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New non-tungsten jigs in the Store, in time for Summer! Intro Pricing!!

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With the Nearshore bite already ramping up, I realized I’d better start putting the non-tungsten jigs up in the Store. We haven’t been able to test each style – size – color combination yet, but every jig cast from shore and dropped from the kayak got bit. Our boat tester hasn’t been able to drop the heavy 180g and 240g rear weighted jigs to the depths yet.

The price of raw tungsten made it economically unfeasible to order more jigs, so I picked some jig shapes that resembled our bait fish, and had them painted to resemble oama, nehu and opelu. We’ll initially keep the price down so you folks can try these jigs and if a fish takes them, it won’t hurt as much. They are priced lower than any other jig you’ll find, and much lower than casting lures.

Paint eventually peeled from sharp teeth, but that’s to be expected with lead jigs. The coating is more resistant on the more expensive tungsten jigs because tungsten is so much harder a metal than lead.

You can find the jigs here. I’ll eventually add the full inventory of styles – sizes – colors and get them all tested.

Targeted larger fish on the Windward side. Found some that put the hurt on me, and a couple that went home in the fish bag.

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I am grateful for the fish caught out of the Westside on the previous two trips that went to holiday parties, but wanted to catch fish larger than 3lbs. My plan was to use larger soft plastic lures from Completely Hooked Lures, to deter the smaller fish from biting, and drag live opelu around to find a stray mahi mahi or kawakawa. If that failed, I’d drop the 120g tungsten knife jig down in deeper water since I have yet to land a fish on it.

I have been using the Sprat (top lure) and it catches everything including large opelu, but still attracts smaller moana and smaller taape. The Gobie and Grub have thicker profiles so hopefully that are too much of a meal for small fish. That funny little lure on the bottom is a prototype that Landon of Completely Hooked Lures sent over with my order, to try on picky opelu.

I took out a damashi rod rigged for opelu with a CHL Minnow (smaller version of the Sprat) and the prototype little lure on 15lb. I had a second damashi rod rigged with Sprats, Gobies and Grubs for the larger fish, on 25lb.

At the first stop where I normally target moana kali, there were opelu bait balls around and sure enough the lighter damashi rig brought up opelu on both the Minnow and the little lure. The opelu bite was good and by the time I had 6 in my bait tube, there wasn’t anything else good on the bottom. So I headed over to a slightly deeper spot that has held small uku, and big jacks. On the way over, in what I think is a flat hard bottom, was a layer of something right off the bottom. I dropped the larger damashi rig down and a 2lb omilu came up. That was very unusual, finding omilu not on a rocky reef. I released it and caught another omilu right after. Not wanting to be catching hard fighting fish I have to release, I moved on to the uku/ulua spot, but just caught the rubbish fish (trumpetfish and taape) that bite when the conditions are too calm.

So I put a live opelu out with a sliding tungsten bullet weight in front of it, and towed it out a mile. Something took chunks of it behind its head and killed it but was too small to take the hooks. I put another one out and something else took chunks in the stomach area. Odd that those fish didn’t chip away at the entire fish but that was an indication that pelagics weren’t in that specific area.

I reached a spot in 180ft where kahala have hit jigs in the past, and I dropped the mangled opelu down to the bottom. Sure enough something strong grabbed it, and my drag’s strike setting wasn’t strong enough to stop it from rocking me. Assuming there were more kahalas around I dropped down the 120g tungsten knife jig. It took 45 seconds to reach the bottom, and I could barely feel any resistance jigging it back up. On the 4th drop it got hammered and I had the drag set very tight so I wouldn’t get rocked. The fish was so strong and the jig rod’s butt dug into my side. I was huffing and puffing but couldn’t stop to rest because the fish would then turn its head and swim down to rock me. After less than 3 minutes, which felt like 10 mins, a white ulua (GT) surfaced. I had let it depressurize about 20ft below the surface so it was able to swim down fine. Here’s the truncated video of that battle. If you’re interested in purchasing the 120g and 180g tungsten knife jigs, you can find them in the Store here. They’re pricey because they are tungsten, but they won’t tire you out until something big hits it.

I rested up a bit after that jig battle, and motored back to that big fish spot and dropped another chunk of fresh opelu on the bait rod, with the strike setting set higher. Sure enough another fish hit it and I was in for another grueling battle. A slightly bigger ulua came up that I released. Convinced there was nothing else down there but strong fish I didn’t want to fight, I put another live opelu out and headed back to shallower uku spot. Up to this point I just had opelu in my bait tube and nothing in my fish bag.

Finally, I landed a decent sized yellow spot papio after going through moana and big taape.

It took a while to catch a second yellow spot, right after a big opelu was hooked on the big damashi rig, and it was time to head in.

So I struck out with the live bait but the larger damashi lures did seem to attract larger fish, and I was finally able to fish deep enough to catch something on the 120g tungsten knife jig. Pretty good fishing despite very calm conditions and a junk moon phase.

The yellow spot ended up weighing 2lb and 2lb 10oz after being bled, and both were males developing sperm. Maybe all those papio were on the bottom getting ready for a spawn?

My neighbor Brian turned the larger yellow spot papio into something almost too beautiful eat.

Holoholo: My 2025 Yearly Fishing Challenge

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Jeremy (Oahu shore whipper and frequent Holoholo writer) –

I always loved fishing.  I grew up with only using bait, but over time I’ve found my greatest enjoyment came from whipping.  I just liked the challenge of trying to get a fish to eat an artificial lure.  I also liked the fact that there are a bunch of different lures to choose from, so I started to learn all the whipping techniques like egg lead, bubble float, poppers/stickbaits, jigs, and jig heads.  Over many years of trial and error, I became more proficient, but never kept track of all my catches. 

One day, I just had a thought that it would be interesting to see how many different species I could catch in a single year by only whipping.  I started this challenge in 2019 because I thought it was possible to catch ‘19 different fish with only using artificial lures.  I was able to hit that goal, so in 2020 I continued the challenge by trying to catch ‘20 different fish.  I’ve continued this until now, but catching 25 different fish in 2025 has been the toughest so far.  Thankfully, I was able to complete this goal with only 10 days left in the year. 

