Miuras Mouse, a star is born, interview Maurizio "Miuras" Carini
The history of the creator and creation of Miuras Mouse
During 2007, at the age of 24, Maurizio “Miuras” Carini had the golden opportunity to finally experience fishing in a professional context, jumping at the chance to work as an fishing guide for a tour operator of pike fishing trips abroad. And so, after a positive conversation with the facility manager, he closed his existing job position. Maurizio packed his bags, moved to Ireland and immediately began his apprenticeship in what he realized was a true paradise. The shining bright green of meadows and moors carved by a system of major and minor rivers, punctuated by bodies of water of variable extent, colonized by various animal species and fish in and out of the water, was a celestial vision.
Before the Miuras Mouse
The mixture between the sense of freedom and the pleasure of being the director of one's dreams, being 24 hours a day in the company of people with the same passion, increased in him an even more unbridled and extreme obsession for pike fishing. In a small accommodation shared with his colleague Riccardo, the fishing material and baits were far superior to personal effects, even risking hooking in the event of clumsy movements. The fishing revolved around their lives, so these and other premises opened the doors to the unbridled creativity of bait modification.
In vino veritas, beginnings
There was always within him the heady feeling that not everything had yet been discovered and that much more could be created to to facilitate catching larger pike. He had noticed how it was necessary to use slowly to achieve success soft baits such as grub and generously sized shad, but which alone, due to their very nature and specific weight, did not allow “temporizing” in the presentation suspended in shallow waters and above submerged vegetation. The epochal turning point to this worry came completely unexpectedly in 2008, where, thanks to a banal tidying up of the kitchen of lodge during a day off from work, Maurizio found some abandoned corks at the bottom of the cutlery drawer. To be clear: of those who cork wine bottles and become their memory.
Birth of Miuras Mouse
The moment he popped one in his hand, wondering whether to throw it away or keep it, he had a powerful deja vu on that unsuspecting object, not only just as the potential bait he was looking for, but also a draft project for its realization. Having access to essential means and materials, including the fundamental deer hair left by his friend Manuel shortly before, he adapted the idea into a finished product, first testing it in the river under his house in the same afternoon. And the inaugural swim the gaze carefully followed the exasperating slowness of this voluminous creature an inch underwater baited with a large single-tail grub, the academic part of the mind was already working out the possible modifications to be made, due to its very contrary shape from what he have seen up to that point.
Baptism of the mouse
It was on the next cast when the placid calm on the shore was interrupted by a thunderous explosion of water of a pike rose vertically, slashing the surface at it with its mouth closed, almost more to chase it away than to eat it. Taking into consideration that such a quick approval on the new lure could also be a mere coincidence, he returned to his chores albeit with his heartbeat accelerated by that unexpected event, waiting with feigned indifference for the evening return of his colleagues. Later they too decided to make some test casts, and the same magical scene was repeated: a decently sized pike ate voraciously, this time grabbing the bait just a hair below the surface of the water. The initial smiles of those present gave way to eyes shining with interest, as they studied and passed hand to hand that creature still wet and disheveled from the pike they had just caught, defining it as a MOUSE.
The prototype
The use of this master was thus extended to the following months in waters of various kinds, with results that left those present disconcerted every time due to the extraordinary ability to attract pikes where other baits failed. These long tests were essential to trace the official lines of the bait, replicating it with a small series, published during the winter break from work, setting up the first working space in the cellar of home in Italy. These few pieces were distributed among close friends, the other lodge guides and some guests who had explicitly requested them previously. From this moment on, production would never stop again.
Addicted to the pike
Whether the mouse was for sale on the Lodge in Ireland noticeboard or actively used in fishing, the mouse managed to catalyze always the attention of those present, first with hilarity at its unusual shapes, then with wonder at the catches reported instilling in the end the contagious desire to have one in your fishing box. Towards the end of 2010, even though his experience as a fishing guide ended, Maurizio continued to keep pike fishing in his heart, and expanded the initial work space to and studied the expansion of the range of new models, using not only his feedback, but also those that came in real time from his former colleagues still stationed in the emerald land. A conglomerate of ideas and cross opinions coming from multiple brains has armored the peculiarities of the bait, gradually correcting the defects of the manufacturing, enhancing the pluses even on the most lethal color combinations.
From Mouse to Miuras Mouse
In the subsequent transition from mouse to “Miuras Mouse®” (anagram of the nickname Mauri) his merits spread like wildfire ever further away, not only within the niche of anglers-travelers in Italy and abroad, but also to other fishing guides, who, without sensationalism, used it, with silent trust, keep its use as confidential as possible. But his astonishing results did not keep his existence incognito for long; in the years between 2013 and 2014 there was the first boom in requests, forcing Maurizio to divide himself between two jobs, triggering an extraordinary work commitment, in which the night often became an extension of the day. Not without a total dedication to the cause, the fervent escalation of events had an important epilogue in 2015, when he made the decision to produce bait as his primary occupation, believing and investing personal savings in the foundation of the company Deftackle.
