ecofreak

Folks a while ago I said I would post when I was heading over to your neck of the woods to do a squid talk, Bruce from Ray and Annes was kind enough to invite me over on the 9th of November, so the 9th it is I will be talking about squid in general and techniques for squid fishing, if you need any further information please contact the store on 8240 0410 or visit the web page for store details.Thanks see you all soon.

Folks a while ago I said I would post when I was heading over to your neck of the woods to do a squid talk, Bruce from Ray and Annes was kind enough to invite me over on the 9th of November, so the 9th it is I will be talking about squid in general and techniques for squid fishing, if you need any further information please contact the store on 8240 0410 or visit the web page for store details.Thanks see you all soon.

Folks a while ago I said I would post when I was heading over to your neck of the woods to do a squid talk, Bruce from Ray and Annes was kind enough to invite me over on the 9th of November, so the 9th it is I will be talking about squid in general and techniques for squid fishing, if you need any further information please contact the store on 8240 0410 or visit the web page for store details.Thanks see you all soon.

Kiemura has been around for a long time, Shimano just branded it.The UV element works well on egi because squid can only see 2 colors, black and white, however, they can see 3 of the 6 UV spectrum's that we can not so the use of UV Cloths is used to make the egi more desirable to the squid, looking at some of the other evergreen egi you will actually see different shapes and patterns on the egi rather than a glow, things that we can not see but things that the squid can see, gives it a 3rd dimension so to speak.

Kiemura has been around for a long time, Shimano just branded it.The UV element works well on egi because squid can only see 2 colors, black and white, however, they can see 3 of the 6 UV spectrum's that we can not so the use of UV Cloths is used to make the egi more desirable to the squid, looking at some of the other evergreen egi you will actually see different shapes and patterns on the egi rather than a glow, things that we can not see but things that the squid can see, gives it a 3rd dimension so to speak.

Southern Calamari or Sepioteuthis australis lieves for 320 to 380 days depending on environmental factors and the ability to spawn, the southern Calamari will only spawn once or maybe twice in its life with the male outlasting the females in longevity after a physically demanding spawn, the males will live as long as it takes to protect the eggs once laid on heavy vegetation. The males will only feed on food that comes into direct contact with them while protecting eggs and will rarely leave the eggs unattended until they them selves die. While I was studying this subject at uni it was noticed that the males will live approx 8 weeks longer than the females and more often than not will die before the eggs hatch. Most squid are not sedentary and will travel vastly in their life time, they grow at approx double their size every 4 weeks to an average of 50cm maximum. There have been some Southern calamari that have grown in excess of 60cm mantles but they are very rare as these squid live in open water and are targets of all manner of prey including their cousins the arrow squid. This does not mean that they have lived longer in order to reach these sizes, rather its an indication of the squid that has a protein based body working harder to maintain buoyancy and movement, its a bit like us going to the gym every day, we build our muscles bigger with more work and bigger diet.

Southern Calamari or Sepioteuthis australis lieves for 320 to 380 days depending on environmental factors and the ability to spawn, the southern Calamari will only spawn once or maybe twice in its life with the male outlasting the females in longevity after a physically demanding spawn, the males will live as long as it takes to protect the eggs once laid on heavy vegetation. The males will only feed on food that comes into direct contact with them while protecting eggs and will rarely leave the eggs unattended until they them selves die. While I was studying this subject at uni it was noticed that the males will live approx 8 weeks longer than the females and more often than not will die before the eggs hatch. Most squid are not sedentary and will travel vastly in their life time, they grow at approx double their size every 4 weeks to an average of 50cm maximum. There have been some Southern calamari that have grown in excess of 60cm mantles but they are very rare as these squid live in open water and are targets of all manner of prey including their cousins the arrow squid. This does not mean that they have lived longer in order to reach these sizes, rather its an indication of the squid that has a protein based body working harder to maintain buoyancy and movement, its a bit like us going to the gym every day, we build our muscles bigger with more work and bigger diet.

