What Is Awabi? What are the uses of Flashing Sheets?

What is “Awabi”?

• Awabi is the direct English translation from the Japanese word アワビ which means Abalone.

Why do we paste Natural Awabi Flashing Sheets on Squid Jigs/Egi?

• The main reason being that the natural Awabi shells that flashing sheets are made of reflects light in multiple angles underwater, attracting more attention and therefore helping you to catch more squids or cuttlefishes.

How does Natural Awabi Flashing Sheets Work?

• When light beams entering water hits on the Awabi flashing sheets, the flashing sheets will reflect the light. The reflected light will attract the keen attention of squids or cuttlefish. This is similar to the use of a mirror or reflective material to attract attention of rescuers in an emergency situation. As awabi shells grows naturally in sea and in nature these awabi shells reflects light, squids and cuttlefishes tend to be less cautious to light reflected from the flashing sheets. Nevertheless, the reflected light from these flashing sheets are attractive enough to capture the attention of the squids or cuttlefishes.

“Awabi” 是甚麼? "Awabi"

• 是鮑魚在日文的讀法. (アワビ) 

為什麼在餌木上貼上貝殼貼紙?

• 最主要是貝殼貼紙的多角度自然反光在海裡可以多吸引頭足類的注意,能讓您釣多點軟絲或花支.

當光線透入水裡照到貝殼貼表面時 貝殼貼會把光線反射, 突然的閃光會吸引軟絲或花支的注意. 這就跟我們在求救時用鏡子反射光線的原理差不多. 由於貝殼是天然材料, 在水裡會產生多角度反光,軟絲和花支對天然的貝殼反光的警覺性也比較低,但又能多吸引它們的注意.

How To Cut BlackWater Natural Awabi Flashing Sheets?
如何裁剪黑水天然貝殼貼紙?

How To Apply BlackWater Natural Awabi Flashing Sheets On You Squid Jigs / Egi
如何在餌木上貼上黑水天然貝殼貼紙?

To contact us, please email us at: blackwatereging@gmail.com

Where To Place Your Hook Keepers

Currently in the market, not all rods come with hook keepers. When anglers purchase after market hook keepers, they will usually mount it right in front of the front grip on the rod blank.

I don't really favor such a mounting method. When we retract the hook keeper, the hook keeper's base is rubbing against my rod.

I mount mine on the stem of my reel instead. It doesn't get in the way, it doesn't rub against my rod, securing my squid jigs / egi is easy too. When I change rod using the same reel, I still have my hook keeper with my reel. Therefore cutting down the inconvinience.

BlackWater "alpha" Series Egi - 2012 (黑水國際板 "alpha" 2012)

Aα : alpha [al-fuh] the first character of the Greek alphabet; the highest ranking individual in the community.


Blackwater Eging brings you our latest "alpha" series. Alpha is not a replacement for the existing "Q" series, but a complimenting series.

Sinking Speed:
3.0 Normal @ 16.5grams - 3.3~4.0sec/m (Similar to Yozuri K8 3.0)
3.5 Normal @ 21.0grams - 3.3~4.0sec/m (Similar to Yozuri K8 3.5)
3.5 Deep     @ 22.5grams - 1.8~2.2sec/m (Similar to Yamashita Q Soku 3.5)

* Lively Z-Darting Action

* Excellent Stability In Currents

* Strong Tail Hooks


* Non Water Permeable Body

Interested to get some? Drop us an email today at BlackWaterEging@gmail.com

IMPORTANCE OF ROD BALANCING (釣竿配重的重要性)

Typically, we make over 30 casts over a 2 hour eging session and during which we probably jig over a few hundred times.

通常在釣軟絲時,我們會在兩個鐘頭裡頭拋大概過30次, 我們也會朗大概過幾百次.

With repetitive casting and jigging, many different ailments can occur. Injury to shoulders, elbows, wrists and muscles are the most common. It does not just affect frequent anglers like us, but it will happen to infrequent or weekend anglers as well.

當我們都長期的做這重複的動作時, 病痛往往會發生. 肩膀疼痛, 手肘疼痛, 手腕疼痛已肌肉疼痛為最普遍症狀. 這些症狀不旦旦會影響常常釣的常釣客, 就算您是一個星期釣一次或一個月釣一次也會在您身上發生.

Accupuncture on my wrist carried out by one of China's top physician. (大陸國家認真有名中醫師幫我針灸)

We were not spared from injuries at all. I had had injuries to my shoulder, elbow and wrist. There were a few a few occasions whereby the injury was so bad that I was unable to turn my wrist, bend my elbow, to make a proper cast or even to drive. It was a misery, it seemed like life just come to a standstill.

