The other day, we went fishing at Lake Hiraya Fishing Spot with Field Staff member Noriyuki Yokota.
It was cold in the morning and the temperature rose as the sun rose, and the fish did not seem to be in a good mood.

Noriyuki Yokota raises the tip a little and aims at the surface area.

While many anglers were struggling, Noriyuki Yokota, who is a master of reeling, was able to adjust to the fish that were active just below the surface and hooked fish.

Area where small pieces of leaves float.

He was catching fish in the area where small brown leaves were floating.
The key seemed to be to reel in a little lower, as the fish would not come to bite on the surface.

Continuous hits on the surface!

The hit lure of the day was, of course, the spoons from Angler’z System, where Noriyuki Yokota works as a staff member.
Noriyuki Yokota explained his spoon setting.

Dohna, from left to right: 3.0g, 2.0g, the middle two are 1.5g, followed by 1.3g, 1.0g, and so on.

First, let’s talk about the most popular spoon, Dohna.

Dona 3.0g, 2.0g (Hook image is for reference only)

The 3.0~2.0g Dohna is often used to target highly active fish such as those were stocked, so size #6 and #5 of the strong SP-31F are used separately. The standard hook that comes with the lure at first is SP-31B #6, so it was replaced with the SP-31F PTFE coated hook, which realizes a better penetration.

Dohna 1.5g (Hook image is for reference only)

Next is Noriyuki Yokota’s main spoon, the Dohna 1.5g.
The standard hook SP-31B size #6 was replaced with the thin-shafted SP-21F size #6. The VSR-B size #1 split ring is slightly smaller than the standard split ring, which makes the movement more stable.

Dona 1.3g & 1.0g (Hook image is for reference only)

Noriyuki Yokota’s recent favorite 1.3g and 1.0g Dohna share the same setting.
The split ring was changed to VSR-B size #0 and the hook to SP-21F size #8.
By replacing the split ring, the movement of the spoon is made a little more stable so that it can be used in a wider range of situations.

Biondy: The left two are 1.1g, and the right two are 0.7g.

Next is the Biondy, which worked very well on the day.
The 0.7g Biondy caught continuously below the surface.

Biondy (Hook image is for reference only)

Since Biondy comes standard with SP-21F size #8, the hook itself was used as it is.
By replacing the split ring with VSR-B size #0, the hook is set to retrieve more slowly. When he feels the hook is not fit the situation well, he changes the hook to SW-21F size #9 and adjusts it accordingly.

These are Noriyuki Yokota’s basic hook selection.

His spooning method is to retrieve it slowly to get a good strong bite.
Please try using Angler’z System spoons with his settings as a reference.