HAYABUSA - IZUMEJINA HOOK PACK ET1677 MADE IN JAPAN

Hayabusa Izumejina Hook Pack ET1677 — Made In Japan

Mejina (メジナ) is the Japanese name for the largescale blackfish — gure in western Japan, 黑毛 in Taiwan and Hong Kong — a stocky, dark rock-shore fish that grazes weed and picks krill from the wash. Izu is the peninsula and island chain south of Tokyo where the fishery is most serious, and the izumejina pattern is named for it. The shape answers one problem: a grazer does not engulf a bait, it nibbles first and swallows second. So the hook is short, compact and sharp enough to vanish inside a single krill or a pinch of weed, and to bite on the small movement when the fish finally turns down. Hayabusa build the ET1677 with a ringed eye and a barbed straight point set slightly off the centre line, which improves exposure when a fish takes side-on. The black nickel finish disappears beside a natural bait. Twelve sizes, #1 to #12.

Key Features

• Izumejina pattern — short, compact rock-shore shape for fish that mouth a bait first
• Ringed eye, barbed straight point — tie mono or fluorocarbon direct
• Black nickel finish for a low-glare presentation beside shrimp, worm or fish strip
• Twelve sizes, #1 to #12, from small bream to heavier shore work

How To Rig It

• Float rig with chum (fukase style) — The method the pattern exists for. Sliding float to a stopper, minimum shot, hook tied direct to a fine trace. Feed chum up-tide and drift the bait through it at the speed of the loose feed.
• Bait it small — One krill threaded from the tail, a pinch of green weed, or a small strip of fish. A short hook works because it disappears inside the bait; an oversized bait cancels the design.
• Do not strike early — A grazing fish mouths, drops and takes again. Let the float bury properly, then lift steadily and let the rod load; a hard strike pulls a small hook free.
• Fish the wash — Work the white water and back-eddies at the base of breakwaters and ledges, keeping loose line off the surface so the current carries the bait.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Rabbitfish (dengkis, 白肚 / peh tor in Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese) off breakwaters and rock walls is the closest local match, another weed-grazing nibbler. Also yellowfin sea bream, croaker (gelama) and mullet (belanak) from jetties, and tilapia and lampam on paste in paid ponds.
• North America — Opaleye along the Californian rocky shore and kelp edges, a close relative of mejina taken on moss under the same float rig; also surfperch and tautog around structure.
• Japan & East Asia — The original fishery: mejina and gure on uki-fukase (ウキフカセ) float rigs with oki-ami krill off Izu and Kyushu, 黑毛 on Taiwanese and Hong Kong winter rock marks, and kurodai.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Luderick, the Australian blackfish, is the same genus, fished with green weed under a float off rock walls; also drummer. Safi in the Gulf; gilthead bream and salema on Mediterranean marks.

Specifications

Sizes follow the Japanese gō (号) system: the number rises as the hook gets larger, the reverse of Western numbering, so #1 is smallest here and #12 largest. Ranges are not comparable between brands — match by eye, not by number. All sizes are black nickel.

Recommended Pairing

• Light to medium float or bait rod, 1.5–4 kg class, soft tip to absorb the first dive
• 2000–3000 spinning reel, 6–15 lb mono or fine braid, light drag, with a 4–12 lb fluorocarbon trace tied direct to the ring eye
• #1–#5 for rabbitfish, bream and pond work; #9–#12 for heavier shore fish and larger baits