A couple of weeks with Gan Craft crew Japan

I have been fortunate enough to spend the last couple of weeks with the great guys from Gan Craft in Japan, it was an absolute honor to conduct some egi talk nights along side the founder and creator of Gan Craft Mr Takanori Hiraiwa, something that I will remember for a long time, although the time went fast as it was a very busy period I had a blast and these guys are great fun to hang with, not only did I learn a thing or 2 about a thing or 2 when it comes to egi but I also learned a bit more Japanese in particular variants in dialects, I learned how to write Japanese calligraphy (kind of) and I learned that Mandurah is not just around the corner from Perth. Long drive for those who have not been to WA before. Met heaps of tackle store people and all in all was a great time. Sadly 2 of our guests had to spend their birthdays away from family and friends so we did what we could to make it feel a bit like home.

I hope they enjoyed their stay and I also hope we can see them back here for the 2011 Yamashita Squid Series 2011 Grand Final in Feb.

Pictures will say more than words so here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

And finally for the guys from Japan "Yanacoi mate!" and thanks for a cracking couple of weeks hanging in Australia.

Yamashita Squid Seies 2011 Gan Craft Round 6

For once in the history of our events we had perfect conditions on both days, light sea breezes, sun shining and more squid than you can poke a stick at. This round was a donation event where teams were asked to contribute a donation to Beyond Blue rather than pay an entry fee to compete, thanks to all who contributed we managed to raise more than $600 for this cause.

Day one saw teams assemble at Quarantine Bay for the 0700 start with mirror conditions in the  harbour, with teams off I hung around at the ramp chatting with a few people curious as to how things work, not more than 20 minutes later I had a phone cal from team Yamashita 1 seeking to take advantage of the early weigh in. Scales out of the car and laptop turned on they were back before the computer even booted up. Bag on scales it pulled down an impressive 1.855kg giving them a cracking start to the day and also giving the other teams reason for concern. The rest of the day was quiet until weigh in.

The Warneet Crew was the first to weigh in closely followed by Team Gladiator while the other teams left it till the final minutes to secure their weights. The Top 3 finished like this

1st Team Gan Craft - Takanori Hiraiwa / Yoshiyuki Iwamoto - 3 squid =2.605kg
2nd Team Yamashita 1 - Dominic Costanza / Glenn McDonnell - 3 Squid = 2.505kg
3rd Team Gladiator - Stephen Blackmore / Andrew Wilson - 3 Squid = 1.625kg

All teams managed to get their bags within the firs few hours having the remainder of the day to upgrade making for interesting competition and any ones event in day 2.


Day 2 saw and almost immediate loss to team Gladiator with boat issues keeping them from starting day 2 leaving the 3rd position open to any one who weighs in, with 1st and second so close there is plenty of room for any one at the top. With similar conditions to day 1 we kicked off the day start. I stuck around for a while in the morning in the off chance that I got another call with a big squid, all quiet on the entrants front I headed in to town for breakfast and to see if I could find a vantage position to see what some of the teams were doing and hopefully with the help of a zoom lens get a few pics.


I returned to the weighing tent at 1200 and had a chance to speak with plenty of locals who were keen to talk about what we were doing, great to see a community get behind an event like this with plenty of people interested in another event in their town.


First team to weigh in was Yamashita 1 with all other teams following in close succession. The final day top 3 finished like this with a cumulative total for the 2 days as follows.

1st Team Gan Craft - Takanori Hiraiwa / Yoshiyuki Iwamoto - 6 squid =5.245kg
2nd Team Yamashita 1 - Dominic Costanza / Glenn McDonnell - 6 Squid = 4.060kg
3rd Warneet Crew - Megan McDonnell / Shane Hutchinson - 6 Squid = 3.215kg

Team Yamashita 1 also took out the Berkley Big Squid Prize with their Day1 early weigh in of 1.855kg.


It should be noted that none of the teams in the top 3 had never fished for squid in Eden prior to the event and some not even in Australia, it is a credit to their skill base and knowledge of all things squid to do as well as they did.