With the new year quickly approaching, I’m hoping everyone has a successful 2026.  I’ll be trying to hit this years goal of catching ‘26 different fish.  Who else wants to join me in this challenge?  It’ll force you to use all different techniques and make you target specific species.  But really, it’s just a fun way to keep things interesting all year long because now you’ll want to catch everything, even the “rubbish” fish 😂.  Good luck!

Juvenile GT
Moi
Munu
Bridled triggerfish

Halalu
Aweo’weo

1st day of testing the new lead jigs. Wow they work!!!

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The wind was projected to be light for a period of 6 days but I waited for a day with a small N swell and better solar – lunar bite periods. I picked the day before the Full Moon to fish the Windward side and it paid off big time. My plan was to get some fish on the new jigs, and also get a pelagic on live opelu. Kind of a big ask since I rarely get either.

Tungsten on left, lead on right, both 60g

The bite period was supposed to be from 10 to 12:30pm and I was at the first spot at 9:15. It was a shallow 60ft spot that has produced reef fish on the damashi before, so I dropped the 60g Chubby jig painted like a fully lit up oama, hoping the length was small enough for the reef fish, since it was the same length as the 60g tungsten jig that had worked incredibly well in the past.

The Chubby reached the bottom and I jigged it up a few cranks and was shocked when it got slammed.

I was more stunned when I saw two moana kali come up, 1 on each hook! The moana kali ended up weighing 1lb 3oz and 2lb 5oz. You can see the actual strike in this video. I was so excited when they hit, I turned off the camera forgetting it was already on, but luckily I took photos and a short video with my phone after they were landed.

I caught some opelu for bait and dragged em around, and out to 200ft when I saw some some life on the sounder. Dropped the 120g flat sided asymmetric jig painted up like a silver/blue bait fish and got hit immediately. The fish rubbed the jig off on the reef and came unbuttoned, so I dropped again. It got hit after quite a few cranks off the bottom and a smallish kahala (greater amberjack) came up. Man those fish pull hard initially. The video below captures the hookup and landing. I ended up hooking 4 fish and landing 2. Since they weren’t almaco jacks (kampachi) I let them go, not wanting to see their worms.

So far the live opelu, cruising on the surface, didn’t get any attention. I paddled back in to test a 3rd jig.

This one was the 100g Nehu with the curvy spine. It only caught taape, probably because it was a little long for the fish in the 100ft zone.

With the jigging goal accomplished, I focused on using the damashi to catch good eating fish. The bite remained good despite it being so calm, which I attribute to the good solunar effect.

I got busted off on the 20lb damashi set by a heavy fish, and moved up to the 25lb damashi set. Landed two yellow spot papios, which make excellent sashimi, and some big opelu that weren’t line shy. The bite slowed at 2pm and I kept dropping the damashi on the way in but didn’t catch any more keepers.

It was the best action I’ve ever had on the kayak although nothing hit the live opelu besides a small aha that perforated it a bit.

The new lead jigs definitely work when dropped on good marks. They did sustain some bite marks/paint peeling, from all the teeth encountered, but held up pretty well overall.

The jigs are going out to the lure testers. I only had 5 of each of the 10 sizes/colors flown in via air mail, with the rest coming by boat. Almost half of the 50 jigs have been claimed. Please contact me if you’re interested in trying them at the Lure Testing pricing. Mahalo.

All the jigs are described here.

New JDM quality jigs are in. Highly effective, custom painted for Hawaiian waters, and very reasonably priced. 60g to 240g. Testers wanted.

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All jigs have a subtle glow accent

Been trying to procure lures that will catch fish from shore and from boats/kayaks, and be cheap enough where it won’t hurt too much when a fish swims away with it. Lead jigs fit that bill and I had a batch painted in our favorite inshore and offshore colors. Some are designed to cast well and have an erratic retrieve from shore. Others are very compact in shape so they sink as quickly as possible, yet can be made to dance on the retrieve. The jigs look almost too beautiful to fish, but the paint job is very durable so you should be able to admire their looks trip after trip.

We plan to sell these JDM quality jigs at a much lower price than you could find elsewhere. We are in the process of testing/catching fish on the new jigs. Please Contact us if you want to purchase a few at Lure Tester pricing. Check out the 360 degree videos below.

60g Jigs

60g Nehu Wiggle

100g to 120g Jigs

100g Beveled Asymmetric painted like an oama
100g Chubby painted like an oama
120g Beveled Asymmetric in Blue & Silver

190g to 240g Jigs

190g rear weighted Cherry Bomb

Here’s how the first day of jig testing went.

Hot action before Hurricane Kiko: Big fish on new jig, and 5lb Windward uku (green jobfish) finally caught, unexpectedly

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I’ve been wanting to confirm that the new, bite-sized Duo Metal Force 120g 3.5inch jig would attract reef monsters but always ended up mining the depths with my damashi rig. And for 5 yrs I’ve been searching for a legitimate keeper uku (green jobfish) on the Windward side, but the slopey, sandy terrain didn’t hold big ones, it seemed. The calm winds before the arrival of Hurricane Kiko let me check an area that held a lot of promise, and it delivered!

The light wind window fell on the weekend, the day before the Full Moon, and I normally don’t fish weekends but made an exception. The beach was crowded but surprisingly the water wasn’t. The boats must’ve sped off to the buoys to take advantage of the great conditions. It took more than an hr to paddle to first spot, after 9:30am, and the big fish were waiting. The first damashi drop (15lb rig) resulted in a busted rig, and the 2nd rig (20lb rig) got pulled into the rocks. 3rd damashi rig (20lb rig) came up with a lone 2lb omilu, and the other 2 hooks and lead were gone. The Land of the Giants was living up to its billing.

That spot cooled so I moved down the line to the next spot on my GPS. A 1lb uku and an 8 inch weke nono came up on the 20lb rig.

