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The Shimano Butterfly System: Pull the Trigger
Big-game jigging, anyone? If you want to target large fish with heave metal, Shimano’s Butterfly system fits the bill. On a recent offshore adventure I had the opportunity to try what is essentially a big-water/light tackle version of the system—a Torsa 16 N reel matched up with a Trevala rod and six- to nine-ounce Butterfly jigs—and the results were out-and-out stunning.
Spooled with 60-lb. braid, this rod and reel combination is designed to take on tunas and other high-power pelagics. The Torsa is an incredibly fast reel, taking up 45” of line with every revolution of the crank. The drag system is silky smooth and can be torqued up to apply gobs of pressure, and the narrow spool design has an added bonus: line lays on itself back and forth across the reel, eliminating the need to level-wind it. Sound nice? It is, and so far as quality goes the Torsa is on a par with the very finest equipment out there. That explains why the price for a 16 N may raise an eyebrow or two (it goes for over $700!) The Trevala rod (surprisingly inexpensive in comparison, at $150 to $200) has a limber tip that bends easily but tapers quickly into a stiffer mid-section, and then a stout lower section. Put all these rod and reel attributes together, and you can crank and lift using the butterfly retrieval method, loading and unloading the rod, so the jig darts through the water at high speed—hopefully, triggering a reaction strike. At all times there’s tension on the line, and unlike vertical jigging, there is never a rod position or time frame during which you can’t set the hook effectively.
The system proved its worth while wreck fishing on a dead tide, during which the sea bass had little to no interest in feeding. Butterflies out-fished cut squid by a two-to-one ratio, while the fish were in this lethargic mood. Added bonus: the top-hook rigging style of the Butterfly jigs usually prevents snagging the wreck, and while I usually would expect to lose eight or 10 jigs through the day, we only lost two or three.
Later in the day we decided to try an unusual trick, and see if we could deep-water jig for golden tilefish, living 750’ below in the sea bottom. Here’s where the system’s eclectic abilities really came through. The jigs made it all the way down through the depths, and a few twitches of the rod tip resulted in jarring strikes followed by epic battles. We took several golden tiles in the 35- to 50-pound class, including the beast shown here which was 52-pounds—a mere seven pounds shy of the IGFA world record.
On another trip we use the very same gear to attack bluefin tunas in the 80- to 125-pound range. To my own surprise we were immediately successful, and hooked (literally) triple the number of fish as trollers and chunkers in the area. In fact, for most of the season we continued to jig the bluefin, leading to catches like you see here on a regular basis. Angling Bonus: it’s a heck of a lot more fun to fight those tunas with the Torsa/Trevala combination then it is with those broom-stick rods and heavy 30’s and 50’s you usually need to use to beat these fish. The bottom line: WE LOVE IT!
Price: If you’re starting from scratch, plan on spending $1,000 per outfit, between rod, reel, line, leader, and jigs.
The Highs: Feels like a feather-weight in your hands, but can put on some serious heat. Allows for eclectic fishing—sea bass, tilefish, and tunas with this one rig, and it never felt too heavy or too light.
The Lows: It costs an arm and a leg.
Contact: http://fish.shimano.com
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