Southern Calamari or Sepioteuthis australis lieves for 320 to 380 days depending on environmental factors and the ability to spawn, the southern Calamari will only spawn once or maybe twice in its life with the male outlasting the females in longevity after a physically demanding spawn, the males will live as long as it takes to protect the eggs once laid on heavy vegetation. The males will only feed on food that comes into direct contact with them while protecting eggs and will rarely leave the eggs unattended until they them selves die. While I was studying this subject at uni it was noticed that the males will live approx 8 weeks longer than the females and more often than not will die before the eggs hatch. Most squid are not sedentary and will travel vastly in their life time, they grow at approx double their size every 4 weeks to an average of 50cm maximum. There have been some Southern calamari that have grown in excess of 60cm mantles but they are very rare as these squid live in open water and are targets of all manner of prey including their cousins the arrow squid. This does not mean that they have lived longer in order to reach these sizes, rather its an indication of the squid that has a protein based body working harder to maintain buoyancy and movement, its a bit like us going to the gym every day, we build our muscles bigger with more work and bigger diet.

Southern Calamari or Sepioteuthis australis lieves for 320 to 380 days depending on environmental factors and the ability to spawn, the southern Calamari will only spawn once or maybe twice in its life with the male outlasting the females in longevity after a physically demanding spawn, the males will live as long as it takes to protect the eggs once laid on heavy vegetation. The males will only feed on food that comes into direct contact with them while protecting eggs and will rarely leave the eggs unattended until they them selves die. While I was studying this subject at uni it was noticed that the males will live approx 8 weeks longer than the females and more often than not will die before the eggs hatch. Most squid are not sedentary and will travel vastly in their life time, they grow at approx double their size every 4 weeks to an average of 50cm maximum. There have been some Southern calamari that have grown in excess of 60cm mantles but they are very rare as these squid live in open water and are targets of all manner of prey including their cousins the arrow squid. This does not mean that they have lived longer in order to reach these sizes, rather its an indication of the squid that has a protein based body working harder to maintain buoyancy and movement, its a bit like us going to the gym every day, we build our muscles bigger with more work and bigger diet.

Something to note and a snippet from one of my squid articles:Unlike scale and skin fish squid do not breath by passing water through a gill system, although they do have a singular gill located inside the mantle most oxygen is absorbed directly through the skin as the squids blood passes very close to the outer membrane of the flesh, up to 80% of the squids required oxygen is absorbed in this way, this is why squid die quickly if they cannot get fresh recirculated water, squid ink contains melanin that blocks the pores that sit below the outer membrane reducing the ability of squid to take in oxygen from water. Squid do have scent pits that sit below the eye cavity but as they do not filter water through this gland they are not effective unless the scent is directly placed onto the pits, squid do have ability to taste though, like a human tongue they have glands very similar to taste buds on their candles (longer tentacles). Squid do extend these candles close to a potential food source to check its taste or safe eating properties, this is why many people use scents on egi so that if a squid does extend its candles to taste an egi it is more likely to return to grab the egi in a full embrace.So in short squid dont smell as a general rule and can not detect scent from a distance, but when they extend their candles they will get a taste if they get close enough.

Something to note and a snippet from one of my squid articles:Unlike scale and skin fish squid do not breath by passing water through a gill system, although they do have a singular gill located inside the mantle most oxygen is absorbed directly through the skin as the squids blood passes very close to the outer membrane of the flesh, up to 80% of the squids required oxygen is absorbed in this way, this is why squid die quickly if they cannot get fresh recirculated water, squid ink contains melanin that blocks the pores that sit below the outer membrane reducing the ability of squid to take in oxygen from water. Squid do have scent pits that sit below the eye cavity but as they do not filter water through this gland they are not effective unless the scent is directly placed onto the pits, squid do have ability to taste though, like a human tongue they have glands very similar to taste buds on their candles (longer tentacles). Squid do extend these candles close to a potential food source to check its taste or safe eating properties, this is why many people use scents on egi so that if a squid does extend its candles to taste an egi it is more likely to return to grab the egi in a full embrace.So in short squid dont smell as a general rule and can not detect scent from a distance, but when they extend their candles they will get a taste if they get close enough.

Something to note and a snippet from one of my squid articles:Unlike scale and skin fish squid do not breath by passing water through a gill system, although they do have a singular gill located inside the mantle most oxygen is absorbed directly through the skin as the squids blood passes very close to the outer membrane of the flesh, up to 80% of the squids required oxygen is absorbed in this way, this is why squid die quickly if they cannot get fresh recirculated water, squid ink contains melanin that blocks the pores that sit below the outer membrane reducing the ability of squid to take in oxygen from water. Squid do have scent pits that sit below the eye cavity but as they do not filter water through this gland they are not effective unless the scent is directly placed onto the pits, squid do have ability to taste though, like a human tongue they have glands very similar to taste buds on their candles (longer tentacles). Squid do extend these candles close to a potential food source to check its taste or safe eating properties, this is why many people use scents on egi so that if a squid does extend its candles to taste an egi it is more likely to return to grab the egi in a full embrace.So in short squid dont smell as a general rule and can not detect scent from a distance, but when they extend their candles they will get a taste if they get close enough.

I had a similar experience in my previous marriage, hence previous marriage. I found that far to often the strings were being pulled in the puppeteers favor.When I met my current partner I expressed from day one my love for fishing and the potential time that fishing will take away from the relationship, if that was going to become an issue in our relationship then I would have ended it way back when. I do not drink and spend my time not fishing or working with the family so my puppeteer is happy in the fact that I do not spend my nights at the pub with the boys.I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people in the world with understanding that my current partner shows when it comes to fishing, she also loves to fish which helps in some part however with a chronic injury limiting her ability to come with me. I dont mind her coming along but not on all trips as like urhookedfish its a mate-ship time or time for ones self.

In part you are right, any monkey can catch a squid, how many can catch big squid often when there are also small squid around, as far as not being a catch and release species they release fine, I have released more than 3000 in 2 years and will release many more, answer to why buy a specialized squid outfit, the same reason why you needed a specialized bream or whiting rod. In days gone I remember the arguments on many forums about why people should get a carbon fibre rod when the black queen solid glass rod works fine. If advancement in the sport has not and will not occur then ask your self, why am I not fishing with a handline with cat gut line a hook and a fillet of pilchard for bream? I already know what the answer will be so I will pre empt a response We all learn new techniques and over time things change to make our sport more enjoyable and more successful, if not for change we would all still be stalking fish with a spear.Squid do learn and as the numbers decrease they will become harder to catch, when that happens and every one complains because they can not catch a squid I will look back on this post as an I told you so event, you do not have to spend millions on outfits, however understanding how a jig is designed to work and how they were designed will give you an understanding of why specialized equipment is required. our squid are still relatively naive as we have only been targeting them as a consumer or commercial species for 40 years, the last 5 years has seen a boom in the numbers of squid caught. Sorry if education and understanding was something that I thought bettered us as anglers

Thought I would put in my 2 bobs worth as I have been quoted here and been called a liar by some.I am sure that no one is aware but it was me that did the seminars in the Melbourne tackle stores along with 2 egi (squid jig) designers from a company called Gan Craft in Japan.In part I agree that you should not get caught up in the hype that is egi, many Australian distributors have tried to jump on the bandwagon by selling egi rods, however, to date I have only been able to find 6 egi rods available in Australia and none have been mentioned here. This leaves us with the problem of anglers picking up a so called egi rod and not being able to find a difference in feel or response to a bream rod. The reason for this is that there is no difference in the so called egi rods branded by many companies in Australia other than low ride guides.Egi rods have upwards or 3 separate tapers in the rod to give the rod a whip action, as you know with a whip you need to get the tip of the whip to move faster than the handle to get the whip to crack, the same goes for egi rods, they are designed to make the tip speed faster than the but section by combining tapers that will gear the tip to a faster speed with the action imparted by the angler. So dont be sucked in by marketing.Egi (squid jigs) has only been in Australia for approx 40 years, it has been in Japan for 400, how dare we question if it is a hype or fad, as far as the true egi market is concerned all fishing in Australia is a fad or hype as it has not been going as long as egi fishing itself, also one of the biggest reason why it is hard to get a lot of stock out of Japan, Australian fisho's are ignorant to new methods and styles, we call people idiots and liars when we dont understand something. Can any one remember 15 years ago when plastics came on to the market in Australia, every one said they were a fad and would not last and they dont work, I remember as a kid on the pier casting plastics around and being laughed at, now whos laughing, the very same people who would have been laughing at me prob have a few packs of placcy's in their fishing arsenal.Why in Australia do we dismiss something new as crap and hype??????????????Anyway thanks for posting up the info from my talks in Melbourne I am sure that some will get something from it, those who reckon its crap and are still fishing with handlines will always say that new stuff is crap and will always fish bait for snapper too, you can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.As far as a person (egimaster) being able to outfish a person with a normal (bream outfit) I do not consider myself an egi master, but using the newer techniques I have learned from fishing with lure makers from Japan (Yamashita, Ecogear, Gancraft and megabass) I can now with confidence out fish most of my mates who do not fish with the techniques I fish, it is not a rod that makes a difference, it is the many combined items that make a difference and no I can not do what I do the same with a bream rod as I can with an egi rod, I have tried this and have broken 1 T-curve, 1 Samurai reaction and 1 nitro but trying to fish the same action.

