Jerremy Akiyama: 2016 season ends in a bang

At the tail end of the Blackfin season, I got perfect weather conditions to go out. At this time of the year, the weather pattern tends to change and very seldom do we get rough enough weather required for Blackfin fishing.

The rough weather couldn’t have come at a better timing as I needed to test out some new line and tackle.

Note: Best not to fish in such conditions if you want to live to fish again…..

After getting soaked from head to toe, its time to reel in the fish and some serious fishing. On the day, I was out to test the new SUNLINE nylon especially designed for Blackfin. I usually load my tackle with braided line and only on very rare occasions do I utilize the nylon line. There are many arguments as to what is better and why, but I’m not about to go into that….. Well maybe just a little….

As you all probably already know, nylon line stretches significantly more compared to the braided Polyethylene multifilament(PE) lines. Also, the nylon is thicker, more dense and heavier, resulting in less casting distance…..on a spinning reel set up…… Then, all I have to do is load it on to my bait tackle and use a somewhat heavier lure. Casting distance problem, cleared! Stretching problem…. Well, its going to be difficult to clear this issue with the characteristics of the nylon, but trying a thicker line seemed to improved this, enabling me to utilize top water lures without any stress. 

The new Realis pencil popper 110 is ideal for the Blackfin species. With its shallow cup at the mouth of the lure, it grabs the water even in heavy winds preventing it from skipping across the surface. Its also very user friendly and easy to maneuver even for beginners.

Here is the catch of the day and the catch of the season on the new FangOps 120SR. Although its is specified as a SR (Shallow Running) lure, it swims deeper compared to my ordinary line up of lures in my tackle box for Blackfins, which is ideal for heavy conditions with huge swells. It manages to cruise right underneath the thick blanket of whitewash created by the waves.

Thanks to the more stretchy characteristics of the nylon, I was able to land the fish without it causing much of a fuss!

Tackle data:

Lures: DUO, Realis Pencil popper 110, Fang Ops 120SR, etc.
Rod: Ripple fisher, Monster Impact 110HH Bait HIRA model
Reel: Daiwa, Tatula
Line: SUNLINE, Blackfin Nylon 16lb (prototype)
Leader: SUNLINE, System Shock Leader 40lb
Sunglasses: SWANS, Pathway