Lucanus Jigs

Hunting & Fishing New Zealand stores were amongst the first to receive supplies of a new range of jigs developed by Shimano and based on successful techniques used by Japanese commercial fishermen targeting Snapper and similar species. They are called Lucanus - I'm not too sure what that means in Japanese, but they are unlike any lure we have ever fished with before and are already causing quite a sensation amongst those who have used them, including Matt Watson up north.

Now if you were one of those who took a little while to catch-on to Softbait fishing, thinking that you needed real bait not artificial creations to catch fish, then hopefully you will not be so conservative when it comes to Lucanus. I guess one of the barriers to getting started in fishing Softbaits was that you needed a specific rod, reel and line to fish the Softbait technique successfully. Not so with Lucanus, as you can use your traditional bottom fishing gear. In fact the technique is to impart a slow action where the lure does most of the work. During our testfire trips the fish we hooked up on included everything from Blue Cod, large Snapper and good sized Kingfish, so we suggest 10kg outfits minimum for inshore fishing and 15kg+ gear for deeper water.

So armed with these squid-like jigs with their brightly coloured shiny heads and large black eyes, long interchangeable skirts, and comparatively small hooks we have now set off on a number of occasions during winter and spring to fish the outer water of the Marlborough Sounds. Normally you'd be a bit skeptical about such a radical design, but somehow we knew that if Japanese commercial fishermen had designed them and Shimano thought enough of them to launch a range for recreational anglers, then the homework had already been done. The question was, as the Lucanus does not closely resemble much in the natural food chain we know of in our waters, would they appeal to the fish we target? We can tell you in no uncertain terms that they do work well and what's more, their heavier weight and the significant depth they can be fished at enable the angler to successfully fish on windy days and in strong tidal rips where other methods such as Softbaiting would be impossible.

To successfully fish the Lucanus jig you need a slow retrieve reel. From a drifting boat firstly release the jig to the bottom, then slowly wind in several meters of line so that your Lucanus is swimming a few meters off the seafloor, then drop it gently back onto the bottom. The resulting yo-yo action entices the predators to attack. When fish are first detected it pays not to strike, just keep the tension on by winding slowly. The fish will work its way up the jig until it comes in contact with the hooks, the small fine gauge hooks will hook-up automatically!

When deeper water or areas or strong currents are targeted, a sinker or additional jig can be added by tying off on a trace attached to the lower eyelet on the Lucanus head. If using a sinker make sure that both the sinker and Lucanus reach the bottom on the drop before winding, this way you will be sure you are successfully fishing the productive lower feeding column which generally holds the most fish. Over winter and spring we fish the deeper water and we have been successful on most target species. What I am particularly looking forward to now though, is to deploy the Lucanus over the summer months when snapper move into the shallower water of Tasman Bay!

We recently viewed some underwater footage Matt Watson got on a trip off Great Barrier Island where Russell Summers from our Tauranga/Rotorua/Auckland stores was onboard along with the Shimano and ITM Fishing Show sponsors. They encountered windy conditions and found Lucanus out-fished everything else in the heavy weather. The underwater TV footage showed how the jig excites snapper, but also that they will mouth it and hook themselves quite successfully if left alone to do it. All in all, Lucanus jigs add yet another dimension to fishing options as they can be fished with conventional gear. Best of all for many is that they are another great no-mess artificial bait option that that can be fished where and when Softbaiting is not an option. Every fisherman should add a Lucanus jig to their tackle box and give this intriguing new Japanese method a work-out this summer!