Thought I would put in my 2 bobs worth as I have been quoted here and been called a liar by some.I am sure that no one is aware but it was me that did the seminars in the Melbourne tackle stores along with 2 egi (squid jig) designers from a company called Gan Craft in Japan.In part I agree that you should not get caught up in the hype that is egi, many Australian distributors have tried to jump on the bandwagon by selling egi rods, however, to date I have only been able to find 6 egi rods available in Australia and none have been mentioned here. This leaves us with the problem of anglers picking up a so called egi rod and not being able to find a difference in feel or response to a bream rod. The reason for this is that there is no difference in the so called egi rods branded by many companies in Australia other than low ride guides.Egi rods have upwards or 3 separate tapers in the rod to give the rod a whip action, as you know with a whip you need to get the tip of the whip to move faster than the handle to get the whip to crack, the same goes for egi rods, they are designed to make the tip speed faster than the but section by combining tapers that will gear the tip to a faster speed with the action imparted by the angler. So dont be sucked in by marketing.Egi (squid jigs) has only been in Australia for approx 40 years, it has been in Japan for 400, how dare we question if it is a hype or fad, as far as the true egi market is concerned all fishing in Australia is a fad or hype as it has not been going as long as egi fishing itself, also one of the biggest reason why it is hard to get a lot of stock out of Japan, Australian fisho's are ignorant to new methods and styles, we call people idiots and liars when we dont understand something. Can any one remember 15 years ago when plastics came on to the market in Australia, every one said they were a fad and would not last and they dont work, I remember as a kid on the pier casting plastics around and being laughed at, now whos laughing, the very same people who would have been laughing at me prob have a few packs of placcy's in their fishing arsenal.Why in Australia do we dismiss something new as crap and hype??????????????Anyway thanks for posting up the info from my talks in Melbourne I am sure that some will get something from it, those who reckon its crap and are still fishing with handlines will always say that new stuff is crap and will always fish bait for snapper too, you can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.As far as a person (egimaster) being able to outfish a person with a normal (bream outfit) I do not consider myself an egi master, but using the newer techniques I have learned from fishing with lure makers from Japan (Yamashita, Ecogear, Gancraft and megabass) I can now with confidence out fish most of my mates who do not fish with the techniques I fish, it is not a rod that makes a difference, it is the many combined items that make a difference and no I can not do what I do the same with a bream rod as I can with an egi rod, I have tried this and have broken 1 T-curve, 1 Samurai reaction and 1 nitro but trying to fish the same action.

