TackleTour

Was wondering if anyone has used or knows about any BFS rods that or more geared to 1/16 area. Like perfect for crappie fishing on a decent sized river (1/16 plus Baby Shad style plastic or Strike King Bitsy minnow style lures). I just cannot justify a true BFS UL or even the more extreme XUL's I see because so many largemouth and smallmouth love to grab tiny baits. I am sure the fight would be very fun on a rod like that, but I would like a little more power.

Currently my car spinning rod is a 6'Light spinning rod with 6lb Nanobraid and it works great to chunk the mentioned weights/lures. Just would like to modify a reel for BFS where wife and I can both panfish and I don't have to hunt another spinning combo, I think maybe in this instance the BFS setup might be slightly cheaper...

Any links or advice on rod models would be appreciated greatly.

I use a custom 7ft St Croix Legend Elite. It can cast the weights mentioned and has some backbone to it. I tend not to like braid with it with treble hooks because I seem to pull hooks. Using fluorocarbon helped significantly. I run 7lb sniper on it. The reel is an SS AIR.

I also have a Phenix Mirage that is parabolic and has less power than the Legend Elite but, it bends the length of the rod and doesn't pull hooks when using braid. I've landed 30in pike on the Mirage.

I have a MC Benkei BIC-672L/BF that casts pretty low. I have not tried a true 1/16oz lure yet but it casts a 1/8oz Roostertail a lot better then other "Light" BFS rods that I have tried.

True 1/16-1/8oz hardbaits are very hard to cast and only my UL Teton or XL St Croix Inshore rods have been able to do so out of the maybe half dozen BFS rods I have owned. Even with them the Bitsy Minnows are hard for me to get much distance and accuracy with.

Houndfish wrote:I have a MC Benkei BIC-672L/BF that casts pretty low. I have not tried a true 1/16oz lure yet but it casts a 1/8oz Roostertail a lot better then other "Light" BFS rods that I have tried.

True 1/16-1/8oz hardbaits are very hard to cast and only my UL Teton or XL St Croix Inshore rods have been able to do so out of the maybe half dozen BFS rods I have owned. Even with them the Bitsy Minnows are hard for me to get much distance and accuracy with.

I've used the XL Legend inshore and it can cast 1/8oz hardbaits no problem.

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote:
I've used the XL Legend inshore and it can cast 1/8oz hardbaits no problem.

For me it depends on the specific bait. A 1/8oz Kastmaster is far far easier to cast then most 1/8oz crankbaits, with inline spinners falling somewhere in between. I am using a PX68 w/ a DIY spool and 4lb XL. I think I want to move to a fixed-inductor spool, maybe buying a second DIY and glueing the inductor. The stock PX68 spool works well for tiny hardbaits in calm conditions but I do not have the thumb to use it in much any wind.

I am about 10 min away from fleeing work and taking my XL Legend out after some stocked rainbows in a pond by my house

I think most bass taper bfs rods will work just fine. They're much different than the trout taper bfs rods. My L rated rods can throw 1 gram lures at trout but I've also landed DD bass on them just fine as well.

The UL Majorcraft Volkey BFS casts 1/16 head and small plastics well. The L Volkey BFS can so it too but the UL is a little softer and casts some of the 1/8 oz hard baits better. The Volkey BFS rods are no longer available but the Corzza comes in an UL BFS unless I am mistaken. The Kuying Leadership has a good L BFS taper that is in between a Volkey L and UL but are long sea bass rods. I think the shortest is like 7'2".

DirtyD64 wrote:Was wondering if anyone has used or knows about any BFS rods that or more geared to 1/16 area. Like perfect for crappie fishing on a decent sized river (1/16 plus Baby Shad style plastic or Strike King Bitsy minnow style lures). I just cannot justify a true BFS UL or even the more extreme XUL's I see because so many largemouth and smallmouth love to grab tiny baits. I am sure the fight would be very fun on a rod like that, but I would like a little more power.

Currently my car spinning rod is a 6'Light spinning rod with 6lb Nanobraid and it works great to chunk the mentioned weights/lures. Just would like to modify a reel for BFS where wife and I can both panfish and I don't have to hunt another spinning combo, I think maybe in this instance the BFS setup might be slightly cheaper...

Any links or advice on rod models would be appreciated greatly.

After re-reading this I think I understand what you want. A couple of things 1st though:

BFS rods are actually more stiff and powerful than non BFS rods of the same power rating. For example a BFS UL will have much more backbone and lifting power than a standard UL rod. This applies to L powered rods as well. The Majorcraft Volley 682L is MUCH more powerful than a Kuying Teton 662L. They are a full power apart or more despite both being designated as light rods.

My previous recommendation of Majorcraft Corrza would be better suited targeting bass. I fish 1/16 oz slider heads with finesse worms on it as well as 1/16 Bitsy Bugs as mini swim jigs but I don't fish panfish jigs on it. It is too stiff for that. If you're looking to go after panfish and small bass then the Kuying Teton 632UL would be better in my opinion. The 662L is good too but there seem to be more reports of broken tips with the 662L than the 632UL and from what I understand the rods very similar anyway. There are also a number of UL rods on Aliexpress that may be worth a look. Tsurinoya rods may also be worth a look too. BSG Fishing seems to like them.

https://youtu.be/2tLIJoyAZ3c

I'm waiting on the casting version of this rod as we speak ... Kuying Teton 662L. I'll follow up on this thread after I get it.


