Those of you in Europe that, like me are fanatical about Black Bream fishing might share my interest in these promotional videos I stumbled across by ace Japanese tackle manufacturer, Owner.
They're both aimed at Chinu (Black Sea Bream) anglers and although focused on Owner's excellent hooks and line, there's plenty of dedicated Black Bream Read the rest of this entry »
This is a nice product. I picked up the Daiwa SP-MH reel case when I visited The Art of Fishing in St Merryn, Cornwall. It's imported from Japan (no English on the packaging) and the quality shows. It's a sad fact that Daiwa's Japanese range of tackle is better than that available on our home shores but it makes this kind of stuff more alluring I suppose.
So what to say about a reel bag... Well, as I already remarked the quality is about as good as it gets in neoprene reel covers - the neoprene is a luxurious 5mm thick and Read the rest of this entry »
Just spotted a planned addition to Daiwa's Morethan Branzino range of spinning reels on Japanese tackle site plat.co.jp - the Morethan Branzino 2508SH LBD.
I know what you're thinking, it's the current Morethan Branzino reel with an extra lever bolted on. Well I guess it is really. Yet another tackle innovation from Japan sees the Lever Brake Drag (LBD) form factor added to Morethan Branzino range. It's hard to see this being a popular reel outside of Japan, but I shouldn't knock what I haven't tried.
I've been aware of this type of reel from Daiwa for a few years after seeing some shots in a Japanese catalogue but quite where the origin of this design lies, I don't know. I'm sure your conclusions on the use will be similar to my own - clearly the lever offers more Read the rest of this entry »
Ryobi, the well-regarded tackle giant that sadly disappeared from UK shores in 1998 is set to return once more with the Masterline Walker group (who also house Cortland, Yo-Zuri and Rovex to name a few).
The reason Ryobi retreated was to concentrate on manufacturing high quality fishing tackle for the Japanese market. The good news for us in the UK is that Ryobi will be bringing some of that tackle back with them. We're fans of at least one of their reels - the awesome Ryobi Metaroyal Safari, or to give it its very Asian, full title - the Ryobi Metaroyal 5000 Fishing Safari - so we contacted Masterline who have confirmed that these reels will indeed be available here in the UK.
We've been lucky enough to handle these reels in Australia, Asia and parts of Europe and they are tough. Do a quick trawl of online fishing forums and you'll find some very good remarks about the Metaroyal Safari. This is a heavy-duty spinning reel more traditional suited to tropical styles like deepwater jigging and popping but we're sure it will find its place over here. It features a suitable power gear Read the rest of this entry »
Personally, I don't normally buy Sea Angler magazine these days due to a lack of innovative content but I have to congratulate the guys over at Sea Angler HQ for a wonderful May/June publication. The reason why issue 453 stands out is that it features a 35-page special on bass tackle and techniques - in fact the only reason I picked it up from the newsagent shelf was that the cover showed some Japanese, Varivas braid and a fancy looking lure. A quick flick through revealed articles on plugging estuaries from the boat, and an interesting looking review of modern bass fishing by Henry Gilbey, complete with shots of a Tenryu Red Dragon Express, a Van Staal and a box Read the rest of this entry »
