2012年04月18日
メバルing (Mebaring)
メバルing (Mebaring)
Definition: to fish for Mebaru (Sebastes inermis, Sebastes cheni, Sebastes ventricosus) using lures. These fish are generally nocturnal feeders and stay close to structure. Term coined by my friend and teacher Leon aka Kaku Takumi, around 14 years ago.
When I first started saltwater lure fishing I was trying to learn how to catch sea bass. This was my main target and I really wanted to try to learn the best ways to catch them. Unfortunately, Tokyo bay sea bass game is very high pressure, I had many empty cooler trips home with my head down.
In my journey I found a very fascinating target. Mebaru! The Mebaru population is huge and largely untouched in Tokyo bay by lures. They are very finicky at larger sizes so very challenging. At first I heard they were easy to catch. I soon found they were as hard as any other fish if not harder. It’s not hard to catch tiny sizes but when you want to catch something even larger than 20cm the odds get stacked against you.
Breadens GRF-TR 68 Strange. Originally an Ajing rod but fantastic for Mebaring
The basic method is a light game rod, 5lb and under line (usually nylon or fluro), under 3g jig head and different soft lures. Usually pintail, paddle or curly tail. Sizes for soft lures usually start around 1.5”.
Cast and retrieve in different levels in the water column. The most aggressive and smaller fish are usually looking to the surface. The more timid, nervous, but larger fish usually are around the bottom. Most Mebaru are easily caught around bait accumulated around the light hitting the water and they stay tight around structure or current differences.
Now you might be thinking “WHAT?! All this money and time spent chasing a fish around 30cm and below?” I thought so too at first.
Then again catching a 30cm fish is damn difficult. It is said by most fisherman that if you catch one in your lifetime you are lucky. We call these 尺メバル (Shaku Mebaru, shaku is an ancient measurement around 33cm but rounded down to 30cm for fish). As much fishing goes on for these fish for leisure and commerce, these are rare fish.
Some big name pro bass anglers completely switch their focus on Mebaru. It is that challenging and rewarding. These fish are tremendous fighters. They have so much torque and violent speed that you get a great fight that will make your heart skip a few beats. If you know what you are doing you can catch so many during the night, even at 20cm average, that your arm hurts by the time you hit the sack.
The first time I hooked a big 30cm one it broke my line. I was using 6lb PE line with 7lb fluro leader. A few times after that they all stretched or broke hooks or lines. I even had one break the tip off my Varivas rod. Now mind you these fish at this size are roughly 700g~1.3kg.
At 45cm they would be about 15times stronger than the same length sea bass.
Plus they taste great! So it’s very rewarding for those of us practicing catch and eat.
So I went on my quest. For the first 6months I didn’t catch anything but tiny ones if that. I blanked more than I came home with fish. Of course I didn’t have anyone to teach me but a few magazines and bloggers. Salt Lure fishing was pretty new to me. In the end it wasn’t the fish that got hooked during this period it was me.
Many a time I would get a bite or two but couldn’t hook the fish or I would lose it during the fight. So I started buying hard lures. Started trying different rigs. Trying everything I knew to just catch these elusive fish.
One of my favorite lures the Breaden Minimaru 50 has no action at all in straight retrieve. This is contrary to what most people think catches fish. Yet this thing has caught me some of the largest fish I have ever seen.
I fell down the rabbit hole fast and I have happily never came out. The deeper I got the more challenging it became. To this day I am learning new techniques, methods, and patterns. My Mebaring 師匠(read: shishou translation: sifu or Mentor)has been chasing this fish for 40 years and still is learning to this day.
They feed on so many things that it changes the game one week to the next.
Main baits are: sandworms, Mysidacea, zoo plankton, shrimp, crab, small fish of every type, squid, fallen insects, sea mantis.
Almost all types of lures hard and soft that you can imagine can be used to catch Mebaru. In some cases we go to extremes and use fly hooks with tiny split weights making micro jig heads less than 5mm in length and cut the tail off of a straight worm as bait.
