Having run charter boats specialising in slowjigging around the Hauraki Gulf for more than six years, it’s not often I come across a new lure design that gets me excited. Enter the Hayabusa Jack Eye Kunekune. The name may be a bit of a mouthful for human beings, but these lures have no problem ending up in the gobs of fish.

The look of these Japanese-designed lures is intriguing, looking somewhat like microjig/ kabura hybrid. Microjigs and kaburas are deadly for different reasons, so I was curious to find out whether the Kunekune would bring the best of both worlds to the party, or whether it would be an awkward lovechild that didn’t quite hit the mark. Of course, there was only one way to find out!

We couldn’t have asked for a better test day. Thick, enveloping fog in the Waitemata Harbour confirmed the promise of glassy conditions, and it wasn’t long before we were chasing the gannets around Anchorite Rock in the middle of the Hauraki Gulf.

As the Kunekune’s come in reasonably small sizes ranging from 20-60g and we were in about 50m of water, we decided to tie them onto softbait sets so we could cast ahead of the drift. Their asymmetrical shape provides an enticing flutter on the drop, but not in an extreme way that slows down the descent too much.

The results were instantaneous upon touching down, with a double hookup on a couple of plump snapper to kick things off in the right fashion. On the subsequent drop, my UV Red-Gold Kunekune got hammered halfway down, with the initial blistering run and quick tail beats giving this customer away as a decent kingfish. After a fun tussle, sure enough, the yellow tail appeared and the king was secured for a quick pic. The super-sharp, dual hooks had done the job – one tucked just inside the fish’s lip and the other on the outside of the upper jaw. Although the pulling angle on both hooks was far from ideal and I’ve seen other slowjig hooks straighten out in similar circumstances, these hadn’t bent at all.

After a few more pannie snapper in quick succession, it was NZ Fishing News’ Sales Manager Josh William’s turn for a line-peeler. Upon greeting us boatside, the respectable snapper spat out a small pilchard that didn’t look at all dissimilar from Josh’s Kunekune in silver livery. Match the hatch, as they say!

I found the Kunekunes can be effectively fished in a variety of manners. You can engage the lift-and-wind technique that works well with inchiku lures, fish them like a softbait with longer, twitching lifts, or take advantage of the thin, rubbery skirts and simply wind them slowly off the bottom kabura-style. Heck, even ‘Rod Holder’ got a nice snapper employing his torpid technique. These lures really tick all the boxes for a small slowjig, and they’ve certainly staked their claim as a go-to lure in my tackle box.

Hayabusa Jack Eye Kunekune jigs are imported by Conaghan Distribution and available in selected tackle stores now.

• UV Blue Sardine

• UV Pink Sardine

• UV Red-Gold

• UV Green-Gold

• Silver-Blue Luminous Zebra

• Gold Orange Zebra