by Craig DeFronzo
One of these things is truly not like the others.
The BFS niche' is expanding. More and more products are being made to meet the demands of this increasingly popular type of fishing. The problem is that up until now, BFS has been solely a rich man's game. Japanese companies like Megabass, Shimano, Daiwa and others I can't pronounce, offer extreme high end products that are very expensive. There haven't been any true entry level options to bridge the gap but the nature of BFS makes sense for the lack of that. Decreasing weight in rods and reels historically means increasing technology, R&D and price point.
BFS or Bait Finesse System, utilizes light weight casting rods and extremely light casting reels to deliver light weight baits to their targets while still providing backbone and power to fight larger fish. Essential weight reduction comes in the form of honeycomb spools that weigh under 10 grams. These light spools can cast lighter baits down to the threshold of about 1.2 grams. Think about that for a second for some clarity, 1.2 grams is about 1/20oz.......on a bait caster.....with a degree of accuracy and some distance. This is unheard of with traditional gear. For comparison most of today's standard non BFS reels would be hard pressed to cast a 1/8oz jig with any accuracy or distance. Also note a 1/8oz jig is not truly 1/8oz.....It has 1/8oz of lead +a hook, +a skirt, +a chunk....it is likely closer to 1/4oz. So the actual weight of many baits is usually heavier than listed. This matters in the world of BFS.
I'm not stranger to BFS as I took the leap several years ago. Cream of the crop rods and reels can easily cost 300.00 or more each. I own 3 Shimano Aldebarans. An Mg7, XG BFS Limited and an XG BFS. All have been super tuned and equipped with Boca Abec 7 bearings and polished in the right places. I mate them with Major Craft rods, 2 Volkey BFS 692L's and a Speedstyle 682L, which I believe is the same as the now discontinued Volkey. These combos come close to 450.00 and up. That is a lot of money, especially if you aren't even sure you want to get into BFS fishing. Until now, there hasn't been an entry level option for anglers to "feel" this out without dropping a ton of money into it......until now.
The Challenge
I recently received an email from an individual I did some JDM sourcing for a while back that resulted in him purchasing a large selection of JDM gear at my recommendation. He was very happy with that and offered me a challenge.......100.00 in my paypal account to pick out a budget BFS combo to test and report back to him....via this article.....the combo was mine to keep.
I thought about it for a couple of days as I personally didn't think it was feasible but I decided to take on the challenge. I had a couple of leads on some new stuff but I would have to enter the dark side of the tackle industry and everything I absolutely hate about it....OEM Chinese products which normally turn out to be copies and rebranded items with little R&D. It was like exploring the Dark Web, you don't know exactly what to expect. Maybe I get a decent reel or maybe a terrible one, which I expected.
Here is where I have to bite my tongue a little. I am a tackle snob when it comes to rods and reels. I like what I like and normally nothing else will do. (I know I've said that before. But I feel icky if I don't put that out there........like almost dirty.) That means Shimano reels and Major Craft or Dobyn's rods for bass fishing but I am totally open to different rods for my inshore fishing. None of these brands has an entry level piece of gear for BFS. I had to abandon everything I know about these products and "buy into" something completely foreign to me.
Here is where I made an interesting discovery. Some of the newer stuff coming out of China is actually the antithesis of what we have come to expect from "made in China" products. Yeah, I didn't expect that either, but I would soon find out that the Chinese, well some of the manufacturers, have really stepped up their game in developing their own unique tackle brands and products. A lot of these items are branded through companies in Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam and they are assembled in China. Such is the case with Tsurinoya, the brand in focus in this article.
Defining BFS
I need to define what BFS actually is or what it is to me. BFS was developed in Japan to target bass initially. It was essentially utilizing light casting gear for heavily pressured bass. This is something I can relate to very easily as I've been doing if for more than 30 years with mostly inadequate gear of which I have constantly tested the lower ranges of its capabilities in regard to casting lighter baits. This is why BFS hit home with me when I first discovered it, it simply was providing me with the correct gear for the way I already preferred to fish. The Japanese have a way with tweaking technology and soon after BFS for bass fishing became a thing, they adapted it to trout fishing as well by incorporating softer action rods and even lighter spools. For trout, BFS is different. The rods are lighter, the baits are lighter. The reel spools are lighter. They use spoons down to .4grams which I think is close to 1/64oz. I can't even fathom casting that on spinning gear, let alone casting gear. This requires ultra high tech mods and aftermarket spools that cost a lot of money. I've seen some spools that weigh less than 7.5 grams. Think of BFS bass fishing as a slightly clumsier version that isn't quite as refined in most cases.
