2026.10.17

Daiwa Kamasu Hunter 55S: A Barracuda Minnow With a #10 Hook for Hard Mouths

minagiman

Autumn dawn on a beach or in a harbour: schools of barracuda (kamasu) are tearing into bait. There are plenty of them – yet they hardly ever stay hooked on a lure. Sound familiar?

Daiwa has released a lure named after exactly that fish: the Kamasu Hunter 55S, a sinking minnow aimed squarely at barracuda and mekki (juvenile trevally). Lures with a fish’s name in them are rare, so here is a full look at how it is built.

Released in September 2026, it comes in one size only: 55 mm, 5.5 g. Daiwa already makes the “Kamasu Hunter Minnow 50S”, but the 55S is a completely different lure, with a different weight system and a different approach to hooks.

Contents

Specification


Length	55 mm
Weight	5.5 g
Type	Sinking
Weight system	Fixed
Hooks	Silver treble #10
List price	1,200 yen (excl. tax)
Colours	8
Release	September 2026
Targets	Barracuda, juvenile trevally

Daiwa has not published a running depth.

Features

1. A #10 hook to penetrate a hard mouth

The most barracuda-specific part is the hook. Barracuda are known for sharp teeth, but the area around the mouth is actually hard, and hook points struggle to go in. “Bites but no hook-up” and “hooked, then gone” are largely down to this.

The Kamasu Hunter 55S uses a small #10 treble. The idea is that a thinner, smaller hook point gets into a hard mouth more easily. “Lots of bites, nothing sticks” is a very common complaint in barracuda fishing, and it is interesting to see a lure that answers it on the lure side.

2. Fixed weight for an instant response

The weight is fixed, not moving. With nothing shifting in flight, it reacts the instant you twitch or jerk, so you can make it act again and again over a short distance. Barracuda schools react together to bait crossing in front of them, so being able to fire off sharp flashes at short intervals means more chances to get bit.

3. A crisp darting flash

Highly responsive, it flashes sideways faithfully to every rod movement – each flash a glint from its flank that distant fish can see.

4. Stays down at speed and in current

Small minnows tend to pop to the surface when wound fast or hit by current. The 55S is designed to hold its depth even on a fast retrieve or in current, all the way to your feet. Barracuda react to fast movement, so not blowing out on a fast retrieve is a big point. It should also work well in fast-flowing harbour spots and around river mouths.

5. Sinking, but with a light, floating-minnow feel

Daiwa describes it as “sinking, yet with the light handling of a floating minnow”. Sinking minnows often feel heavy to retrieve; this one is easy on a light rod and good for continuous twitching.

6. A balance of distance, depth and control

At 55 mm and 5.5 g, it suits light-game tackle: it casts further than a bare jig head, can be sunk to search depths, and responds instantly. Balancing all three is the concept.

Colours

Colour	When to use (Minagiman’s view)
Orange Back Gold	Dim dawn light, stained water
DH Iwashi Red Belly	The basic choice when sardine are the bait
DH Chart Head Shirasu	Days with small bait such as whitebait
DH Orange Head GB Kibinago	Slim bait such as silver-stripe round herring
DH Chart Orange	Stained water and overcast days, for appeal
Keimura Clear Iwashi GB	Clear water, pressured schools in daylight
DH Iwashi	When you want a natural look
Chart Back Silver	Sunny days, to get the attention of distant fish

To start, DH Iwashi Red Belly and Orange Back Gold cover both dawn and daytime.

How to fish it

Fairly fast straight retrieve – find the school’s position and depth first. It does not blow out, so speed is fine.
Twitch and retrieve – two or three twitches, then wind. The bite comes on the flash.
Count down – count after it lands to sink it and find the layer with fish.

Barracuda travel in schools: once you catch one, repeat the same depth and speed. When the bites drop off, change colour or action to keep them from getting wise.

I think of barracuda as “the fish that announces the start of autumn on the surf”. A day with barracuda schools is also a sign that bait has moved close to shore. (More in my Japanese barracuda guide.)