我們黑水也不是鐵打的, 以上列的症狀我全都有. 有好幾次我還痛得我的手腕都不能動, 手肘不能彎, 要拋竿不行還連開車都成問題. 這感覺好痛苦淒慘啊, 就像生命就停留在那不動.

It was miserable times like these that had inspired us to share this tip with everyone. We hope that you will benefit from this post and do not have to go through the similar path that we had gone through.

就是應為這些淒慘的時光機發我們寫這篇文章來把這些知識和大家分享一下. 不要走我們走過的路啞.

It is very difficult to find a perfect combination of rod and reel that is balanced right from the start. Therefore, we will add counterbalancing weights to shift the balance point of a set of rod and reel towards the grip of the rod. By now, most readers will be thinking that won’t adding counterbalancing weights add on to the overall weight of the rod and reel combination? The total weight will increase, but a properly balanced rod and reel combination will feel virtually weightless in your hands. As a matter of fact, a properly balanced rod and reel combination will improve its sensitivity, allowing you to detect the faintest tug from a squid/cuttlefish. When properly balanced, one of the first few things that you will realize is that it seems so much lighter and easier to jig.

在市面上, 要找到您喜歡而配重又剛剛好的釣竿和捲線器主和非常難. 所以我們就已加重的方法來做配重, 目標就是要把釣竿加了捲線器後的平衡點移到握把的位子.說到這邊, 大家應該在想 “配重後不是加重嗎?”. 是的, 我們是加重來把平衡點移到握把的位子, 但是做過配重的釣竿朗起來感覺會很輕. 就算拿在手裡也覺得輕很多. 還有, 做了配重之後釣竿會跟家敏感. 最明顯的就是您會朗起來如魚得水.

The solution is in actual fact rather simple and low cost (as always).

做配重的方法其是也很簡單又便宜

STEP 1: CHECK THE DIAMETER OF THE ROD REAR GRIP (察看您釣竿後握把的直徑是多少)

STEP 2: PURCHASE A BUTTCAP (找個橡皮套…不要找錯套)

We usually get the jigging rod buttcap. You don’t want it to be too soft.

我們都會用十字固定溝槽的橡皮套.

STEP 3: COINS (領錢)

We find coins that rather closely fit the internal diameter of the buttcap.

找一些跟香皮套直徑差不多大小的領錢來.

STEP 4: ADD COINS AND TRY IT OUT (加零錢試試看)

Add coins till you have shifted the balancing point is at the grip area and you feel comfortable with it. By this time the rod should feel really light in your hands and jigging is virtually effortless.

慢慢加入零錢, 就加到平衡點就在握把附近, 者開始就要自己感覺了.一定要有FEEL. 如何知道可以了嗎? 您朗起來輕輕的感覺很爽, 不用吹灰之力.

You Might Also Be Interested In Our Other Posts:

BlackWater Eging: BlackWater "alpha" Series Egi - 2012 (黑水國際板 "alpha" 2012)


BlackWater Eging: BlackWater Eging Natural Awabi Flashing Sheets @ Ebay

SQUID INK REMOVAL METHOD (如何把沾在衣裳上的墨汁清洗掉)

When we first start eging, it is inevitable that our favourite clothes gets "beautified" by squid's ink. What's worst? When we get more experience with the handling of squids, we still get inked by the ammatuers. Doesn't it sound familiar?

當我們剛開始釣軟絲時經常都會被軟絲的墨汁噴到. 可是釣了一段時間之後我們是被周圍的新手的軟絲墨汁噴到. 這應該很熟悉吧?


Well, many people whom I know had tried their best to remove it by bleaching, scrubbing and etc, but just simply failed to get the ink off.

好多人都嘗試用條白劑, 等等藥水都弄不掉.
We too were not spared from that, but there is indeed a very simple way to get the ink removed.

其是我們也一樣, 經常被太太已老母XXX. 但是有救了, 要把墨汁弄掉其實很簡單.

I found this out one day when I got home with inked clothes and I saw a can of Vanish in the laundry room. Tried it out by putting some in the soaking pail, initially there wasn't much froth from it, so I added more then left it overnight and to my surprise ... fair dinkum it worked alrighty.

