DAIWA D-MAX Onaga Madai SS Keep #10 (10pcs)

A thick-shaft model suitable for large long-tail fish, red sea bream, black sea bream, and blue fish.
The thick line is designed to be suitable for large long-tailed tuna, red sea bream, and black sea bream that suddenly snatch the bait in the current.
Even if the tuna is swallowed, it has a semi-sleep shape that makes it easy for it to slip and get caught in the mouth when you turn the line.
Sizes 5 to 7 are extremely effective when the tuna is stubborn.
Sakusus specification with amazing penetrating power.
Line lock structure allows the line to be tied securely.

“Hooks that go for the hook” and “hooks that go against the current”
“You hook large fish that bite in the current and make a dash for it by going against the current. Even if it swallows it, it slides through the mouth and gets firmly hooked on the hook. That’s the kind of hook I wanted,” says Uzawa Masanori, explaining the reason for developing the “D-MAX Onaga/Madai SS Keep.” Daiwa’s D-MAX Greyfish series consists of five items: the all-around “Multi,” the “Speed” that emphasizes quick hooking, the “Keep” that emphasizes holding power after the fish is bitten, and the “Power Multi” and “Power Speed” that are thicker versions of the Multi and Speed ​​models. Uzawa is the tester who took the lead in supervising the D-MAX Greyfish series, and he calls all of these “hooks that go against the current.” “All of them are good hooks. If you want to get the fish to bite by using a float or the feel of your hand, you can rotate them depending on the situation. However, I didn’t have a hook that matched the fish that snatch the rod tip in fast currents, like large longfin tuna and red sea bream.” This is a fishing method that involves pulling the rod and getting the fish to bite. In this type of fishing, Uzawa looks for two things in a hook: “a strong pocket that can withstand the pull of a large fish” and “a shape that is not easily swallowed and catches in the fish’s mouth.” The target is a large fish over 60 cm, so a hook that is easily stretched or broken is no good. Longfin tuna is a fish with sharp teeth, and if the hook is swallowed, the line will rub against the teeth and be cut. Red sea bream has hard, thick teeth that are not as sharp as longfin tuna, but if the tip of the hook gets caught on them, it will easily come off. “When longtail and red sea bream grow large, the flesh around their mouths becomes thick. If you want to hook the hook firmly into the hook hook, you need to make sure the pocket is wide enough, otherwise it will slip out. However, when a fish is caught on the hook, stress is applied in the direction of opening, so the wider the pocket, the more likely it is to be stretched. The challenge was how to overcome this issue.”

Uzawa, who is particular about shape and wire material, first focused on the “shape”. A common technique for allowing the hook to slide all the way to the fish’s mouth and be hooked even if it is sucked in deeply is to use a “wrinkled finish” that gently curves the tip of the hook inwards. “How far inward the hook tip is is a matter of degree, and if it is bent too much, it will not hook well. The hook tip of the ‘D-MAX Onaga/Madai SS Keep’ is wrinkled just enough to face the ear. This is the right balance between how hard it is to be swallowed and how well it hooks. By pointing the hook tip towards the ear, the direction of the hooking power has also improved. The force when you hook is transmitted to the hook tip without escaping.” The hook shaft is also set to be slightly longer to prevent it from being swallowed. In the water, the hook sinks with the heavier side (the hook shaft side) facing down. This means that the longer the shaft of the hook, the more stable it will be in the water. When targeting Onaga or Madai, there are many cases where you have to attack strong currents, so the high stability derived from the long shaft is a welcome side effect. In addition, the wire material and manufacturing method of the ‘D-MAX Onaga/Madai SS Keep’ have been reviewed, and we have focused on strength. “I focused on two points, tenacity and resistance to deformation, and made detailed requests regarding the wire material and shaft diameter. The fish I’m aiming for with this hook may be a once-in-a-lifetime big one. I produced it without compromising so that I wouldn’t regret it (laughs).” This “hook that doesn’t lose strength” was supervised by Uzawa, who has tasted many losing battles up until now. It should be reliable in the big battles that matter most.