ponds but the rain has been pouring down for nearly a week. I can't wait!

Had a few hrs to kill

Not a single bite...

Confessions of an Urban Angler

Confession #2

For you strangers wanting to talk to me, please don't stand to my immediate left or right; if I get a bite, I want to have a solid hook set, and if you're in my way I won't be able to achieve the hook set I want.

Fresh New Apparel from Bass Brigade

You're a bass fisherman right? Well why not show the world what you love to do, and that is "Rippin' Lips". The guys at Bass Brigade make "premium quality goods designed for the die hard bass angler."

These guys have done it right; styling gear worthy of wearing even when you're NOT fishing. But why would you not be fishing? Visit their site! Buy a shirt, or two or three, and show the world what you love to do.

Visit Bass Brigade at www.BassBrigade.com

Video for you guys to enjoy while you make up your mind which shirt you want to order. Takuma Hata catching some nice bass after the Ayu spawn.

Confessions of an Urban Angler

Confession #1

When someone comes up to me and ask if there's any fish in the lake, I may answer respectfully yes there are, but in my head I'm thinking "You must be an idiot for asking me if there are fish when obviously me and a few others are fishing."

Koppers Live Target Hollow Belly Frog

Looks real nice! Can't wait to throw it around

Bass-a-Thon

Is today... I'm leaving the house NOW! Updates soon

Haven't fished much

Been VERY busy with school and other things, so I haven't been able to fish as much as I would like.

Congrats to the guys at Jackall for their performance as Basser Allstar Classic 2010 in Japan. They have four in the top 10!You guys did great! Thank you Tac Naruo for the updates

2nd Place: Naoto Kawaguchi
4th Place: Seiji Kato
7th Place: Noriaki Narita
10th Place: Kazuto Yamaki

Adapt to a different style.

It's time to throw away your style of fishing en route for a new one. I myself am a plastic guy, I love fishing slow, using plastic craws, hog style baits, and finesse style wacky rigging. But when the fish are biting other things, it's time to adapt to a different style.

Although I own a handful of hard baits, I normally don't fish them as much as I should. I probably should though! The past outings I've been sticking to shallow cranks, mainly flatside cranks such as the Jackall Bling 55, and the Jackall MC/60 SR. Turns out it was a good choice as even my friend was able to catch one on a crank the other day. This is by far my biggest fish of the year, and my biggest fish on a hard bait. I think I'll be cranking a bit more often!

My gear for today..

A few Jackall Poison Heritage Rods paired with Shimano Reels, with my new Jackall Tournament Cap (must be a lucky cap).

5lb 1oz Crankbait fish

Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HC-610SR "Master Stroke"
Reel: Shimano Core 100Mg
Lure: Jackall MC/60 SR "Table Rock Shad"

Another Shot of my fish

Jackall MC/60 SR "Table Rock Shad"

Jackall Bling 55

Nothing Special...

>Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage VCM-CAST68
Reel: Shimano Curado 200E5
Lure: Jackall Bling 55

New Lures

Jackall Pine Shrimp 4.5"

Four casts later...

3lbs 8oz

Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HC-68MH "Hyper Approach
Reel: Shimano Core 50Mg
Lure: Jackall Pine Shrimp 4.5"

Spinnerbait with a dressed trailer hook

Jackall Pro Takuma Hata uses a Zappu Tinsel Hook as a trailer for his spinnerbaits for great results.

Match the Hatch. Well Sorta

I have my own approach when it comes to the old saying "Match the Hatch". While I do believe that matching the hatch increases your chance at catching fish, I believe however that you should NOT match it exactly.

My approach to matching the hatch is slightly different; I tend to match the hatch in terms of size, but not in color. Think of it this way, when a school of shad are being attacked by a hungry bass every single shad in the school look the same. It's difficult to single out just one shad of the thousands in the school. Let's say there are 100 marbles in a jar, 99 of the marbles are silver, but just one is slightly off. Imagine how hard it is to find that marble, but imagine now that out of the 100 marbles, only one is purple. It is now easy to visually see that marble.

The pond today was full of shad and the bass were on the chew, I recently bought a few packs of the Fish Arrow Flash J lures and was tossing them into the school and around it. I had colors that matched the shad perfectly, but I threw out one that had a purple back. This allows the bass to single out this lure out of the hundreds of shad swimming in the school. Despite the color, it matched so well that the shad swam with my lure, while my lure flashed just like the school. Did my theory work? I fished for 30 minutes.

2lbs 2oz

Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HS-66UL-IW "Super Inch Wacky"
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci4 1000
Lure: Fish Arrow Flash J 4" Purple Weenie/Silver

Bass Fishing Tips

Bass Fishing as we know it is a science. It's not simply tying a lure on your line, tossing it in the water and catching fish. There are many factors to take account such as water clarity, water temperature, humidity, color, speed of retrieve, and what lure to use. Many times when I see other people catching fish, I would ask what they used and what color. Often I would change to that since they have already established a pattern.

