This is becoming really big but I still have not done it. You tuna guys ever give it a try? Seems like more fun (once hooked up) then dragging bars all day.
Also, I keep thinking everytime I see those marks way dow I should stop the boat and drop something to them but normally just keep going.

yeah!

i hooked up once this summer doing it, using a heavy spinning rod i usually use for bass. targeting fish that were down 150ft. definitly going to get a correct set up to do it this year, once a i find a shop that has a nice selection of rods i can try out.

it also worked really well for bottom fish, especially big pollock, i have found. i was out on a marathon party boat trip doing this, and when we went over a school, i was catching 5 to 1 compared to everyone else.

the hookup with the tuna was the harest hit i have ever had. it was like i hooked up to the back of a car going 40mph. same thing with the pollock, when they hit it, they absolutely nail the jig. i think because the jig is moving so randomly, and fast through the water, they tend to hit it at full speed, because they are chasing it down.

I'm planning on doing more of it this year - just ordered a new rig from Saltwater Edge - went with the 5'8" Van Staal Jig rod with the Avet LX 6.1. Going to load it up with 80lb braid and hold on -- can't freaking wait.

I have a trevala rod waiting for me at First Light as we speak.

I went with the Avet LX6:1 and a Trevala rod.......those rods are sick!

Why is a special set up needed to vertically jig a fairly light jig?

I'd see the blobs of red between 40 - 50ft on the finder, toss out the jig up current so I'd have a few well maybe one true vertical jig(s), but was humbled every try last year. I'll be at it again this year, and can't wait to hook up, that first fish will be extra sweet.

I still believe the saying "they hit everything and they hit nothing" , I love the everything days.

:jump1: < 3 months to go ... :jump1:

I think what happens is allot of manufacturers want to make you think you need a specialty rod for every kind of fishing method, thus selling more gear.

You don't need a specific rod for butterfly jigging. If you look at the rod specs they are relatively short rods for the boat, and they are stout, med to fast action with heavy power.

If you happen to have a 6'6 short, stout cod rod loaded with braid that many guys use now instead of the long sticks then your all set if you can't or don't want to shell out more coin. Just make sure that the quality of the guides is good, esp the tip. Those Shimano rods are wrapped with all fugi SIC, which is the best and most costly.

Beamie, These rods are not stout, they are twigs, nice and light. It's amazing the fish you can land with these rods. We bought two to jig for tuna this year.

Wrong adjective I guess......

When I say stout I'm not refering to weight (oz) of the blank. I'm refering to stiffness and length. So take everything that stout means minus the bulky weight part of it.

gotcha, misunderstood

Tajon which model? What reel are you going with?

rod = Shimano TFS63MH Trevala F Butterfly Jigging Spinning Rod

The highly innovative Shimano Trevala Jigging rod series is designed to be fished with the deadly Shimano Butterfly jigs, which were developed from an extremely productive Japanese-style jigging system. These are powerful, lightweight and light-action rods to be used with high speed, high power reels (such as a Shimano Trinidad Narrow or Stella).

* Shimano High Modulus TC4F Construction
* New Concept Fuji SIC guides
* Fuji reel seat
* Black diamond foregrip
* Custom shaped reargrip
* Aluminum gimbal on selected rods
* Limited Lifetime Warranty


reel = Spheros 14000FB

I chose the reel partial because of my budget. I got the best rod and compromised on the reel a bit. It still holds tons of braided line and should have 44lbs of drag.

I think as long as you have a high speed reel with a drag that can take extened runs under high drag pressure you should be ok. I think I am going pick up one of those rods and a pack of butterfly's this season.
(just what I need....another rod!)

I have used them and last October, I caught an 80 lbs big eye at Jones' canyon. Jordan Paullo is the Shimano rep and he should be at the RISAA show. I have 2 of the jigging set ups, one with a Shimano Trinidad and one with a Penn Torium. The rods are great and are suprisingly powerful for their diameter.

I was really leaning towards the torium but decided that the spinning outfit would be more versatile to me. To each his own I guess. FLA recommends the stella reels but those are too much $ for me.

I'm going to head to First Light and talk to Nat. I have two brand new Torium
30's doing nothing but gathering dust. Thanks for the info.

I picked up a med spinning travala rod, they are sweat, but I opted for hardloy guides. SIC guides IMHO are a complete waste of money, I've been fishing braid since it was introduced and some of the rods still have the original set of hardloy guides; never any problems.

I have a question, has anyone been using the flexible wire for the terminal connection or the wire slug hooks, similar to that shown in the Shimano video I got with the purchase? Curious what is the best bet, I'm not looking forward to donated $12 jigs to garter blues off the Vineyard. I'm considering my options here, looking for the flexible wire, or going considerably heavier on the fluro connection.

Got my Avet from The Edge today -- Just packed on a bloody ton of 80lb braid -- Can't freaking wait!

what are the favorite jigs to use ive had good luck with straight dropping the class "Crippled herring" to bass before

A hammered diamond jig works wonders on SBFT. I dont think you need to g0 spend 20- per jig when a 5- jig will at worst fish with them and at best out fish those expensive metals. Change out the treble to a nice owner hook and you got yourself a fine tool of the trade for short money.

Good advice KR, I'll have to give the diamond jig a shot.. it's ridiculous what those butterfly jigs run.

Don't laugh. They catch. Awesome action. A freind of mine gave me these after working on a NOAA vessel in the Gulf. They were catching Mahi and yellowfin. You could put some of those assist hooks up the front. Could probably load up on these at the Christmans Tree shop for a buck a piece.

A far as butterfly jigs. Buy a few different sizes. Make plaster of paris molds from them. You'll get 10 or 15 jigs before the mold cracks. Clean them up a bit and paint to your delite. I do this all the time with bucktails.

Great idea Beamie. Ok ,where can I get some tape to mimic this olive pattern?

Maybe Freak can paint us some :D

All kinds of tape here................

http://www.identi-tape.com/deco-holo.html

I did quite a bit of butterflyin' last year..... bass/blues and bluefins too. its a very enjoyable technique to use. I now own 4 trevala rods- 2 paired up with Axet SX's for bass/blues (the MEDIUM series trevala) and 2 paired to LX (the XXH version of the same rod). the line ratings are a little deceiving- the XXH says it'll handle 80-200lb braid(?!).... I used it with 65lb Stealth.

as far as jigs go, PM me if you wanna some much less expensive altermatives.... I also started rigging the assist hooks with flexible wire with great success. its easier/simpler/more durable than the whole splicing thing..........

bob