When that cooled, I paddled to the next spot and dropped down the green and gold Duo Metal Force jig, hoping the monsters below would want something a little more substantial. On the second drop, the jig was grabbed by a fish that ran in smooth, powerful spurts and was really hard to lift off the bottom. It felt like a small ulua and I was wondering why I couldn’t gain much line with the high speed, old school Trinidad 14 reel. You can watch this video and see why I struggled getting it to the surface. The intro, showing the jig, was filmed at the start of the trip when the water was still choppy.

Right after landing the big omilu, I snagged the Duo jig on the bottom. That almost never happens but I guess I really was over a productive, rocky area. I put on the green and gold 120g tungsten knife jig and it got pulled on the way down but dropped. Nothing hit it after that.

I had released all the fish so far, so I put on a 25lb damashi rig with CHL Sprat lures and Owner Live Bait hooks to put something in the fish bag. It was 11am and the solunar major bite period was supposed to start and run to 1:30pm.

Something hit right away that pulled line in jerky spasms but was manageable on the medium light Shimano Game Type J rod and Shimano Calcutta 300TE bait casting reel. I was stoked to see a good sized uku behind a small moana reach the surface. It’s been a 5yr mission to land an uku that size on the Windward side, and only caught juveniles and strafed baits in the past.

The uku was hooked from the outside, in its gill plate, and that must’ve allowed me to steer it to the surface, unlike the big omilu that was planing against the water. The very cooperative uku even sprinted into the landing net, as you can see in this video. It was 21 inches from head to fork, and weighed 4lb 12 oz after bleeding. I’m calling it 5 pounds! 🙂

After the ground breaking uku, the bite slowed with small nunu (trumpetfish) and moana, and really cooled down after 12 even though there was a lot of the brown plankton debris on the surface. Nothing else was kept.

These are the CHL Sprats and Minnows I used this day. I use the 1.5 inch Minnow for opelu and go up to the 2.25 inch Sprat to target larger fish.

I’ve tried the Duo Metal Force 120g jig 3 times now. The second time something cut it off the line. This time it caught a fish and then I lost it. So there are currently just 2 left in the Store at Intro Pricing. If they sell out, I’ll order more. The Green and Gold 120g tungsten knife jig was so easy to pull through the water. That will be the go-to jig on the next trip.

Thank you Jesus for such a beautiful, safe, productive day on the water!

Windward side kayak: Lots of juvie fish released, jig taken, weke ula and kagami mauled by big fish!

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Hadn’t fished the Windward side since April, and Tropical Storm Henriette was blocking the trade winds for a couple of days this week. I had to wait out the high swell it generated, so I launched late – 10:30am. It took an hour to reach the opelu spot, paddling through the moderate chop. Couldn’t find any opelu and the began fishing the bottom with damashi/sabiki for anything big enough and good enough to eat.

8 inch opakapaka and 10 inch weke nono (weke ula) were released. Then I fought something that steadily pulled drag and stopped. Turned out a weke nono was picked up sideways, mauled and dropped after about a 10 second run. The tooth pattern isn’t of aha (needlefish), barracuda or shark, which would have torn the soft fish. I thought of putting a live bait down but I wanted to keep looking for better fish with the damashi.

At 2:30pm, after 3 hrs of sifting through miscellaneous small fish, I made the decision to paddle a mile south since the wind was still calm. Bigger fish showed up on the fish finder and kawalea (Heller’s barracuda) were coming up on the damashi. I dropped down the Duo Metal Force 120g jig on 40lb fluoro with a teaser and caught a little hawkfish on the jig. 🙂 A kawalea then bit the teaser, and on the next drop the jig and teaser were bitten off instantly! Guess that’s the downside of using a bite-sized heavy jig. It can fit in big fish’s mouth.

Went back to the 20lb damashi rig with Completely Hooked Lures “Sprats” and hooked two 10 inch uku on successive drops. Every drop of the damashi was getting bit but still nothing large enough to keep.

Then I hooked something on the damashi rig that pulled line. Finally a bigger fish hopefully worth keeping. After a 3 minute battle from 100ft down, a shiny papio glimmered below the surface of the water. Could that be the rare kagami papio (African Pompano)? It was!! No wonder it fought so hard, using its flat side as resistance.

They are very thin bodied fish so I don’t consider keeping them until they’re over 7lb and losing their long streamers, but something attacked the fish on the way up and left deep gashes near the anal fin. I decided to keep this delicious fish and kage’d (spear gaff) it to secure it.

What a wild spot, with predators attacking such a large fish! I tried catching more fish but couldn’t find the hot spot again and it was 4:30pm, well past the time I normally paddle in. Sadly, I had to leave the best action I had all day. Even with the wind at my back, it took an 75 minutes to get in.

On land, I examined the kagami papio more closely and it appears that a fish grabbed it near its anal fin and ripped thru the thin skin. The wound was pretty deep and I felt justified in keeping the 4lb kagami.

I got more than a pound and a half of clean, firm fillets off it that will be incredible raw after dry aging for more than 4 days.

It was great to finally find larger, hungry fish and I’ll need another calm day to reach that wild spot again.

Holoholo: Kahala (amberjack) jigging from shore! Catch and Cook.

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Matthew Ikeda is back from college to share his unexpected catch of shore caught kahala (amberjack).

Matthew:

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to catch two small Kahala from shore, something that I never thought I would catch. I was teaching one of my friends how to fish for the first time but I brought my jigging setup to try on the side, planning to kind of mindlessly fish the budget Daiso jig while coaching him on how to catch reef fish. The jig came with a light treble hook, which I replaced with a front assist hook so it would snag less.

About 20 minutes in, I got my first hit that felt like a nice Papio, but upon bringing it up it looked like a small Kahala, which I thought was weird, but I was still happy because I had never caught one before. Twenty minutes later, I caught a second one. I knew that Kahala were supposed to have good quality meat minus the many parasitic worms that they usually have, but since these two were young I hoped that they would be healthy and threw them into the cooler. 