Although not officially announced until the Grand Final Team Yamashita 1 should be congratulated for placing them selves in a position that can not be beaten for Team Of The Year 2011, they had a tough year but managed 2 podium finishes and were able to make it to each and every event on the calender, as the tournament director I thank them for their support and am proud to hand the prize over along with the trophy to the boys. It is a well deserved win and one I know they will be proud of.

Arrived at Eden

Well we are here for the Yamashita Squid Series 2011, Gan Craft Round 5 Eden, was a fairly quick trip all things considered, I did not even start packing until 1130 this morning, very smooth run making it here in just under 6 hours with very little traffic on the roads. After running short on time and some communication issues I arrived on my own to some familiar faces.

Arrived at the accommodation to find a picture perfect view from the room, for a change I actually picked a nice room for us.

For the teams that actually came to the event I hope it is one that is full of success. I have to give credit to Team Yamashita 1, Dom and Glenn have been entered every event and shown up to every event on the calender, they have had a tough run and Dom still made the effort to get here after his home was flooded all through only days before. It is people like this that have really made the event possible hence why I will be so proud to hand over the team of the year prize to them if they complete this weekend's event. Thanks Guys.

Also I found some mini banana's for Mr Iwamoto I hope he enjoys.

To see the Gan Craft staff blogs goto:
Mr Hiraiwa gan-off-style - Takanori Hiraiwa blog - Gan Craft founder and nice bloke
Blood Thirsty - Yoshiyuki Iwamoto blog -Gan Craft Media guru and also nice bloke

More stores and more casting

Mr Hiraiwa at Anglers Bait World

Started off nice an earlyish, Adrew Wilson from Gladiator Tackle and I picked our guests up at about 845 and headed off to visit some stores, started in Coburg at Anglers Bait World where I had recently done a squid talk, the store owners Vince and Mitsul were great hosts as the guys browsed through the store, while we were visiting the store a delivery arrived with a box of Gan Craft jigs to top up the shelf. We also found magazine articles and full page ads for Gan Craft. With a little bit of shopping to be done we finished up an headed for the Caravan Super Centre. This was not only the frst visit here for Gan Craft it was also my first ever visit to the store. Was great experience with lots of stock on the shelves and some of my old faves in the bream lure and rod area. Alan from the store has a good grip on everything in the shop and was a nice bloke too. I will be popping back into the store again in the future when I am in the area, it is a long way from me but I am sure I will be driving past from time to time.

ads in mags

We then ventured over to Hoppers Crossing to catch up with Michael, last year we did a talk at this store so was good to get the guys over to again catch up with Michael, smiles all round and plenty of shopping to be done again, maybe the boys will need to buy some more luggage to get the tackle home from all the store visits. We all know that entering a tackle shop with a wallet can be a dangerous exercise as we will always find something knew we want. I then snuck away for a tick as we had some one who was away from there family and friends and trying to enjoy their birthday, Yuach our friend from Japan turned 30 yesterday so a cake was in order for some small celebrations, with short notice we also arranged some chocky and beer for the evening.

something looks familiar

Big drive now to Hastings in the hope of some successful egingu with Gawaine from Bigtime Fishing Charters. On the way we stopped in at Gone Fishing at Carrum Downs to again catch up with the staff that were so helpful on their last journey. Danny and the boys were great and coffee's were made all round while chatting and browsing through the store. No surprise more shopping also. Gone Fishing started only a few years ago and has tripled in physical size and have multiplied their stock many times over, a very successful store in its short existence.

Mr Hiraiwa, Alan, me and Mr Kake

A quick trip past my place to pick up some fishing gear and a stop off to get some fishing and chips for the guys we were on the way to Hastings, not a lot to report here, after the rain the water temp was 19.5 degrees and the water dirty so egingu was going to be tough. It proved so tough that no squid were landed in the short time we had on the water, sadly the guys have been here now for 3 days and no squid yet, we will have to see what eden turns on for them.

