HAYABUSA - EX124 / EX125 SABIKI REAL SHRIMP / MINNOW

Hayabusa EX124 Real Shrimp / EX125 Real Minnow Sabiki (6 Hooks Per Pack)

These two rigs are the “real” (リアル) end of Hayabusa’s Sabiki® range: instead of skin, film or flash, each hook carries a printed photo-realistic imitation of the actual prey. The EX124 dresses six hooks as small shrimp on a red hook; the EX125 dresses them as minnows on a nickel hook. Both run a monofilament main line with fluorocarbon branch lines, which sit less visibly in clear water than mono — the point of a realistic pattern is that the fish gets a close look, so the leader has to survive that inspection too. Choose by what the school is eating: shrimp when they are picking at krill and plankton, minnow when they are chasing whitebait and juvenile fish.

Key Features

• Real imitation (リアル) — printed photo-realistic shrimp (EX124) or baitfish (EX125) rather than an abstract flash pattern
• EX124 Real Shrimp on H.MRS171 red hooks, matching the dressing to the hook colour
• EX125 Real Minnow on H.MRS171 nickel hooks, adding a small metallic flash
• Fluorocarbon branch lines — lower visibility for a rig meant to be examined closely
• Monofilament main line with six dressed hooks per pack
• Three hook sizes stocked, #10 to #14, with line ratings that step up with hook size

How To Fish It

• Charge the ami-kago — Japanese sabiki fishing (サビキ釣り) is a baited method. Pack the cage with mashed Antarctic krill (ami-ebi) and clip it to the rig. The EX124 shrimp pattern is a direct match for that cloud.
• Drop to the layer — Stop at the depth showing bait rather than fishing blind on the bottom.
• Shake, then hold still — Two or three sharp up-and-down lifts empty krill from the cage. Then stop dead. A realistic pattern needs a moment of stillness to be inspected and taken; constant jigging works against it.
• Match the hatch, then switch — Start with the shrimp under a krill cage. If fish are boiling on small baitfish at the surface or refusing the shrimp, change to the minnow.
• Wind slowly on a full string — Several fish on reads as a continuous light tremor. Keep winding at one speed; a hard lift tears hooks from soft mouths.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Indian mackerel (kembung), bigeye scad (selar) and sardine (tamban) off jetties, kelong and anchored boats; kept in an aerated bucket they go straight back down as live bait for grouper (kerapu), queenfish (talang), trevally and barramundi (siakap).
• North America — Pacific mackerel, sardine and jacksmelt off West Coast piers; Atlantic mackerel and herring from northeastern breakwalls, mostly collected as tuna and striper bait.
• Japan & East Asia — Sabiki-zuri from breakwaters and boats for aji, saba and iwashi; the shrimp pattern suits pressured harbour fish that have seen a lot of plain skin rigs.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Slimy mackerel, yellowtail scad and garfish off wharves; scad along Gulf harbour walls; mackerel and herring from European piers.

Specifications

Six hooks per pack on both models. Hook sizes are Japanese and rise with the hook, so #14 is the heaviest of the three stocked here.

Recommended Pairing

• 2.4–3.6 m sabiki or light boat rod, soft tipped with backbone to swing a loaded string
• 2500–3000 spinning reel, 15–25 lb monofilament or PE 1.0–1.5
• Ami-kago bait cage and a sinker matched to depth and current