There is different gear for stream or area based fishing. Area refers to still waters like the many pay to fish trout ponds or lakes in Japan. I guess I want to point out that there is a difference between BFS fishing as it applies to both Bass and Trout. I'd summarize it in my own words as it being akin to the difference between UL and Light tackle fishing. To a guy who normally flips 65lb braid and 1oz tungsten punch weights, there may not be much of a difference between those in theory, but to those in the know, there are worlds of difference. Today, usually when one talks about BFS fishing, they are talking mainly about Trout fishing as that genre has really become very popular.
Enter the Dragon
I began my search for a budget BFS combo with the rod. I figured a 6 to 6 1/2 foot model 2 pc light power rod with a med/fast to fast action would work for me. I wanted to keep it at about 45.00 so I had the bulk left over for a reel. I looked at a lot of shitty rods at Ali Express from various Chinese companies. I also saw a few good ones that were more than I wanted to spend. Among them were Kuying's Teton 662L. For about 65.00, anyone who is not hampered by a 100.00 budget would be wise to look into this rod. It features Fuji SiC guides and a Fuji reel seat and is a really well built and clean rod. It was one of the first true BFS rods I ever owned and it remains one of the best, low priced options for the quality of rod it is but for this experiment, it was not the one for me.
I looked around at a couple of brands and the one that kept popping back up was Tsurinoya. This Malaysian manufacturer offers several models of BFS rods. After looking into the Pro Flex, Dexterity and The Dragon, I opted for the 43.00 Dragon. It was the least expensive of the three but from the reviews I saw, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for in terms of being more of a bass action, despite its "UL+ Trout" moniker.
Here are the stats on the Tsurinoya Dragon S602UL UL+Trout.......This "UL" is a fast action 2pc 46T Japanese Toray blank that features 7 SiC guides and a SiC Tip. They are not Fuji guides but they are SiC guides and not some cheap aluminum oxide which is very nice. The rod is rated for 2 to 8lb test and 1 to 8 gram lure weights which puts it's high range at about 1/3oz which I think would be about 5/16oz, although I'd likely never go above 3/16oz. It features a small full cork grip like many trout specific casting rods. I think that the Dragon has a faster action than most trout rods so in my opinion it becomes a perfect budget bass BFS rod. Trout rods are generally SUL or XUL which is even lighter than traditional UL. The lighter action allows the throwing of tiny spoons with some degree of accuracy with the help of a whippy tip. These rods also have a slow action often bending the length of the rod into the grip.
US $43.0 |TSURINOYA Fishing Rod DRAGON 1.82m 1.52m UL Spinning Casting Lure Rod Soft Power Carbon Fishing Rod Trout-in Fishing Rods from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
What did I get myself into?
Rod found..........that was a plus. Now to find the reel. Oh boy. Shimano Aldebaran BFS XG- 315.00, Shimano Aldebaran BFS XG Limited 280.00, Shimano Aldebaran MG7 200.00 used........Oh boy, I might be in trouble here. Then I remembered something.......a really good BFS youtube channel done by a guy in Singapore....BCSG is his youtube name. I'm glad I did because he turned me on to another Tsurinoya product, the XF50 BFS reel. As of this writing, this reel is currently the only entry level BFS reel out there. Let me reiterate, this is the only reel being marketed as BFS capable that is under 200.00.** I had to wrap my head around why and it goes back to the weight/technology issue and the money that goes into cutting that weight for casting the lightest baits. You can buy aftermarket spools for standard casting reels. The really good ones start at more than 100.00 per spool and go up from there and some come without brake blocks or BB's. That is 100.00 for just a spool to add to your reel. There is a company on Ali called Studio, that makes spools for some standard bait casting reels. Most of these are about 50.00 a pop. Quality BFS is not a cheap endeavor.