Yuach Birthday Cake

Birthday beer and chocky

mmmmmmmmm Cake

Egi browsing

Michael and the guys looking at pics

nice day to be on the water

Don and Mr Kake at Gone Fishing

Coffee boats and tackle, this is why we smile

Mr Hiraiwa (Gancha)

Store Visits and Casting

Mr Hiraiwa and Mr Kake

Today after letting our friends have a sleep in we met with them in the  city and headed off for a bite to eat. We stopped at the Burvale in Burwood for a feed and watched with interest as the waiter brought a giant Wagyu Beef Burger to the table for Yuki. Yuki is the smallest of the group and the look on his face was priceless when this giant burger hit the table. I also had the big burger it went down a treat. We then headed east and visited a few stores including Compleat Angler Ringwood and Hook up Bait and Tackle. Like all tackle junkies there is always going to be something on the shelf that takes our interest and some items that are designed for Murray Cod fishing here in Australia look like they may find a spot swimming around some of the Large Mouth Bass dams in Japan.

Mr Iwamoto

We then made our way to a dam that had been stocked with Bass, Yellas, Cod and Trout in the hope of getting the boys a few fish, sadly we have experienced some heavy rain in the past few days so upon arrival we noticed the water was a dark mud color, using a fluoro spinner bait we only had about 3 inches below surface visibilty. I knew it was going to be tough and tough it was, lets just say we had plenty of casting practice today which was good because my baitcasting skills are terrible.

We finished the day off with a Chinese Banquet in South Yarra before unloading all of the luggage that had arrived today along with the guys fishing gear a most welcome delivery, we will do it all again tomorrow with store visits and a trip to Hastings where we will venture out with Gawaine Blake from Big Time Fishing Charters for some red hot egi action (touch wood) and then maybe a few snapper.

I even managed to get a cast in

Swimming a few lures in overflow current

Cracking Selection of big baits

We welcome the Gan Craft Crew

Was a great privilege to spend some time today with our friends from Japan, the Crew from Gan Craft, Mr Hiraiwa, Mr. Kake, Mr. Iwamoto and Mr. Kitagawa.

After a long journey on a plane with a couple of stops along the way there is no better way to enjoy the Melbourne sun than sitting outside a Chapel St cafe sharing a cold beer with mates. Although it was a coke for me and a coffee for Mr Hiraiwa. If there is one thing in this world than can work through any language barrier its talking about fishing over a beer. It was good to chat with those who have previously visited and also to meet with those who we have been waiting to hang with. 

A drink in the afternoon also brings a hearty appetite so after a stroll along Chapel St browsing through the shopping precinct we made plans for a feed, off to the Spaghetti Bar known as Chapellis. The waiter was great and thought a bit of aussie food was in order so along with the bread dinner rolls came butter and Vegemite, an aquired taste even for many Australians was interesting to see the reaction of our friends from Japan.

Looking forward to another week or so with the guys from Gan Craft both here in Melbourne and in Perth, talks/seminars are scheduled for 14th and 15th in Melbourne at Fishing Fever in Mordialloc and Nothside Angler in Campbellfield contact the stores for more details. Media inquires can contact me on 0417590547.

The Vegemite

 

 

The Vegemite grin

Yamashita Squid Series 2011, Gan Craft Round 5 Eden NSW

Yamashita Squid Series 2011, Gan Craft Round 5 Eden NSW

This round of the national squid series is a charity event where all proceeds go to the group Beyond Blue, men’s mental health initiative program called ‘The Shed’.

The Shed is one of the many mental health strategies that Beyond Blue have initiated targeted at men and their mental health.

This round is still a qualifying round with the normal $1000 cash prize for 1st and other prizes awarded down the line, qualification for the Grand Final and Lowrance Team of the year points will still be awarded, what makes this event different is that Australian Egi Tournaments will not ask for any entry money, however, each team will be given an    envelope at the event briefing where a donation to the amount of the teams choice will be placed in the envelope as a donation to Beyond Blues ’The Shed’, no questions will be asked about the amounts and no minimum amount is expected.

