Keitech New Offerrings

[DarkShadow]

Huge Keitech fan, especially their jigs.

I'm noticing that on their website there are no longer producing 1/4 ounce casting jigs. They only have them in the Type 2s.

I notice the Type 1s are no longer, and are now called Casting Jigs. Smallest size is 3/8th.

What does that mean to the US Market? Will they still be making Type 1s in 1/4 ounce?

[City17Banner]

Huge Keitech fan, especially their jigs.

I'm noticing that on their website there are no longer 1/4 ounce casting jigs. They only have them in the Type 2s.

I notice the Type 1s are no longer, and are now called Casting Jigs. Smallest size is 3/8th.

What does that mean to the US Market? Will they still be making Type 1s in 1/4 ounce?

I fish Keitech jigs a great deal as well and after 25-years of producing the Model 1 rubber jig, the new Casting Jig was announced in April of 2022 as the "Casting Jig" which is only available in 3/8 oz & 1/2oz weights and is made from Lead and not Tungsten.

My suggestion is to adopt the same strategy I have and buy as many of the Model 1 jigs in whatever your preferred weights are before they are out of stock. Here's a link to the Keitech Japan website if you are interested in the changes that the new Casting Jig brings to the table. I have used the new Casting Jigs and Cranking Jigs this season and they do have better hooks and the double bait keeper is far better than the one on the Model 1, but there are no lighter or heavier weights for the moment, so I've just adapted and moved on to other JDM jigs that have the characteristics I desire.

Good luck with your potential hoarding of Keitech Model 1 jigs!

Keitech Casting Jig Link: https://keitech.co.jp/publics/index/561/

[DarkShadow]

I fish Keitech jigs a great deal as well and after 25-years of producing the Model 1 rubber jig, the new Casting Jig was announced in April of 2022 as the "Casting Jig" which is only available in 3/8 oz & 1/2oz weights and is made from Lead and not Tungsten.

Waaaaaaaait a minute. One of the main reasons that I use Keitechs is because of the compact tungsten. After fishing them, fishing lead based jigs felt like mush. Are you saying that none of their new jigs are going to be tungsten based? Or are the football Type 2s still going to be made from Tungsten?

so I've just adapted and moved on to other JDM jigs that have the characteristics I desire.

It's hard to find the material that these JDM jigs are made from sometimes. The site that I do most of my purchasing from just has pictures of the actual packaging, and I can never tell if they are lead or tungsten based.

Good luck with your potential hoarding of Keitech Model 1 jigs!

Well this should be fun! :-D

[City17Banner]

I fish Keitech jigs a great deal as well and after 25-years of producing the Model 1 rubber jig, the new Casting Jig was announced in April of 2022 as the "Casting Jig" which is only available in 3/8 oz & 1/2oz weights and is made from Lead and not Tungsten.

Waaaaaaaait a minute. One of the main reasons that I use Keitechs is because of the compact tungsten. After fishing them, fishing lead based jigs felt like mush. Are you saying that none of their new jigs are going to be tungsten based? Or are the football Type 2s still going to be made from Tungsten?

so I've just adapted and moved on to other JDM jigs that have the characteristics I desire.

It's hard to find the material that these JDM jigs are made from sometimes. The site that I do most of my purchasing from just has pictures of the actual packaging, and I can never tell if they are lead or tungsten based.

Good luck with your potential hoarding of Keitech Model 1 jigs!

Well this should be fun! :-D

As far as my understanding goes, only the new jigs are made of lead. Perhaps the global supply issues are to blame for this move from Tungsten to Lead for these new designs. But all of the JDM jigs that I used that were previously made of Tungsten are still being manufactured with Tungsten so the decision by Keitech to have the new jigs made from lead is perplexing as the superior "sensitivity" of Tungsten over lead is apparent to me as well.

It may require more research on other JDM jigs to ensure you know what materials the lures are made of but, thankfully just about all of the key JDM lure manufacturers have excellent websites with detailed information regarding their lures and I find it interesting to peruse their websites and learn about lures anyways so it's a win-win scenario for me.

After more than 20-years of purchasing JDM fishing tackle, I've become a good "hoarder" of JDM fishing tackle I like so it's not uncommon to adopt such a tactic such as when Jackall discontinued the Bling 55 a few years ago, I bought enough of these fantastic flat side crankbaits that I still had a good supply of these sought-after crankbaits to fish with until they brought them back late last season whereupon I bought even more of them since they work so well for fishing in cold-water conditions.

My suggestion would be to start with US retailers such as Tacklewarehouse.com and move on to JDM retailers as needed but you might want to hurry as the supply is drying up fast from my recent experience of buying lots of them in my preferred colors and weights.

Please have a great day!

