noun
artificial fly; lure
Fishing term for an artificial fly or lure used in fly fishing or lure fishing.
渓流釣りでは、擬餌針を使って魚を誘う。
In mountain stream fishing, we use artificial flies to lure fish.
彼は手作りの擬餌針で大物を釣り上げた。
He caught a big one with a handmade lure.
ルアー is a more general loanword for fishing lures, while 擬餌針 specifically refers to artificial flies or lures that imitate bait, often used in traditional fly fishing.
毛鉤 is a traditional Japanese artificial fly made with feathers and thread, often used in tenkara fishing. 擬餌針 is a broader term that can include modern synthetic lures.
Compound of 擬餌 (giji, 'imitation bait') and 針 (hari, 'hook'), with rendaku voicing to bari. The spelling 擬餌鉤 uses 鉤 (kagi, 'hook') as an alternative character for 'hook'.