LIFT AND DROP
Alistair Arkel describes how easy the new Berkley Kachi Kachi Dama jig is to use, and how deadly effective it is on species like snapper.
Lures with a sliding head that detach from the hook set and skirt have been a revelation for anglers chasing snapper in workups and in wintertime – when the fish are sitting deeper and not in active modes. When this style of lure was first coming onto the market, like a lot of new lures, fish could not resist the site of new lure with a unique movement and vibrations. In effect fish climbed all over them and a new style of fishing emerged and is now the benchmark standard way to fish for most of the Hauraki Gulf charter fleet. Fast forward six years and this style of fishing is more popular than ever and we are seeing scores of traditional fisherman who would normally use flasher rigs and cubes of pilchard and squid, switch over to this new lethal style of fishing.
Like all new lures and styles of fishing, once the fish have been presented with the same jig for several seasons, the effectiveness of them starts to wane. The race is now on to create a lure that induces fish to attack in a non-work up situation or when the fish are lethargic and produce a lure that gives the angler the edge over everybody else.
We have also seen a lot of experimenting with colours and from that, there is no question in my mind, that the most effective colours are Black, Orange, Red, and green glow. Of course, every day on the water can be different and it pays to have a selection of colours at your disposal. Over several seasons of fishing in the Hauraki Gulf using sliding lures, those four colours have been the standout performers. In deeper water, I believe a black Lure that puts out the strongest silhouette in the water and appears the most menacing to fish and in turn attracts violent bites from larger Snapper.
The Berkley design team have created something special with the new Kachi Kachi Dama, utilising head that will drop to the bottom fast with two unique features being an additional weight that sits on the hook set. On an 80gm Kachi Kachi, this additional weight is 10g and when you lift the rod in a yo-yo style motion the two weight separate on the drop and then come together with a clang – attracting fish and triggering a predatory style bite in otherwise uninterested fish.
The other cool feature on the Kachi Kachi Dama is the addition of tiny coil that sits in the skirt – which is designed to screw a specially designed Gulp! soft bait into the head of the hook set or you can also squeeze Gulp! Gel into this coil for a similar affect. Now when the fishing is red hot, there is really no need to add any additives into the mix. But when the fish are in post spawn mode and not feeding aggressively, having the ability add in Gulp! to our sliding lure will change a tough at the office into a good day.
Colour utilisation on the Kachi Kachi is excellent with the intimidating black head designed to produce a strong silhouette and the skirts also come in a range of the best colours and of course needle sharp Owner hooks for surgical like penetration.
