This video was sent to us by Makoto Igarashi, a JB TOP50 tournament angler, professional fishing guide on Lake Nojiri in Nagano, and founder of the Japanese lure brand FOLLOW.

The lure used in this scene is the FOLLOW Stick 3.2.

In Japan, this style of fishing is often called “I-shaped” fishing. Overseas, many bass anglers may know it as “i-motion.”

Unlike twitching, shaking, or aggressive lure action, i-motion is based on swimming a soft bait very slowly in a straight line, often just under the surface. From the outside, it may look simple. But in reality, it requires a very delicate balance of lure design, line control, wind, current, and angler patience.

Makoto Igarashi is one of the anglers in Japan who is highly skilled at this style of fishing. He also developed the FOLLOW Stick, a soft bait designed for this kind of natural, slow, straight swimming action.

According to Igarashi, this bite happened during the “Igarashi Cup.”

He was using the FOLLOW Stick weightless and letting it drift with the wind along the edge of a piece of wood. A bass came up aggressively from below and attacked the bait, but the first strike was so fast that the lure did not fully enter the fish’s mouth.

Because he could clearly see that the bass had not taken the bait properly, he resisted the urge to set the hook.

Instead, he kept the lure drifting naturally.

Then the bass came back and ate it again.

This is a great example of what makes Japanese finesse fishing so interesting. It is not only about using a small bait. It is about reading the fish’s behavior, controlling the lure naturally, and waiting for the perfect timing.

The FOLLOW Stick has a carefully adjusted specific gravity, allowing it to hover and drift extremely slowly in the water. That slow, natural movement is one of the key reasons why it works so well for i-motion fishing.

Tackle Data

Rod: 510L
Line: PE Egi ULT HS4 #0.4
Leader: Tornado V Hard 1.5
Lure: FOLLOW Stick 3.2
Hook: Theorize Offset L #6

Conditions

Weather: Cloudy
Water temperature: 12–13°C
Water level: Full pool
Wind direction: South

This is real Japanese bass fishing technique, directly from one of Japan’s top tournament anglers.