**This article took me more than 8 months to complete due to the testing I needed to put in the combo to give me confidence in it. Since I began, a couple of Chinese manufacturers have marketed BFS specific reels. Rosewood is one such company and they offer the Micro, a 17bb BFS capable reel that might work, in the 60.00 range. 17bb seems like overkill but I may look into that reel to see if they maintained the light weight necessary to be a true BFS reel.
The XF50L is a sharp looking reel sitting on the Tsurinoya Dragon +Trout UL rod.
The Reel
The XF50L(for left handed) features a BFS spool that weighs just under 12grams. This is a bit heavier than the 10gram Shimano and aftermarket spools.....did I mention this is a sub 60.00 reel? Now this is where my apprehension kicks in and my feelers stand up on end. This screams cheap Chinese crap to me. There are several different brands out there today being marketed in the US. They are crummy copies of current Abu/Daiwa/Shimano/other reels.
I decided to take BCSG's advice as the XF50 is literally the only BFS reel I found new under 200.00. I can't even touch an aftermarket BFS spool for under 100.00. This is one of those "got you by the balls" scenario's where this was the only option at the time. It became a quest to see if this reel would be anything more than just a typical baitcaster and could it actually throw really light baits. If this was "my money", I would not have made the purchase on a whim.
The stats on the Tsurinoya XF50L- gear ratio 6.6 to1, 7.1oz, 9lb drag, carbon and metal nomenclature. BB 9+1, recommended range: 1.5 to 15gram baits.
The XF50 is black with red anodized aluminum components, it looks really sharp.
Dissecting the XF50L
At first glance the XF50 is a pretty reel. Black body with red highlights give it a sleek appearance. It featured the modern low profile of many newer reels, you could clearly see the round gear box area on the handle side of the reel. The knobs and cast control buttons are anodized red aluminum, they look sharp. The handle is a CNC cut aluminum 90mm swept variety, also to my liking. Each knob had two BB's. This is a place where I didn't expect a pair of BB's on each knob. They didn't cut costs here. That is really a nice touch.
Taking off the side plate I pulled out the whiffle style spool, this light weight spool allows the reel to cast lighter baits by spinning faster. The spool shaft is supported by bearings on both sides, these bearings are referred to as Japanese ISC bearings
US $57.0 35% OFF|TSURINOYA XF 50 /150 6.6:1 Ultra Light Bait Casting Baitcaster Fishing Reel Left Right Hand Low Profile Baitcasting Reel Coils-in Fishing Reels from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Controls
The cast adjustment knob on the exterior of the reel is a precision click type that doesn't move unless done so purposely. The reel features a swept 90mm handle and drag star that also clicks into place. This is another nice touch.
The reel can easily be taken apart via a system similar to the Shimano Curado I series which has a small button on the underside of the reel.....slide the button and rotate the side plate. Looking at the internals of the reel, I noticed the tiny brass bushings inserted into the clutch cam spring holes in the frame. This was a well thought out feature as those holes would likely start to gouge out out after some time likely causing spool engagement issues if they were not supported......this was a smart idea and certainly adds to the longevity of the reel.
BB supported whiffle spool and 6 magnets on the brake system, most reels have 5.
This impresses me.
What I did not like about the reel
I have an idea for the way things should be, so I'll let 'er rip. I hate the start up feel of the drag on this reel when it starts to slip. I noticed a slight stutter before the drag washer began to slip, almost a spongey feeling. The XF50 comes stock with a squishy washer that looks almost like plastic or maybe rubber. My opinion of this is that it is not as smooth as a carbon washer. It feels as if the drag gets spongey a second before it slips. It isn't the worst thing in the world and some people might not mind or even notice but I did. Obviously, I really think a smooth drag is paramount to successful light tackle fishing. I did a fix for this by replacing the washer with a set of carbon tex washers from Smoooth Drag dot com. It was an additional 6.50 but it was worth it and had the drag functioning as well as those on my Aldies. This isn't a tremendous mod and to me it was the difference needed for this reel to be considered a BFS capable reel. More details about the mod are below.......you will want to read them as you can super tune the drags on any standard casting reel to improve them significantly and it is really easy.
