Daiwa Gekkabijin Autumn 2026: New Ajing Worms, Jig Heads and Float Explained

Autumn into winter is high season for ajing and mebaring – light-game fishing for horse mackerel and rockfish (mebaru). On a breakwater at night you hook tiny bites with light jig heads and soft plastics. Simple, but very deep.

Daiwa’s light-game brand Gekkabijin has released a whole set of new items this autumn – soft plastics, jig heads and a float – each solving a real ajing problem. Here are all five, with every feature.

Gekkabijin is Daiwa’s light-saltwater (ajing and mebaring) brand, covering rods, reels, soft plastics and jig heads. Note: the product names below are romanised from Daiwa Japan’s catalogue; export names may differ.

1. Gekkabijin Hedge – the series’ first PVC worm

The first Gekkabijin shore worm in PVC, adding a soft, natural-moving material to a lineup built mostly on elastomer. It is also the first worm supervised by YOSHIKI.

• Flex joint – a waist in the middle bends as a horse mackerel inhales it, so even a larger worm goes in easily.
• Leech tail – a thin tail that reacts naturally to the slightest movement or current.
• Asymmetric ribs – different ribs on each side catch the current, helping drifts and curve falls.
• Body weight – heavy enough to cast well, so you can use a lighter jig head.
• Cut to use – cut at the joint and it becomes a roughly 1.4-inch finesse tail.

The target is good-sized horse mackerel over 20 cm, fished by drifting on the current or with a curve fall. On days of tiny bites, cut it at the joint to 1.4 inches for small fish. Colours: Keimura Purple, Pink Gold, Keimura Clear Blue, Sakura Dot Glow, Clear Gold, Red Glow, Keimura Lemon Soda, Tsubu Ami, Clear Lime Chart and Nishi-Nihon Bait.

2. Gekkabijin Level Beam – salt-filled elastomer for a level posture

Its biggest feature: salt is mixed into the elastomer, bringing its density close to seawater. That stops the tail floating up when you pause or let it fall, so it drifts in a natural, near-level posture.

• Level posture – density close to seawater, so the tail does not rise on a stay or fall.
• Durability – elastomer resists being torn by pufferfish and wrasse.
• Reverse rib design – vertical ribs at the front, gentle peaks at the back, preventing posture problems from moulding flaws or air bubbles.
• Rigging changes the action – the rear half is flat: hook it horizontally and it catches the current; vertically and it moves crisply.
• Hook-ups – a perfectly round head reduces elastomer’s usual resistance to hook penetration.
• Stays on – easy to use on floats cast 70-80 m and on drop-shot rigs.

It works on a bare jig head, Carolina rig, float or drop-shot – and the level posture especially shines in slow drifts, falls and stays. Colours: Cream Soda, Chirimen Jako, Glow Pink, Aurora Shirasu, Keimura Max Purple 2, Keimura Max Pink, Kirameki Clear, Keimura Clear Lime Glow, Red Glow and Faint Glow Okiami.

In the instant between a horse mackerel seeing the worm, stopping and inhaling it, an unnatural posture means no bite. The Level Beam is built around that “stopped” moment, and it should come into its own on slow days.

Hedge or Level Beam?

My approach: drift the Hedge while the current is running, then switch to the Level Beam and show it slowly when the current stops and bites slow down.

3. Gekkabijin Tsuki no Shizuku R – a luminous float

Released in autumn 2025, this floating-type float pairs well with this season’s worms, for reaching horse mackerel a bare jig head cannot. Luminous colour, one per pack.

• Floating type – residual buoyancy about 1 g.
• Teardrop shape – casts far and flies stably.
• Low centre of gravity – stands steady on the surface.
• Luminous colour – easy to see on a dark sea.

Choose the size by distance: S for near-to-mid, M further, L furthest – and balance it with wind, current and your rod. The trick is to use the float as a marker rather than drag it: let the worm drift on the current beyond the float, adjusting the line bit by bit. Search close with a bare jig head first; if nothing, use the float to reach distant current lines and drop-offs.

4. Gekkabijin Hane Rush – pre-rigged and slip-free

Jig heads that come with the worm already fitted. The top of the head is hollow and the worm is moulded into it, so the worm grips the head itself.

• Insert structure – the worm grips the head, so it stays put under hard actions.
• No rigging needed – no threading worms on.
• Faster fishing – no checking for slippage after every cast; concentrate on the bite window.
• Easy darting – anyone can produce a darting action.

Targets: small rockfish such as mebaru and kasago (scorpionfish), and small migratory fish. On cold winter nights, threading worms with numb fingers is surprisingly hard – you will appreciate it being pre-rigged.

5. Gekkabijin Ajing Jighead X – Range Cross hook, around 300 yen

List price 380 yen, 20 variations; street price in the 300s.

• Range Cross hook – open gape, fine wire, gold plating; hooks horse mackerel mouths securely.
• Low-centre round head – stable posture on the fall and retrieve.
• Water cup – grips water to hold depth.
• Weight stamped on the head – no mixing up weights at night.

Choose the hook to suit the worm size, then the weight for current speed and depth.

Putting them together

In ajing, bare jig heads cover close range and floats cover distance. With just these new Gekkabijin items, you can build a game from near to far and from active days to fussy ones.

Tackle

Line sizes are Japanese gō numbers. (For a reel, see the Shimano 26 Soare BB.)

Summary

• Hedge: the first PVC worm in the series, for drifting to good-sized fish.
• Level Beam: salt-filled elastomer for a level posture – the slow-day ace.
• Tsuki no Shizuku R: a luminous float for distant fish.
• Hane Rush: pre-rigged, slip-free, fast to fish.
• Ajing Jighead X: Range Cross hook, 20 variations, around 300 yen.

In light game, small differences in tackle make big differences in catches. Each of these items is built to catch “one more fish”. As it gets colder, head to a breakwater at night for big horse mackerel and rockfish.

Read next

• Shimano 26 Soare BB light-game reel
• Abu Garcia Zenon CX
• Japanese PE line sizes
• Daiwa Kamasu Hunter 55S
• How to set your drag

MINAGIMAN

JAPAN ANGLER

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Born in 1994. Originally from Hyogo Prefecture, I moved to Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture in search of the sea. I am an Enshunada surf angler who enjoys surf fishing. I am also active on YouTube, and my fishing grounds range from Irago to Iwata.