Quoted By:
Hey everyone, I am a vintage JDM tackle enthusiast - just thought I would start a thread to discuss your favorite bass lures while sharing a few things of interest.
I love the fun mentality of the small production baits coming out of Japan - not only are they well produced they have a sense of soul and fun that gets looked over from domestic creators who I feel often take themselves too seriously which is in my opinion why the majority of them are frank unremarkable or distinct.
>pic related this is Kobo Nishioka's first offering from his solo line with Smith LTD
>Smith LTD is responsible for the production and distribution of those upscale Japanese exclusive Heddon products among other things, they are like the Japanese equivalent of Pradco with many different offerings within the tree of the company
>Kobo Nishioka was one of the founders of Balsa50 which is an AWESOME lure manufacturer with some of the highest grade topwater baits you'll ever find
>Kobo's line of line of baits (Mad Scientific Lure Club) with Smith let him have free artistic reign over design and manufacturing resulting in one of the most popular artist driven baits
>Each production was limited to small batches and come with a placard denotating it's production # in the batch as well as each bait being hand signed by Kobo or his wife.
>while the line has since been disc. with Smith LTD Kobo still produces lures under his own brand (Aurora) but they are extremely hard to come by as of 2022
