Daiwa’s
take on the Premium Saltwater Rubber Jig, the Daiwa Conch
![](images4/buttondaiwaconch.jpg)
Date: |
12/5/10 |
Tackle Type: |
Lure |
Manufacturer: |
Daiwa |
Reviewer: |
Zander |
Total Score: 7.91 -
GOOD
Introduction:
Last year Daiwa
introduced two new saltwater jigs that were aimed directly against Shimano’s
popular Lucanus jigs, the Bala and Conch. The Bala features a sleek design
combined with a squid hoochie styled bait while the Conch is a one piece
nautilus styled lure. Both jigs are designed to target a wide range of saltwater
species including Cod and Grouper.
Daiwa Conch Jig
Specifications |
Type |
Metal jig skirted lure (rubber jig) |
Colors/Patterns |
5
available |
Sizes(weight) |
3
- 7oz. |
Hook
size |
#1/0, #2/0 (on 7oz. size) |
MSRP |
$13.99 - $16.99 |
![](images4/picconch1.jpg)
Daiwa's take on the Saltwater
rubber jig, meet the Daiwa Conch
Impressions:
Originally I had planned to test and review both of the new Daiwa jigs in a
single write-up but after fishing the two of them I found that though they were
designed for basically the same application they fished dissimilar enough to
warrant individual reviews. Those of you who read our Lucanus review last year
will remember that the lures performed well in our tests and there were days
when these small beetle shaped lures easily outfished traditional diamonds and
bars.
![](images4/picconch3.jpg)
The Conch jigs are available in
five colors/patterns and five sizes/weights
Though the
Lucanus jig wasn’t the first rubber jig it was extremely well marketed here in
the U.S. and it isn’t a surprise that there are now a ton (and I mean a TON) of
other manufacturers offering their own interpretation of these compact premium
jigs. One of the biggest plus’s about these lures is that they help make what is
traditionally thought of as “meat” fishing into an activity more like sport
fishing.
![](images4/picconch2.jpg)
The classic Daiwa logo is employed
as part of the lure's design
In profile the
Conch looks like a Nautilus or if you turn it downwards it could possibly
resemble a small octopus. The huge Daiwa logo on the side of the bait adds to
the snail shell effect and the lure is available in a variety of colors/patterns
including Pearl, Peach, Burning Red, Pink Ice (a blue, white and pink combo) and
Green Mango (green and yellow). Each lure is armed with two 1/0 or 2/0 stinger
hooks depending on the size of the jig.
![](images4/picconch4.jpg)
The back of the lure features cuts
that extend the lure's nautilus-style design
Real World
Tests:
To test the Daiwa Conch jigs we fished them alongside both traditional diamonds
and bars as well as head to head against the Shimano Lucanus jigs. We fished all
these lures on the same Shimano Tescata rods with braided line and Seaguar
fluorocarbon leaders targeting rockfish on the Northern California coast just
West of the Bay Area.
![](images4/picconch5.jpg)
The lure's eyes make use of slices
from abalone shells
Casting:
Though compact these jigs weigh quite a bit and are available in weights ranging
from 3 to 7oz. so casting them really is a no brainer. Simply lob them and they
cast just fine and because you are most likely fishing vertically off a boat a
long distance cast isn’t even necessary, as long as you clear the side of the
boat you should be in good shape.
![](images4/picconch8.jpg)
These lures cast extremely well,
not that you really need to toss them very far from the boat...
Retrieving:
The Daiwa Conch, like the Lucanus jigs, features two anchor points in which to
tie on to. In normal and shallow water conditions tying directly onto the top
anchor works just fine but in strong currents the second anchor can be used to
tie on another leader connected to a second weight. This helps the Conch hold in
position and gives the lure a very horizontal drop-shot like presentation. We
tried both these styles and whenever the current was not too strong preferred
the more simple and straightforward first method.
![](images4/picconch7.jpg)
The lure features two points to
tie to for a standard or drop-shot style presentation when you want to fish off
the bottom or in stronger current when more weight is needed