The Shimano "Butterfly" system: Legitimate lures or overpriced crap?

[maxxorcist07]

I've heard and read so much. I think the guys saying how great the "Butterfly System" is are getting a kickback from Shimano. Are there any fans, or is it all a sham?

[Afry]

This has been discussed many times here...try a search. Short version is butterfly or knife jigs are very effective for both bottom or blue water fish. You can do this by not using any Shimano products.

The Trevela rod is a nice deal though as they are not expensive and have large guides the entire length that allow easy casting with a braided to flouro connection. But any parabolic rod will do (270 or 870)

Noah's has the exact same jig as Shimano's for much le$$ and they do internet orders.

Any high speed reel (as close to 40" per crank) will work and so will others if you just wind a little faster.

I highly recomend using the braided line although I have used mono in a pinch and it works as long as you don't need to go to deep.

[IglooMan]

This past summer in La Paz I used Butterfly jigs with an old Penn 4/0 and caught yellowfin. The reel wasnt high speed, and the tuna appeared to be hitting just about anything, but Im cant wait to test them out on Amberjack and Dog Snapper, they are expensive but I believe they will work just fine...

[Pimp Fish Daddy]

They look sort of like somebody reversed a MegaBait... If that is indeed the case, you could hook yourself up with a "system for about 1/3rd the cost... A better question is, why do they cost sooooo much??? I've seen them advertised for around $26.00 each... A large MegaBaits around $8.00... They're about the same size and weight with about the same finish...

[tap]

They ARE a little pricey. I paid almost $300 at Fisherman's Landing Tackle Shop for a handfull of lures AND the rigging package which is separate and includes hooks, split rings, etc. However, I also outfished the live bait and traditional yo-yo guys about 3-1 with the Butterflys on two separate trips to Panama. Caught much BIGGER fish also and we were fishing from the same boat. Worth every penny as far as I'm concerned. Check out the December issue of Marlin Magazine and you'll see one of the fish I caught using this method ("Panamanian Free-For-All").

Tony Pena
"The Roving Angler"

[Smudge]

I'm not convinced that they're good for local stuff. Most of the yellows caught recently have been yo-yo fish, and on the few occasions that I've seen someone on the boat fishing BF style(including myself) they have been LESS effective than traditional yo-yo iron/technique. I personally haven't caught any yellows on them and I've been using the good dragonfly jigs we carry at Noah's. My personal experience my be unique, I'm not sure. But if you do feel like springing for a butterfly set up, I say forego the WAY overpriced Shimano stuff and stick with River2sea and Dragonfly...

[Smudge]

Oh, and stick with the rod/reel advice given above...

[ZZZZZ]

I think style, body, weight, and how a jig acts on the retrieve and drop is what is important.

I don't fish knife jigs or butterfly jigs, but I did get a 80lb Yellow Fin Tuna on a River2Sea full size on the sink/flutter probably would had eaten anything it was night.. I prefer Iron and they do seem to out fish the butterfly/knife jigs from what I have noticed in local waters, but to me a Tady 45 is very different then a 7x, ect. So I think brand and or design does matter when trying to entice a bite on a jig. Just because it looks similar does not mean its going to get bit the same as the other.

If someone was to spend the time figuring out all the styles I can guarantee some are more productive then others, not sure which brand though. But if they were priced the same I think I know which brand most would be buying. Allot of work too fishing those things.

Yellows on YOYO IRON.

But those jigs do charge the bottom fast but I like Jax Jigs for Rockies local, but in the tropics I just might have to play with some butterfly/knife jigs for Pargos, Snappers, ect. I hear and have seen good results in those regions for those type of bottom dwellers. Heavy Iron can be too light, Jax not good style, so maybe butterfly/knife has home for me in tropics. I think they will work great in the tropics for bottom dwellers. The world is large and has allot of water what might not work good local can be lethal elsewhere.

[SteveD]

about 200% overpriced!

[tap]

They probably need to be tested more locally to determine how effective they are compared with traditional iron. All I know is that I've used all the traditional iron jigs for decades and, especially in the tropics, since I started experimenting with the Butterfly system have caught fish 2 or 3 times normal size. For some reason the "slicing sideways" action fools the bigger, mature fish. All my buddies using the system are pumped.

Tony Pena
"The Roving Angler"

[EL CAPITAN]

I used it for bottom fishing off of colonet caught crap load of bottom critters, and yellows. The way I have it rigged is 40lb spectra with flouro on my Avet LX 2 speed on a calstar gfx 760. I think it's a good technique. Hope this is good info

[daddy69]

I think the guys using the system just look so cool, twitching and jerking while i bring fish to the boat.