Just to list the tip of the iceberg in methods here are some:
1.straight retrieve
2.curve fall
3.bottom bumping
4.down shot
5.Carolina
6.Texas rig
7.Darting method
8.Walking the dog
9.Popping
10.Jigging
11.Figure 8
12.Split rig
13.Pump retrieve
I will go into more details about these methods in future articles. For now I just want to introduce Mebaru fishing basics.
Lure color rotation depends on water color and bait type.
For water color the general thought is; the clearer the water the more natural. The more tinted the water the more appeal you use. Match the bait in color type as well.
This is a basic guideline and by no means a rule. Many a time I threw a clear worm in muddy water and got amazing results. Sometimes it’s best to just try something you believe won’t work.
Depending on the bait you would cast up current or down current. Most times I cast up current since the fish are facing that way and have enough time to see and chase the bait down.
As for rod and reel for straight retrieve jig head method the best is a soft tip with firm belly and strong butt. Tackle strength should be set to the area you are fishing in. The reel should be balanced with your rod but usually its around 250g and under, sizes 1000S to 3000S for shimano and 2506 for daiwa.
As for line selection I generally use fluro usually 1.7lb~5lbs. When fishing long distance or for big ones and staying within the first 50cm of water I use 0.2~0.6PE.
Lets start with straight retrieve with jig head. This method usually is best when the fish are feeding on small fish fry, plankton, squid or shrimp.
Start with the water right under your feet. A small cast along the wall or shore line, working from top to bottom and gradually extend it out further.
Next hit the border between light and shade. Work top to bottom.
After this, work the ropes, buoys, parked boats, pier pilings and other structure tightly and as always top to bottom.
Finally work bottom structures such as seaweed patches, slits in the substrate etc.
Occasionally they school in currents differences (such as rip, eddy, constricted, or laminar flow) or where there is foam or under floating garbage.
The best time is whenever the water moves. Usually around 1 to 2hrs before and after the peaks and valleys in the tidegraph.
Retrieve speed depends on bait and tackle setup but usually you would be reeling around a turn of the handle per second.
My trusty shimano Soare 30 2500HGS made specially for 尺メバル (shaku Mebaru )
My growing favorite Daiwa Certate 2500 with mag seal. This thing is very tough
If you get the formula right you can have some real fun as you can see in these pictures. Most Mebaring is done at night but can and has been done in the day. I will get into this in a future article. Until then keep your drag screaming!
Another decent sized one
Day Mebaring has its benefits.
P.S. these methods should work for many different fish all over the world. Just have to match the situation.
Definition: to fish for Mebaru (Sebastes inermis, Sebastes cheni, Sebastes ventricosus) using lures. These fish are generally nocturnal feeders and stay close to structure. Term coined by my friend and teacher Leon aka Kaku Takumi, around 14 years ago.
When I first started saltwater lure fishing I was trying to learn how to catch sea bass. This was my main target and I really wanted to try to learn the best ways to catch them. Unfortunately, Tokyo bay sea bass game is very high pressure, I had many empty cooler trips home with my head down.
In my journey I found a very fascinating target. Mebaru! The Mebaru population is huge and largely untouched in Tokyo bay by lures. They are very finicky at larger sizes so very challenging. At first I heard they were easy to catch. I soon found they were as hard as any other fish if not harder. It’s not hard to catch tiny sizes but when you want to catch something even larger than 20cm the odds get stacked against you.
Breadens GRF-TR 68 Strange. Originally an Ajing rod but fantastic for Mebaring
The basic method is a light game rod, 5lb and under line (usually nylon or fluro), under 3g jig head and different soft lures. Usually pintail, paddle or curly tail. Sizes for soft lures usually start around 1.5”.
Cast and retrieve in different levels in the water column. The most aggressive and smaller fish are usually looking to the surface. The more timid, nervous, but larger fish usually are around the bottom. Most Mebaru are easily caught around bait accumulated around the light hitting the water and they stay tight around structure or current differences.