Here's a pretty comprehensive review of it ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGy1yfn2vvI

Thanks for all of the answers!!! Have been really pushing some older tackle out and trying some new stuff. Very hard to not just buy a 1000 size spinning reel, but the fact that I cannot find a spinning rod to match my needs either makes it difficult.

I still really like the 6'Light TFO rod I bought, works perfect for all I mentioned, but it is a little heavy... I found that St. Croix ML extra fast rods feel more like the "Light" I am used to.

All in all though very good information from everyone, I didn't know about how BFS versus regular ratings go. Thanks LowRange. I pictured them just slightly stronger than the spinning versions, and always went off of the lure rating. Am really learning now that you cannot always do that. Example: I am pretty sure the Abu rods I use for Medium bait casting duty are stronger than the higher power rated (MH) Dobyn's rods which are also rated higher in lure weight (1/4 to 5/8 for Abu and 1/4 to 3/4 for Dobyn's).

DirtyD64 wrote:Thanks for all of the answers!!! Have been really pushing some older tackle out and trying some new stuff. Very hard to not just buy a 1000 size spinning reel, but the fact that I cannot find a spinning rod to match my needs either makes it difficult.

I still really like the 6'Light TFO rod I bought, works perfect for all I mentioned, but it is a little heavy... I found that St. Croix ML extra fast rods feel more like the "Light" I am used to.

All in all though very good information from everyone, I didn't know about how BFS versus regular ratings go. Thanks LowRange. I pictured them just slightly stronger than the spinning versions, and always went off of the lure rating. Am really learning now that you cannot always do that. Example: I am pretty sure the Abu rods I use for Medium bait casting duty are stronger than the higher power rated (MH) Dobyn's rods which are also rated higher in lure weight (1/4 to 5/8 for Abu and 1/4 to 3/4 for Dobyn's).

I'm sure there are a number of rods that will fit the bill. If you could elaborate on what species you intend to target and types of baits you want to throw then that would be helpful. A BFS light rod will have a soft tip like a light spinning rod but will have much more backbone and lifting power being a rod dedicated to targeting bass in and around cover with light weight baits. It all comes down to what baits you want to throw and what species you are targeting.

LowRange wrote:

DirtyD64 wrote:Thanks for all of the answers!!! Have been really pushing some older tackle out and trying some new stuff. Very hard to not just buy a 1000 size spinning reel, but the fact that I cannot find a spinning rod to match my needs either makes it difficult.

I still really like the 6'Light TFO rod I bought, works perfect for all I mentioned, but it is a little heavy... I found that St. Croix ML extra fast rods feel more like the "Light" I am used to.

All in all though very good information from everyone, I didn't know about how BFS versus regular ratings go. Thanks LowRange. I pictured them just slightly stronger than the spinning versions, and always went off of the lure rating. Am really learning now that you cannot always do that. Example: I am pretty sure the Abu rods I use for Medium bait casting duty are stronger than the higher power rated (MH) Dobyn's rods which are also rated higher in lure weight (1/4 to 5/8 for Abu and 1/4 to 3/4 for Dobyn's).

I'm sure there are a number of rods that will fit the bill. If you could elaborate on what species you intend to target and types of baits you want to throw then that would be helpful. A BFS light rod will have a soft tip like a light spinning rod but will have much more backbone and lifting power being a rod dedicated to targeting bass in and around cover with light weight baits. It all comes down to what baits you want to throw and what species you are targeting.

Honestly any species that will bite on the Light rod I currently own, and that is what I am going for. I want a BFS setup to match the 6'Light spinning. I throw a Bobby Garland Baby Shad on a small 1/16 head most of the time with that setup. I also throw the Strike King Bitsy Minnow, small Rapalas, the small 1/12 spoons (brand from Wal-Mart), etc. Sometimes I even dropshot with it for desperate days I really need a bite. I don't really cover fish much with finesse though, my SV105 on a ML rod could handle that for the most part.

Depends on how light you want to go. If you want the lightest possible for a given power, custom is the way to go but you need to find someone who knows what they are doing in terms of weight reduction. I believe that the blank is the heart of the rod so start with a blank that is light with sufficient power and the action (curve) you want.

For 6 foot, sub 2 oz should not be difficult to achieve.

A true 1/16oz may be asking too much but all of my L powered Shimano and Fenwick BFS rods will handle a 2.5g Strike King Bitsy Minnow without any issues.

Still hunting right now. At one point, TFO made a nicer rod called the Tactical series, in a 6'3"Light casting version. I have the 6'9"ML for my SV105 but it could be a tad faster, still the 6'3"Light would have fit well enough and be bought locally (US).

I am checking Major Craft and a few others, just cannot pin point what I need. I really would prefer to not have a 2 piece rod but I could deal with it if necessary...

Anyone want to take a shot on what would be best for 1/16 plus crappie plastic for bass/crappie/walleye? And maybe the occasional Bitsy Minnow/1/12oz spoon???