Bfs fishing

I posted several weeks ago about getting in to this. I went a cheap route cause i wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I have the cast king zephyr combo with the 6ft 2in ul. There is as huge learning curve as to casting this rig. When you cast a spinning reel the spool does not turn so line just comes off. Not so with baitcasters. You have to get the spool turning. With an ultralight rod this does not happen quickly. If your casting right handed and you release pressure to late your bait may very well end up behind you. I have practiced till i am decent and you can keep the bait low to the water but i am not gonna pursue this any further. I have put this reel on one of my medium light bass rods and i can throw a 1/32 jig extremely well so i love the bffs reels and have bought another shimano stx for bass and crappie they are outstanding when skipping under a dock. But with a true ultralight rod the inertia to get the spool spinning takes too long for perfect accuracy. I’m sure with hours of practice i could get good but for now im gonna stick with what im used to.


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Thanks for the report Murdok on the bfs system. I’ve been thinking about them too.

Good post!

I’ve watched a couple of videos by guys that are real good with it. Not sure I could adjust but I’d try someone else’s first. Casting my new Pfenix which I think is xul or something like that feels to me what a bfs looks like when loading up before the release. Having used BC in the past I’m used to them but there’s always a learning curve with new techniques. Have fun and good luck with it.

There is a significant learning curve to using BFS equipment. My first BFS outfit was also a KK Zephyr set, but in 5.5 feet. I've used traditional baitcasters since the 1950s. Typically, with the older ones, you cast fairly hard and use a lot of wrist action. To master the BFS rods and reels, you almost lob cast, letting the loaded up rod move the lure, and the line follows. BFS is not a true UL. Most BFS rods are best suited for 2-8 gram lures. If you are really good at casting them, you can stretch that down to 1 gram or so. They shine with small lure in the neighborhood of 3 grams. I have two outfits set up for crappie that will easily handle 1/24th and 1/16th jigs with a plastic. My preferred fish is Smallmouth Bass, and BFS works great for them. Baitcasting was a power rig, but with BFS, you need to relax and let the rod do all the work. I rarely use any other type equipment now.

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Very challenging to use but if master it...can be very rewarding when fighting big bluegill on ul or xul casting rod. Thanks for the write up!

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I recently got into BFS. While I opted to go for the best available reels on the market, I didn’t go the same route on rods and ordered them from ali express. One is the Ace Hawk Venom in 5 ft 6 in. The action is moderate fast and it can load well on a 1/32 oz jig + plastic. I would definitely recommend it for crappie because of the soft rod action. Also, it does not feel too powerful for bluegill. Plenty sensitive for $40 - $45. The second is Tsurinoya Dragon II 6 ft in UL power. It is correct stated as a fast action rod and will cast 1/32 oz without issues, though the Ace Hawk will load better at that weight. Again, plenty sensitive for $74.99. No issues at all with 1/16 oz+ jigs on both rods.

In my opinion casting bfs reels calls for a much more refined cast than bass baitcasting reels. Smooth fluid motion has helped me. But I’ll get a birds nest when I unconsciously whip cast.

It is an interesting light tackle fishing technique. So far I have used it in still water and looking forward to using it in the streams during fall trout stocking. Using the thumb for braking in tight quarters should be a big benefit.


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