Thought I would put in my 2 bobs worth as I have been quoted here and been called a liar by some.I am sure that no one is aware but it was me that did the seminars in the Melbourne tackle stores along with 2 egi (squid jig) designers from a company called Gan Craft in Japan.In part I agree that you should not get caught up in the hype that is egi, many Australian distributors have tried to jump on the bandwagon by selling egi rods, however, to date I have only been able to find 6 egi rods available in Australia and none have been mentioned here. This leaves us with the problem of anglers picking up a so called egi rod and not being able to find a difference in feel or response to a bream rod. The reason for this is that there is no difference in the so called egi rods branded by many companies in Australia other than low ride guides.Egi rods have upwards or 3 separate tapers in the rod to give the rod a whip action, as you know with a whip you need to get the tip of the whip to move faster than the handle to get the whip to crack, the same goes for egi rods, they are designed to make the tip speed faster than the but section by combining tapers that will gear the tip to a faster speed with the action imparted by the angler. So dont be sucked in by marketing.Egi (squid jigs) has only been in Australia for approx 40 years, it has been in Japan for 400, how dare we question if it is a hype or fad, as far as the true egi market is concerned all fishing in Australia is a fad or hype as it has not been going as long as egi fishing itself, also one of the biggest reason why it is hard to get a lot of stock out of Japan, Australian fisho's are ignorant to new methods and styles, we call people idiots and liars when we dont understand something. Can any one remember 15 years ago when plastics came on to the market in Australia, every one said they were a fad and would not last and they dont work, I remember as a kid on the pier casting plastics around and being laughed at, now whos laughing, the very same people who would have been laughing at me prob have a few packs of placcy's in their fishing arsenal.Why in Australia do we dismiss something new as crap and hype??????????????Anyway thanks for posting up the info from my talks in Melbourne I am sure that some will get something from it, those who reckon its crap and are still fishing with handlines will always say that new stuff is crap and will always fish bait for snapper too, you can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.As far as a person (egimaster) being able to outfish a person with a normal (bream outfit) I do not consider myself an egi master, but using the newer techniques I have learned from fishing with lure makers from Japan (Yamashita, Ecogear, Gancraft and megabass) I can now with confidence out fish most of my mates who do not fish with the techniques I fish, it is not a rod that makes a difference, it is the many combined items that make a difference and no I can not do what I do the same with a bream rod as I can with an egi rod, I have tried this and have broken 1 T-curve, 1 Samurai reaction and 1 nitro but trying to fish the same action.