有一天, 我穿著沾有墨汁的衣裳回家. 走到洗衣房里看見了這個牌子的洗衣劑(碧蓮). 加了一些下去看了一看泡沫不夠多就加了加倍潔試試. 泡了一個晚上隔天看了一看, 真是贊啊墨汁都不見了! 真的行的通!

Just soak your inked clothings in 1/2 to 1 scoop of Vanish Power O2 together with a scoop of your favourite laundry soap powder in warm water, leave it overnight. By the next morning the ink should be gone. If it doesn't increase the dosage of Vanish Power O2.

您把沾上墨汁的衣裳放進個通里,一般半匙的碧蓮加半匙的洗衣粉,放半臉盆的水浸泡一晚.假如第一晚沒有消除墨汁,請在酌量洗衣粉.

Please remember to seperate your coloured clothings from your white clothings.

切記白色衣服一定要跟有色衣物分開浸泡.

Spinning Reel Spool Clicker Repair (線杯彈簧維修)

After using my Shimano Sephia CI4 C3000S for quite a number of years, the spool clicker spring failed due to fair wear and tear.

我的CI4用久了之後, 線杯裡頭的彈簧斷了.

They don't stock Shimano Sephia CI4 parts in Singapore and I just had to get it repaired. I started off looking for thin piano wires, but they were too thick. Just as I was asking a friend about it ... he suddenly mentioned "Retractable Ball Point Pen". True enough! He gave me the perfect solution to the problem!

新加坡這沒有CI4的零件, 但我一定要把它修好. 開始時我看了鋼琴線可是太粗了. 我在和小鄧聊了一下後他就說 "原子筆". 他這句話點醒了我! 小鄧太聰明了! 我有解決方法了!

1. The clicker spring cannot be too stiff, else it will wear off the clicker gear and plate
彈簧不可以太硬, 要不齒輪會被吃掉.
2. It must be easy to work with
彈簧材料一定要容易處理.
3. Cheap and Fast solution
解決方法一定要快和便宜.

This post is dedicated to my friend "Little Deng". Thank you very much!

這篇文章是幫小鄧寫的. 小鄧謝謝您!

STEP 1: FINDING THE RIGHT SPRING

第一步: 找彈簧

Strip a retractable ballpoint pen and get the spring out.

把原子筆裡頭的彈簧取出來.

STEP 2: GET IT INTO SHAPE

第二步: 弄成形

You can heat up the spring a little to compress it a little first.

彈簧可稍微加熱把它壓下一些.

STEP 3: PUT IT ALL IN

第三步: 裝進去

Assemble the parts together and it clicks again!

全都裝進去.

Ball Bearings Maintenance

Through these years, many anglers had been telling me that we need to use specialized oil for bearings in our reels. But why? For bearings in all my reels, I had been using Engine Oil like the following. I never had any issues with them at all. If the oil is recommended for Mercedes Benz engines, VolksWagen engines, BMW engines and even Porsche engines, it must be alright to be used in my few hundred dollar reels. Don't you agree? Car engines from the few mentioned manufacturers have an average engine speed red line of 7000RPM. Is it possible for us to spin the reels with our bare hands at 7000RPM? Are our reels subjected to more pressure/abuse than a Porsche, VW, MB, BMW engine? I guess NO is the answer for both of those questions. Then it is definitely safe to use Engine Oil!

這麼多年來, 有好多釣友都跟我說我的捲線器裡頭用的油要是培翎專用的潤滑油.為甚麼? 到如今我所有的培翎都是用就像一下的引擎潤滑油. 如果這潤滑油是適合用在馬賽第,VW,寶馬和保時捷的引擎上, 那為何不可以用在我的捲線器培翎裡頭呢? 你們同意嗎? 剛才所提到的車子產商引擎的運轉極限都設在7000RPM左右. 我們的捲線器有可能在我們的雙手裡轉出7000RPM嗎?  我們的捲線器可能承受比保時捷引擎裡頭高的磨損嗎? 答案就是不可能. 那培翎裡頭用引擎油根本就沒問題! 海浪費錢用什麼專用油干什麼?

SAE 5W-40 rated engine oil

The following is how I usually maintain the bearings for my reels. Its simple, quick and you can be sure that its pretty well maintained. The bearings in the photographs are taken out from my Shimano Sephia CI4 C3000S a very simple trusty reel that I had been using since it was launched. I will not go into much details on how to strip the reel in this post, but we will concentrate on the maintenance of the bearings only.

已下是我如何保養培翎的步周,極簡單又方便. 這些培翎是我從CI4 C3000S取出來, 詳細微修CI4我就不說, 我們就關注在培翎保養方面.

