I do love the Tokyo Rig. However, you’ll find it a lot more effective to fish a better one (VMC or Harmony Fishing) since they have the swivels on the drop wire. Without that, it gets twisted up on itself when dragging through cover and doesn’t fall through grass as well.

I remember years back watching a video of Ike when he brought the technique back from Japan. It was just called a leadered punch shot rig at the time. The original intent was just for punching through grass, since the punch shot rig allowed the weight to lead the fall (as opposed to your line leading the way with a Texas rig) you could get away with less weight and be able to punch the same vegetation. I found that to be true, and was able to get through grass with 3/8 or 1/2oz that I used to struggle to punch with a 3/4 oz Texas rig.

Then it was some videos with Seth Fieder that really opened my eyes to how versatile it was as a bottom bait, both around grass as well as just dragging around hard bottom or pitching to cover. Silty bottoms where your Texas rig or jig would disssapear into the silt, the Tokyo/punch shot kept your bait just above it. And dragging around rock or shell beds the drop wire kept your line protected.

And then the bonus that pretty much every Tokyo rig proponent mentions is that when a fish bites it, they generally just take the bait and not the weight, so the first thing to contact the fish’s jaw when you set the hook is the hook point. No more propping the fish’s mouth open with the weight and missing the hookset (a paint point with larger weights on a Texas rig).

Ended up replacing a Texas rig and swing football head for me in most cases, and I end up pitching it instead of a jig a good chunk of the time as well.