This time, we would like to introduce a report from Masaki Tomizawa.

Masaki Tomizawa is a skilled Japanese tournament angler who has won multiple JB Masters tournaments. He usually guides on Lake Kawaguchi, located near Mt. Fuji, and also guides on Lake Hibara depending on the season.

The field for this report is Lake Hibara.

Lake Hibara is one of Japan’s most famous smallmouth bass fisheries. It is often known for clear water and technical finesse fishing with spinning tackle.

However, when Lake Hibara is full of water, a different and more exciting pattern can become effective.

This time, Tomizawa introduces a swimbait pattern using the O.S.P Nichika 167F.

When the lake level is high, smallmouth bass move around flooded cover.

Key areas include:

flooded bushes
laydowns
stumps
breaks

In these situations, Tomizawa swims the Nichika 167F around cover and makes smallmouth bass rise up from below or from the cover to bite.

This is very different from the common image of Lake Hibara smallmouth fishing.

Many anglers think of Lake Hibara as a place for light-line spinning techniques and delicate finesse presentations.

But during full-pool conditions, anglers can also enjoy a more aggressive swimbait game.

One of the important features of the Nichika 167F is that it has two treble hooks.

Because of this, the hooking ratio is excellent compared with many single-hook swimbaits.

This is a big advantage when smallmouth bass come up from cover and attack the bait.

According to Tomizawa, bass can come from many types of structure and cover when the lake is full.

They can rise from bushes, laydowns, stumps, and breaks.

The key is to use the Nichika 167F as a natural swimbait and bring it through the right zone around flooded cover.

This pattern shows another side of Lake Hibara smallmouth fishing.

It is not only about finesse.

When the water is high and bass are positioned around cover, the Nichika 167F can create a very exciting swimbait bite.

Angler: Masaki Tomizawa
Instagram: @tomizawa0913
Field: Lake Hibara, Japan
Lure: O.S.P Nichika 167F
https://osp-lures.com/product/nichika167f/
Target: Smallmouth bass
Key cover: flooded bushes, laydowns, stumps, and breaks

This is a real full-pool Lake Hibara smallmouth swimbait technique from Japan.