The other thing I disliked about the reel was the over greasing of the anti reverse bearing and sloppy internal grease job. Now this is more a knock against Tsurinoya's practices than the reel itself. But that said, I'm not a fan of how Shimano does their reels either, so maybe I am hard to please in that aspect. I prefer to do it myself. I cleaned up the excess grease and upon casting the reel a little would decide if I needed to completely degrease and re apply on this one.
The anti reverse bearing in this photo has way too much grease on it.
Most reels come from the factory with a sloppy grease job.
The XF50L cost me 57.00 but Ali had a 3.00 off coupon, that put the overall cost of the combo at 97.00 shipped to my door. Out of the package it is a fishable combo. The addition of the carbontex washers makes it rather formidable. If you add another 20.00 or so you could get Boca Orange seals for the spool bearings and the reel would be pretty deadly.
Initial impression
I'm not going to lie to you. The XF50 is not a 300.00 Aldebaran or Steez. If you expect it to be just like one of those you will be disappointed. What the XF50 is, is the only budget BFS option available** and it is surprisingly capable of throwing 2gr. lures. Equally surprising, it isn't a poster child for cheap Chinese goods. It is capable for throwing 1/16oz beetle spins. I like throwing the next heavier size on it but it can do the lighter stuff. If you consider what the other reels cost, the 57.00 price of the XF50 that allows it perform roughly comparable to or at least operate in a similar realm(just not as refined as the more expensive reels). It is really remarkable. Remember what I stated about that spare spool costing around 100.00? This reel is about half of that. I am doing some tweaking to see if I can get it to throw sub 2gram baits with any consistency.
** Tsurinoya also has the Hurricane, which is the same exact reel in black and bronze. The differences between the reels are as follows.......same frame and guts, Different handle w/o 2BB per paddle and the cast control knob does not have a clicker. Also the Hurricane has a traditional spool and a spare BFS spool. In late June of 2019, Aliexpress had their mid year sale. I picked up 2 Hurricanes for 41.00 each. I plan to replace the pair of Citica E's I keep at my cabin in NC with these reels and make 120.00 in the process by selling the old ones.
I got these Hurricanes for 41.00ea, they each came with a BFS spool and a standard spool
The Hurricane might be a prettier reel than the XF50. It has a couple of less options but it is pretty much the same reel.
My 2 Cents.......a couple of mod's
I did a little bit of simple modding to get this reel to where I think it needs to be. I bought a set of carbontex drag washers and installed them. Before I put them in I took the metal drag disc washer and lapped it. (Special thanks to ULjersey for his inspiration and how to on that in his previous review of the XF50.) If you do not know what this means then pay attention, if you use casting reels in any capacity you should be doing this to get the most out of your drag whether you decide to use after market washers or not. This is drag super tuning 101.
The typical metal drag washer is usually stamped from sheet metal. It looks smooth to the naked eye but as I found out, it is far from smooth. I took the washer and did a series of figure eights, circles, ovals and X's on 220 grit sand paper laid flat on a table. It was amazing to see the washer change appearance. The shiny areas were raised, the dull areas were flat. I finished it up on a piece for 400 grit wet/dry sand paper(black). In the end I got all of the washer on both sides shiny and more even than it had ever been. What this does is expose more flat area to the drag for smoother start up and more consistent, even slippage.
In its factory state, the drag hesitated a fraction of a second before engaging and felt spongey to me.......this was part of the reason why. The raised areas were the only areas making contact, now that I flattened them out, there is more surface area for the drag to utilize and it will slip evenly and not stutter.
Standard machine stamped metal drag washer and odd rubbery plastic-like washer.
I did not like this and quickly went to work modding them and replacing the rubber thing for a Carbontex washer set.
I went to work smoothing out the surface of the metal drag washer. I used sand paper on a flat surface.
