What is sasa-ika?

1. Sasa-ika is the spear squid

Sasa-ika is the spear squid (Yari squid). Not a different species. It is what people in northern Kyushu (Saga, Nagasaki and Fukuoka prefectures) call it. The name comes from the slim body, shaped like a bamboo leaf — sasa.

Once the bigfin reef squid season is over and squid anglers have disappeared from the breakwaters, this squid comes in from offshore.

2. The confusing word is “yari-ika” itself

In northern Kyushu, swordtip squid (Kensaki squid) is commonly called yari-ika. It is a regional usage. Which means a squid labelled “yari-ika” in a shop there may well be a swordtip.

Meanwhile the squid that comes inshore in midwinter — the spear squid of standard Japanese — is a different species, and in northern Kyushu it is called sasa-ika. So:

The same word “yari-ika” points to one squid in standard Japanese and to another in northern Kyushu. On the water or at the fish counter, it is worth checking which sense is meant.

For the record, budou-ika — taken under lights in autumn from the Genkai Sea to the San-in coast — is regarded as a seasonal form of swordtip squid. From northern Kyushu to Yamaguchi it is treated as a squid distinct from the swordtip (see What is budou-ika?).

3. When it runs — December to March

December to March: the depth of winter, once the bigfin reef squid season has ended. It is the time of year when squid anglers vanish from the breakwaters — yet shoals of spear squid and Japanese flying squid are moving offshore.

Both species travel in shoals. Hit the timing of a run and a night of ten, fifty or a hundred squid is possible. The other side of that is simple: whether a shoal is in changes everything.

4. From a breakwater, not a boat

For a long time, winter spear squid and Japanese flying squid were something you took from a boat. What made it possible to take them from a breakwater is our Haifukugata / Jado edition, known as the Jado Egi®.

Serious winter squid fishing without getting on a boat — that is what this fishing is really about.

5. Jado eging — an egi fused with bait

Spear squid and Japanese flying squid are warier than bigfin reef squid. With an ordinary egi they take hold for a moment and let go. Float fishing with bait draws them well, but the depth is fixed and you lose mobility.

The Jado Egi fuses the mobility of an egi with the drawing power of bait. You search a wide area by jerking, while the smell, taste and feel of the bait create a situation where a squid that has taken hold does not let go. The longer they hold on, the more chances you get to set the hook.

Matching the fall speed to the situation

The Jado Egi comes in V0, V1, V2 and V3 fall speeds (size 3.0 in V0 11g and V1 12g; size 3.5 in V0, V1, V2 and V3). Slow for shallow water or a slow day, fast for deep water or a strong current.

The grades differ from product to product. EgiSharp, for bigfin reef squid, has four grades — V0, V0+, V1 and V2 — while the Jado Egi has no V0+ and has a V3 instead. Do not compare V figures across different products.

6. Tackle and bait

Tackle

That said, jado eging has no fine rules. Fish it with whatever tackle you like.

Bait

Chicken breast fillet, kibinago and similar small baitfish.

• Salt the chicken and let it rest in the fridge for a few days — it firms up and lasts longer on the hook
• Bind both ends of the bait firmly with wire. That is the key to both bait retention and results

Photographs and the step-by-step method are on the Jado Egi product page.

7. If you fish from a boat

The dozuki rig for winter spear squid from a boat is in our yodaki squid rig diagrams (“Basic rig for winter spear squid and spring mugi squid”). Spear squid and mugi squid prefer something slim, and the diagram gives the main line, droppers, sinker and spacing in figures.

8. Frequently asked questions