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Article: Inside the Manufacturer |
An Inside Update from Team Daiwa…and the first look at the new “A” model
Steez rods! (continued)
Terminal
tackle...maybe:
Ok, ok, back to the
business at hand. After we wiped the drool away and pried ourselves away
(actually Toru had to pry us away) from the Gold Custom we turned our attention
to some interesting terminal tackle. Daiwa is currently evaluating the need for
specialty hooks and sinkers here in the US. This premium terminal tackle
offering is currently sold in Japan, but is the US market big enough for another
terminal tackle provider?
Daiwa has a whole bunch of
terminal tackle they are considering
The offerings included
special hooks designed for specific applications and a slew of tungsten weights.
(We are currently field testing a number of these to see how they compare to
current market offerings) Like the RPM crank the fate for these products in the
US market is still undecided.
Their hooks are very application
specific...will they be available in the US?
Only time will tell
The Daiwa Ayu Lureship:
Finally a unique boat shaped product caught our attention. Our readers in Asia
will immediately recognize this product, but our domestic readers (and us
included) will do a little head scratching. Hiro, the designer of the product
eagerly showed us the Tomofune 3X-750…..an Ayu lureship. That’s right, Ayu. We
all have heard the name Ayu, and many of us know it as a pattern on Japanese
lures, but it is actually a gamefish in Japan.
What the heck is this boat-like
device?
So what is Ayu fishing? These
popular gamefish actually reside in rivers in Japan and sustain themselves by
eating vegetation that grows on rocks in the water bed. These fish treat each
rock as their personal domain, and will attack any other fish that comes close
to their personal rock. Their territory ranges from 3 to 10 feet in diameter and
the minute another Ayu comes within that circle a fight ensues. Ayu attack each
other by charging each other’s bellies, and this is how they are fished. Once
the first fish is caught with conventional methods a line is rigged through
their nose and a treble hook is dangled near their belly.
Meet the hydrodynamic Tomfune, a
lureship for Ayu fishing
The fish is cast out on a
long pole (no reel on this one) and is drifted near the territory of another
Ayu. As he comes into the radius of another fish’s territory he is attacked and
the second fish is hooked near the top. With two fishes on the line the angler
lifts the pole and swings both fish up and out of the water where the angler
catches them in a net like a baseball. Experienced Ayu anglers make this look
easy.
This one way door makes it easy to
insert landed Ayu
Now the trick is keeping the
fish alive, and that is where the Daiwa Tomofune comes in. The lureship attaches
to the angler and is drifted in the water. The ship is designed to quickly slip
Ayu into the ship where fresh water passes through the ship.
A door makes it possible to change
out fresh Ayu for the unique fishing technique
The hydrodynamic design
makes it possible for anglers to still remain mobile in the water. Because Ayu
fishing requires alert and healthy Ayu to send into the “battlefield” the fish
are rotated out of the lureship on a regular basis. Keeping these aggressive
fish alive is of prime importance.
A clip attaches to the clothing of
the Ayu angler
The Tomofune is an example of
a unique and innovative product designed for a specific application. While it is
unlikely it will find many homes here in the US, it is nonetheless a very
interesting product. After hearing Hiro and Toru tell us all about Ayu fishing
we definitely have to add it to our list of fishing “must do’s.”
Hiro, the designer of the Daiwa
Tomofune is also responsible for Daiwa's lure offerings, including the recently
review DOA
Conclusion: Daiwa has
some thrilling stuff coming for anglers this season, and this is just a preview
of what we can expect to see at ICAST this year. We were very pleased that the
new Steez rods are designed and built for US specific applications, and hope
that the company will follow suit with more adaptations in their lure lineup as
well. We want to thank the entire team at Daiwa for opening their doors for us
and letting us have a peek at what is to come. Now only if we could sneak away
for a week and practice our Ayu catches. Until then, Daiwa sure has given us
food for thought in preparation for ICAST.