The shiny spots are the raised areas getting sanded, the dark area is the lower spots. To the naked eye the stamped sheet metal looks smooth but this is proof that it isn't and because of that, the drag does not utilize all of the surface area causing it to be jerky and not smooth activating. With light line, this mod is a 100% must.
This is the finished, completely lapped washer.......smooth as a baby's ass
The only other thing I did was add 2 Abec 7 Boca Orange seal ceramic hybrid spool bearings to the reel........you don't need to. I had them so I put them in. I was actually pretty impressed with the stock bearings when I was testing the reel on my front lawn. The ceramic bearings make the reel sing and you must dial back the brake settings a bit more.
Initial testing.........1/8oz= 3.5 gr and 1/16oz= 1.75gr
I spooled the reel up with Berkley 6lb grn Nanofil against my better judgement. This is a line designed for spinning reels. Due to the fact it is completely round, it tends to dig into itself when used on a casting gear if stressed. I like its micro diameter and I use it for much of my UL fishing so I figured I'd give it a shot. I tied on a Decoy size 1 Spiral snap and threaded on a crankbait body with no hardware. I weighed it on my gram scale and it was 2.3grams that is about 1/12oz. I started out with the magnetic brake maxed and found the happy medium with the casting control knob that allowed the bait to barely fall when I depressed the thumb bar.
2.3gram crankbait body with Decoy spiral snap.
This bait is about an inch and a quarter in length.
6lb Berkley Nano-Fil. I might regret spooling that.
At 10 on the magnetic adjustment, I got about 25 feet on my first cast. No thumb on the spool. I happen to have a good thumb that pretty much instinctively feathers the spool at the end of a cast to prevent any over runs. The cast hooked a bit to the left though.......I think by slowly taking off the magnetic control, I can get better distance and accuracy. I dropped it down to 8. Next cast...................about 35 feet and pretty straight. I've made two casts with the reel and I am almost impressed. Down to 7.........next cast....................40ft and straight. I think I found the sweet spot. Just for the hell of it I am going to go down a few more to see what I can get away with, I drop it to 6. Next cast, I just about hit the street, my thumb automatically feathers the spool. I think if it didn't I might have had the spool over run a couple of turns but nothing major. That is about 50ft from me, The cast was dead on straight. I am pretty impressed. I make about a dozen more casts and repeat the outcome on each one. I didn't expect that. I fight to prevent my thumb from feathering the spool and the spool over runs about 2 turns......no serious issue to report.
I wonder what the lower range of this reel is. I mean I am completely happy with its performance with a 2.3gram bait. I dig into my box and find a Pins minnow body. This is a 1/15oz body and 1.9gr on the digital scale. It is long and slim and tougher to throw accurately even with spinning gear. I haven't even tried this with my Aldies. Now, if I had not just had the results that I did with the 2.3gram body, I would have doubted and maybe not even tried the 1.9gram body.
1.9grams was the lightest bait I tried. I'm pretty confident that this reel can go even lighter.....by a bit.
Let's start the process again and dial the magnet back to max and slowly back it off. I clip the bait on and give it a whirl with the brakes maxed. I get about 20ft at left of center. I expected this due to a lighter weight body. I'll drop it to 8 again. The next cast goes about 30ft and straight. I drop it to 7, I make about a dozen more casts at this setting as it just feels right to me. No backlashes, no minor over runs, it is prefect. I'm getting about 40ft with a 1/16oz bait. I'm gonna get crazy and drop the magnets to the setting between 6 and 5....we can call it 5 1/2. Now at this point I am expecting the reel to explode and melt in my hands. I make a cast and the bait falls about 2 feet shy of the street and the 50ft mark. No over run. I'm really shocked at this point. I can keep going and I think as long as I have some bit of brakes and my thumb, this reel isn't going to hellishly backlash on me, but I don't need to. I think this reel has proven it is capable of slinging lighter baits. I'm happy but at the same time surprised as I didn't expect it to be this good at it. I rationalize that most of what I intend to be doing with the rod is within 30feet of the boat. Having a little more ready if I need it is great.
