Swimbaits in Japan

Swimbaits in Japanese Bass Market

This year, a new swimbait was released from Megabass. It was a renewal of the famous swimbait, MAGDRAFT.

What was renewed was the improved magnet hook holding system, MAG HOLD system. It is improved in the way that the magnet is not easily exposed out of the body. And they had new coloration of these lures.

Looking at this new swimbait, I would like to show you the swimbait lures from Japanese brands. In this article, you can get the trend of swimbaits in Japan and information about Japanese brands’ swimbaits.

The trend of swimbait in Japan

In Japan, most swimbait lures are 5 to 8 inches, and smaller than the standard swimbait lures in the US. And it is the reflection of the target bass size. In Japan, the targets of these swimbaits are keep-size of tournament as well as the trophy size. 

In contrast to the general tendency of Japanese finesse style, these swimbaits are really big and it was not a favorite in the bass fishing culture in Japan. However, after the Japanese bass market matured and experienced the monster sized bass, these big lures were gradually accepted and became a new trend in Japanese bass fishing scenes. 

As is often the case for hard lures from Japanese brands, swimbaits received the Japanese treatment after its arrival from the US bass fishing. Just like the magnetic hook hold system of Mebagass’s Magdraft, these nice gimmicks are one of the best specialties of Japanese craftsmanship. And on top of this technology, the realistic cosmetics are the next important factor to make the Japanese swimbaits outstanding in the bass fishing world.

Below, let us look at some of the famous baits of Japanese brands

DEPS

Slide Swimmer is the unmissable item here. 

This lure appears to be a soft lure, but it has the ABS made core inside. It gives the stability of swimming while it holds the realistic texture as a swimbait. Additionally, this ABS construction has the swinging balancer inside, as photographed below.

According to the brand, it makes the ideal knocking sound and helps produce very fine vibration to attract fish.

Gan Craft

As one of the pioneers in the Japanese swimbait, Gan Craft has kept attracting many anglers worldwide. Jointed Claw is the key item here.

It is one of the first lures that swims tracing S-shape courses only with the straight retrieve. Fine balancing of the construction can make it happen.

Jackall’s Dows Swimmer

Jackall is not the first one to have a hit in the swimbait world, but he shines as one of the significant players.

The uniqueness of this lure is that it has a three-piece body, to make a more naturalistic swim, while it is made of full ABS plastic. And also, it has an additional eye on its chin to hang an additional sinker. The front eye is placed horizontally. These points reminds me of the taste of Japanese lures.

Soft body swimbait from Imakatsu

Simply said, it swims very softly and quietly. But with its fine adjusted material density, it performs well in various ways of using, such as straight retrieve, pausing, or even good for shooting the weeds. As its pure soft body, the off-set hook point can be embedded in its body. You can use it like any other type of soft lure. But it still works as a swimbait.

The Gimmick of Japan Made, Madotachi

The brand called Madotachi has been building unique items in the swimbait category. Their Hanitas Plus is one of them.

The fin placed in the middle of the head section can be fixed in multiple angles. With this wing, you can adjust the head angle of the lure under retrieve. You can check that the front eye is placed up on the head. Some of you can imagine how unique it can move.

Edgy guy in the swimbait world

The next lure is called Grand Edge, made by the brand Grass Roots.

What makes this lure unique is that there is a long slit on the edges of the body.

Water flows through this slit, to stabilize the posture during gliding or retrieve. You need to use one to know how it works.

DRT clashing the market

As the new player in the bass fishing market in Japan which has over 40 years of history, DRT boasts its name with swimbait lures. Klash is the name of it.

This Klash lure has an amazing construction. The internal Hybrid Chamber Channel construction holds water after it lands on the water to balance itself. The water drains away when the lure is out of the water, to make the total weight lighter for easy handling. This construction makes the total dry weight of 290 g, while it is gigantic 40 cm in length.

These are just a peek at Japanese swim baits. But they are enough to let you know how the Japanese ingenuity built something very special. All of these are for the ultimate purpose to catch fish and this target is common to any anglers all over the world.

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