Ayu pattern?

So exactly what is the Ayu pattern & why does it work for us?

If you do a little research, its easy to see why a pattern such as Ayu would work for the Japanese & fishermen in East Asia.

The Ayu is in fact a fish (also known as the sweet fish), which is incredibly territorial (theres even a Japanese fishing method called " ayu-no-tomozuri" which involves using a live Ayu to trigger the territorial instincts of other Ayu to attack it).

Wikipedias Ayu (links to Wikipedia)

With the Ayu being so territorial its easy to see why it would be a killer pattern  in Japan or other areas that the Ayu inhabit.

The Ayu is easily recognised by its greenish / gold "hot spot" on its flanks just behind the gill cover. 

What I'm calling a hot spot is essentially a false eye which could perhaps confuse a predator or represent an eye (hence protecting the fishes real eyes which a predator may try to attack).

A selection of "Ayu" lures.

So why does Ayu work so well for us in Europe?

Good question and something we will never know for sure, but I have my suspicions that it may well have something to do with "the hot spot" the Ayu has on its flanks, (this probably isn't the only factor though).

Hot spots on lures seem to give predatory fish "something to aim for" - you might notice that when fishing lures with hot spots that the lure is often taken on the hook closest to the spot (you can apply this to both hard & softbaits - some people I know have had a lot of fish on softbaits with a hot spot they have created by allowing plastics to bleed onto each other).

Plenty of non Ayu patterns have a false eye too.

You can make your own conclusions about just how important eyes might be on lures :)

For those interested some information on Ayu fishing can be found here.