One last test. I have my son grab the bait and pull it slowly. The drag slips evenly and consistently. I used Quantum Hot Sauce Grease on the carbontex washers rather than the recommended Cal's. The Hot Sauce seems to have been a good substitute. I think I have the confidence in this reel to go get it wet. It certainly can cast well enough and I think it can stop a mudfish if it needs to.
Forgive me if my gr to oz translations are slightly off......math. They should be very close but I have a habit of cloudy-ing things up the longer I look at them.
On the Water
Any review of a rod and reel would mean nothing without actually getting out there to test it. This is where many of the you tube channels fall short. There seems to be a plethora of fat guys wearing sweat stained tee shirts doing unboxing videos in their mom's basement and offering their opinions on how great a reel is without ever fishing it................I think that is horseshit.
I don't subscribe to the notion that simply because I bought some cheap product, it must be great. If this reel sucks, I'm going to let you know about it. I have nothing to gain by talking up a crappy product. After years of using different brands, I think my choices point me toward success but even established brands can produce a lemon.........Curado G anyone? One's pride or ego should not get in the way of doing a true unbiased review.
This little 'gill had a pretty streak of orange that went all the way to its tail.
I put in the whole spring and summer of 2019 to test this combo. I thought this set up would be really good at chucking small crankbaits and even small swimbaits and it didn't disappoint. On a whim I brought it out to chuck some beetle spins for bluegills and small bass and the occasional big game bowfin. I think this might have been my favorite application for this set up. I got to know the ins and outs of this combo pretty quickly after having a few 100+ fish days. I dialed in the magnets and cast control for use with 2.3gram or 3/32oz bait and the reel performed quite smoothly. I didn't have casting or line management issues at all. The reel put baits on target and I could get 40 feet easily out of it. I could put some extra umph into it if I need a little more. I think realizing it's limitations increased my success with it. I didn't push it to do anything I didn't think it wouldn't be able to deliver on. I kept it within the realm of what I normally do on the water.
One thing to point out........when I fish with casting gear, I generally am standing up and on the trolling motor. Even with my BFS gear, I fish that way. With this set up I started in my friends boat and was sitting down. It is extremely difficult to be accurate with casting gear sitting down. At first, I thought that this experiment was a failure because I had difficulty with distance and accuracy and then I remembered my tests, all were done standing up. When I stood up and put the pedestal on the seat, I once again experienced success. I readjusted the magnetic setting lower for when I decided to fish sitting down and although I got close to dialing them as successfully as I did for standing, I never felt as comfortable.
The combo had no issue fighting mid to jumbo sized Coppernose Bluegills
The Aftermath
The one thing that really impressed me the most was that everything stayed tight. Nothing made weird noises, nothing shook itself loose, nothing failed, nothing slipped. I'll admit, I was very skeptical about the reel at first. But it has turned out to be a pretty good little mill for anyone who doesn't have the money to sink into high end BFS but still wants something that can perform in a similar manner to the big guns. This might also be a decent little reel for anyone just needing an inexpensive casting reel as it can clearly handle larger baits too. Time will tell if it has the longevity my Shimano Aldies have had. Again, this is a 57.00 reel and there are no others out there in its price range that can do what it does as of this writing. It may not be a work of art like my Aldies are but, for what it is, it is certainly worth considering of you are looking for an entry level BFS reel.
The Tsurinoya XL50 and Dragon casting rod handled the bass I caught with relative ease.
My conclusion:
Please see my initial impression.......the XF 50 is certainly capable enough to get an angler close to the realm of BFS fishing. If you are a bass guy who is looking to throw a sub 1/8oz plug, spoon or spinner, it will be a fun reel to play with and is capable of doing that. If you are a trout guy who wants to throw teeny tiny 1/32oz spoons, you may get close to that with some modifications or a bearing swap but I won't mislead you and say the reel will excel for you. The lighter you need to go, the larger the consideration should be for a higher end BFS reel. The XF50 will not perform exactly like an Aldebaran, a Steez or Alphas or any souped up high dollar reel made for BFS......expecting it to, is unrealistic. It can perform capably helping an angler get an introduction to BFS fishing. It will be a fun little inexpensive alternative to the big boys and if you aren't too concerned with keeping uo with the Jones's, it might be perfect for you.
