Hello!
This is Kamimura from Hitotoki Works.
Following on from last time, here's another story about lure development to make up for the time I've been slacking off on.
In the previous blog, we worked on creating the ideal action with a machined body in order to move on to an injection prototype.
Now that we have finally created the ideal action, we are moving on to the injection development stage.
Transition to injection body
For the injection model, I really wanted to include a scaly pattern, which is a personal favorite of mine, so I used that!
The finished product looks like this.
With injection, the finish is instantly improved and it looks even cooler!!
We conducted the first tests in a nearby river, and we estimate that the project is about 70% complete.
Testing during the Iwate expedition
Without any time to make adjustments, we set off on an expedition to Iwate.
After exchanging greetings with the local builder who had invited me to the event, I asked him to be my guide.
He took us to the Tono area, where we encountered many yamame trout.
We caught a lovely sized yamame trout right at the start.
I was thrilled to see that this was the Iwate Yamame trout I had always dreamed of.
I ended up fishing in an area with strong currents, typical of the Tohoku region, but the IGNA's sliding action was a perfect fit!
In the end, we caught some nice sized fish and it was a great day.
September test in Hokkaido
After the Tohoku event, there will be an event in Hokkaido.
If you go to Hokkaido, you definitely want to try fishing!
We arrived two days before the event and on the day before went to the Sorachi River system in search of rainbow trout.
Apparently this is the time of year when rainbow trout are on the move, so even though I have no information at all, I wonder if I'll be able to catch one around here?
With this in mind, I glanced at Google Maps and chose a spot.
With no information on fishing spots, the fish were not very responsive, and Hokkaido in September was indeed a tough time.
Even in such conditions, I managed to come across some char when I entered a narrow stream.
After that, I continued fishing in the main stream of the Sorachi River, but the fish continued to be sluggish.
Miraculously, a char over 30cm long came along to play, but I was left wondering where the rainbow trout had gone.
Although we went into various tributaries, there was no sign of any fish, let alone rainbow trout, and before we knew it, it was already evening.
I was wondering whether I should stop fishing, but as I headed towards the hotel I decided to head to the tributary that I had my sights on!
Amidst bear footprints and a strong animal smell, we soon started chasing what appeared to be rainbow trout!
When I took the IGNA through the same course again, I heard a loud noise from the drag!
"Ziiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
What came up was a good-sized rainbow trout.
I was so happy to have finally found it, and it was a truly delightful experience.
Hokkaido 2nd day fishing trip
The event held in Sapporo ended successfully.
I left the after-party after the event and headed straight to Asahikawa.
We arrived in Asahikawa just after 2am.
After just a quick nap, I met up with Asahikawa angler MASA at 5am.
I invited him at short notice the day before, and miraculously he got the day off from work, so we decided to have him guide us around the rivers near Asahikawa.
The day before the event, we weren't able to see any rainbow trout...
I begged Masa to let me catch rainbow trout that day.
The area where Masa had hit the fish the day before was tough, but from the exit point onwards it was a feeding frenzy.
Masa-san also showed his skill and got it quickly!!
If we catch a lot of fish, we also want good-sized fish.
Human greed is a terrible thing...
Moving to a slightly larger stream.
Thanks to the rain, we had some nice sized rainbow trout playing around with us, making super jumps!
At my favorite white color IGNA ↓
And finally, a nice-sized silver rainbow.
It was actually a Hourai Mass!!
The Hourai trout was also in Hokkaido! (^^)!
On to the final adjustments
In addition to trips to Iwate and Hokkaido, repeated testing was done in local rivers, and clear areas for correction were identified.
The head movement is weak when performing small actions.
To fix this, we decided to slightly change the shape of the lip.
Changing the lip shape also takes time as the mold needs to be modified.
Finally, the mold corrections are complete and we move on to making adjustments again.
I went to the site with three different types, each with a slightly different position of the front eye.
Just a slight change in the shape of the lip has added sharpness to the action.
The action I had envisioned was finally completed at the end of September.
We managed to complete it in time for the stream season.
Once the action is complete, we then need to move on to color design, packaging design, and other aspects in preparation for commercialization.
I hope to create a unique design that is characteristic of Hitotoki Works, rather than a run-of-the-mill design, so please look forward to my next blog post (>_<)