Miuras Lures is the name of the family that includes a range of products, direct children of their inventor himself. It is only his two hands that still today infuse life, soul, character and effectiveness into the product, giving time a form of absolute value, essential to bring the finished product to maintain high quality standards in full respect of its historical tradition and the values of the original recipe.
Interview Maurizio "Miuras Carini"
AndyArif.ro: Why did Miuras Mouse appear?
Maurizio Carini: Inventions are born when we look for solutions to a problem. The big question at the time was which bait to use simply and directly in shallow water and with a lot of submerged grass. Thus, from the improvisation of a moment, but destined to remain in the memory of time, MIURAS MOUSE® was born, a hybrid bait never seen before thanks to the HORIZONTAL PARACHUTE EFFECT® system.
AA: You are the father of Miuras Mouse, can we call Stefan Trumstedt and Pierre Monjaret the godfathers?
MC: Exactly, Miuras Mouse is my son, but I want to make a clarification: the completeness of the bait, as it is known today, was also possible thanks to the flexible listening of advice from lodge colleagues and fishing friends during the thousands of hours spent on the water. Pierre and Stefan met the bait between 2012 and 2014, bringing it to the forefront of international news and the general public, with the legendary victory of Fly vs Jerk 10. With an enormous resonance, overnight everyone became aware of a bait that until then had remained veiled by its own success in fishing, widely used by a small circle of fishermen, but never openly advertised. But now everyone wants a Miuras Mouse. It goes without saying that such a large audience could no longer be satisfied by slow production processes of the artisanal version made by me. Fortunately, a collaboration with Catch with Care itself had already been active for some time to add, in parallel to my artisanal series, a series of Miuras Mouse suitable for large-scale production, counting on 2 models so far (Big and Mini). By maintaining the main functional peculiarities of the bait and simplifying the production process, after various samples, by mutual agreement with Stefan we arrived at a version suitable for large numbers with a much more convenient price.
AA: What are the differences between the original Miuras Mouse and the CWC Strike Pro version?
MC: The original Miuras products are of 2 types: handmade by Maurizio or by Catch With Care/Strike Pro. Mouse Big and Mini Sub Surface are the models made, at the moment on a large scale. The main differences, as compared to the artisanal series, are the resin body, with a slightly smaller diameter than the handcrafted series. In addition to this, the amount of fur on the body and the head are smaller than the artisanal model, and as a trailer it has a double tail instead of a single one.
AA: How many Miuras Mouses made by you have been sold over the years since production began?
MC: I wrote down in detail in a notebook every bait produced from 2009 until May 2019, and the the certified number between Miuras Mouse and Miuras Duck is 4731 pieces. To this, I add the products no longer marked since 2019, arriving at an estimate of around 6000 pieces.
AA: What is the correct way to fish with Miuras Mouse?
MC: Naturally, and especially in fishing, when it comes to using a lure, the only limits are dictated by the angler's imagination, but I think a set of rules have more success with the Miuras Mouse, making selection on the biggest fish.
Retrieve speed: Find the right retrieve speed and memorize it based on the places frequented. It's very easy not to catch anything if you don't find it, but it's just as easy that you can catch several big fish if you make it.
Slow fishing: Miuras Mouse is the king of slow fishing. You need to take advantage of its ability to be retrieved in slow motion and to be patient by keeping it in the water for as long as possible.
Total control: You are the driver, the rod is the steering wheel and the reel is the accelerator and the brake. By playing on these factors, you will have a level of control never had before with other baits. It is best to train first in shallow, clear water.
Types of retrieves: Mainly intended for a linear retrieve, you can enrich it however with small dynamic variations through the movement of the rod (swaying and pushing), progressive accelerations and decelerations alternated rhythmically.
Flexibility of use: Infinite possibility of changing the tail (single, double, paddle), combined with the possibility of adding extra weight in various areas of the body, makes it an absolutely versatile lure in every situation encountered.
AA: Does Miuras Mouse only catch pike?
MC: Now, even if the number 1 prey is pike, it has also proven to be lethal on catfish, large black bass, musky and hucho. I also have some rare news of large marble trout caught in the river here in Italy but I have not yet had photographic evidence to prove this.
AA: Do you have other designs in the works?
MC: There are many projects but the rush for their release is always a bad advisor, so I dedicate all the time needed before they arrive in the hands of the anglers.
AA: Do you have any other messages to share with anglers reading these lines?
MC: I sincerely thank those who supported and still support me and my work. Without you I would not have been able to turn a passion into a job. And a special thanks goes Catch With Care, for including me in a visionary collaboration, bringing a product from the niche to the big stage. Seeing your own creation casted by an ever-larger audience in countries far from each other in the world, reaping great satisfaction in terms of catches from those who believe in its use, I think is the greatest satisfaction.
Photos: Maurizio "Miuras" Carini
Translation: Malin Musatescu
More Miuras Mouse?
Don't miss episode 1 (Lost in Lapland, fishing in the bog), episode 2 (Lost in Lapland, river fishing in the dam), episode 3 (Miuras Mouse, the leading role in the big pike scene) only on AndyArif.ro
