Capt. G / Pacific Rim Specialist
Winter Hamachi (Japanese Yellowtail) Jigging
Jan. 26 2010, 1:14 PM
Jan. 26 2010, 1:14 PM
Winter Hamachi (Japanese Yellowtail) Jigging
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
As we left the harbor,
it was a little bumpy, but the swell would decrease throughout the day--completely the opposite of the weather report.
The captain recommended we use smaller jigs,
as the bait in the area was small. He recommended jigs from 3 to 5 ounces, and we had plenty in every color.
We ran about an hour north of the harbor, and set up on some rocky pinnacles in 35 fathoms.
We were targeting hamachi, and we were soon getting bit on each drift.
Hamachi are Japanese yellowtail, that are rich in oil content, and prized for sashimi and sushi. I am told the hamachi is also a popular fish on the menu of many sushi bars in California.
We also caught some sawara, which looks similar to the sierra that I catch in Mexico.
It was the first time my son, Nico, tried jigging, and he caught the only sawara
on the boat that day, and a few hamachi as well.
In the afternoon, the weather really calmed down, and I was able to use a small (2-oz) jig on my light rod
and catch half a dozen hamachi on the light rig.
The fish were eating the sardine color best, followed by pink/pearl white. When the fish stopped biting, the captain recommended we change colors, and or style of jig, and this type of rotation seemed to work well.
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