Bfs, Centrifugal or Mag ?

[haoz]

Having fished the Aldebaran BFS and Revo LTZ extensively(but not side by side) I can say the LTZ outcasts the BFS but not by much, we are talking a couple of feet. The lowest Ive thrown with them is a 1/16th bitsy minnow which both handled great with the Volkey UL rod. The LTZ is more finicky though, but of course adjustments are easier to make.

I find BFS casting to be just like this. Marginal couple of feet in casting for a lot more dough, and finicky spools. Of course I can train my thumb and rake more dough, but nothing beats a spin set up for true finesse stuff really.

[donholton]

I have a LTZ, LTX, conquest 51 with avail shallow spool and mag brake, and a daiwa ss air. They are all awesome and only personal preference really separates them. I have found if you limit the amount of line on the spool , you may lose a bit in some areas ,but the hfs casting performance will increase dramatically. I know zpi only recommends using a very short amount of line for some finesse setups, it works if you can get away with it. The original pixies were great but they weren't as good as the reels listed above.

[Martin Lo]

I have a LTZ, LTX, conquest 51 with avail shallow spool and mag brake, and a daiwa ss air. They are all awesome and only personal preference really separates them. I have found if you limit the amount of line on the spool , you may lose a bit in some areas ,but the hfs casting performance will increase dramatically. I know zpi only recommends using a very short amount of line for some finesse setups, it works if you can get away with it. The original pixies were great but they weren't as good as the reels listed above.

How is the SS Air compared with the other reels?

[donholton]

I haven't been able to use the ss air much due to shoulder surgery. I was very impressed the little I used it spooled with 50 yds of yozuri hybrid 6#. It threw very light baits extremely well and just seemed like a keeper.

[the hooligan]

Did a pretty good spool test yesterday. Winds finally died down and had 2 hours to kill at the local pond. I brought the bfs xg, ktf spool, avail spool, mag brake, and the svs puller to remove the brake while i was there. Spooled up both with 6lb maxima ultragreen.

So the three setups were...

1. ktf spool with centrifugal brake - 7.9 grams
2. Avail spool with centrifugal brake - 8.9 grams
3. Avail spool with mag brake - 7.9 grams

Ive been using the ktf spool for a few weeks now so i already knew what to expect. I was really excited to try the mag brake so i tried that first. All three setups got the same routine. First throw a 1/4oz zip baits crank to work in the fresh line. All casted it wonderfully. Second test would be a wacky rig 4 inch senko. And third was a wacky rig 3 inch senko, which was the lightest at 4 grams.

When it came to test 2 with the 4 inch wacky senko, i lost a little distance with the mag brake, and a little more with the avail/svs brake setup. ktf wins this one.

Then test 3 with the wacky 3 inch senko. Same with test 2. ktf clear winner, avail mag got second, and avail/svs third.

A few things i learned with all the testing. For one, i think i could of got more distance with a smaller diameter line. Second, i played with alot of variations for the magnets, who knows, there is probably a better setup then i was using. And third, im used to shimano centrifugal braking where you can bomb casts, no backlashes and very user friendly. I have to work on my casting with the mag brakes.

So, ill continue to play with the mag brake, but for the most part i think im sticking with the ktf spool...

[donholton]

i think you will like the avail mag brake MUCH better with more mags. The number they send is not enough brake throwing light baits. My conquest 51 was an absolute squirrel with the avail default setup. i bought a bunch of magnets online and filled the brake holder and the reel cast very light baits amazingly well. like you said, i could really bomb the baits i was throwing with no thumb needed until the lure touched down. Ilike to set the cast control knob where its just kissing the spool shaft. i only tighten it more if Iam throwing into a strong wing or throwing a very light bait that catches a lot of air. I have found in the variety of reels I own
that a mag brake is far superior when throwing very light baits.

[the hooligan]

i think you will like the avail mag brake MUCH better with more mags. The number they send is not enough brake throwing light baits. My conquest 51 was an absolute squirrel with the avail default setup. i bought a bunch of magnets online and filled the brake holder and the reel cast very light baits amazingly well. like you said, i could really bomb the baits i was throwing with no thumb needed until the lure touched down. Ilike to set the cast control knob where its just kissing the spool shaft. i only tighten it more if Iam throwing into a strong wing or throwing a very light bait that catches a lot of air. I have found in the variety of reels I own
that a mag brake is far superior when throwing very light baits.

Thanks for info, i guess ill order more magnets on my next hedgehog order and give it a shot.

I also considered picking up a zpi 732 spool with mag brake for my core 51. Maybe ill hold off until i get the mag mastered on the bfs xg...

[donholton]

you can get neodymium rare earth magnets from dealers online in a variety of thicknesses and they are much cheaper. Let me know what size you need, i probably have some extras that I would give you. PM me if I can help.

[Martin Lo]

Hey don you have a 51 right?
http://avail.jp/shop/products/ms_cnq5014tr/index.html
For those who love to live dangerous. 35m/6#
Should fit 45m of 4# :-)

[the hooligan]

Hey don you have a 51 right?
http://avail.jp/shop/products/ms_cnq5014tr/index.html
For those who love to live dangerous. 35m/6#
Should fit 45m of 4# :-)

I have a 51s, so I have limited options...

[Martin Lo]

Hey don you have a 51 right?
http://avail.jp/shop/products/ms_cnq5014tr/index.html
For those who love to live dangerous. 35m/6#
Should fit 45m of 4# :-)

I have a 51s, so I have limited options...

One and the same. I had a 50s that converted to 50.
Just brake case and drag springs

[Thor]

It is interesting that on my Aldebaran using the Avail spool and mag holder, I took all the magnets out to find the best performance.

[Martin Lo]

It is interesting that on my Aldebaran using the Avail spool and mag holder, I took all the magnets out to find the best performance.

Nice. No mean feat tuning the thumb for that task however.

[the hooligan]

It is interesting that on my Aldebaran using the Avail spool and mag holder, I took all the magnets out to find the best performance.

Interesting. I have to play with it more. On the conquest its 4 magnets that you can screw in closer or further from the spool.

On the bfs xg, you can run up to 10 mags with the avail brake. I was doing pretty well with 3. I wish there was more info online about mag placement, haven't really seen much.

I have a few new things to try out soon, picked up a 732 zpi spool with mag brake for my Aldebaran mg. And an avail shallow spool with 4 point brake. I'll get to see what I like better.

And I finally stepped back into the daiwa world again with another pxl-r. I'll compare it with my shimanos and see what I prefer...

[donholton]

the setup with 3 out of 10 magnets will work, you can get by with less than 3, but only when you are not casting for max distance. i have found if you want to throw hard for max distance you need more magnets or more pressure on the spool end via cast control knob, which seems to defeat the purpose of the weight saving upgrades. More mags give you more flexibility, just screw in or out to the setting you want. Ihave my conquest 51 dialed in to throw 1/8 panfish jigs for max distance with no thumb pressure until the lure touches down, and I can get great distance. Iuse my other reels more because they all have an external adjusting brake, but the 51 is very impressive.