I’ve been running a lure comparison pitting a few JDM (Japan Domestic Market) top-water lures against the Shimano Waxwing, my go-to sub-surface lure.

One JDM lure in particular has trounced the competition.  The Waxwing had fallen behind until I resharpened its hooks and it made a strong come back the last time out.  Another JDM lure has the perfect profile of a chubby baby mullet, and has great coloration.  It hadn’t even gotten a boil, however.  I was told by my JDM supplier that the chubby lure rides higher in the water than the one trouncing the competition, and because of that, the predators aren’t able to see the lure as well.  He recommended weighing the lure down by putting on heavier split rings and hooks.

Because that lure looks so darn cute I ran out and got the heavier Owner hyper rings and Owner 4X treble hooks.  Using the Daiwa heavy duty split ring pliers I got from my JDM supplier, sliding thick gauged hooks onto split rings was no longer an exercise in frustration.  I did a buoyancy test in an unoccupied oama tub and the lure floated much deeper in the water.

Since this was the only lure in the test that hasn’t even gotten a look, I started with the chubby guy today.  The beach was lined with conventional rods as if some tournament was going on.  I couldn’t fish my normal test grounds so I cast out about 20 yds from the last rod on the beach.

A few casts later and a 17″ kaku boiled on it and was hooked.  I kept the toothy fish hooked so I could leave it in the water, and tagged it.  Weighing that lure down really did make it more visible to predators.

I put the Waxwing on and didn’t get a single bump but I attribute that to all the activity in the water.

So at this point of the lure test, the Waxwing and the two JDM top-water lures have all caught fish.  Each lure has had its day under different circumstances. Another JDM top-water lure arrived in the mail today.  More testing is ahead.