GAMAKATSU - CHINU RING EYE HOOK FISHING HOOK MADE IN JAPAN

Gamakatsu Chinu Ring Eye Hook (Made In Japan)

Chinu (チヌ) is Japanese for black sea bream, and the chinu hook is the pattern developed for the way that fish feeds — a cautious, mouthing bite from a small hard mouth that inspects a bait before committing. The answer is a short shank with a wide gape and a point turned slightly in toward the shank, so the hook sits compactly inside a prawn or crab bait, finds the corner of the jaw as the fish turns, and does not lever out — which is why it has become one of the most borrowed shapes in Asian bait fishing. This NSB version keeps the traditional chinu bend and adds a ringed eye, an offset point, and forged flat construction for strength. Gamakatsu also lists it as suitable for wire rigs, including cutlassfish work.

Key Features

• Classic chinu bend: short shank, wide hooking area, slightly incurved point
• Ring (closed) eye rather than a flatted eye: stronger under load, easier to knot with heavy mono or fluorocarbon, and no pressed edge to shave the line
• Ring eye also takes a wire leader crimp or twist, which a flatted eye handles poorly
• Offset point for better hook contact on the strike
• NSB dark finish, discreet on natural bait
• Eleven sizes, #2 through #12

How To Rig It

• Float (ukizuri) fishing — Run a sliding float to a stopper and a short fluorocarbon trace to the hook. Bait with prawn, crab or shellfish and drift it along breakwaters and rock edges.
• Light bottom rig — A running sinker above a swivel and a 60–100 cm leader. Let the rod load rather than striking early; the incurved point sets as the fish moves off.
• Baiting — Thread a live prawn from the tail through the body so the point exits near the head, keeping the wide gape clear.
• Wire trace — For cutlassfish and other toothy species, crimp a short wire trace to the ring eye.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — A staple jetty and estuary hook: mangrove jack, barramundi (siakap) on live prawn, croaker (gelama), small grouper (kerapu) and snapper (merah) on rock walls, plus cutlassfish on a wire trace.
• North America — Sheepshead, black drum, porgy and tautog around pilings, jetties and bridge structure on crab or shrimp baits.
• Japan & East Asia — Kurodai and kibire (black sea bream) from breakwaters and rocks, plus mejina and tachiuo on wire rigs.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Bream, whiting and luderick in Australian estuaries; safi in the Gulf; gilthead bream and wrasse on Mediterranean and Atlantic rock marks.

Specifications

Sizes follow the Japanese gō (号) system: the number rises as the hook gets larger, the reverse of Western numbering. #2 is the smallest, #12 the largest.

Recommended Pairing

• Light to medium bait rod, 2–5 kg class, with a soft tip that lets a cautious fish take the bait
• 2500–4000 spinning reel, 10–30 lb braid or mono
• Fluorocarbon leader tied direct to the ring eye; step up diameter around rock and pilings
• Small sizes for bream and croaker; large sizes for snapper, mangrove jack and barramundi