After I got home, I asked Scott for a confirmation on the ID of the fish, and we both got confused about whether they were in fact baby regular Kahala (greater amberjack) or Kampachi (almaco jack), another more prized fish that looks almost identical. However, after some discussion we concluded that they were just regular Kahala. For an interesting story on how to identify a Kampachi versus a Kahala, as well as the life cycle of the Amberjack tape worm, see one of Scott’s old posts:  here

I initially wanted to filet them to check for worms, knowing that fish in the Amberjack family commonly are infested with these parasites. Amberjack actually has very good quality meat, but most people stay away because of the worms. Anyways, my fileting skills suck and I messed up a big portion of one of the Kahala, so I decided to risk it and eat it whole. We ended up steaming the two Kahala in a pressure cooker before preparing a sauce on the side. The ingredients were simple, things you usually see in Chinese style fish (garlic, cilantro, peanut oil, shoyu), heated until smoking hot then poured onto the fish to finish the meal. I was really pleased with the way that the fish turned out, and it tasted even better. It tasted very similar to a Papio, but it was meatier and had less of a fishy taste. It was comparable to Yellow Spot Papio, in the way that it was oilier than other fish in the Jack family. I likely won’t ever catch one of these from shore again, so I’m grateful to have had the chance to try it. 

On a side note: The fishing this summer has been pretty disappointing after a really great streak in June. The Oama came in early in June, and both the Oio and Papio action was hot. I initially thought that it was going to be a great summer of fishing, but July has been a pretty terrible month of fishing for me, and I haven’t seen fishing this difficult in a long time. I’m not too sure what is going on but I’ve had more dry streaks than I think I ever have in my whole life, even from when I started fishing. However, there are still plenty of others out there that are catching good fish, so there is still a reason to go out (and regardless it’s good just to be outside). The Oama and Halalu season is now in full swing, so do take advantage of that while you can. Good luck and stay safe.

Hail Mary catches on a slow day of kayak fishing – Underwater Video

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It’s been too windy to fish anywhere else, so a friend and I went back to the Westside on the New Moon, hoping to pull some fish up from the depths. He was paddling without aid of a motor and the unexpected strong winds generated from rain squalls kept him within a safe distance of our launch.

I checked out some recommended grounds 2 miles away but only taape and small moano were interested in the damashi (sabiki) rig. The 120g tungsten knife jig did work as an attractant on my jigging setup, when the teaser lure hooked a small weke ula / weke nono, but nothing hit the jig itself.

The wind and rain increased and my friend decided it was not worth the battering, and went in. I moved closer to the launch but was stubbornly trying to catch something good to take home. In the peak of the downpour, at 150ft, a menpachi came up. They normally only feed at night, but this is the 2nd time I’ve caught one in heavy rain in this area. It was big enough to keep and gave me hope for more.

There was a small area that was marking fish but I couldn’t stay over it in the wind so I eventually gave up and moved within half a mile of shore. I baited one of my hooks and a pink tail triggerfish (hagi) immediately jumped on. After catching and releasing 5 more stinky hagi I decided to drop down the underwater CanFish CamX camera with 2 soft plastic lures, and added some fish skin on the bottom hook.

I was shocked when something actually pulled drag, after not hooking anything that large all day. I was hoping it was an uku (green jobfish) since I was fishing over a reef, but instead of good sized weke ula / weke nono came up. Finally something my family could enjoy!

I dropped the camera rig down again, hoping lightning would strike twice. Nothing else bit and I decided I should be happy with God have given me, so I went in. When I looked at the underwater footage at home, I was stunned to see 2 weke nono and an omilu check out the rig, with one of the weke nono gulping down the lure. On the next camera drop, a blue/gray nabeta swam by. I would so surprised to see such desirable fish a half mile from shore.

Here’s the underwater video, with my in-the-kayak view also.

One fish, two fish, red fish…

The weke nono weighed almost 2.5lb and the fillets were so clean. We ate it raw as sashimi and poke, and it was still non-fishy and firm 5 days later. The menpachi, first I’ve ever cleaned, was good shoyu/sugar Japanese style.

Shore, kayak and boat jiggers been doing well on the jigs. Get yours before we run out.

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It’s no secret anymore that the micro-sized flat, beveled 40g and 60g tungsten jigs have been extremely productive. These were recently caught on them.

Oahu pao’pao from shore
Oahu white papio from shore

Long Beach, CA sand bass from private boat

We still have a few left of that style but won’t be getting more for a while.

Instead, we are in the process of ordering these stubby-style tungsten jigs that we had brought in a few years ago. The 80g and 100g sizes sold out so quickly and this time we’re bringing in the 120g size.

120g would be perfect for the boat guys fishing the buoys for aku and shibi, and the kayak guys who want to fish 100ft to 300ft with a small profile jig. Even the cliff fishing guys could use these to get out far and deep.

The Duo Metal Force Semi Long jig (non-tungsten) worked again for Lawrence who got his first kagami ever on a 155g Semi Long last year. This time he used a 125g Semi Long, for his 2nd kagami, which came in just shy of 10lb. He jigs a lot and catches shibi, ulua, kahala and uku, but the only kagamis he ever caught were on the Duo jigs. Coincidence or is there something special about the jig that kagami like?

He followed the kagami up with a 48lb ulua bruiser.

And finished off his jigging with a nice omilu.

So far, he’s the only one who has fished the Duo Semi Long but some 250g jigs are on their way to California to be tempting Bluefin soon.

The Jig Testers will also be dropping down the 120g and 180g tungsten knife jigs.

I haven’t been able to help test the new jigs because I’ve been doing emergency body work on my rusted out 26 yr old Subaru Outback to extend its life for a few more years, so I’m super grateful that the much more talented Jig Testers have been able to provide proof of the jigs’ effectiveness.

You can check out all these jigs in the Jigging section of the Store here.

3 uniquely awesome JDM 120g jigs I need to test asap

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I’ve been sitting on 3 jigs (not literally) in the 120 class that I’m sure are gonna slay but I’ve been having so much fun fishing the damashi/sabiki in 130ft or less for smaller fish. I plan to sell the jigs in the Store but wanted solid proof of their fish catching abilities first. The 3 are actually advertised as shore jigs, and at 120g (4oz) they could be cast from shore or dropped down from a boat or kayak.

