Cultiva Buttobi Shizuka Complete Set: A Surf Flounder Jig Head With a Matched 4-Inch Shad

Cultiva’s Buttobi Shizuka is a popular surf flounder jig head. It now comes as the Buttobi Shizuka Complete Set, with a soft plastic already included: the new Shizuka Shad 4 inch, developed with a well-known surf flounder angler and matched to the head from the start.

The Buttobi Shizuka head launched in 2023. I wrote about it then and was impressed that it casts far yet can still be retrieved slowly.

What is the Complete Set?

Key features

1. A moving eye that flies far, then lifts

On the cast, the line eye shifts back so it flies hook-up and stable without the worm spinning. When you retrieve, the eye moves forward and the head rises easily, so you can dead-slow it near the surface. Normal jig heads sink faster when you go heavier for distance; the moving eye solves that contradiction.

2. The new Shizuka Shad 4 inch

• Soft material so fish take it even on short strikes
• Tapered hook slot for easier rigging
• A hook indicator that shows where to push the point out, so it goes on straight
• Shape matched to Shizuka heads of 12 g and up for stable flight
• Also sold separately: 3 per pack, ¥500 (ex. tax)

Rigging crooked ruins the swim and makes worms spin in flight, so the hook indicator is a real help for beginners.

3. All-Cultiva parts

Head and worm are genuine Cultiva parts from a hook maker. The head also has an eye for a support hook, so you can add an assist or treble for fish biting from behind.

Choosing the weight

Start with 24 g: go to 30 g if you cannot reach, or 20 g if you drag bottom. On shallow beaches like the Enshu-nada, drop-offs are often far out, so the 30 g gets plenty of use.

Colours

Start with one attractor and one natural colour. Pink has a strong record on the Enshu-nada.

How to fish it

• Slow straight retrieve: about 1–2 seconds per handle turn, roughly 1 m off the bottom
• Lift and fall: for fish hugging the bottom
• Stop and go: give followers a moment to eat
• Dead-slow near the surface: when bait is high or the beach is shallow

Find the slowest retrieve that does not drag the bottom; slow is this head’s strength.

Complete Set vs head and worms separately

Compared with Daiwa Rodem R4 Shad

Use Buttobi Shizuka on snaggy ground or for slow presentations; Rodem when you want to search widely with more appeal.

Suggested tackle

My take

Matching head and worm is the hardest part of jig-head fishing. This set comes with a worm built to get the most from the head, so it is a great baseline for beginners. Once comfortable, switch to the head alone and experiment.

Read next

• Lures for Japanese Flounder
• Jackall Sabull Overhead
• Daiwa Flat Junky Rodem 4 Review

MINAGIMAN

JAPAN ANGLER

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Born in 1994. Originally from Hyogo Prefecture, I moved to Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture in search of the sea. I am an Enshunada surf angler who enjoys surf fishing. I am also active on YouTube, and my fishing grounds range from Irago to Iwata.