[jmb27]

As far as my understanding goes, only the new jigs are made of lead. Perhaps the global supply issues are to blame for this move from Tungsten to Lead for these new designs. But all of the JDM jigs that I used that were previously made of Tungsten are still being manufactured with Tungsten so the decision by Keitech to have the new jigs made from lead is perplexing as the superior "sensitivity" of Tungsten over lead is apparent to me as well.

Casting Jig Model I, Version 2 is listed as a tungsten jig. Are you two talking about a different Keitech jig?

[City17Banner]

As far as my understanding goes, only the new jigs are made of lead. Perhaps the global supply issues are to blame for this move from Tungsten to Lead for these new designs. But all of the JDM jigs that I used that were previously made of Tungsten are still being manufactured with Tungsten so the decision by Keitech to have the new jigs made from lead is perplexing as the superior "sensitivity" of Tungsten over lead is apparent to me as well.

Casting Jig Model I, Version 2 is listed as a tungsten jig. Are you two talking about a different Keitech jig?

Yes, there's a new version of the original Casting Jig that debuted and replaced the venerable Model 1 (first version) casting jig that was designed specifically for penetrating cover, the new Casting Jig has been "upgraded" from the much older and reliable Casting Jig Model 1 to this new lead-based version. Please scroll approximately half-way down the attached article linked below and there will be a callout regarding the new head design being made of lead instead of tungsten.

The Keitech Casting Jig Model 1 Version 2 you are referencing has a different head design and, in my experience, doesn't come through standing timber and weeds as well as the head design on the original Casting Jig Model 1. Both the new Casting Jig and the Cranking Jig from Keitech released in 2022 now utilize lead for the head material in these new jigs which is disappointing as the advantages of tungsten over sensitivity to me are noticeable in the rocky and gravel strewn bottom contact fishing environments I fish in NW Wisconsin.

Please have a great day!

Casting Jig announcement link from Keitech as of March 2022: https://www.lurenewsr.com/205169/

[jmb27]

The Keitech Casting Jig Model 1 Version 2 you are referencing has a different head design and, in my experience, doesn't come through standing timber and weeds as well as the head design on the original Casting Jig Model 1. Both the new Casting Jig and the Cranking Jig from Keitech released in 2022 now utilize lead for the head material in these new jigs

That's what I didn't know-- that the head design is different between than the Model 1 original and Version 2.

How is the cranking jig? Is that the Keitech version/variation of a swinging head jig (w/a skirt)?

[City17Banner]

The Keitech Casting Jig Model 1 Version 2 you are referencing has a different head design and, in my experience, doesn't come through standing timber and weeds as well as the head design on the original Casting Jig Model 1. Both the new Casting Jig and the Cranking Jig from Keitech released in 2022 now utilize lead for the head material in these new jigs

That's what I didn't know-- that the head design is different between than the Model 1 original and Version 2.

How is the cranking jig? Is that the Keitech version/variation of a swinging head jig (w/a skirt)?

Sort of, it's designed to be a cross between a true football jig that you can drag on the bottom and a deep diving crankbait that you grind on the rocks so it's basically a combination of my two favorite deep water fishing techniques. The head design reminds me of a football head combined with an old school aspirin design, so it acts like a wobble head but it's all one piece and doesn't have the movement of a typical wobble head jig. It comes with and without a skirt so from that standpoint, there's some flexibility in the new Cranking Jig, however, the use of lead as opposed to tungsten leaves the sensitivity of the new Cranking Jig a bit on the dull side compared to a tungsten football jig so I haven't fished them very much this fall.

The other issue for the moment is that they are only available in 3/8oz and 1/2oz weights, so until they make some heavier jigs in 5/8oz, 3/4oz, and 1oz jigs, it's hard for me to fish with them on the flowages around my cabin that have some current in them. I guess time will tell if this is a success for Keitech to move away from tungsten back to lead.

Please have a great day!

[Cranky]

Might want to double check if Omnia has the ones you’re looking for.

[City17Banner]

Yes, I already checked at Omnia since I go to their Golden Valley, MN facility almost every month during the open water portion of the fishing season, very few US sources actually have the original Keitech Tungsten Casting Jig Model 1 (first version), instead they have the Model 1 Version 2 which has a much bulkier head design, e.g., not as efficient coming through weeds and standing timber as the Model 1 (first version) Casting Jig.

The new Keitech Crankin' Jig is only available from Japan so far and another TT member was kind enough to direct me to a longtime JDM retailer that I had "forgotten" about due to my own hubris and the order has been placed for heavier jigs.

So, all is well except for the onset of winter in our wonderful part of the world and having to make the difficult decision of using a front mounted snowblower on a 1,100ft unfrozen gravel driveway with a tractor that has a heated cab or running the big open station tractor with a 72" HD front loader bucket until the ground freezes up properly.

I wish I only had to deal with decisions regarding lure selection for smallmouth bass fishing, instead of dealing with snow removal decisions.