With the windy season here, I’ll be going back to Waianae, and plan to drop these down in the deep waters close to shore.

Here’s what makes these jigs really appealing to our nearshore fishery. (from top to bottom)

Duo International Drag Metal Force 120g

This jig is so thick at only 3.5 inches long that it will get down very quickly, yet flutter erratically on a jerky retrieve due to its asymmetric design. Fish love eating bite sized jigs so I’m dying to try this. I’m hoping the local Duo distributor who gave me this to demo will be able to order more.

Duo International Metal Drag Force Semi Long 125g

The Semi Long is the stretched out version of the Metal Drag. The left side has a flat, Squid Glow pattern and the right side bulges out. That heavier side faces down as it slides, and the glow pattern appears to flash on and off as the jig leans left and right. We have these Semi Longs in jigs from 125g to 250g and they will make their way into the Store soon. For now, there is a 125g Squid Glow pattern fully dressed in the Store with premium BKK assists and rings for an incredible introductory price. Click here to see it.

A friend has fished the Duo Semi Long 155g size and got a kagami ulua and kawakawa with it, then used the 200g size and a fish swam away with it! Here’s his brief write up on the kagami catch.

Tungsten Knife Blade jig 120g (made for Hawaii Nearshore Fishing)

We got these in a few months ago but I’ve just been able to drop it down once. It fell really fast in 80ft of water, had little resistance on the retrieve, and got hit but didn’t stick. I need to fish it deeper over a good mark to give it a fair shot.

It’s actually marketed as a long casting shore jig that kicks and flutters on the rapid retrieve, but I am pretty sure it’s gonna perform well off a boat/kayak also. It’ll fall quickly like a heavier vertical jig, but will slide and flutter on the “pitch” due to its long, thin and flat shape. Would also be killer when retrieved near the surface for mahi and other pelagics.

This green&gold 120g jig along with the blue&pink&silver 180g jig will be in the Store soon once we have proven how effective they are. If you are an early adopter, there’s a green&gold 120g jig in the Store now dressed in the premium BKK assist hook and rings.

Hopefully I’ll be able to post photos with these jigs having off fish soon.

Note: The dressed jigs are selling out (I only had 1 of each available). I’ll keep replenishing them in the Store for a while.

Damashi/sabiki out fished live opelu and jigs but big fish kept breaking off, even with 40lb line! Early Winter shallow bottom report.

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I have been focusing on shallow bottom fishing since I don’t start early enough for productive pelagic fishing. Bottom fishing has less variables since the fish are usually somewhere in the general vicinity but the trick is getting the right ones to bite.

Almost all species of predatorial fish seem to be attracted to small bait imitations moving up and down in unison. Often the morning starts with opelu biting mid-water column, and when that slows, fish near the bottom eagerly hit the damashi rig. Some spots are loaded with taape and small moana. The former I kill and release back to the reef, the latter I release unharmed.

While it’s always fun to feel the bites and bring up fish, unhooking unwanted fish is just time away from catching the desirable fish like uku, yellow spot papio and kagami papio.

This report comprises of the last 2 trips. 1 trip back, a 1.5 lb uku got tail wrapped and hooked multiple times and by the time I unraveled it, it was in bad shape so I had to keep it. While I’ve been trying to get uku here for years, normally I wouldn’t keep one under 2lb.

Then some toau (invasive black tail snapper) started biting, and since their bones are easier to deal with than the small boned taape, I brought them home.

I went out to the 200ft area but could only get a kahala checking out the underwater camera.

On the way in, I checked the nabeta spot with a small piece of aku belly on the bottom damashi hook and something hit harder than a nabeta could and took some drag. I was stunned to see a 2.5lb uku come up, which is still on the small side but the biggest for this greater area that lacks large rocks and caves.

A fat 11 inch moana hit next and joined the catch. All in all, a productive day learning the bottom fish grounds. My neighbor fried the moana and toau fillets tempura-style and said they were amazing. The smaller uku was steamed, and the bigger one was given to a friend who said the sashimi was firm enough and very good despite only being 2.5lb.

CHL Minnows added to store-bought damashi set

The winds dropped again this week and I set out to bottom fish the damashi armed with the 1.5 inch CHL Minnows (the ones with the split fish tail) and some leftover Japanese wormy lures. Since even my 20lb rigs were broken off on the previous trip, I had rigs tied all the way up to 40lb test.

Look at the bait school on the fish finder!

The opelu showed up on the fish finder and bit in the shallows. I filled the bait tube, requiring me to drag the tube around. Although the wind was down there was a strong current running South to North that kept pushing me away from my spots.

I put out a live opelu and landed and released a big kawalea (Heller’s Barracuda). Good eating but like all barracuda, its slime is really stink.

The next opelu was neatly sliced in half but there were small teeth marks also, meaning it probably wasn’t an ono. The following opelu just had small bites taken out so I gave up live baiting and focused on the damashi fishing.

The afternoon bite really turned on, and omilus and bigger jacks kept jumping on the hooks. I released 3 omilu and each of my rigs from 15lb to 40lb eventually get their branch lines cut or light gold hooks broken off by heavy, strong fish. Those brutes didn’t fall for a jig, interestingly enough.

I was feeling a little desperate with nothing but opelu in my fish bag and then I stumbled upon a very small area where a 1.5lb yellow spot came up, followed by a 2lb uku and then a light colored goat fish that turned out to be a large 12 inch malu (side spotted goatfish). Whew, finally got some great eating fish to take home.

It was a lot of work to get these small good eating fish, with so much bycatch (taape, hagi, small moana, lizardfish, etc). I gave the big opelu to a friend at the beach who plans to make lomi opelu out of them, and kept a small one to freeze for bait.

The malu had crabs and some red & white shrimp in its stomach a little bigger than my CHL Minnows, and the yellow spot papio had translucent baby fish just a bit bigger than the minnows. No wonder the small damashi lures were so effective. Maybe really big fish were eating the same small food? I’ll be taking 40lb damashi with longer shanked Gamakatsu hooks next time and hope to see what’s been busting me off!

