The memories I have with him, my BUGWAKE, will never fade.Even now, there are days when they come back to me.
We caught so many fish together. I took him to countless lakes and rivers. The first time I went to the U.S., I strongly felt the need for this bait—that’s what led me to start making it. After that, over four different trips to the States, it continued to catch fish again and again.
In 2025, I decided this would be the last trip for him. When I got back to Japan, I planned to put him up in my collection. I brought him with me to the U.S. with that in mind. But once I got there and started fishing, knowing it would be the last time made me hesitate. I was afraid of losing him, and I just couldn’t bring myself to cast him out. Still, in those long stretches of shallow flats, my hand moved on its own and reached for him. Because that was the exact situation that inspired me to create this bait in the first place.
Of course, he caught fish. There was no doubt about it. That’s exactly what he was made for.
Everything I gained from using him—the feel, the scenery, the time—shaped who I am today. I was so afraid of losing him, but in the end, maybe I chose to pass him on rather than keep him. That feeling when I reeled him in… the vibration traveling through the rod tip… my body still remembers all of it. What he carried has been passed on, without a doubt.
Whenever I stand on the water, it all comes back. The arc of the cast, the sound of the landing, that sense of life the moment I start reeling. As long as I can feel that again and again, he’ll keep living on inside me. Physically, he stayed behind in the U.S., but the memories I shared with him will remain with me forever.
