A man in Kinmen County who left his job in construction due to a chronic illness has found a new calling making eco-friendly fishing lures.
Wang Tsung-lieh (王聰烈) said that his love of fishing motivated him to make lures for a living, adding that he makes them only with wood to prevent damage to the marine environment.
The pandemic has caused a dent in sales, but he is still working hard at making the fishing tackle, he said.
Photo: CNA
Wang was introduced to lure fishing by a senior classmate when he was 17, and later taught himself to make lures, he said.
“Lures do just as their name suggests — they lure fish in by mimicking smaller fish. Lures can move differently in the water depending on how you manipulate the fishing line,” he said.
Asked how he ended up in Kinmen, Wang said that his mother and two brothers moved to the county 20 years ago to work in construction.
After his mother and older brother later passed away in Kinmen he made the trip for the funeral, he said.
While there, he felt that his fate was to live in Kinmen, so he relocated to the county, he said.
However, after his muscle atrophy worsened he was unable to continue doing construction work, and decided instead to follow his interest making lures, he said.
“I had graduated from a vocational high school and was good at working with machine tools, so for me, making lures was not difficult,” he said.
Wang said that while making lures by hand could be considered an artisan craft, a knowledge of fluid mechanics is necessary to make the lures move well in water.
Wang said that his lures move vertically and horizontally, in a natural way that mimics the movement of real fish and are not affected by waves.
The lures take one to two weeks to make, and cost between NT$280 and NT$4,000, depending on the level of their complexity, he said, adding that his lures are priced higher compared with those sold on the market, which are made of plastic and mass produced.
“Unfortunately, most of those plastic lures break from the line and end up as marine waste,” he said.
Well-crafted lures also have the benefit of being a collectible item for fishers, he said.
“Fishing enthusiasts have the habit of taking photos of their catches. If the lure is visible in the shot, it’s not uncommon for other enthusiasts who see the photo to buy the lure from the person who made the catch,” he said.
However, despite the collectability and practical nature of lures, the relatively small number of fishing enthusiasts in Taiwan means that he has a small market to pitch his wares to, he said, adding that the pandemic has made sales even more challenging.
“But I’m not giving up. I hope in the future I can add some local Kinmen element to my lures to make them even more unique,” he said. “I want to forge ahead on this island.”
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS