The oama are late this year, probably because there were still good numbers of oama around in the early part of the year.  The spawning weke must be confused by all this extra warm water.

Some oama have been seen around Oahu over the last few weeks but not in the large numbers that we normally have by the end of July.  Hopefully the oama do make it in soon before the traditional season (July to September) is over.

Free from chasing oama, I’ve been field testing Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) lures and comparing them to lures we can buy domestically.  In general the JDM lures have a more detailed finish and crisper response.  In the top-water testing so far, the JDM lures hold a slight edge over the Shimano Waxwing, which is made in Japan but sold in the US.  The top-water test isn’t really an apples to apples test because the Waxwing rides a little below the surface and only has a rear double hook, but the Waxwing was my go-to surface lure.  Both the Waxwing and the JDM top water lures have caught fish, but the JDM lures have gotten much more violent strikes and have always caught fish whereas the Waxwing got blanked the last time out.

caught on black chrome Waxwing Baby

Testing has been on shallow flats, mostly casting from the dry sand, targeting the lure happy kaku. Kaku in the past have cut my 15lb fluoro main line but they have yet to cut me off since I’ve been using a 25lb fluoro leader. The leader has been nicked so I know they have hit it, but it’s held. Knock on flourocarbon. On this particular day, I started with the go-to black chrome Waxwing Baby.  Over the span of an hour, walking the sand I caught two small kaku.

kaku on JDM top water lure

I double backed and put on the JDM lure. In the same area, within 5 mins, I caught two more kaku that hit with much more aggression.  Both shot straight out of the water, shaking the lure in their mouth like a dog would shake a bone.

On another outing, I was surprised to see a 12″ FL white hit the JDM top-water lure 5 feet from shore.  It looks like it tried to stun it with its scutes and tail and got snagged on its side.

shibi on JDM lure

We even took the JDM lures off shore for a shibi (small ahi) tagging trip at the buoys and they worked while the larger Waxwing and the Shimano Orca Pop failed to register a hit.  Now that’s a pretty versatile lure.

Much more field testing is required but so far, the JDM lures have caught me with their refined appearance and performance in the water.  All the test subjects were released with a few holes but relatively unharmed.