HINOTSU - JK-4 KANTUKI ISEAMA HOOK w/RINGED NSB 4799 MADE IN JAPAN

Hinotsu JK-4 Kantuki Iseama Hook w/Ringed NSB 4799 — Made In Japan

The JK-4 is the iseama member of Hinotsu's JK series. Kantuki is the Japanese angler's word for the hard bony hinge at the corner of a fish's jaw, and a JK-pattern hook is shaped so a fish that takes the bait and turns away carries the hook into that corner by itself, pulling against bone instead of tearing soft membrane. On the JK-4 that comes from the bend and the pulling angle rather than an offset point: a classic iseama profile — round, fairly deep bend, broad working gap, short general-purpose shank — with the point set straight in line with the eye. Forged, chemically sharpened with the maker's Dead Cutting point profile, brazed closed ring eye, black nickel. Eleven sizes.

Iseama or maruseigo? The JK series puts the same jaw-corner geometry on two very different bends, and the bait decides which you want. The JK-4's shank is short and its point inline, so pull runs straight from knot to point and a threaded bait sits dead straight instead of rotating in current — right for compact baits taken in one mouthful: peeled prawn, worm, shellfish, a cube of cut fish, on bottom and float rigs. The JK-3 Kantuki Maruseigo is the long-shank, kirbed-point version, built for baits that stretch out and for rasping jaws that would otherwise sit on your knot.

Key Features

• Kantuki geometry — designed to seat in the hard jaw corner as the fish turns
• Deep iseama bend with a broad gap and a generous holding area
• Straight inline point alignment for a direct pull and baits that sit straight
• Forged hook body for resistance to bending and opening under load
• Chemically sharpened Dead Cutting point profile for penetration and point durability
• Brazed closed ringed eye — no gap for a knot to slip into
• Black-nickel (NSB) finish for corrosion and wear protection in salt water

How To Rig It

• Lean on it, do not strike — When the rod loads, come up slowly and start winding. Steady pressure walks the hook to the jaw corner; a hard strike drives the point into the roof of the mouth and pulls it back out.
• Running sinker on the bottom — Ball or egg sinker above a swivel with 60–100 cm of leader. Keep the sinker running free so the fish can move off before the line comes tight.
• Baiting a short shank — Thread a peeled prawn from the tail so the point exits near the head, or hook cut bait once through the end. Keep the bait narrower than the gap and the point fully clear.
• Sizing — Japanese gō numbering: the number rises as the hook grows. #5–#7 for bream, whiting and croaker on small baits, #10–#13 for snapper and grouper on prawn and strip, #14–#17 for whole baits on heavy bottom and boat rigs.

Target Species By Region

• Southeast Asia — Yellowfin seabream, croaker (gelama), whiting and catfish (duri) in the small sizes from jetties and estuaries; snapper (merah), golden snapper (jenahak), grouper (kerapu) and mangrove jack on bottom baits over inshore reef.
• North America — Sheepshead, black drum, porgy and tautog on shrimp, crab and clam around pilings and jetties; catfish and redfish on cut bait.
• Japan & East Asia — The pattern's home water: kurodai and madai on boat and breakwater bait rigs, kasago and small hata on bottom rigs, and freshwater carp and catfish in the smaller sizes.
• Australia, Middle East & Europe — Bream, whiting and snapper in Australian estuaries; safi, sheri and hamour in the Gulf; gilthead bream, wrasse and pout on European harbour walls and inshore marks.

Specifications

Model JK-4, series 4799. Brazed ringed eye and black-nickel finish throughout; pack count falls as the hook size rises. Made in Japan.

Recommended Pairing

• #5–#7: light estuary, jetty and float rigs, 6–15 lb line, small prawn, worm and shellfish baits
• #10–#13: general bottom and boat work, 20–40 lb braid with a 30–60 lb fluorocarbon leader
• #14–#17: whole prawn, squid and cut bait for snapper and grouper, 50 lb braid and up, 60–100 lb leader
• A rod with a soft loading tip helps — a stiff tip encourages you to strike before the hook has moved