Fishing Lures For Artful Angling

3 Apr 2008 Category: Features, Japan, Products

Lures are the well trusted friends of fishers. But did you ever take a closer look at these glimmering jewels in bright neon pink, yellow, blue and green? PingMag got quickly mesmerised by these intricately made fishing decoys, resembling works of art with all sorts of designs and detailed patterns. (The veggies among you, please kindly focus on the objects’ intriguing shapes and colours.)

Written by Ryoko
Translated by Kevin Mcgue

We visited the Proshop Bassmate to chat with owner Kenzo Tokunaga. First off, what exactly is a lure again? “It is one type of fishing bait that is made from plastic or metal and used in lure fishing,” Tokunaga explains. “The name obviously stems from the English verb ‘lure.’ Which lure you select and how you make it move determines if you will actually catch anything. That adds a game-like aspect to fishing, and we call this game fishing.”

There are many kinds of lures, depending on what kind of fish you would like to catch. For example, if you want to catch amberjack, yellowtail, or dogtooth tuna at a depth of 250 to 260 meters, you would use a jig lure made from a heavy material like metal. A jig lure looks a bit like a small octopus, with lots of little dangling tentacles. In the past, this kind of lure was also used to fish for sea bream.

Next would be the “egi” lure that originated in Japan to catch bigfin reef squid and black squid. There are also lures that resemble crayfish, frogs, and cicadas.

Obviously, we are taken back by this miraculous play of colour, but are fish actually deceived by them as well? Mr. Tokunaga explains, “Just like humans, fish can see a full range of colours and shapes. Fish do seem to have the power to distinguish colours, and the flashy themes that are used in lures are based on past research. Clearly, they are not used only for the fun of it but according to what design would attract fish best.”

An avid fisher like Mr. Tokunaga must have a lot of fun when preparing for a fishing trip, deciding which lures to use. “I try to imagine what type of fish I would like to catch,” he explains. “What is so interesting about fishing is that it never goes the way you expect it to. For example, no matter how good you get at it, there will still be times when you don’t catch anything at all. You are working with the laws of nature, so you will never have perfect skills, but it is fun to improve as much as possible.”
Sounds like spontaneous fun!

Finally, we asked Mr. Tokunaga what he likes so much about fishing. “We use the term ‘tight line’ to describe the moment when you get a bite, and the line suddenly goes taught,” the veteran fisher says. “At that moment, the only source of information you have is that line leading down to the water. It can tell you things like how the fish is moving and breathing, so it is a kind of connection with nature. It is the world of the tight line that we love so much. Anyone interested in experiencing that can join our sea bass guide in Tokyo Bay.”
We can give it a go!

Thanks to Kenzo Tokunaga and everyone at the Proshop Bassmate for their help.

69 Comments

1. This is cool. Thanks for pointing out that fish lures are nicely designed items.

   Posted by: otakugirl on April 3rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm

2. My uncle used to make lures when I was a little girl. I would always steal some lures and stare at them for hours before slipping them back into his creel.

   Posted by: Natalie on April 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm

3. Very cool designs.Maybe we could add them to bags as a fashion accessory.

   Posted by: steve jenings on April 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm

4. Very cool. It reminds me of when i was a kid. My dad and would go to the tackle shop and I would be hypnotized by all the colors, shapes, and sizes.

   Posted by: Donovan on April 4th, 2008 at 5:20 am

5. I love the egi (for catching squid) above… brings back lots of memories of trawling for squid off the coast of southern Kyushu with a fisherman friend under the moonlight. Those things are usually manmade, and when you see a whole collection of irridescent colored lures like that it’s breathtaking.

   Posted by: greg dvorak on April 4th, 2008 at 6:46 am

6. Nice article. I always liked these as a kid too, and the brightly-painted balsa wood fishing floats that went with them.

   Posted by: ouija on April 4th, 2008 at 7:00 am

7. Very interesting and creative article!
   I’ve never seen baits with a designer point of view. These are really beautiful and inspiring!

   Posted by: Akai on April 4th, 2008 at 9:01 am

8. Very Nice!

   Last year after a bout of lure admiration, I invited a group of artist and designers to give me their take on the fishing lure by painting a blank wooden bait.

   http://finkbuilt.com/gallery/

   Posted by: Steve Lodefink on April 4th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

9. It’s so beautiful !
   And very nice point of view.

   Posted by: Hiro on April 4th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

10. The lures from the US are probably made in China!

    Posted by: cynthia on April 4th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

11. These are so cool and practical too.

    Posted by: bhumika on April 4th, 2008 at 3:08 pm

12. They’re so bright. Hurts my eyes but amazing.

    Posted by: Aikyrie on April 5th, 2008 at 7:27 am

13. I never knew fishing lure’s were so pretty. I can see one looking great framed in a shadow box!

    Posted by: Dani on April 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

14. i don’t think that was modelled after a frog. it’s more like a pufferfish.

    Posted by: grace on June 18th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

15. [...] Lures are the well trusted friends of fishers. But did you ever take a closer look at these glimmering jewels in bright neon pink, yellow, blue and green? PingMag got quickly mesmerised by these intricately made fishing decoys, resembling works of art with all sorts of designs and detailed patterns. Read the full story>>> [...]

    Posted by: Kevin Mcgue - Tokyo-Based Journalist & Filmmaker » Fishing Lures For Artful Angling on March 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 pm

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