First BFS Reel

[GaterB]

Alright everyone, I want to take the plunge. What’s your recommendations for a first bfs casting reel?? Can be old, new, expensive, cheap, I don’t care I’ll take any and all suggestions! Will be paired with a rod capable of throwing 2-8 grams (give or take). Thanks in advance!!

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

I like the Alphas AIR TW. Great BFS reel and for the money too.

For less expensive options, the Scorpion BFS is good as well as the original Alphas AIR.

Depends on what reel you have, you could always get an aftermarket BFS spool like a Roro spool for an existing reel you have.

[Dalleinf]

I like the Alphas AIR TW. Great BFS reel and for the money too.

For less expensive options, the Scorpion BFS is good as well as the original Alphas AIR.

Depends on what reel you have, you could always get an aftermarket BFS spool like a Roro spool for an existing reel you have.

X2

[hoohoorjoo]

My SS Air works great for those weights.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

My SS Air works great for those weights.

I still use mine. Just got a Roro BFS spool for mine. Super light and shallow

[ss30378]

I’ll echo the sentiments of the other folks. The air reels are all great as well as the scorpion, Aldebaran and conquest bfs. The aldebaran, ss air and steez air super lightweight are great for making a feathery combo.

Depending on how big your hand is the ss air is a little bit bigger in hand so if you have big paws you may prefer something like that. The aldebaran, scorpion, new steez air and new alphas air are very small and disappear in hand.

If you want a dual purpose reel an alphas ct Sv can power finesse with the stock spool and cast 1g lures with a roro or momo spool.

A lot of good options out there now.

[Dalleinf]

Alright everyone, I want to take the plunge. What’s your recommendations for a first bfs casting reel?? Can be old, new, expensive, cheap, I don’t care I’ll take any and all suggestions! Will be paired with a rod capable of throwing 2-8 grams (give or take). Thanks in advance!!

What lures will you be using, and what are you fishing for?

[GaterB]

These are all excellent suggestions, thanks everyone!! I do have larger hands so I’ll check out the ss air for sure!

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Ill mostly fish for largemouth and panfish with the bfs gear, maybe some trout in the future.

As far as lures go, Ill be throwing micro crankbaits and weightless finesse plastics, and tiny Topwater lures as well. Some of the Great Hunting options from Megabass have caught my eye, and I know Lucky Craft makes some nice bfs/trout size hard baits as well.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

These are all excellent suggestions, thanks everyone!! I do have larger hands so I’ll check out the ss air for sure!

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Ill mostly fish for largemouth and panfish with the bfs gear, maybe some trout in the future.

As far as lures go, Ill be throwing micro crankbaits and weightless finesse plastics, and tiny Topwater lures as well. Some of the Great Hunting options from Megabass have caught my eye, and I know Lucky Craft makes some nice bfs/trout size hard baits as well.

All of the lures you mention can be thrown with the SS AIR. I have the stock spool for casting panfish and small bass lures in lakes with 7lb FC and a shallower Roro spool with 4lb mono for stream trout.

[amso4]

Here some thoughts about BFS that I have had. I first got a few of the cheap AliExpress BFS reels to give it a try. They work surprisingly well, capable of casting down to 2 grams. They were not the smoothest, but certainly capable since they have spools in the 10 gram range.

Next I started getting higher end stuff. I have the Aldebaren BFS and the new Alphas Air. Of course, these reels are amazing. The smoothness and price were big steps up from the Chinese BFS reels. I could cast a little more consistent with the higher end reels.

Finally, I got some AliExpress BFS spools for an old Fuego and Tatula CT I had laying around. The spools turned the old forgotten Daiwas into pretty good BFS reels for about $35 invested in the spool.

I am sure everyone's experience and opinions may be different. The advice I would give to a friend would be to get a cheap AliExpress spool and put it in an old Daiwa and see if it does what you want first before you spend $300 on something. Unless of course, like me, you just want an excuse to buy a new toy. I rarely use the high end BFS reels and mostly use the Fuego BFS for skipping weightless trick worms. Truth is I never bought a bunch of high end BFS rods to go with the high end BFS reels. I have a few Majorcraft Days and Benkei BFS rods.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

Here some thoughts about BFS that I have had. I first got a few of the cheap AliExpress BFS reels to give it a try. They work surprisingly well, capable of casting down to 2 grams. They were not the smoothest, but certainly capable since they have spools in the 10 gram range.

Next I started getting higher end stuff. I have the Aldebaren BFS and the new Alphas Air. Of course, these reels are amazing. The smoothness and price were big steps up from the Chinese BFS reels. I could cast a little more consistent with the higher end reels.

Finally, I got some AliExpress BFS spools for an old Fuego and Tatula CT I had laying around. The spools turned the old forgotten Daiwas into pretty good BFS reels for about $35 invested in the spool.

I am sure everyone's experience and opinions may be different. The advice I would give to a friend would be to get a cheap AliExpress spool and put it in an old Daiwa and see if it does what you want first before you spend $300 on something. Unless of course, like me, you just want an excuse to buy a new toy. I rarely use the high end BFS reels and mostly use the Fuego BFS for skipping weightless trick worms. Truth is I never bought a bunch of high end BFS rods to go with the high end BFS reels. I have a few Majorcraft Days and Benkei BFS rods.

I'll add to that by saying the cheap AliExpress 30 dollar spools are inconsistent with QC. I have had some good ones...and some turds as well.

Roro spools are mostly for Daiwa but, are great for the 55-75 they sell for. They have their own website and ship themselves. I have had better luck with shipping from them versus gambling on Aliexpress. They also sell bearings that perform above their price as well.

[eklikewhoa]

If you like tinkering, for me the Pixy with a spool is one of the best platforms.

Out the box and no budget, probably Conquest