The Story Behind MOTE LURE: Born from a Girl’s Obsession with Giant Tuna

Hey everyone! I’m MOMO from MOMO FISHING. Let me tell you why on earth I started making tuna casting lures, and how MOTE LURE was born. 😚✨

It all began with one strange passion: “I want to be irresistible to tuna!” 🐟😂

Back in early 2022, I started making wooden lures on a total whim — “Hey, maybe even I can do this!” Zero knowledge, zero experience. All I had was passion. 🎣😂💦

From there, it was nothing but research, trial, and failure, day after day! I started with split-body lures, evolved to through-wire construction, and before I knew it, I’d built over 50 of them. 💪

Choosing the wood, drawing up the blueprints, shaping, sanding, base coating, painting, applying hologram sheets, top coating, adjusting the weights for the standing posture, threading the wire… the number of steps it takes to finish a single lure is incredible. 🥹 But the sense of accomplishment when one is finally done is addictive — I just couldn’t stop. 😆🧡

The world of lure making is deeper than I ever imagined. (≧▽≦)

A lure isn’t something you can just make by going, “Eh, something roughly this shape.” 😳

The density changes completely depending on the type of wood! Balsa, paulownia, abachi… change the wood and the weight and buoyancy change with it. 💡 On top of that, you have to calculate the weight of the hooks, wire, sinkers, and even the paint, and make it stand perfectly vertical on the water. And then there’s casting distance, action, the way it pushes bubbles… if even one thing is off, it just doesn’t work. 😱

When I realized that the lures I’d casually been using all this time were actually meticulously calculated works of art, I was genuinely moved. 🥹✨ And I thought, “Wow… I’ve stepped into one seriously deep world.” 😂

“MOTE LURE” is born! Sold out in 3 hours?! 😭🧡

After endless trial and error, I finally completed my own handmade lures. When my fishing buddies used them, the bluefin tuna catch reports came rolling in one after another! I got tons of messages: “I want to use one!” “Please sell them to me!” 😊

In November 2023, with my heart pounding, I put 20 lures up for sale. Honestly, right up until the moment they went live, I was terrified — “What if not a single one sells…?” 🙈

While I was still listing them, “SOLD!” tags kept popping up one after another, and I was floating on air while frantically posting the rest. 😭💗 The Mercari server even crashed in the middle of it all — what an accident — but I managed to deliver every single one. ✨

And the result… sold out in 3 hours. 🙇‍♀️🧡

By the way, the name “MOTE LURE” was something I came up with together with my fans! “A lure that’s irresistible to tuna” = “MOTE LURE.” (“Mote” means “irresistible / attractive” in Japanese.) That’s the origin of MOTE LURE. 🐟😎

A new chapter! Developing the 5/0-hook MOTE LURE 🔥

The first-generation MOTE LURE was built for 4/0 hooks, and every single one was handmade by me. 🧡

But lately, here in Hokkaido, the chances of running into monster bluefin tuna over 100kg keep going up. 😳 A 4/0 hook just can’t handle that…!

So right now, I’m developing a new MOTE LURE built for 5/0 hooks. 💪🔥

This time, I’ve set things up so that I, MOMO, handle all of the design, while the production is entrusted to a professional workshop I truly trust!

Putting everything I learned from my previous lure making to use, I designed precise blueprints in 3D CAD. Wood density calculations, weight balance against volume, the angle of the floating posture, casting distance… I quantified all of it and designed every detail down to the millimeter. 💪

Honestly, partway through designing, I caught myself casually saying things like “What’s the displacement?” “What’s the specific gravity of the wood itself?” “The incline angle is…” and I shocked myself. 😂 What happened to me?? 🤣🤣

But no matter how precisely you design it, you don’t really know until you actually build it and test it at sea. So I keep meeting with the workshop again and again, repeating the cycle of prototype → test → improve! My design × a pro’s craftsmanship — I’m going to complete the ultimate MOTE LURE. 🔥🧡

What makes MOTE LURE special 😚

🐟 Ultra-slim body: Think about the baitfish tuna feed on — saury, sardines, anchovies… they’re all slim, right? So a slim lure is the right answer! Throw it alongside a big, bulky lure, and they’ll go for the slim one first. 😏

💪 Built for 5/0-class heavy treble hooks: Ready to take on monsters over 200kg!

🔧 High-strength stainless full through-wire: It runs from head to tail, so even when a big tuna goes wild, you can fish with confidence.

⚖️ Weights tuned by hand, one by one: I check the standing posture in water at the same salinity as the sea. I don’t compromise until it stands perfectly vertical.

❤️ Every design is 100% MOMO: I’m in love with tuna, so I design by putting myself in the tuna’s shoes. 😂💗

From Hokkaido to fishing lovers around the world 💗

“I want to catch a giant tuna with a lure I made myself!”

That dream is where my fishing-MOMO life began. 🎣

Tuna run me ragged every single day, but I love them too much to help it. 😂🧡

After repeating test after test after test, these are the lures I’m finally proud of. 🔥

Let’s chase that dream giant tuna together! 🐟💓

Go for Monster Bluefin Tuna Around the World! (^^)/🌊