There are some however who would simply ignore the advice given and continue to fish how they want and what they want, yet they wonder why the people around them are catching fish after fish. Today was a prime example as to why you should listen to others who have already established the pattern

Today at the city (shitty) pond I call home, the regulars were all there. They told me that the night bite has been decent the past couple of nights and that dark color senkos and craws were producing fish. I was about ready to leave when they said 7:30 is the time they bite. I figured what the hell, I haven't fished in a while and it's so nice outside. I was throwing my new Flash J finesse lure and a Moebi Green Sasuteki Craw for no fish. As soon as the sun set, I changed to a Green Pumpkin/Blue Flake Sasuteki Craw. Within 4 casts I feel a thump and set the hook for a beautiful fish that splashed all over the place. I grabbed the fish, took the picture and weighed it.

I checked my phone for the time, and it was 7:35! Just like what they said! Moral of the story:

Don't be stubborn, listen to advice!"

3lb 7oz

Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HC-68MH "Hyper Approach"
Reel: Shimano Core 50Mg
Lure: Jackall Sasuteki Craw 5"

When did you fall in love with bass fishing?

Answer this question and you could win a Shimano Calcutta TE 401 reel! Log on your facebook and tell Bass Brigade when you fell in love with bass fishing and send them a picture of your most prized catch. It's that simple!

Big ups to the boys at Bass Brigade and Bait Barn for putting this all together. You guys rock.

Fish Arrow Flash J

Japan has always stayed ahead of the game when it comes to lures for bass fishing. Another idea from the Land of the Rising Sun is this new finesse lure called the Flash J, made by Fish Arrow.

The idea of this lure is to have it look like bait fish. When shad swim in schools, it is easy to spot them with the flashing they emit due to their flat shiny bodies. To implement this concept into a lure, Fish Arrow has inserted a thin foil strip inside the spine of the lure. This helps the lure emit that same "flash" inside the water just like bait fish! Worth a try, I placed an order already and I can't wait to try it out.

See it for yourself here:

WOW! 10 FOLLOWERS!

When I made this blog, I didn't even think people would find it and actually read what I post. Thanks for the support!

Wahoo Caught in Los Alamitos Bay

Today while getting live anchovies, the bait worker told us a 40lb Wahoo was caught inside the bay. This fish must be lost. Read about it here... "Wahoo in Los Alamitos Bay".

In other news, this jig head looks neat! I'll probably order some and give it a try.

Gear'd and Ready!

The night bite didn't produce like I thought it did. The touch conditions due to the drastic fluctuation of water level probably caused the bite to die down. Cover was now no longer submerged and the pockets that fish loved to hold in was also out of the water.

The 2nd lake was more active, with my friend getting one in the first 20 minutes. Nothing after that, left around midnight to grab a bite to eat.

It's morning right now, and I'm hitting the salt. The Lamiglas and Shimano rods are locked and loaded and ready for whatever awaits!

No fishing for the past couple of weeks

sad... But I bought some P.D. Choppers!

Spinnerbait Fish!

I rarely fish spinnerbaits since I feel more confident with plastics, but the very few fish I've caught on a Spinnerbait were always one of the hardest hits I've ever experienced. Today was no different, this fish slammed the lure HARD, at the end, my spinnerbait was completely straightened out.

Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage VCM-CAST68 HC-68MRG
Reel: Shimano Curado 200E5
Lure: Jackall Super Eruption 1/2oz

Let's try bigger lures

Mikey Slim

180 Jr.

Not much fishing again this week. Found a new little pond, heard there's a few bass in there, didn't see a thing. I'll try it out a few more times. Saw this bird stalking fish, he didn't catch anything either.

only fish of the week.

Fished once this week. Only got this little guy. Very healthy looking though.

Tackle List:
Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HS-66UL-IW "Super Inch Wacky"
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci41000
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 4.8

My birthday was awesome!

GeeCrack Spinnerbait Wallet!

Jackall Seira Minnow, Squad Shads, and Pine Shrimp 3.5
Steakhouse Dinner with awesome Dessert

BEER!

Bass Brigade Rocks!

Thanks for the birthday greeting!

Thanks for the birthday wish!

Couple on the Flick Shake, caught tons of these this week... nothing big.

Jackall Lure Special Methods with Tsutomu Kawashima and Kazuto Yamaki

Bass Fishing, Saltwater Style

Trying my luck on foreign grounds... I was able to manage one of these beautiful fish. I broke in my new rod and reel with this bass. Catch and Release also applies to the salt for me.

Tackle:
Rod: Lamiglas XL735C
Reel: Shimano Curado 300E
Lure: WarBaits Slayer Jig 3/4oz + Pearl Swimbait

What's in the Bag?

They don't stand a chance...

A New Trick To Save Some Plastics

One of my favorite finesse techniques that I love to use is the "Inch Wacky" Technique. The "Inch Wacky" technique, popularized in Japan, consist of a finesse style worm, and a small jig head which is rigged in the center of the worm creating an erratic action bass can't stand.

There are many jig heads in the market made specifically for this technique, but my personal favorite is the Zappu "Inchi Wacky" head. This head is specifically designed for correct action on the worm. Inchi Wacky technique isn't simply hooking the worm directly in the middle and throwing it out. To correctly rig the lure, you insert the hook directly in the middle of the worm and exit it at a 90 degree angle from the insertion point. The shape of Zappus hook ensures that the rig is properly held in place.

notice the shape of the Zappu hook on the left compared to the Jackall hook on the right. Both hooks are 1/16oz. The big difference is the line tie and the hook. The line time of the Zappu head is at a 45degree angle which helps moves the jighead AROUND the worm. This aids in keeping the worm in place while the jig head goes around the worm in the water. The shape of the hook also helps with the way the point goes upwards instead of rounded. That point is where the worm should be.

On to the trick:
Many people who wacky rig worms knows the problems involved with it, which is losing the worm on almost every fish. Depending on what worms you use, it can get VERY pricey. Many have discovered the O-ring technique to save worms, but the problem with that is sometimes you cannot get the proper hookset or action since the hook is parallel with the worm. Depending on the size of your worm, it can also slide out. Some people double the O-ring and place the hook where the rings cross to have the hook perpendicular, and although that works, I personally don't like that black ring on my worm, especially when I use white plastics, the fish may not care, but it just doesn't look natural. I discovered a way to eliminate the O-ring; have the worm hooked correctly, and not lose the worm.

Items needed:
1. Your favorite finesse plastic, I prefer the Jackall Flick Shake 4.8 or 5.8
2. Wacky Jig Head, any will do, but the best is Zappu "Inchi Wacky" Head
3. and last, my secret, hitchhikers! Used to attach trailers.

Step 1: Screw in a hitchhiker into the middle of your Jackall Flick Shake
Step 2: clip off the excess material with a nail clipper or pliers
Step 3: Rig your worm just how you would normally by inserting the hook INSIDE of the coil and coming out from the side of it (might be hard depending on the size of the hook)

The benefits of doing this is that the hitchhiker acts as a support so the plastic does not get ripped off from the worm, which saves you your plastic and your hard earned cash! You saw it here first!

Breaking in the new toy...

Was able to take the rod out today for a bit of fishing at the pond. Talked to a friend there saying he just missed a bite. As he was saying that, I immediately got a bite, but I missed. I fished the Jackall Flick Shake 4.8in on a 1/32oz Zappu Inch Wacky jig head near the grass beds around the lake.

I could feel my lure getting caught in most of the weeds so I'd rip it out and continue to impart action on the lure. Few casts later, I feel my lure on the line of weeds in the lake and rip it out, but there was some weight on it. Initially I thought since I was using a jig head without a weed guard, I gathered some weeds, but as I pulled with the rod, I noticed my rod tip dancing. A bass was on the other end of the line! Fishing 5lb test is so different especially paired with the Ultra Light rod "Super Inch Wacky" from Jackall.

The bass jumped into the air shaking vigorously to get the hook free, but those Zappu hooks are sharp and held on. After the jump, the bass swam directly to the patch of grass it was probably hiding in the first place. I can no longer muscle this bass to shore with 5 lb Super FC Sniper. I waited it out for it to finally come out and reeled in my first bass on the new rod/reel setup!

Look at all the grass it was in! I took off some even before the picture

Here's another fish caught on the same setup...

The rod action feels good, I can feel every tick at the other end, and paired with the Shimano Stradic CI4 1000, it's an ultra light setup. Finesse Fishing on spinning setup is fun!

Tackle List:
Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage "Super Inch Wacky" HS-66UL-IW
Reel: Shimano Stradic CI4 1000
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 4.8in + 1/32oz Zappu Inchi Wacky Jig Head
Line: Sunline Super FC Sniper 5#

Finally!

Complete~!

Jackall Poison Heritage "Super Inch Wacky" HS-66UL-IW
Shimano Stradic Ci41000
Sunline Super FC Sniper 5#
Zappu Wacky Jig Head 1/32
Jackall Flick
Shake 4.8 Maruhata Sherbet

Jackall Poison Heritage "Super Inch Wacky" HS-66UL-IW

Which brings my Jackall collection to 4!
:D