# Butterfly Bluefish



## Bob Fate (Jul 31, 2007)

Finally got out to try my new Butterfly set-up. Got on a party boat for bluefish, since they are usually pretty cooperative and easy to catch. (A good fish to practice on.)

It took a while to get the right jigging motion (pull up, reel down) since I'm not the most coordinated guy.









I wound up with about a dozen blues up to 12 lbs. Catching them on the Trevala rod was a blast and the Torium was smooth as butter!

I've got blisters on my right hand, my left hand was cramped up, and my ribs on the left side are a bit sore. But after a full day of Butterfly jigging I can say that I'm definitely hooked on this method!









Can't wait for striper season and the Big Cows! Thank you Bantam1 for all your advice and helping me choose the right rod and reel.









-Bob


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## KG2 (Nov 15, 2006)

thats really good to hear, get you some pelagic gloves, those things are a lil pricey but they will last forever....


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## Bob Fate (Jul 31, 2007)

KG2 said:


> thats really good to hear, get you some pelagic gloves, those things are a lil pricey but they will last forever....


I googled them and found two styles. Are they for preventing blisters? Also, would you recommend the full or cut finger gloves? Do they offer any warmth in cold weather? Anybody else out there use these?

Thanks,
Bob


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## KG2 (Nov 15, 2006)

Bob Fate said:


> I googled them and found two styles. Are they for preventing blisters? Also, would you recommend the full or cut finger gloves? Do they offer any warmth in cold weather? Anybody else out there use these?
> 
> Thanks,
> Bob


i have the full glove, and they are good for handling snappers, unloading hooks in fish, not sure bout the warmth, and they are good with the braid on a non LW reel as it doesnt cut into your finger,

Kevin


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Are you jigging on the east coast?


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## Bob Fate (Jul 31, 2007)

Bantam,

Yes, East Coast. NJ.

-Bob


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Sorry for the delay in my response. Flight delays due to weather prevented me from returning to the office yesterday...

Here are the jig sizes and colors that I used when I fished there. We fished for Stripers and Blues.

Regular Butterfly Jig 90-135 gram

Pink
Chartreuse/White
Sardine

Flat Side Butterfly Jig 112-168 gram
Aji
Green Sardine
Chart/White/Glow
Pink/Blue

We caught several fish on all of these colors. You need to work the jig a little slower for the Stripers, they seemed to be pretty lazy.


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## Bob Fate (Jul 31, 2007)

Bantam,

Yeah, stripers (especially the bigger ones) are generally lazy fish. Alot of times they will hold under a school of blitzing bluefish and just pick up the scraps that fall down from the frenzy.

When using the traditional jigging methods with diamond jigs, crippled herrings, and krocodiles I mostly use long sweeps of the rod and let the lure flutter down. Another method is short hopping motions very close to the bottom.

Thanks so much for the butterfly suggestions. Now for the questions....got a minute?

1. I was reading about the "flat side" jigs and it said they are recommended for water over 150'. Most of my striper jigging is done in 35'-75'. Can the flat side be effective that shallow? The idea that it is effective from a drifting boat (horizontal) sounds like it would be great, but I'm unsure about the depths.

2. Did you find that the different colors were all that important, or did they all catch pretty equally?

3. When jigging the regular butterflies did you use that rythmic "pull up, reel down/drop the rod tip, reel up" method that is shown in the video? I find that retrieve is a bit difficult to do perfectly. Are you just using that technique but slower? Or is there a better retrieve to try?

4. Did you use the Shimano "wind-on" leader for them or just a short 3' or 4' leader?

Thanks for all your help with this. I took a pretty good ribbing from the captain of the boat that I was on while using the butterfly. He said things like, "are they _paying_ you to fish with their stuff?" And when I started catching fish he said things like, "Dreams _can_ come true!"

So you can see some of these old time captains are a bit resistant to this new method. Although the mates were cool with it, as well as some of the other customers who took an interest in watching me learn it.

Now I'm making it a personal mission to learn as much as I can about the butterfly so that when the hot striper jigging season comes around (November through early January) I'll be kicking bass!!







And hopefully getting others interested in trying this technique.

BTW, I found out about the spring Butterfly seminars, just about a day too late (literally). Any chance you will be running those again next year? If so, I'll be the first to sign up!

Sorry to bombard you all at once with all these questions. Thanks again for all your help. You are certainly a great asset to your company!

-Bob


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

1. I was reading about the "flat side" jigs and it said they are recommended for water over 150'. Most of my striper jigging is done in 35'-75'. Can the flat side be effective that shallow? The idea that it is effective from a drifting boat (horizontal) sounds like it would be great, but I'm unsure about the depths.

This is not true. I used these jigs (112-140) in 70 feet effectively. The heavier the jig also means the longer the jig. At times they want a bigger profile bait. 

2. Did you find that the different colors were all that important, or did they all catch pretty equally?

Well I think that some colors do get bit better by certain species. The colors I listed all worked effectively. It will depend on water clarity and available light at the depth you are fishing. One day the Chart/Glow got bit better than any other color we used. The next day it was all about the Sardine.

3. When jigging the regular butterflies did you use that rythmic "pull up, reel down/drop the rod tip, reel up" method that is shown in the video? I find that retrieve is a bit difficult to do perfectly. Are you just using that technique but slower? Or is there a better retrieve to try?

Yes the same technique just a little slower. The retrieve does take practice. Most of the jigging is actually done with the reel. Reel handle up, rod tip up. Reel handle down, rod tip down. 

4. Did you use the Shimano "wind-on" leader for them or just a short 3' or 4' leader?

I use our wind on leaders now to save time. I hate tying the Albright knot  If you are jigging then use at least 10-12' of leader material. You can use mono or fluorocarbon. The wind on makes it easier to change leader strength quickly. Maybe you will fish stipers on the beach in the morning and run offshore to fish tuna in the afternoon. You can change the leader very quickly with the wind on leader. Tying knots like the Albright or Bimini on a boat can be a pain.


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## Bob Fate (Jul 31, 2007)

Great info! Thanks again Bantam. Any chance you guys will be running those "hands on" Butterfly seminars again next year?


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## Bantam1 (Jun 26, 2007)

I'm not sure. It all depends on the requests of our local reps and dealers.


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