For entry forms and competition rules please go to www.australianegitournaments.com.au, for teams entering that wish to lodge forms on the briefing evening please email me with your team details paul@australianegitournaments.com.au. All media or competition enquiries, please    contact Tournaments Director Paul Carter 0417590547 at any time

Event Briefing and registration will take place at the Eden Amateur Fish Club Clubhouse

At 2000pm on Friday the 1th November 2011, we will be on site from 0700 to take late entries, please bring your fishing licence with you and all entry details

Williamstown Sportfishing and Game Club Talk

For the first time ever I last week ventured down to the Altona boat ramp, although tame I can see where it would get crazy from time to time, this is the location of the  Williamstown Sportfishing and Game Club who share the Hobsons Bay Angling Club rooms. This area is known to many as the Snapper capitol of Victoria and is also know for its many accessible location to big squid a little further south. Have been to plenty of clubs in the last 6 months doing squid talks and have heard heaps  about the stereotypical angling club stale environment, can I say I have yet to see it and this club is no exception to the rule. People from all walks of life and age in a setting overlooking the bay at Altona made for a very comfortable setting both for me and the members of the club, although not too comfortable as no one fell asleep during the talk so something must have been right. Had great feeback from members at the club and again it was great to get pounded with questions from all members at the club, it means that people are genuinely interested in what we are doing and heps of people taking their gear out to chase squid waving rods around like harry potter casting spells. I never tire of these talks I meet some brilliant people and have the chance to inspire others to go out and try some of what we talk about. Big thanks to Williamstown Sportfishing and Game Club for the invite I look forward to visiting the club at another time in the future.

Anglers Bait World Coburg Seminar

Was great to be invited by the guys at Anglers Bait World in Coburg to conduct a squid seminar in the store, Anglers Bait World is a relatively young store that started off as a bulk bait supplier to the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne and has progressed into a well stocked store with a great bunch of regular customers.


Traditionally people from this neck of the woods are from a demographic that do not freely embrace new information or techniques, was suprised to see how many people turn up to see what the big deal was about. After a few snags from the BBQ put on by the store all seats were full and it was standing room only time to get things under way. People were fixed on the projection screen while small clips from around the world showing egingu techniques.

The staffed kicked it off with a very warm welcome and a head swelling introduction and then we got down to squid. I really enjoyed this one with lots of questions and comments from all and I look forward to the next time I visit the store, the people were very kind and full of compliments again glad that people are getting something from our talks.



Big thanks to Vince and Mitsul for the invite and to all that made me feel welcome. Was great to put some names to facebook faces and to catch up with people from some of the angling clubs that I have visited over the years doing both egi and soft plastics talks. Also thanks to Gladiator Tackle for donating a few Gan Craft Egi-Jya and Uo-Jya egi to give away. As always its a big buzz to see the kids smiling at the end of the talks when they have a few new toys to take home.

For those interested in visiting the store they can be found at :
Cnr Gaffney and McDonalds St
Coburg North VIC 3058

Phone: (03) 9350 2130

Talking Squid at the BSGFC

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend an evening with some real seasoned fisho's at the Bass Strait Game Fishing Club in Hastings, was a nice intimate chat with about 35 people present talking all things squid before they held there annual family day 'Squid Off' always good to talk with people keen to understand new techniques and styles and also hear the stories of some of the monster squid that have been caught both in Western Port and offshore in Bass Strait. Had heaps of time up my sleeve on this one so I was able to do a full presentation with video and practical demonstrations on how a good egi compares with a cheap one. Big thanks to the club for the invite and Dale McClellend and Daron Proudloc for the help getting all my crap out of the car. This club is one that if any one is considering doing any game fishing in Victoria they should be a member of, looking at the members here there is a lot of game fishing experience in their members and massive amount of records held by club members, so if you are considering getting into game fishing or are a seasoned game fisho who is looking at meeting with other game fisho's that have plenty of experience give em a bell at secretary@bassstraitgamefishingclub.com or check out their website http://bassstraitgamefishingclub.com.

Color selection chart

Clint attempting to pull apart a Gan Craft Egi-Jya that has been used and me pulling apart a new out of the box egi with ease