Here’s a comparison of the yellow spot papio and uku, prepared as sashimi and steamed.

Here’s a comparison of the malu and moana, prepared steamed.

Holoholo: 40g beveled flatty tungsten jig slays Los Angeles Harbor fish!

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(top to bottom) 60g tungsten jig – repainted, 40g tungsten jig – repainted, 40g non-tungsten JDM jig, 40g Daiwa TG Bait

My buddy RJ, of the Promar – Ahi USA crew that took care of me when I attended the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, had recently started testing the new Promar Ikara jigs and was really getting into micro jigging.

I had some knicked up tungsten jigs we sell, that I had touched up with glow paint and nail polish, and a couple other JDM jigs I hadn’t used in a while, so I sent them to RJ to compare with the non-tungsten jigs he was fishing.

He had a successful outing with them and agreed to share how the tungsten jigs worked on the saltwater bass of SoCal. Thanks RJ!

RJ Oropeza:
My background: Hi Scott. Being out on the ocean, with our lines in the water is where I always want to be.  For me, targeting and landing large Calico and Sand Bass is always an option, but when the weather is good, heading offshore is a must.  If it’s not Santa Barbara Island, then Catalina Island is the next best location. Fishing for rockfish when it’s in season, hunting for large yellowtails coming up from the South in the summer, and drifting for Halibut can result in big and memorable catches when offshore. When I am not fishing on the boat, I scratch the itch by surf fishing, and kayak fishing.  I am open and enjoy all forms of saltwater fishing.  I find the ocean to be my mediation zone, and when I am fishing, I am meditating.  

On Saturday, we were able to take the boat out for a couple hours to see if we can catch some keepers inside the Los Angeles Harbor.  We left the dock at 11:15am, the skies were slightly overcast, with light wind blowing.  The outside temperature was 69 degrees, and there was a slight chop.  Our first stop was a spot, near the San Pedro Bay Area, inside the break wall.  It took about 5 minutes to arrive to our desired location, we shut the engines off, and prepared the trolling motor for a slow drift. 

We could see via the fish finder that there were a few fish sitting on the structure, waiting to be caught.  I reached for my Daiwa Harrier rod armed with the 40gram tungsten jig (Blue/White/Silver/Pink) with VMC Techset assists.  To keep things stealthy yet somewhat abrasion resistant, I was using 30lb Seaguar Premier as the fluorocarbon leader. It didn’t take me more than 2 minutes to get my line in the water.  Before I could feel the jig hit the ocean floor, I was already hooked up to what felt like a nice size bass.  I was shocked at how fast it took to catch the first fish of the day. This is always a good sign, when you catch the first fish within 10 minutes of starting out the trip.  I had a feeling the day was going to be fun. 

With the help of the new jig, we managed to put a few more bass on the deck along with a fighting mackeral.  I was able to hook them on the free fall, the retrieve, and on the bounce.  It was clear to me that this tungsten jig was very attractive to the bass in the harbor.  The predators around could not resist the sexy dance that this lure displayed.  The beveled edges create a realistic sharp darting motion,  and the weight allows you to launch the lure far enough to have a long retrieve back, giving the angler plenty of time to dance the jig back to the boat.  The color scheme, with added glow dots, seemed to be very effective. 

On several retrieves, I was able to see fish come near the boat as they chased the jig in hope of a better view.  This jig made what could have been a slow day, turn into a fun and productive one.  Overall I felt that this jig was a must have for any angler interested in slow pitch jigging.  The small and simple design could not be ignored by the fish we were targeting.  Thanks again, for your recommendation, as always I appreciate the wisdom that you share.  You were right, this jig, “slayed the bass in the harbor“.

I look forward to landing more fish in the future, with this sexy piece of tungsten and will give the other jigs their fair shot in the water.

Aloha Scott!  Keep your pole bent, and your line tight. 

Editor: You can find the 40g and 60g tungsten jigs, dressed and undressed, in the Store here.

Super thin tungsten “knife jigs”. Had to order some to try since the compact ones were so effective.

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Duo Semi Long 125g 13cm/ 5″ non-tungsten jig on bottom for comparison.

The price of tungsten jigs has been steadily climbing because of various economic factors having to do with the production and import from China. A manufacturer is letting me buy these jigs in relatively small quantities but they are so expensive even at wholesale pricing. The current retail price of the 180g size is over $40!

The thin, long jig is meant to “slide and sweep” back and forth as it falls, unlike the more compact tungsten jig shapes that fall quicker and need to be jigged with the rod tip to look like small crustaceans or bait fish. Knife jigs work well on mid water column fish like pelagics and jacks, but these have been proven to work well skipping over the bottom from shore.

160g jig
Top
Bottom

160g 17cm – 5.6 oz 6-7/8″.

180g jig
Top
Bottom

180g 18cm – 6.3 oz 7-1/8″

I was sent a blue/silver/pink 160g jig and a green/gold 180g jig to inspect. The almost holographic finish was dazzling, and the thin jigs couldn’t be bent. I was convinced and ordered a batch of 120g and 180g jigs to satisfy the shore, kayak and boater’s needs.

Stay tuned to hear how these unique jigs fish.

In this video from GoGoGoFishing Nabu, you can see how a smaller version of the lure looks skipped underwater.

Holoholo: I caught a Kagami ulua on a Duo jig I was testing!

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Editor: I had picked up some Duo Drag Metal Force Semi Long jigs from our local Duo Distributor to try out. If they proved effective, I was gonna order some for the Store. I shared an asymmetric sided 155g pink with glow stripes jig with my friend and occasional kayak partner, Lawrence, who consistently catches fish jigging off his kayak, when the pelagics aren’t biting his live opelu.

Lawrence:

Here’s how it it all went down… I paired the jig with a JI Fishing Co assist hook and dropped it on a school of fish. No immediate bite, but did see a mark on the fish finder and noticed it was chasing my jig on the way up. I let my jig back down to the bottom of the ocean and the fish hit my jig. The fight felt like an ulua and during the fight one of my other live bait poles goes off. I’m double hookup. Focusing on my jig rod, I let my live bait rod fight alone and hoped it could handle the constant pulling. Unfortunately the fish pulled really hard and broke the line.

