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Hiro Kawabe: Consummate Professional
By Jerry Puckett

January/February 1995

When you spend a little time with Hiro Kawabe it occurs to you that there is but one way to accurately describe him - consummate professional. This man has his act together so completely that there is no area that is lacking. It is very easy to see what Gary Yamamoto saw in Kawabe nine years ago. Gary was looking for someone to manage his company in Japan and represent his products on the fledgling Japanese pro bass circuit. Well, Yamamoto hired Kawabe and the rest, as they say, is history.

When Kawabe joined forces with Yamamoto, bass fishing tournaments had only a one year history in Japan. A self-taught angler, Kawabe had been involved since the first tournament, specializing in crankbaits and topwaters. He used almost no plastics, nor were plastics a factor in the Japanese market. Kawabe, starting with an open mind and a four-inch grub, set out to develop techniques for the Yamamoto products that would be suited to Japanese bass fishing.

This is the point where Kawabe's media talents took center stage. Armed with a new bag of tricks (and several thousand bags of grubs) he began a full court press via his articles in newspapers and magazines, as well as video and television appearances. Everywhere you looked, there was Kawabe demonstrating on of his hot new techniques or climbing atop the winner's podium at a tournament to collect some "heavy metal". His easy manner and engaging smile made him an instant hit and one of the super stars of a fast growing industry. Essentially Kawabe popularized his techniques and created a market for Yamamoto baits.

Today, Kawabe splits his time between tournament fishing, promotional and writing duties for his sponsors and his duties as general manager for Yamamoto Japan. A typical tournament puts him away from home for a week. Although thirteen of these a year keep him on the road a lot, one advantage he enjoys is the ability to make personal calls to each of his customers at least once a year.

Kawabe has also sampled U.S. bass fishing, traveling here seven times to fish B.A.S.S., numerous U.S. Opens, and two WON Las Vegas Opens. He has some interesting insights and comparisons of pro fishing and fishing pros on both sides of the Pacific. The obvious is that U.S. lakes are larger and the bass boats are not only larger, but much faster. A typical boat in Japan might be a ten horse-power motor on a twelve-foot boat, good for about 20 mph. One reason for this is the cost factor. A stripped down 18-footer with a 150 runs well in excess of $40,000 in Japan. Only the big dogs run the big boats (You needn't ask, Kawabe runs a 20-foot Champion with a 200 Yamaha).

The Japanese tournament day is much shorter than the U.S. version. No first light blast-off; instead a 7:00 A.M. roll call registration meeting and number draw. Even though all tournaments are individual, no drawing for partners, the events progress at a leisurely pace with the first boat going out between 8:00 to 8:30. A 2:00 P.M. weigh-in allows only a six-hour fishing day. The tournament limits are five fish, and depending on the lake, the minimum size is 25 to 30-centimeters (approximately 10-13 inches). Kawabe says the water is so small and the fishing pressure is so high, with every tournament full at 200 boats, that occasionally, even those 10-inch fish are hard to come by.

In Japan the entry fees and the paybacks are modest by U.S. standards. The six pro-invitationals pay a top prize of $4,000, six pro-opens pay $2,500 and the Classic awards a $15,000 boat to the winner. Kawabe estimates that only about five pros make their living solely from fishing even though the major sponsors have lucrative deals with the top players. With the exception of entry fees all other costs associated with tournament fishing are simply insane. We've noted the boat prices but even the costs of commuting to the lake are staggering. To tow a boat from Tokyo to the nearest lake (actually very close) requires tolls of over $250! And, the same equipment and tackle that we use costs roughly three times more in Japan.

The typical Japanese tournament fisherman takes up bass fishing as a hobby. According to Kawabe, they will study and refine their techniques and skills to a degree never practiced by U.S. fishermen. The Japanese angler knows every technique and presentation perfectly and is capable of machine-like execution, whether pitching, flipping, casting, skipping, and on and on. However, they have very limited experience actually fishing due to a lack of water and the extreme expense. Kawabe compares that to the typical U.S. fisherman that he has encountered - they have an incredible wealth of on-the-water experience, but have not found it necessary to refine their art to catch fish. Here there is so much more water, and so many more fish. However, Kawabe recalls being paired with a couple of U.S. pros that had refined their art and achieved the next level, and combined that approach with their incredible amount of on-the-water experience. He recalls that their names were Clunn and Nixon. No surprise there.

Kawabe has this advice for any angler aspiring to win tournaments: Learn your craft and attend to even the smallest of details. And this advice for anyone aspiring to make a living by tournament fishing: Learn to write and teach yourself to speak in public. Kawabe relates, "Your future depends on major sponsorship. You cannot make a living on tournament winnings alone. In order for a major sponsor to have an interest in you, you must be popular and have a gentlemanly manner, and have a reputation as an ethical person. In addition to all of that, you must be able to generate free advertising for your sponsor by public speaking and writing articles. No matter how well you fish you must be able to sell products for your sponsor or you will be a short-term player."

It's hard to argue with success at the level that Kawabe has achieved. In each issue of Basser, the counterpart to Bassmaster, I can normally count at least a dozen times that Kawabe appears. He usually appears in pictures demonstrating a technique or standing on the winner's podium at a tournament, or in an advertisement promoting Japan Bass Tournament Association or any one of his numerous sponsors. In addition, he usually authors several full-blown feature articles each year. This guy is the master of the media.

But enough of all that, can the boy fish? Take it from me, he can. He is one of the finest technical fisherman that I have ever shared a boat with. A day with Kawabe is like an all-day casting demonstration. He is absolutely uncanny. Testimony to that is his string of in-the-money finishes here in the U.S. Fishing strange waters with little or no pre-fish time he continues to finish near the top. His busy schedule does not permit any non-tournament fishing in Japan, therefore he's only getting about 50 days on the water per year. With his talent, I'd like to see what he could do over here with unlimited time to fish!

After a Mexico trip and two Vegas Opens fishing as a teammate with Kawabe I have become a real fan. If you ever come out to Las Vegas for the Open, make it a point to look up Kawabe; you'll find him friendly, happy to visit, and a wealth of information.

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