Hooked Up and Yamashita Japan
Regular readers of Hooked Up and viewers of Hooked Up Video (our YouTube channel) will know I regularly fish with the crew from Yamashita Japan. Pro egi angler Eisuke Kawakami visits a few times each year. It’s always a fun time: long days on the squid, testing new products, and enjoying long lunches or dinners where I make sure the boys get a good Australian feed.
New Products: Yamashita Live Search Range and K Series
On their most recent trip, they brought over the new colours in the Yamashita Live Search range and K series. We’ve been busy updating two new boats this year, so the start of the year has been slow for me on the fishing front. This was my first chance to use the new version of Live Search, even though it had been out for a few months.
Why I Love the Live Search Series
The Live Search series is my favourite Yamashita jig and one of my top choices of all time. It boasts:
– A rattle sonically tuned to appeal to squid
– 490MHz of glow
– Yamashita’s Warm Jacket tech
– UV bodies
– A stable fall action that’s faster than average
– A sharp darting action on the retrieve
The new models feature UV Neon Bright bodies and a strobe fin on top of the jig for added visual appeal and action.
Fishing Conditions and Results
Eisuke and Nobuto Ganaha, the international sales manager, visited again in July—one of the worst months for squid in Melbourne. The water can be dirtier and colder, and the squid tend to be smaller. However, we had stable weather on the one day they were here (which is rare), and the water clarity was pretty good, if not ideal.
First Impressions of New Jigs
As soon as the boys opened their jig wallets to show me the new colours, I immediately loved two: one in Live Search and one in K. The Live Search was a white cloth with bright blue highlights and a blue Neon Bright body, while the K series was a gold foil with a green back and high contrasting orange stripes—yet very natural-looking.
Choosing the Right Jig
We were fishing in 7-9 metres of water, so I opted for the Live Search because it had UV, glow, a rattle, and it was bright. I thought its action would attract attention. I had the K out on the opposite side of the boat as a drifter. On the first cast, I was on, followed by three more consecutive casts before the K series rod buckled. The squid were not small, but they weren’t big either; these jigs were enticing them aggressively.
I was about 10 squid in when the current picked up, so I deployed the drogue to slow the drift. Suddenly, my rod with the K jig felt snagged for a split second—then I realized I was hooked up to a big cuttlefish. This year, I’ve caught more cuttlefish in the bay than ever before averaging two every session. This one was around 4-5kg, and Eisuke and Nobuto had never seen a cuttlefish of this size before. We were all impressed with how well the cloths on both jigs stood up to the multiple squid and the big beak of the cuttlefish.
Hot Action
We moved further south to Rye, where the action picked up again, leading to countless squid coming onboard during a hot four-hour session. We ended up with around 70 squid.
Experimenting with Jigs
It was hard to change colours when the two I was using were performing so well. Eisuke experimented with three different colours of other K and Live Search jigs, but they weren’t as appealing to the squid as the two I had chosen.
Conclusion: A Must-Have for Anglers
The new Live Search jigs are amazing and will become staples on the boat. The new colours will appeal to anglers around the country. The K jigs are perfect for fast currents and rough waters, featuring a big body and wide action for difficult conditions.
These jigs will be released around mid-September, and I highly recommend getting a few as the squid love them!
