major craft jigpara

Erik and I were up late Saturday night, processing photos and video we took that day. I effectively woke even later than expected Sunday morning because I didn’t realize Daylight Savings Time kicked in! That gave me only about 2 hrs to follow up with a few exhibitors before I had to leave for the airport. For background on these folks, please read the previous post.

First stop was Lumica to show them the Iki Jime instructional video Erik had completed. The US CEO and Japanese sales rep were so stoked they made sure we both had the small, medium and large kits to try out in Hawaii. That was really nice of them.

Then we bee-lined over to the 13 Fishing booth. JD surprised me with a Black Omen medium-heavy graphite travel rod and case he grabbed from the warehouse after last night’s show, to test with their new Concept Z salt approved casting reel that uses a polymer bearing instead of actual ball bearings that can jam and rust. The reel looked tiny but has 22lbs of drag! I’m always looking for a travel rod that fishes like my one piece rods, and their Black Omen rod felt like it was up to the task.

Erik showed JD the completed video he made of JD’s interview and JD was so grateful he went behind a curtain and returned with a t-shirt, lanyard, cap and stickers for both of us! I had seen 13 Fishing in catalogs but wasn’t familiar with the quality of their products. Their branding and apparel looked really contemporary compared to some of the more staid brands that just offer shirts and hats with their name in block letters.

Next we raced over to the Major Craft booth and Lee was so animated we asked if he’d want to be video interviewed. He didn’t even have to think about it and launched into a very entertaining monologue you’ll be seeing on this site soon. As Lee said, he’s “podagee” so he has no problem talking on camera. He gave us both Major Craft hats to sport when we’re fishing the Jigpara jigs and we promised to connect with Brandon and him when we’re settled back home.

On the way out, we stopped by the Promar – Ahi USA so I could get the telescopic gaff for Frank and the bat to go with my gaff. It’s incredible how reasonably priced their products are. Frank could make a bat out of wood for me but it’s cheaper in the long run just to buy the Promar bat (Ahi USA is the lure side of the company).

With all the expected goodies, I had to repack my bags to make room. Erik’s flight was leaving the next day so he stayed to see if there were any drastic price reductions in the last hours of the show. Stay tuned for the show and trip wrap up. Video interviews to follow after that, and look for product giveaways in the not so distant future.

Saturday was the busiest day of the show. Unfortunately it rained both Saturday and Sunday so testing the Hobie pedal kayaks in my non-fishing clothes was out. I apologize in advance for so many photos with me in it; Erik thought it would be good to prove that we were really talking to folks instead of just looking for killer deals.

We focused on booths relating to fishing in Hawaii and started by visiting my friend Jackie in the Alaska Reel Adventures booth. Represented were the very popular Shelter Lodge and Anchor Point resorts made famous on the original Let’s Go Fishing and Hawaii Goes Fishing tv shows. The two lodges are so popular that spots fill up a year in advance. The majority of their clientele are Hawaii based, or have ties to Hawaii since the big draw is the Hawaiian hospitality, local gourmet meals and ohana-style partying.

We stopped by the Promar – Ahi USA booth and visited with owners Ben and Zooey, whom I took torching in January, and our buddy Steve, who was busily pricing damashi at show prices in this photo. These guys made sure we were fed, knew our way around the massive show, and introduced us to other industry folk. Gotta love a small business that treats their customers like family. I planned to purchase a gaff for Frank and wooden bat for me to subdue our deep water catches, and asked Steve to hold those for me.

The Shimano Service booth was nearby, and the technicians were teaching customers how to take apart and maintain their own reels. Erik posed the question often asked by our local Facebook fishing groups “will you service a reel with an aftermarket power knob?” and I asked “what is the recommended grease for drags and gears?”. Stay tuned for a video of their answers.

It looks like Erik is really making them sweat but it was all good in the end.

We stumbled upon the Lumica glow light booth where Jason and Ikeda-san were displaying their deep drop jigs that take a glow stick insert, and their Iki Jime kits. Iki Jime or Ike Jime, is the practice of humanely killing fish with a spike to the spinal cord, thereby preventing lactic acid build up from ruining the fish’s flavor. Erik video’d Ikeda-san, on the right, describing how to use the Iki Jime kit. Most of the show goers just took free stickers from their table because they didn’t understand the concept of Iki Jime, so Jason and Mr. Ikeda appreciated our interest. They gave us a few glow sticks, jigs and a small, medium and large Iki Jime kit on the condition that we try it on the fish in HI and provide a review. Great guys.

Next up was the Pacific Lures booth where they print actual Pacific fish photos on SoCal style surface irons and heavy yo-yo jigs.

Gary, owner of Pacific Lures, wanted us to test the Hawaiian printed designs created by Brad Titus, and gave this set to test. The orange-red yo-yo jig in the center is their kale kale pattern and has been deadly on the deep predators. The others look yummy also.

Then we tracked down J.D., whom I’ve met when he was repping Rapala lures, Sufix 832 braid and VMC hooks in Hawaii. He had generously given me the Sufix 832 that Frank and I have been using to fish deep off the watercraft, and a set of Rapala Coastal lip-less plugs that I plan to fish when the papio move in. I wanted to let him know we started using VMC Tournament circle hooks on our big chunks of baits and was surprised to find him working the 13 Fishing booth. 13 Fishing is a relatively new tackle company that made a big splash in the freshwater bass segment with affordable, innovative rods / reels sporting eye catching designs and ergonomics geared to the open minded younger angler. J.D. explained the key features their largest salt water approved bait caster had over reels in a higher class range, and Erik video’d our conversation. I promised to dialog with J.D. over email when I returned home, to set up a stress test of a couple bait casters.

Lastly, we chatted with the Maui-based Major Craft reps, Brandon and Lee who are famous on social media. Erik follows both on Instagram and immediately connected with them. The boys openly shared their boat and kayak jigging secrets and entertained us with their larger than life personalities. Erik bought some hard to get Jigpara jigs at show pricing and we made an agreement with the boys to keep in touch so we’d be able to provide product feedback on social media and this website.

Whew… if you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there. There were a few other vendors of significance that we spoke with but may have to include them in a later post.

Stay tuned for the dramatic final Sunday summary. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was.

Fred Hall – Sunday (last day)

Fred Hall Show – More of Saturday’s action