When and where to find barracuda

Period	Situation
Late August-September	Small schools start entering harbours and river mouths
October-November	Bigger fish, cruising in schools off beaches and breakwater tips – the peak
December on	As the water cools they move deeper, and places to catch them become limited

Classic spots: around harbour lights, breakwater tips, river mouths and beaches where bait gathers. Barracuda often rise to the surface at dawn and dusk and sink a little deeper once the sun is up. So: surface with a straight retrieve in the morning, count down to mid-water once the sun is high. Being a sinking lure that can change depth, the 55S handles that shift through the day with one lure.

Barracuda schools follow bait such as anchovy. Birds diving or the surface fizzing are good signs a school is there.

For juvenile trevally (mekki)

Daiwa’s other listed target is mekki – juveniles of trevally such as bigeye trevally and giant trevally. They enter harbours and river mouths influenced by the warm Kuroshio current in autumn, respond to fast movement and hit darting lures hard. The 55S’s twitch-and-fast-retrieve works as is. Mekki often chase all the way to your feet, so holding depth right to the end matters here too.

Tackle

Item	Guide
Rod	Light-game rod around 7-8 ft, rated to about 10 g
Reel	2000-2500 size
PE	0.3-0.6
Leader	Fluorocarbon 1.5-2.5 (Japanese sizes; go thicker if teeth are cutting it)

Barracuda teeth often damage the leader – run your fingers over the end of the leader after every fish.

Compared with similar lures

Lure	Length	Weight	Weight system	Price
Daiwa Kamasu Hunter 55S	55 mm	5.5 g	Fixed	1,200 yen (excl. tax)
Daiwa Kamasu Hunter Minnow 50S	50 mm	3.7 g	Front-heavy (tungsten)	1,000 yen (excl. tax)
Duel Hardcore LG Heavy Minnow (S)	50 mm	6 g	Fixed	About 1,000 yen street
Shimano Rise Shot Flat 50S	50 mm	4.6 g	–	–

vs Kamasu Hunter Minnow 50S

Daiwa’s earlier model: 50 mm, 3.7 g, front-heavy with a tungsten weight. The 55S is 1.8 g heavier, fixed-weight and response-focused. The small, light 50S suits inside harbours and close range; the heavier, longer-casting 55S suits beaches and big harbours when you want to reach a bit further.

vs Duel Hardcore LG Heavy Minnow (S)

A popular 50 mm, 6 g fixed-weight sinking minnow for horse mackerel, trevally and barracuda. Similar weight: for distance, the LG Heavy Minnow; for hook penetration and sharp flashes, the Kamasu Hunter 55S.

vs Shimano Rise Shot Flat 50S

A 50 mm, 4.6 g sinking minnow that uses a large lip to hold depth and is good at flat flashing. Both show themselves with flashes, but the Rise Shot stabilises depth with its lip, while the 55S uses fixed weight to stop it rising.

Soft plastics: Kamasu Hunter Shad

The same series includes a soft plastic, the Kamasu Hunter Shad (1.5 inch, 8 per pack, 500 yen excl. tax, 9 colours), based on the Gekkabijin Duck Fin Beam and made from a tough elastomer that resists being bitten off. Handy to switch to when the fish stop reacting to minnows.

Minagiman’s take: an answer to the “no hook-up” problem

The biggest waste in barracuda fishing is a school right in front of you that you cannot hook, or that falls off. Many people put this down to “striking too late” or “bad luck”, but I think the hook often simply does not suit the hard mouth.

The Kamasu Hunter 55S tackles that with a #10 hook, and its fixed weight shows several flashes per cast, giving more chances inside the school. On the other hand, 55 mm may be a little big on days with tiny bait such as whitebait – switch to the Kamasu Hunter Shad then.

Summary

A 55 mm, 5.5 g sinking minnow for barracuda and juvenile trevally.
A #10 hook that gets into a hard mouth.
Fixed weight for repeated sharp flashes.
Holds depth at speed and in current.
8 colours, 1,200 yen (excl. tax), released September 2026.

Barracuda liven up autumn fishing, and when you find a school you can catch plenty. If “bites but no hook-ups” is your problem, this purpose-built minnow is worth a try.