Now you might be thinking “WHAT?! All this money and time spent chasing a fish around 30cm and below?” I thought so too at first.
Then again catching a 30cm fish is damn difficult. It is said by most fisherman that if you catch one in your lifetime you are lucky. We call these 尺メバル (Shaku Mebaru, shaku is an ancient measurement around 33cm but rounded down to 30cm for fish). As much fishing goes on for these fish for leisure and commerce, these are rare fish.
Some big name pro bass anglers completely switch their focus on Mebaru. It is that challenging and rewarding. These fish are tremendous fighters. They have so much torque and violent speed that you get a great fight that will make your heart skip a few beats. If you know what you are doing you can catch so many during the night, even at 20cm average, that your arm hurts by the time you hit the sack.
The first time I hooked a big 30cm one it broke my line. I was using 6lb PE line with 7lb fluro leader. A few times after that they all stretched or broke hooks or lines. I even had one break the tip off my Varivas rod. Now mind you these fish at this size are roughly 700g~1.3kg.
At 45cm they would be about 15times stronger than the same length sea bass.
Plus they taste great! So it’s very rewarding for those of us practicing catch and eat.
So I went on my quest. For the first 6months I didn’t catch anything but tiny ones if that. I blanked more than I came home with fish. Of course I didn’t have anyone to teach me but a few magazines and bloggers. Salt Lure fishing was pretty new to me. In the end it wasn’t the fish that got hooked during this period it was me.
Many a time I would get a bite or two but couldn’t hook the fish or I would lose it during the fight. So I started buying hard lures. Started trying different rigs. Trying everything I knew to just catch these elusive fish.
One of my favorite lures the Breaden Minimaru 50 has no action at all in straight retrieve. This is contrary to what most people think catches fish. Yet this thing has caught me some of the largest fish I have ever seen.
I fell down the rabbit hole fast and I have happily never came out. The deeper I got the more challenging it became. To this day I am learning new techniques, methods, and patterns. My Mebaring 師匠(read: shishou translation: sifu or Mentor)has been chasing this fish for 40 years and still is learning to this day.
They feed on so many things that it changes the game one week to the next.
Main baits are: sandworms, Mysidacea, zoo plankton, shrimp, crab, small fish of every type, squid, fallen insects, sea mantis.
Almost all types of lures hard and soft that you can imagine can be used to catch Mebaru. In some cases we go to extremes and use fly hooks with tiny split weights making micro jig heads less than 5mm in length and cut the tail off of a straight worm as bait.
Just to list the tip of the iceberg in methods here are some:
1.straight retrieve
2.curve fall
3.bottom bumping
4.down shot
5.Carolina
6.Texas rig
7.Darting method
8.Walking the dog
9.Popping
10.Jigging
11.Figure 8
12.Split rig
13.Pump retrieve
I will go into more details about these methods in future articles. For now I just want to introduce Mebaru fishing basics.
Lure color rotation depends on water color and bait type.
For water color the general thought is; the clearer the water the more natural. The more tinted the water the more appeal you use. Match the bait in color type as well.
This is a basic guideline and by no means a rule. Many a time I threw a clear worm in muddy water and got amazing results. Sometimes it’s best to just try something you believe won’t work.
Depending on the bait you would cast up current or down current. Most times I cast up current since the fish are facing that way and have enough time to see and chase the bait down.
As for rod and reel for straight retrieve jig head method the best is a soft tip with firm belly and strong butt. Tackle strength should be set to the area you are fishing in. The reel should be balanced with your rod but usually its around 250g and under, sizes 1000S to 3000S for shimano and 2506 for daiwa.
As for line selection I generally use fluro usually 1.7lb~5lbs. When fishing long distance or for big ones and staying within the first 50cm of water I use 0.2~0.6PE.
Lets start with straight retrieve with jig head. This method usually is best when the fish are feeding on small fish fry, plankton, squid or shrimp.
Start with the water right under your feet. A small cast along the wall or shore line, working from top to bottom and gradually extend it out further.
Next hit the border between light and shade. Work top to bottom.