Refocusing on the jig line, I get to the point that I see color and first thing to my mind is ohh, white ulua. Nothing wrong with white ulua but I’ve caught a few, along with kahalas. Once it got to the surface, I realized it was a Kagami (African Pompano). Quickly grabbing my Kage (Hawaiian Spear), I stabbed it in the gills and brought it on board. Super Stoked to catch this dream fish of mine.

The kagami ended up weighing 11.24 pounds. I liked the Duo Semi Long jig so much I bought another one in 155g and a smaller one in 105g from HI Fish Gear in Ewa Beach!

Here’s the video of the action.

Note (9/29/24): The 155g jig I bought caught a small kawakawa!

Thanks for reading!

Editor: I plan to put my compact tungsten jigs away for a while and fish these larger Duo jigs. I’ll also rig them with BKK or Shout assist hooks and put some in the Store. Stay tuned!

Refinished some paint peeled jigs with the supplies I had. Looks way better. Hopefully the fish think so too.

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I have a growing pile of jigs whose paint peeled from either fish teeth, or initially lousy paint jobs. Some of the lousy painted jigs were tungsten samples I was given to provide an idea of what the jig shape would look like. Others were just cheaply finished store bought jigs that weren’t sealed properly. The tungsten jigs I ended up ordering have held up to a lot of abuse and haven’t peeled, but some ended up with teeth marks.

Seemed like a waste to not fish these lures since they were structurally sound so I used marker pens to color in the missing paint, but since those marks came off easily, I decided to “clear coat” the jigs. Some of the jigs lacked any glow effect, so I added some spots of Glow-On paint purchased from Amazon. I learned on the first attempt that the glow paint is really thick and can’t be brushed. It’s better dabbed on with a small wooden stick especially since that paint is pretty expensive at $14 for 2.3 ml.

I didn’t have proper “lure sealing” clear coat so I just used some Gorilla 5 Minute Epoxy and painted over the colored jigs. My first attempt at brushing the epoxy on came out ok.

But I did another batch the next day and the epoxy hardened too quickly after the initial jig, making it difficult to apply the thick solution evenly on the remaining jigs. The above jigs had another coat of epoxy to smooth things out but that batch was thickening on the last 2 jigs and never cured hard so I had to sand off the epoxy and recoat. Ugh. A $10 handheld uv lamp (Saviland) from Amazon was used to light up the glow paint.

Gorilla Epoxy, Saviland UV lamp and Glow-On paint

Gorilla Epoxy is “water resistant” not waterproof but after I soaked a finished jig in freshwater for a few hours, the epoxy seal seemed fine.

The jigs are now color fast and the added glow should make the jigs stand out more in the dark depths. I would think that epoxy would be a suitable clear coat for wooden and plastic hard body lures too. Will let you know if the jigs catch fish and hold up to the saltwater abuse.

Added some long casting minnows and shore jigs to the Store!

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We’re approaching the peak fishing season in Hawaii. The compact tungsten jigs have been slaying papio and even oio from shore but we’re not able to order more so… I’ve decided to release some JDM lures from my personal stash. Pricing shown in the photos is the current market value and may be lower in the Store. Check out these Sinking lures by clicking here and scrolling through the items. If these sell well I’ll add more unseen gems.

Long casting sinking minnows. Zetz Gig 100S and Zetz F-Lead.

The bestseller minnow style jig “GIG” has been renewed. It’s designed to cast very far, even in wind.
Designed to catch fish on the fall or during a fast or slow retrieve. Until now most jig minnows had hooks on the tail only. This also has  a hook on the underbelly with a swivel to improve hook-ups and reduce tear outs.

100mm long, 28grams. Sinking.

Zetz F-Lead lipped swimming minnow.

This was one of my secret JDM weapons. The ZetZ F-Lead 90S was designed to fish in the surf over sand but I had been using it in deeper water off the kayak, letting it sink down to the suspended white papio.  It also trolled well with an aggressive rolling action that inshore predators couldn’t resist.  But really, it’s a long casting sinking swimmer.

At 90mm and 26gm, it flies like a bullet.  The center balanced weight makes the lure sink in a horizontal position, rolling and flashing as it sinks.  The front hook is mounted on a swivel which allows the hook to freely rotate, drastically reducing the loss of fish. Furthermore, this rotation will also reduce wear on the hook tips from contact with the sand or rocks.

Xesta After Burner Fully Armed shore jigs

We’ve had great success with these jigs in the 40gm and 60gm size on boats and kayaks, catching ono and kawakawa.  They come “Fully Armed” with a sticky sharp assist hook and rear treble hook.  Rip ’em through the water for the sub-surface bite or fish them like a slow pitch jig.  The center balanced design will make it flutter on the fall and the beveled cut will cause it to erratically flash when jerked back.

If you’re worried about snagging the bottom, take off the treble hook and just fish it with the assist hook. Very affordable, versatile lure to get your jig on.

Major Craft Jigpara slow, standard, semi-long and tungsten shore jigs

Jigparas are probably the most popular shore jig in Hawaii. These are some unique shapes: slow pitch and semi-long for more flutter on the falls, and tungsten for a faster falling, smaller profile lure.

2 more Phenix Rods to try! 6’6″ Black Diamond Heavy boat rod and 6′ PE 2-4 Megalodan jig rod.

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I had purchased two “live bait” style rods from Phenix Rods last year, as a dealer and liked their lightness and build quality. Shipping of those two rods from California to Hawaii was about $50. Since then, Phenix Rods was purchased by the outdoor company GSM Outdoors, and moved to Texas. The new company worked out some kinks and is back to servicing their dealers so I ordered two more rods to see how the shipping experience would be. This time, shipping via FedEx costs $86 and took 8 days.

I got the 6ft 6in Black Diamond Heavy rod since the 7ft Extra Heavy version is a little too stiff for the 10 – 15lb fish I’m mostly catching, which caused me to pull some hooks on jumping fish. Angler error did play a role. 🙂 The shorter length is easier to work with from the seated position of the kayak. Most offshore kayak guys use rods 6ft 6in or shorter and I’ve been stubbornly using longer rods and losing leverage on bigger fish.

