New river 2015

[Creekwater]

Just returned from the New River. I had recently acquired a Alderbran bfs xg limited and put it to the test! Great reel! Took a while to get used to but i love it. The drag is straight butter!

Camped in the bluestone management area for a week and slang tubes daily. Average size was better than years past (make one trip a year) Multiple 15 to 19 inch fish caught. Had a monster small mouth on and it come off. Would of been well over 20 inches! while wading in less than knee deep water I spooked a giant musky less than 10 feet away in the 45 inch range! I immediately hopped back in the yak and fished that spot afloat! lol! Always an awesome time down that way!

[BigG]

Nice fish, beautiful spot.

[the hooligan]

Nice fish and gear, that's a great reel

[Fishing4Fun]

That looks like a little slice of heaven!

[Creekwater]

Thanks guys! I love it down there! Sooooo much good water just on the new then there's the greenbriar too, not to mention the countless feeder creeks! I wouldn't mind living down there at all, but don't think i could keep a full time job with all those smallies swimming around with unripped lips!

[Creekwater]

Nice fish and gear, that's a great reel

Ive been fishing with a presso and a conquest for almost ten years. I thought about upgrading them with spools and handles but by the time I got everything i needed it was more than a new reel so well..... I only had the money from selling a stradic combo and some old bps rods anyway.

I fish these bfs reels hard and pretty much 100% of the time so they take a beating! My conquest held up better than my presso to abuse so i went with the xg limited instead of the SS Air. I plan on doing a write up on my bfs experience but here is a quick pro cons list!

Alderbran bfs xg limited

Pros
Silky slick clicking drag....Properly set i can set the hook with sum slip and a 10 incher can still peel line (6lb FC) when surging.

Ergonomics...the thinner plate on the palm side is sweet. The reel don't torque at all while fighting larger fish or hard hook sets. the one turn to open is cool too!

Gear ratio....The 8.1 ratio is perfect for fishing current. I like to cast angles up stream and let line out to bow so i can swing my tube by boulders logs and parallel to rock humps/shoals. Couple cranks with this baby and i can set the hook!

Performance...Within a couple days I was casting it like my others. Casts as far as my old ones but i can really put sum omph in my casts and get an extra 4 or 5 yards when i need it! If i tried that kind of power with the og reels id be cutting line off the spool! lol!

Cons
Spool...line gets in between the spool....probably be problematic to use 4lb or even braid with is reel. Reel started to make noise on cast because a quarter inch peice of line got stuck between the spool and frame.

Side plate.....I like how easy it is to take off but, wish it didn't come off all the way but swing out the way. Suck if I'm in the middle of the river bump a submerged boulder and my side plate slips in a scupper hole! :/

Line guide/spool alignment...while smooth for sure there's a rubbing sensation because line off the spool comes off higher than the line guide so the line rubs the top of the guide. Now i know this may be on purpose to allow a tight wind on spool (which it does do) but side affects are more cast control needed and a rubbing sensation. My buddies ss air feels slightly smother because of this i think.

Cast control....Come on just make it click! With these bfs reels casting lighter baits small adjustments make a huge difference. When i switch baits or wind picks up i want to move x amount and back x amount...just guessing without clicks! No bfs reel should be without a clicking cast control!

[JerryC]

Looks amazing nice job!!

[wvbassin]

The New river is amazing in the fall when the leaves change colors. I'm glad to see another fellow Mountaineer!

[Rippin-lips]

Great looking place.

[Creekwater]

This whole state is beautiful in the fall! ! GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!

[Schlag]

Excellent choice in tackle and rivers! I absolutely love fishing the New River.

Spot on review of the Aldebaran bfs xg limited. How many brakes do you typically have on?

[Creekwater]

Excellent choice in tackle and rivers! I absolutely love fishing the New River.

Spot on review of the Aldebaran bfs xg limited. How many brakes do you typically have on?

I started with 4 on because i always used my cq51s with 2, but I was struggling a lil so I activated 2 more. I may have over filled the first time also. I currently have 5 on now. I do set my reels up to fire and forget though. I dont want to think about em to much while in use so I set my brakes and cast control where i can cast and not worry bout backlash. Giving up max distance but i get to concentrate on fishing and yak position and control.

By the end of the campn trip i was able to back off the cast control a bunch too! I started with the lure not even able to fall on its own when pressing the thumb bar. with how its set now A 2.5 inch tube with a 1/16th head (bout 4 grams) will fall pretty fast when i hit the button, faster then either of my other reels. Allows for greater accuracy and more distance and i was initially surprised that overruns weren't a problem with these settings. I love the reel more the more i use it!

That said! Ive learned that rod and line will make a difference how you set up a reels brakes and cast control so ymmv!