That was the first cast. The one right after the colour change. Daybreak size 3.3 (35g) / 4.0 (39g)
The colour that worked at first light was not the one that worked once the sun was high. A tip-run off Takeshima: four or five hours of silence, then an answer on the cast right after a colour change. The egi was Daybreak — the same shape in 35g and 39g. Galaxy Glow Purple on the 4.0, last year's revenge on the 3.3, Ruru Purple on the 4.0, and Galaxy Glow Olive once the sun was high. Size decides how it sinks, colour decides how it shows — this day is a lesson in using the line-up that way.
DAYBREAK® 3.3 ／ 4.0 ｜ TIP-RUN
Daybreak size 3.3 (35g) / 4.0 (39g)
One shape, 35g and 39g. Size decides how it sinks, colour decides how it shows.
| Size 3.3 | Size 4.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 35g | 39g |
| Crown hook | KS06 | Extra-thick KS No.10 |
| Body | EgiSharp 3.5 body | Dedicated design, 2.5mm carbon shaft |
| Character | Light jerk, crisp action | Fast fall, a hook that will not bend |
| Intended for | Tip-run in general | Deep water, fast current, red monsters |
| Colours | 19 | 19 |
Get noticed by movement = 3.3 ／ Sink fast and show it on the bottom = 4.0 — on this day both were used from one boat
See Daybreak size 3.3 See Daybreak size 4.0 Buy at the online shop
On sale at tackle shops across Japan. All 19 colours (five of them new for September 2026) are shared by the 3.3 and the 4.0. This is the tip-run off Takeshima on the morning after part one (the night before the trip).
Daybreak 3.3 and 4.0, and a day off Takeshima
Daybreak is a tip-run egi in one shape with a choice of 35g or 39g. The morning after part one, a tip-run off Takeshima, Kagoshima. About five minutes out of port, the first squid came on Red Aji Orange, the first-light standard. Then the bites stopped, and it was about three hours to the next — a good female on the Daybreak 4.0 in Galaxy Glow Purple. Next, a 3kg-class male on the Daybreak 3.3, “last year's revenge”, then another female on the 4.0 in Ruru Purple. KEYSTONE evangelist Kubo had gone four or five hours without a touch after his first cast; seeing the sun high, he switched to Galaxy Glow Olive. First cast after the change — a 3kg-class male. “This colour saved me last year too.” As forecast, a strong wind from midday set the boat drifting; the day ended with six on the tip-run, nine including the shore. Every one of them came on Daybreak. Size decides how it sinks, colour decides how it shows. This day is the template for using it that way.
Field Data
- Country
- Japan
- Region
- Kagoshima
- Location
- Takeshima
- Time of day
- Dawn to daytime
- Target
- Bigfin reef squid
- Lure
- Daybreak
- Size
- Size 3.3 (35g) / 4.0 (39g)
- Colour
- Red Aji Orange / Galaxy Glow Purple / Ruru Purple / Galaxy Glow Olive
- Method
- Tip-run
- Angler
- Kubo
The day as it was, and the line-up
Judged by the fish that were landed it looks easy, but taken as a whole it was a hard day. The wind forecast mentioned in part one arrived as predicted, and they describe the boat drifting fast enough to make fishing awkward. There were four or five hours without a bite, and a painful loss when a PE line parted high up. Of the eight, one went home without a squid. "Last year was better" was their own summary. A water with 4kg and 5kg fish on the record still gives you this when the conditions do not line up.
One reason nine still came is a line-up that changes size and colour without changing shape. The Daybreak 3.3 is 35g, carrying the EgiSharp 3.5 body and its dedicated KS06 crown hook exactly as they are. The rigid urethane foam body has little resistance: it sinks fast, the jerk is light, the action is crisp, and a small input moves it a long way. Add a mask sinker and it scales up to the equivalent of a 3.5; the head shape holds the band, so it does not shift on touchdown or on the jerk.
The 4.0 is a 39g fast fall with a tough stainless extra-thick KS No.10 hook — built to get to the bottom at once in 10, 20 or 30 metres, in ripping current or strong wind, and not to bend even on a red monster over 4kg. The record on its product page — April 22, 2024, Takeshima: 4.7kg / 4.4kg / 4.3kg — is from exactly this water. When someone on the boat says “forget the 3.3, you can go to the 4”, it is because they know the size of squid this sea holds.
The background to the trip and the water is in part one. The season here runs from the end of May to around the end of June. Kubo recommends a go on BG Fishing Boat, sailing out of Ibusuki.
The Lure's Role
Daybreak size 3.3 (35g)
35g, KS06 hook. On sale at tackle shops across Japan and at the online shop. A tip-run egi that inherits the DNA of EgiSharp: the EgiSharp 3.5 body and the KS06 crown hook developed for it, carried over exactly, with a unique centre-of-gravity design that draws out the character of rigid urethane foam for a more natural action. Low resistance means it sinks fast, the jerk is light, and the angler tires less.A small input moves it a long way, and wins over wary squid. That is Daybreak's greatest appeal.
On this day the 3.3 took the “last year's revenge” squid: after a strong first run, a 3kg-class male came into view. A fight hard enough to make him wonder whether the drag was too loose, absorbed by a 35g body and the KS06 hook. With the boat telling him “forget the 3.3, you can go to the 4”, he landed it on the 3.3.
Daybreak size 4.0 (39g)
39g, an extra-thick KS No.10 hook. Purpose-built for tip-run: rigid urethane foam moulding with density and hydrodynamics optimised, and an ultra-light 2.5mm carbon shaft that keeps its posture in the water even on a fast fall. The tough stainless extra-thick KS No.10 hook will not bend even on a red monster over 4kg. It takes the head sinkers (mask sinkers) sold by various makers, for depth and current beyond what 39g covers.A 39g fast fall, and an extra-thick KS No.10 hook that does not bend. Sink it fast, land it for sure. That is the Daybreak size 4.0.
The three-hour silence was broken by the 4.0 in Galaxy Glow Purple; the next female came on the 4.0 in Ruru Purple. Both good squid. Fishing a size with a record of three over 4kg in one day here, in a sea that gives up 4, 5 and 6kg — that was the 4.0's job on this day. If the 3.3 gets noticed by movement, the 4.0 sinks fast and shows itself on the bottom. Because 35g and 39g each have their own character, you can switch between them on one boat as the situation changes.
From the Workshop in Arita
The egi used in this video are genuine made-in-Japan products, crafted at KEYSTONE's own factory in Arita, Saga Prefecture — the town of Arita porcelain. We put our soul into each and every egi.
Splitting density and buoyancy across the rigid urethane foam moulding, and changing the crown hook for each size, happen in that same factory.
MADE TODAY IN ARITA
The fishing above is what this video records: the morning after part one, a tip-run off Takeshima, eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds. The footage is mostly the fish that were landed — Red Aji Orange at first light, the Galaxy Glow Purple that broke three hours of silence, the 3kg-class “last year's revenge”, and Galaxy Glow Olive once the sun was high. It closes by recommending a go on BG Fishing Boat out of Ibusuki.
If it will not play, watch it on YouTube.