this is an exerpt from a night held at a tackle shop in melbourne.Here in Oz 'Egi' fishing is still in it's relative infancy. Yeah some guys have been fishing with the old bait spikes attached to hand lines for years but the real art of 'Egi fishing', that we are only just starting to explore, is still a relatively new phenomenon here in Australia.In Japan the history of 'Egi Fishing' goes back more than 400 years, so they do have the odd tip or two to pass on.Here in Oz we account for only about 0.3% of the world's tackle industry, so the amount of gear Gan Craft ship to Australia is a drop in the ocean, however we are the only country in the world that these Gan Craft guys have visited with the specific aim of holding information/teaching sessions. Such is the respect the Japanese Egi fishing community holds for our fishery.'Egi' or as we know em 'Squid' generally account for over 60% of the world's marine biomass. So they are incredibly abundant, & Australia is THE single biggest squid biomass area in the world. This means we have undoubtably the world's #1 squid fishery, right here on our door step.Gan Craft are committed to creating top quality Egying gear & are using Australia extensively as a testing ground for their gear. Although we are a drop in the bucket of world fishing gear sales the Gan Craft gear we have access to is the very best available anywhere in the world today.The guys started out with the obvious - Rods.Now Egi rods are not just souped up bream rods. Until these guys started going into the specifics of Egi rod design I was totally unaware of just how complex these quality pieces are. It's not hard to see why their top range Egi rods have price tags of around the $700 mark. The style of fishing the Gan Craft guys are pioneering with their gear calls for tough but light weight & extremely well balanced gear. Try ripping a jig through the water the way these guys do, with a normal bream rod & you are pretty much guaranteed to end up with a hand full of rod pieces. In Japan Egi fishing is extremely competitive. They have a very large population that accounts for over 30% of the world's Egi tackle sales, so to be successful requires that your gear stand out from the rest. Squid are quite intelligent & will quickly learn that the last 10,000 times they saw a particular jig swimming around them one of their mates was ripped from the water, so they WILL learn to avoid items they have seen many times before. Hence the Gan Craft guys are constantly trying to develop new gear & techniqies that will 'stand out from the crowd' so to speak . Egi Fishing report - Part 2.The Gan Craft method involves using an extremely aggressive rod action to litterally rip the jigs through the water, followed by long pauses to allow the Egi to pounce. Squid are sight hunters & as such the 1st thing an Egi fisherman needs to do is get their attention. Hence the new generation of jigs we are seeing today & the very agressive way they are fished. However, it's actually when the jig is paused that the squid strike, so the pause is just as important, if not more so, than the 'ripping'. Gan Craft jigs are intricatly engineered to float/sink in a very natural & enticing manner. Squid do not 'taste' their food with their mouth as most other animals we know do. Their brain is a circular oragan through which passes their eaosophageus. Pressure on the brain renders the squid quite tepid & so food needs to pass into their gut reasonably fast. Hence squid actually 'taste' with their mantles (the 2 longest tentackles). Often when a jig is free falling through the water a squid will tap at it with it's mantles in order to 'taste' the item prior to actually biting.Egi JigsGan Craft make basically 2 types of jigs. A smooth version without any cloth covering & a cloth covered version (no way am I going to try to pronounce their correct names). When a jig is ripped through the water the 1st 'rip' lifts the jig. The 2nd,3rd,4th, etc actually serve to make the jig swerve from side to side. The jig is then paused before the process is then repeated. Aggressively ripping the jig through the water emphasizes this 'swerving' manner & is very good at attracting a squid's attention. When the jig is paused the squid then strikes. Due to greater water resistence a cloth type jig will travel slower & hence fall slower & swerve through a wider arc. The smooth jigs are faster, fall quicker, & swerve through a narrower arc. 'Horses for courses' or choices for conditions I 'spose.Colours - pretty obvious actually. Squid really only see in two colours - black & white. So why all the lovely colours we see on the tackle shop shelves? Because different colours reflect light differently. Reflect more light & you stand a better chance of attracting a squid. Having said that squid aint just gonna pounce on a piece of discarded cigarette packet foil either. The jig needs to be pretty convincing in regard to 'matching the hatch'. Squid want food & those big eyes are pretty good at determining if something looks like what they normally eat or not. Dark colours present better silhouettes. So the usual choice is dark for a good silhouette or light to better attract their attention. It all depends on the clarity of water, depth you are fishing in, & light conditions on the day. There is no right or wrong answer, just tried & tested 'winners' found through experience.Weight? Well here in Australia traditonally most people have opted for very light jigs in the 2-2.5 oz range.Elsewhere in the world, & partiucluarly in Japan, these weights are unheard of. Why? Well a big squid will look for big food. There's more of him to feed. But a small squid can also just as easilly feed on a large baitfish, so bigger is definitely better. Large jigs are easier to see than small ones & whilst a small squid will still attack a large jig, rarerly will a large squid attack a small jig. The Japanese use 3.4 to4oz jigs almost exclusively. Having said that they also generally fish deeper then we do. Most of their 'Egying' is carried out in waters of 6-8 metres or more, whereas we often chase squid in 1-3 metres. 3.5 to 4oz jigs can sink just a touch too fast in these waters, especially if they are of the non-cloth covered variety. Their recommendation is to use jigs of around 3-3.5oz for the majority of our situations, going up to 3.5-4oz for deeper waters. Gan Craft do not make jigs of less than 3.0oz.Reels?Only 1 size here - 2500. Anything bigger is going to seriously unbalance what needs to be a very balanced outfit, if the Gan Craft method of aggressive 'ripping' is used. 1000 size reels just dont have the retreval rate necessary to keep up with the agressive ripping either. So 2500 size reels are used almost exclusively with ratios oif 5.7:1 an absolute minimum & 5.9 to 6.1 ratios preferred. Drags are pretty tight to cope with the 'ripping'techique & can be quickly backed off if a larger 'Egi' strikes. It is also important to note that very agressive striking of the rod is also recommended when a squid strikes.Often the squid will grab at the body of the jig & not striking hard enough will often see the squid let go before it can be hooked. So, the Japanese guys say - STRIKE HARD.Lines?PE1 to PE3 (10-20lb on average) is the norm with top qaulity an absolute must. 'Ripping' puts a lot of strain on the line & anything that is less than top quality will quickly wear & break under the ripping action. 'Egi' rods are also capable of casting these light weight jigs extremely long distances. They often leave 2-3 feet of line dangling from the rod tip as they really load up the rod big time for these long casts., Rod tip speeds with these rods are increadible.Leaders are also exclusively flurocarbon & usually around the 8-14lb range. Length - aprox' 1.5 to 2 times rod length.It's important to note that the guys recommend that when the rod is rested & ready to cast the knot joining leader to line must not be on the reel spool.Knots uses - for joining leader to main line the FG knot is by far the most favoured. There are plenty of examples of how to tie this knot on the internet, particularly on 'YouTube'.Terminal knots? Well these can vary. If the jig has a fixed eye then the line is tied hard to the eye with a uni knot.However, if the eye is a swivelling type (as found on Gan Craft's non-cloth jigs) then a loop knot is used.The reason is that these jigs use the swivell eye to allow the jig to 'flutter' as it free falls though the water when paused.Using hard connection can restrict the action of these jigs.