Ajing, eging, mebaring, tairaba, gō, PE — Japanese lure fishing brought its vocabulary with it. Here is what each word means, and what the technique actually catches in UK water.
Why UK tackle is full of Japanese words
Japanese lure fishing developed its own vocabulary, and because so much finesse tackle comes from Japan, the words came with it. Most are simple once you know them: they are usually the target species plus -ing.
The glossary
| Term | Say it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Ajing | AH-jing | Fishing for aji (horse mackerel / scad) with tiny jigheads and soft plastics, usually 0.4–3 g. In the UK the same tackle is used for scad, small pollack and wrasse. |
| Mebaring | MEH-ba-ring | Fishing for mebaru (rockfish) — night, close range, ultralight. The UK equivalent is light rock fishing for pollack and wrasse. |
| Eging | EH-ging | Squid fishing with an egi, the prawn-shaped jig with a spiked tail. Very effective for UK squid and cuttlefish in autumn and winter. |
| Tairaba | tie-RAH-ba | Slow-dropped skirted jig for bream and other bottom fish from a boat. |
| Shore jigging | — | Casting metal jigs from rock or beach for mackerel, bass and pollack. Light shore jigging (LSJ) uses 15–40 g; full shore jigging goes far heavier. |
| Slow pitch jigging | — | Boat technique using a fluttering jig worked in short lifts, letting the jig do the work on the fall rather than on the retrieve. |
| Rockfish / Hard rock | — | Japanese shorthand for lure fishing structure for wrasse, pollack and similar. |
| Egi | EH-gee | The squid jig itself. Sized in gō — #2.5, #3.0, #3.5 — where bigger is heavier and sinks faster. |
| Caro / M Caro | KAH-ro | A casting float or sinker that lets you fish a very light lure at distance — the answer to "how do I cast a 1 g jighead 40 m?". |
| Jighead / Jigpara | — | Jig para is a brand family (Major Craft) that became shorthand for compact casting metal jigs. |
| Gō (号) | go | The Japanese size unit used for line, hooks, egi and leader. It measures diameter or physical size, never strength. |
| PE | pee-ee | Polyethylene braid. The number after it is a gō size, not a breaking strain. |
Tict M CARO Ver.2 N-4.6g£10View product →Major Craft JIGPARA 40g JPS-40 #39 DARK NIGHT£13View product →SHIMANO 22 SOARE BB C2000SSPG£127View product →
What these techniques actually catch in the UK
| Japanese technique | UK reality | Rough tackle |
|---|---|---|
| Ajing | Scad, small pollack, wrasse, mullet from harbour walls | 6–7 ft solid-tip rod, 500–2000 reel, PE 0.2–0.4, 0.5–3 g heads |
| Mebaring / LRF | Pollack, wrasse, rockling, mini species | 7 ft rod, C2000S reel, PE 0.4–0.6 |
| Eging | Squid and cuttlefish, autumn to spring, south and west coasts | 8–8.6 ft egi rod, 2500–C3000, PE 0.6–0.8, egi #3.0–3.5 |
| Light shore jigging | Mackerel, bass, pollack over deep water marks | 9–10 ft rod, 3000–4000, PE 1.0–1.5, jigs 15–40 g |
A caveat worth stating: these are Japanese techniques applied to UK species, and the fit is good but not perfect. Water temperature, tide and the species mix are different. Treat the tackle recommendations as a starting point, not gospel.