A slim plastic-jig profile that still maintains horizontal balance

Unlike an ordinary plastic squid jig (puraduno), this Ukipla Hybrid Hook does not sink. Because its entire body is made of high-density foamed urethane, it has strong buoyancy. Through perfect buoyancy control, it achieves a plastic jig as slim as a conventional puraduno while still maintaining horizontal balance. What is more, this plastic jig has a cloth-wrapped finish, just like a sutte. In other words, it is a hybrid of a sutte and a plastic jig — which is exactly why it is known as the "Hybrid Hook." Ukipla Hybrid Hook

Ukipla Hybrid Hook

The Ukipla Hybrid Hook is 110 mm in overall length — the same size as a traditional plastic squid jig. The point that differs greatly from an ordinary plastic jig is its sutte-style cloth-wrapped finish. A cloth-wrapped finish is traditional, but the reliability and reassurance it provides are considerable. The cloth used on the Ukipla Hybrid Hook is also treated to be water-repellent, so it absorbs little water and keeps a stable balance even after long hours of use. The Ukipla Hybrid Hook — crafted with care down to the finest details.

KeyStone's latest rigid foamed urethane processing technology

An ordinary plastic squid jig is made of solid plastic resin, so its strength is outstanding — but it cannot generate buoyancy. The Ukipla Hybrid Hook, however, delivers high buoyancy while remaining as slim as a conventional plastic jig, because it uses rigid foamed urethane, a high-buoyancy material. So what about strength? Although the material is "rigid," at this level of slimness it would normally snap easily. That is where the Ukipla's original internal structure comes in. By combining KeyStone's latest rigid foamed urethane processing technology with the Ukipla's original internal structure, we achieved both "high buoyancy" and "high strength."

Usable all across Japan

Spear squid (yari-ika) (local names: sasa-ika, tenashi, teppou), swordtip squid (kensaki-ika) (local names: budou-ika, maru-ika, aka-ika, shiro-ika, mai-ika), Japanese common squid (surume-ika) (local names: ganseki, ma-ika, matsu-ika). It works for all of the squid above, and can be used even at depths exceeding 200 m without being crushed. Truly, the "Ukipla Hybrid Hook" is usable all across Japan.

Astonishing balance

A comparison with the hard foam floating sutte and the Bibin Sutte No.4. The hard foam floating sutte has an overall length of 115 mm (body length 85 mm). The Bibin Sutte No.4 has an overall length of 105 mm. The Ukipla Hybrid Hook has an overall length of 110 mm. These three sutte are almost the same length. The big difference, however, is their "thickness." The hard foam floating sutte is about half the thickness of the common Bibin Sutte No.4. And the Ukipla 110 is about half the thickness of the hard foam floating sutte. Through careful adjustment of various parts and buoyancy, these three — though differing in thickness — can all hold a nearly horizontal posture when they catch the current underwater. It is the astonishing balance made possible by KeyStone's technical expertise.

A versatile plastic jig for a wide range of rigs

Because an ordinary plastic squid jig has no buoyancy, it is unsuited to rigs with long droppers (10–100 cm), such as swing (buranko) rigs, where tangles become frequent. The Ukipla Hybrid Hook, however, holds a nearly horizontal posture when it catches the current underwater, so it works even with rigs that use long droppers. Of course, it also works with direct-tie (jikabura) rigs where you dance the sutte to draw strikes. Truly, it is a versatile plastic jig.

Designed for dropper use

It also performs superbly as a dropper for ika-metal and lead-sutte games, both hugely popular in recent years. Ika-metal, targeted with light tackle, is a delicate style of fishing. For its 110 mm length, the Ukipla Hybrid Hook is extraordinarily slim, so it creates extremely little water resistance. As a result, it barely affects the sink of the lead sutte, letting the rig drop readily. You can reach the striking depth faster than anyone else, and you also reduce tangles (omatsuri). With its good balance and strong appeal, it is perfectly suited to ika-metal as well.

The world of 100 m and 200 m depths

It varies with water clarity, but generally it is said that at a depth of 100 m only around 1% of the surface light reaches. At 200 m, it is pitch dark. Considering this, KeyStone believes that "luminescence (glow)" is important for making squid notice the presence of the sutte. By coating the urethane body with glow paint using our own proprietary method, we achieve a beautiful glow that lures squid in deep-water areas and makes them grab hold.

Pink Glow — an entirely new kind of luminescence

This time we added "Pink Glow," a never-before-seen type of luminescence. During the testing stage we tried all sorts of glow — blue, orange, yellow, and so on. Among them, the one that produced outstanding catches was pink. We had captains of squid-fishing boats in Nagasaki Prefecture use it for a while, and this is the result they reported. "There are times it catches just as well as ordinary glow, or even better." By using it selectively alongside ordinary glow, it is possible to out-fish the other anglers on the boat. There is still much we do not understand about why pink luminescence works on squid, but we suspect that, compared with ordinary glow, it emits a softer light that makes the silhouette stand out more clearly, so squid can spot the sutte more easily in dark water. Be sure to try the Pink Glow Red-White and Pink Glow Pink-White colors, which hold untapped potential.

A single-crown-hook type added to the lineup

In response to strong requests from the Kanto region, where single-crown hooks are mainly used, we added a single-crown-hook type of the Ukipla Hybrid Hook to the lineup. The hook is a yari-ika hook, strong enough to be used even on egi built for bigfin reef squid (aori-ika), so it is a crown hook you can trust even when a parasol-class spear squid hits. For balance, like the two-stage-hook type, it uses the highly buoyant rigid foamed urethane body to achieve excellent balance. * From 2016, supply of the hook material previously used for the single-hook type became difficult, so we changed the specification to a different hook, and to adjust the balance the beads have been removed.

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Price, Specs & Other Info

Ukipla Hybrid Hook, single hook (overall length: 100 mm) — 2 pieces per pack
Ukipla Hybrid Hook, two-stage hook (overall length: 110 mm) — 2 pieces per pack

Suggested retail price: open price