The first time I saw the Lucanus jigs at my local tackle shop, I was like WOAH! It's a weird and alien looking jig. Awesome paint scheme! Equipped with two puny assist hooks, and rubbery skirts. Surely the weirdest looking jig/lure I've seen on planet earth! But in my mind, it'll most likely hook more anglers than fish. A skeptic at first! Before I plunk down my hard earned jingles, I decided to do a bit of research. It turned out this is another product of Japanese ingenuity. By far the best tackle and fishing gadget designer and producer in the world. If you've been to a tackle shop in Japan, you know what I mean. Some of their fishing gadgets you'll need a tech manual to figure out how it works. A design based from jigs used by Japanese commercial fisherman to catch bottom dwellers. A jig recommended to be fished slowly with an up and down motion, and just reel-in slowly when you see the tap-tap-tap on your rod tip. Armed with these info, I decided to give it a try and picked-up a couple. To increase the chances of hookups, I decided to tip the hooks with cut squid. Visual presentation coupled with some scent trail would surely entice more fish. On our first outing, I was extremely impressed with the results. We were getting hookups instantly at every drop. Even the the one we didn't tip with squid strips was consistent. Double hookups were common. The Lucanus is one deadly jig! I've hooked all sorts of fish with it--sand bass, rockfish, halibut, sand dabs (flounder), sharks, lingcod, ocean whitefish, grouper, etc... My wife even caught a huge humboldt squid with it in Cabo San Lucas. Folks have even reported catching yellowtails and mahi-mahi with it; amazing! The only cons about this jig are: 1) It's prone to snagging especially when fishing rocky structures. 2) The skirt easily gets destroyed and you'll need to replace it. 3) The hook size is not strong enough if hooked to a monster. I've had one monster hookup that got away because one of the assist hooks broke. Now, I always change the assist hooks to a bigger size if I think there's a possibility a big one might take the jig on my fishing trips. Other than that, the Lucanus is indeed a constant producer; a skunk avoider, a deadly jig. Loads of fun jigging with it. A jig you certainly want to add in your tackle box on your next fishing trip. Fish on!
The big one that got away!
Rigging the Lucanus
Lucanus Fishing Technique
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