Molix, Italian design for lures

Let’s put it this way, if Italians are famous around the globe for their magnificent styling, design and architecture, why they cannot become the best lure designers in the planet?
I guess you guys are familiar with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Armani, Versace, Scavolini and many other famous names and brands born and developed in my country. It’s something that we, as Italians are pretty proud of, can’t hide that.

Now, a group of crazy fishermen decided that it was about time to do something with a very high standard in the lure design field.

This is how and why Molix was born. Produce the best lures with original designs, no copycat or stolen ideas, with the best possible quality. So good they can rival the highest Japanese standards, and if possible, beat them. Molix Lures come for 100% Italian ideas, design and investments, mixed with Asian high tech quality manufacturing.

One of the owners of the company one day told me: “A Japanese guy said to us that we had a crazy idea - “The Italians are good at making ledgering and Bolognese rods, but they will never make good artificial lures, this is Japan’s business.” I couldn’t disagree more and we have hundreds of examples that show exactly the opposite. If we can build a Ducati we can sure make a 15€ plastic lure that fishermen will enjoy using and that will catch fish for them.

Nothing is impossible 

Are Sea Bass aggressive or what?

Check this out guys, a good fishing week-end, lots of strikes and many missed fish. Good fun, the best you can get in a Mediterranean summer day. Light tackle all the way, like the good ol’ times.

We used walking the dogs and soft plastics rigged weedless and without any kind of weight: Super Flukes, Houdini Shads, Slug-go, and alike. First shooting with my new combo and the photos are mostly crap. I have to get used to it and work my way with the new flash too, is just a simple matter of time.

Look at this little European Sea Bass what kind of lure tried to inhale. And haven’t I been so lazy I would have had some other images of mini predators taking WTD as big as them, but the fish were biting and I was more into the fisherman rather than the photographer mood.

Not much Guinness, lots of Sea Bass

The only Guinness beer we saw was canned Guinness, freshly bought from a local supermarket together with a couple of bottles of wine to irrigate our dinner. There was no time for bars, Irish pubs or parties. Only fishing, fishing and a little bit more of fishing.

Three crazy guys came with me to this exploratory trip to the deep Irish south west. Galway, a paradise for sea bass, protected by strict laws enforced by the government. Fish that grow for the exclusive pleasure of recreational fisherman, without the use and abuse of the trade. In a country like Ireland where the money is not plentiful and the crisis is hammering hard, this is a real impressive result. The recreational fishermen are only entitled to two pieces per day and no nets, gillnets, trawls and long lines are affecting the stock.

So the hopes were high. The reports from friends who had been there previously were amazing and it was already time to park the heavy duty tackle for some lighter outfit. Oriol, Thomas and Mario were the lucky ones who shared with me these 4 intense, fruitful and enjoyable days. John was our guide and Lynn, his wife, tireless cook, terribly frightened by the amount of food the Spanish-Italian team could gobble each day.

After about two and a half hours drive from Shannon Airport and a flat tire, we were able to reach the cottage. A quick bite to calm the restless stomachs and after rigging the tackle we could finally go fishing. The first day was a little poor, with a couple of bass and one or two more bites. A good dinner and a deserved rest were needed to prepare the tired bodies for the next day, with a scary wake up call at 04:30 in the morning.

On our first full day of fishing, even arriving at dawn at the spot and despite of the efforts of the guide, the fish were still not participating. However, Oriol managed to land the largest piece of the week, but the team is far from being happy yet.

It was just the second full day of fishing that things began to cheer up. There were moments of frantic activity followed by sudden stops, all this due to the tides and the food that would concentrate or spread the fish. But we were staring seeing numbers at least. The double digits that my friends anticipated me before my trip were not a lie or a fisherman’s exaggeration, and the Irish Bass proved us that they can be very aggressive and fierce predators.

Fishing was mainly either on the surface with walking the dogs, or an inch below the water with soft plastics, especially Fin-S and the Super Fluke, basically because they were the only ones we had. I found a dog that worked wonderfully in a foggy morning. Could cast it where others failed and obviously had an action that our finned ladies liked very much. Climbed to the highest step of the podium and every minute his stock value was moving faster that the rate of oil.

There are plenty of Pollocks too. Unfortunately the photos I have are so pathetic that I will not dare to show them. Thus I do remember the panic of climbing up and down those high and steep cliffs under which where they live. It was scary. Fearful. Hopefully next time they will not see me wearing long neoprene waders with felt soles, thus I will be scared again, no shame to admit it.

I fished with two 7-foot Lamiglas travel rods which have worked wonderfully. The old series of Lamiglas Travel was quite bad but these have shown great qualities, both in casting and working the lures, exceeding the 8-foot rods that my friends were using. One is spinning, the XTC 704 able to toss lures up to 3/4oz and the other is the casting model XTC7025 with a lure rating up to 1 1/2oz. On the first one I put a reel a tad too big for it, the Certate 3500 Custom and on the second a Team Daiwa Luna 253, bait casting, which is a little gem. Tuf Line 20lb with 20/30lb leaders. Lures of the like of Spit'n Image, GunFish, Sammy, High Roller, and the vinyl discussed above.

I’ll close this post with the negative side of the trip. During a photo session on the shoreline, three flashes mounted on a Lastolite Tri-Flash and a Manfrotto 001 Stand decided to take a swim and got as fried as the eggs we would eat in the morning. After a couple of hours I slipped on a rock and the Nikon D80 with the Sigma 10-20 drunk a good pint of water and stopped working. Finally, the joke had cost me more than most expensive trip to the tropics and I only managed to keep working thanks to the old D70s and 18-200, a lens that I don’t love too much and no speedlights available to lit up a bit the images.

Yet I came back from Ireland happy. I made peace with the soft plastics, I returned to see a country I love a lot, and I fished light tackle, which ultimately gives me great satisfaction. To be 100% satisfied I need the camera and lens to survive the dive, I’ll know it in few days.