The Avet MX Raptor pairs nicely with the new Black Diamond Heavy rod.

The Megalodan jig rod series has a lot of backbone and guys in SoCal use the larger rod sizes for big bluefin. The one I ordered is rated for PE 2 – 4 (about 30lb braid) and 100g – 200g jigs.

Game Type J on top, Megalodan on the bottom.

Compared to the Shimano Game Type J rod I have that’s rated for even heavier jigs, the Megalodan is stiffer in the tip and has a thicker blank. The Game Type J has a more sensitive feel whereas the Megalodan feels much more robust like it could take the rigors of kayak jigging.

Megalodan on top, Game Type J on bottom.

The Megalodan, with the long EVA foregrip is really made to battle big fish.

After giving both new rods a good shake out, I’ll let you know how they performed and whether I recommend them.

BKK Hooks – Small bait hook, wide gapped jig head, offshore live bait hook, treble hook and assist hook. How did they work out?

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BKK Hooks are designed in Japan and manufactured to exacting standards in China. They are known for making very strong, sharp, long lasting hooks that meet specific fishing needs. They were tested by our various Holoholo reviewers. Here’s how they performed.

Red Octopus Beak

Tested as damashi/sabiki fly hooks for akule and opelu.

Product Description: The offset hook point provides much more contact with the fish’s mouth, resulting in a better hook-up rate.

Additionally, the red coating increases the concealment of the hook (matching the color of the bait used) and also guarantees great saltwater corrosion resistance.

Results: Akule and opelu flies were made with these. They kept their point and didn’t rust after 5 uses. Recommended.

Silent Chaser EWG Round Head

Tested as jig hook for oio whipping on the flats.

Product Description: The BKK Silent Chaser 1X EWG is a versatile round-head offset jighead featuring a wire jig hook with an Extra Wide Gap round bend, super sharp needle point and SS nano coating to enhance penetration when fishing with very light gear.

Predominantly used in finesse approaches close to the bottom, the Silent Chaser 1X EWG is designed for stealthier presentations and to be snag proof. Size range goes from size 1 to 4/0 for Texas rigging a wide array of soft lures.

Results: Multiple large oio were landed whereas other premium brand jig hooks bent open. Recommended.

Beastly Cat

Tested as rear live bait hook for offshore fishing.

Product Description: Designed with a thick wire, it features BKK’s signature Hand Ground hook point technology boasting an excellent penetration capability, being able to penetrate through hard bony jaws and reducing the overall weight of the hook structure.

The Super-Slide coating additionally minimizes piercing resistance and provides an instant and deep hook up.

Results: Used as an offshore live bait hook. More positive hooksets than other hooks used but corroded and lost its point after 1 use. Not recommended.

Raptor Z treble hooks

Tested as replacement hooks for plugs and poppers.

Product Description: The BKK-RAPTOR-Z incorporates BKK’s latest manufacturing technologies, being engineered to hook strong and aggressive “monster” fish and stay hooked to the very end.

Thanks to BKK’s Hand ground technology and Bright Tin coating, it is equipped with ultimate impaling power, being able to penetrate even the hardest bony jaws and superior corrosion resistance.

BKK’s Slim Ring Technology further allows for an easier attachment of split rings.

Results: Multiple ulua have been landed on these. The treble hooks don’t open up under intense pressure. Recommended.

Sea Ranger+ assist hooks

Tested as assist hooks on micro jigs.

Product Description: Developed to tackle big fish using a small jig.

Comes pre-tied with BKK high quality solid core assist cord, which is very robust yet retains its softness. Shimmering and glowing fibers increase the attractiveness of the jig, triggering more strikes.

It features a heavy gauge providing excellent strength to the hook and BKK’s Hand Ground hook point technology lightening the weight of the hook, providing an outstanding penetration performance. Additionally, the U-spade Slip Lock feature keeps the assist line securely in place.

Last but not least, the bright tin coating ensures sharp hooks in saltwater environment, preventing saltwater corrosion.

Results: Glow tinsel attracted small and large fish; hooks stayed sharp and corrosion free after countless uses. Never tangled on the jig. Recommended.

We didn’t sell these hooks in the Store except for the Sea Ranger+ assist hooks. Please let us know via the Contact Page if you’d like us to special order a box of hooks for you.

Price of raw tungsten has skyrocketed. Is it too late to order more compact jigs for the Store?

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Original batch of tungsten jigs circa 2021

We first looked into having tungsten jigs made in 2020 when it became apparent that jigs matching very small bait fish would get bitten better than larger, slower falling jigs. Vertical and slow pitch jigs were still catching on in the US, and interest in our compact tungsten jigs didn’t take off until 2023.

Then, the Southern Cal sportboat guys fishing for bluefin tuna at night discovered that the normally wary fish were suckers for heavy 3 inch jigs dropped 200ft under the boat, and demand for those jigs sky rocketed. Guys were spending more than $40 on a glowing 180g tungsten jig. I found out about this when the guys started asking me if I could get heavier jigs in. No one in the US had these sized jigs and soon the Japan-based stores raised their prices and ran out of inventory.

I reached out to the company that had made jigs for me in the past and they informed me that the price of tungsten powder was at a 10 yr high because China placed safety restrictions on the manufacturing of tungsten products, and the demand for tungsten products (not just fishing jigs) had spiked. In order to have more jigs made I would have to place a large order, and pay a significantly greater price than in the past. My little business didn’t have the capital for that so I reached out to a US distributor of Japanese fishing lures. He said that the Japanese jig companies are charging so much for tungsten jigs now, he’d have to charge a price for them that no dealer would want to pay.

Similar to buying gold at an all time high, this doesn’t look like an opportune time to buy more tungsten jigs.

I wanna thank the SoCal guys who helped me understand how they are brazing solid rings and assembling very strong assist hooks to land 100lb plus fish. Hopefully I can procure some heavy compact jigs that work for you.