After this, work the ropes, buoys, parked boats, pier pilings and other structure tightly and as always top to bottom.
Finally work bottom structures such as seaweed patches, slits in the substrate etc.
Occasionally they school in currents differences (such as rip, eddy, constricted, or laminar flow) or where there is foam or under floating garbage.
The best time is whenever the water moves. Usually around 1 to 2hrs before and after the peaks and valleys in the tidegraph.
Retrieve speed depends on bait and tackle setup but usually you would be reeling around a turn of the handle per second.
My trusty shimano Soare 30 2500HGS made specially for 尺メバル (shaku Mebaru )
My growing favorite Daiwa Certate 2500 with mag seal. This thing is very tough
If you get the formula right you can have some real fun as you can see in these pictures. Most Mebaring is done at night but can and has been done in the day. I will get into this in a future article. Until then keep your drag screaming!
Another decent sized one
Day Mebaring has its benefits.
P.S. these methods should work for many different fish all over the world. Just have to match the situation.
2009年05月27日
Welcome to fishing in Japan
Hi and welcome.
For those of you who want to know details of my fishing adventures in Japan, as well as tackle reviews, points, tips and tricks you have come to the right place.
I currently reside in Tokyo so most of my fishing is done around the Kanto area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, East Shizuoka, Chiba, etc.)
I only focus on lure fishing because I have found that with a little perserverance, knowledge, strategy, imagination, and sense of adventure you can easily catch larger and more than most bait fishing types.
Not to say that bait fishing isn't effective, but that almost all fish have feeding times. Whereas with a lure you can actually force a fish to bite out of reaction. This could be for territory or any number of other things.
One of my favorite types of fishing is light rock fish game. Mebaru in particular. Sebastes cheni, Sebastes inermis, Sebastes ventricosus.
I will also be delving into Sea Bass, Aori squid, Sea Bream, different types of mackarels, and many others. Since my birth place is out in Nagano I also do a bit of stream fishing for native trouts.
But I digress, the fun part about Mebaru game is that they are almost everywhere in Tokyo bay area. You can easily have a pack rod and go on a small excursion anytime you want after work or a light trip on the weekend.
For their size Mebaru (the name in Japanese means "bulging eyes") are great fighters. They are also very picky in what they eat, have huge eyes so they are hard to trick and are very nervous fish. The larger they get the more these traits are accentuated.
They are also great food. If you like to eat what you catch this is a very good fish to go after.
Most Mebaru are caught on a small jig head 0.8g~3g, and small worms. Most people use 1~4lbs Flurocarbon, 7lbs braided multifiliment, or 2lbs nylon. I personally use a 2.28lbs flurocarbon from Breaden. Cost per meter and usability are by far the best I have ever come across.
An ultra light trout rod or bass rod will do but the best is a dedicated rod. The great thing about going ahead and spending some money on a dedicated rod is that you can use it for other types of fish as well.
Mebaru rods are typically categorized in two types, solid tip and tubular tip. Solid tip is what you want to use when fish are biting very lightly or when you are using very small lures. They are very flexible and therefore dont give the fish any sense of something being wrong. Hollow tips are usually stiffer and are very useful for heavier rigs and small hard plug type lures, as well as metal jigs, and metal vibration lures. The tubular tip usually gives more control and you get a very distinct signal from the rod when a fish hits the lure.
I actually have 4 different rods for light game. All are categorized as Mebaru rods but I use them for all kinds of different fishing.
Here is a list of the rods that I use:
Breaden GRF-TR83 Deep
Varivas Violente VLL-73T (Tubular tip)
Varivas Violente VLL-73S (Solid tip)
Wando Vacance mebaru 83 (tubular tip pack rod. for when i want to go to far away places and i dont want to carry alot of gear. I also use this for stream trout)
You usually want to go with a smaller reel preferabaly a 1000 size reel.
As for lures, most beginners will find the standard jig head and worm an easy place to start. If the fish are there they usually will bite. Mebaru are most active during the night so get your head lamps on.