STEP 1: SOAKING BEARINGS

第一步: 浸泡培翎

The bearings removed from the reel and soaked in alcohol. In this case, what I had used was rubbing alcohol because that was what I have available. The purpose of alcohol is to dissolve the old grease and to remove some dirt from the bearing. Put it in a container like in the above, pour in the alcohol till bearings are covered, cover the lid of the container and give it a good shake (These are pretty light bearings and it will not dent each other).

先把培翎從捲線器里取出, 再把它們放在一個容器浸泡在酒精裡頭. 我用的是按摩用的酒精, 應為我當時就只有這個. 浸泡在酒精裡頭的用意就是要把培翎裡頭的油跟污垢分解. 我把培翎放進容器後再把酒精倒到酒精蓋過培翎. 過後再把容器的蓋子蓋上, 輕輕的搖搖讓酒精勝投到培翎裡頭.

Leave the bearings to soak for a while before shaking it again. The whole process should take about 15 minutes.

讓培翎浸泡一下子在搖幾下. 整個過程應該是大概15分鐘.

STEP 2: CLEANING UP THE BEARING

第二步: 清理培翎

Bearings placed on a paper towel after soaking and shaking in alcohol.

After removing bearings from the alcohol solution, place the bearings on a clean piece of paper towel. Notice the yellow stain on the towels? Those are the grease within the bearings that had been dissolved by alcohol. Dry the bearings by gently pressing it against the towels. Thereafter leave them to air dry for about 15 minutes before continuing. If you feel that they might need another bath in alcohol, repeat previous steps again.

把培翎在酒精里取出後, 把它們放在乾淨的紙巾上. 有注意到以上的照片紙巾上有黃色的部分嗎? 那就是在培翎里頭被分解的油. 輕輕的在培翎旁邊壓一下弄乾它. 把培翎放著大概15分鐘讓多餘的酒精震發. 若有需要可以在浸泡在酒精里從父同樣的步周.

STEP 3: PREPARING THE CAN

第三步: 準備鐵罐

Prepare a clean empty can and make sure that its completely dry before carrying on to the next step.

把罐子弄乾淨後再弄乾. 準備下個步驟.

STEP 4: DEEP FRYING THE BEARINGS

第四步: 新菜 "油炸培翎"

Bearings in engine oil.



Start by pouring oil into the empty dry can, heat it up over gentle fire till its hot. Immerse the bearings into the hot engine oil and watch air bubbles appear from the bearing gaps. The reason for doing this is to make use of the heat in the engine oil to force the air within the bearings to escape and therefore filling the void completely with the engine oil. You know its ready when no more air bubbles are coming out from the gaps.

先把引擎油倒入鐵罐里, 小火加熱. 再把培翎放入加熱後的引擎油里, 在您眼前您會看見培翎會冒出氣泡. 我們把培翎放入加熱的引擎油的典故就是要利用熱氣把培翎裡頭的空氣逼出來那引擎油就會取代空氣的位子. 當氣泡停止時那也就是說培翎裡頭已經是讓引擎油添滿了.

STEP 5: BEARING MAINTENANCE COMPLETED

第五步: 完成

Take the bearings out of the engine oil and wipe off excessive oil with paper towels. Your reel's bearings are now ready for your next catch again. When assembling, I will usually apply an additional layer of Copper Grease on the sides of the bearing.

讓油冷卻之後將培翎取出. 放在紙巾上讓紙巾吸收表面上的油. 培翎保養就這樣完成了. 我會在安裝培翎時在上一成銅油脂. 銅油脂都是用在高溫用途上.

Additional Information added on 12-December-2011:
There had been questions asked about "deep frying bearings" let me elaborate on this. As a matter of fact, the bearings are not subjected to actual "Deep Frying", the engine lubricant is heated to below flash point with the bearings in there. This method had been widely used in industrial applications, restoration of turntables, restoration of fan bearings, Supertuning of reels and etc. When we are out for field tests, we will usually squid in excess of 15 hours a day and consecutively for 1-2 weeks. Under such circumstances, our tackles are exposed to the harsh elements of nature like sea sprays, rain, dust and etc. During these periods, we expect our tackles to function in its best possible condition. We had brought brand new reels out during our field tests, but had busted bearings and damaged main gear. The reels that we had been using for years and maintained with this manner functioned without a problem. This is the main reason the method is documented here and shared with everyone. This method had been practiced and mentioned in www.fishnet.com.au as well as several other websites.