For soft lures, 1.5" to 3" worms are used. Shad, baby sardine, sandworm, curly tails are the most popular. Colors are all up to the person but the standard theory is the clearer the water the more natural you go. Glow is very popular but the fish usually stop biting very quickly. The more realistic colors have shorter bites but you can fish longer.
As a good search bait I use pearl white or pink when in dark areas. When there is light present I generally go with the realistics like clear or brown or clear with flakes.
Hard lures are going to be another long discussion. So until next time, I wish you all great fishing.
Y. 続きを読む
For those of you who want to know details of my fishing adventures in Japan, as well as tackle reviews, points, tips and tricks you have come to the right place.
I currently reside in Tokyo so most of my fishing is done around the Kanto area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, East Shizuoka, Chiba, etc.)
I only focus on lure fishing because I have found that with a little perserverance, knowledge, strategy, imagination, and sense of adventure you can easily catch larger and more than most bait fishing types.
Not to say that bait fishing isn't effective, but that almost all fish have feeding times. Whereas with a lure you can actually force a fish to bite out of reaction. This could be for territory or any number of other things.
One of my favorite types of fishing is light rock fish game. Mebaru in particular. Sebastes cheni, Sebastes inermis, Sebastes ventricosus.
I will also be delving into Sea Bass, Aori squid, Sea Bream, different types of mackarels, and many others. Since my birth place is out in Nagano I also do a bit of stream fishing for native trouts.
But I digress, the fun part about Mebaru game is that they are almost everywhere in Tokyo bay area. You can easily have a pack rod and go on a small excursion anytime you want after work or a light trip on the weekend.
For their size Mebaru (the name in Japanese means "bulging eyes") are great fighters. They are also very picky in what they eat, have huge eyes so they are hard to trick and are very nervous fish. The larger they get the more these traits are accentuated.
They are also great food. If you like to eat what you catch this is a very good fish to go after.
Most Mebaru are caught on a small jig head 0.8g~3g, and small worms. Most people use 1~4lbs Flurocarbon, 7lbs braided multifiliment, or 2lbs nylon. I personally use a 2.28lbs flurocarbon from Breaden. Cost per meter and usability are by far the best I have ever come across.
An ultra light trout rod or bass rod will do but the best is a dedicated rod. The great thing about going ahead and spending some money on a dedicated rod is that you can use it for other types of fish as well.
Mebaru rods are typically categorized in two types, solid tip and tubular tip. Solid tip is what you want to use when fish are biting very lightly or when you are using very small lures. They are very flexible and therefore dont give the fish any sense of something being wrong. Hollow tips are usually stiffer and are very useful for heavier rigs and small hard plug type lures, as well as metal jigs, and metal vibration lures. The tubular tip usually gives more control and you get a very distinct signal from the rod when a fish hits the lure.
I actually have 4 different rods for light game. All are categorized as Mebaru rods but I use them for all kinds of different fishing.
Here is a list of the rods that I use:
Breaden GRF-TR83 Deep
Varivas Violente VLL-73T (Tubular tip)
Varivas Violente VLL-73S (Solid tip)
Wando Vacance mebaru 83 (tubular tip pack rod. for when i want to go to far away places and i dont want to carry alot of gear. I also use this for stream trout)
You usually want to go with a smaller reel preferabaly a 1000 size reel.
As for lures, most beginners will find the standard jig head and worm an easy place to start. If the fish are there they usually will bite. Mebaru are most active during the night so get your head lamps on.
For soft lures, 1.5" to 3" worms are used. Shad, baby sardine, sandworm, curly tails are the most popular. Colors are all up to the person but the standard theory is the clearer the water the more natural you go. Glow is very popular but the fish usually stop biting very quickly. The more realistic colors have shorter bites but you can fish longer.
As a good search bait I use pearl white or pink when in dark areas. When there is light present I generally go with the realistics like clear or brown or clear with flakes.
Hard lures are going to be another long discussion. So until next time, I wish you all great fishing.
Y. 続きを読む
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