WisconsinHeat looking for Rec's on a BFS Reel

[Cal]

Hey guys... the following is a topic post from a new member, WisconsinHeat. I accidentally hit "disapprove" instead of "approve" on his first post, so here it is:

Recommend me a bfs reel - Daiwa t3??

Hi all, I am looking into purchasing my next bfs reel. ( My first one is an AliExpress Bust) so I am looking into purchasing a quality product this time around. I'd like to keep the price under $200.
Another thing to note is that this will likely be my only bfs reel that will be mounted on a custom built 6' light rod - and will pull double duty casting finesse baits for bass as well as inline spinners and such for stream trout .
Because of this, I'd prefer to have external brake options since the weight range of lures May differ quite a bit.

I saw a video on turning a Daiwa t3 into a bfs reel, and that really intrigued me. I think I'd like the opportunity to tinker around and customize a reel. I alos love the "race car" look of the reel. But at the same time I'd also hate to have a disappointing result. After looking around, some other options I saw on eBay were the '15 aldebaran BFS ( the black one, older body).

Anylne have experience with either of these reels? Are either of these good choices? I am really interested in the T3 and if that would make for a decent bfs reel, I would prefer to go that route unless there are reasons not to.

[LowRange]

That would depend on how light weight you want to cast. This is to determine what type of spool and reel you may need.

[ss30378]

If you like the t3 and how it palms there is no reason not to make it a bfs rig as there are more good spool options now than ever before. The t3 air was a very capable bfs reel, I think the main complaint was the physical size and the cost of the air. Roro makes a spool for the t3 that is 5.5g with bearing, I think with that you should be able to cast anything a bfs cast should be able to do.

The older shimano reels are nice and very capable bfs rigs, especially with an aftermarket spool but as you pointed out the brakes take a little bit more to adjust. I had the dark grey '12 aldebaran bfs and it was a great reel but the stock spool wasn't as capable as I wanted and it was a lefty which I can't seem to get comfortable with so I sent it on its way. I've run the avail 936 and 918tr spool in the 50e platform and they were excellent, I didn't really have to adjust brakes all that often either.

The new crop of dedicated bfs reels are excellent right out of the box. The alphas air, the air stream custom and the ct reels with a spool change are fantastic. All can cast under 2g with a good rod and the ct with spool upgrade will go under 1g. The new alphas air tw that is about to be released look great as well.

On the shimano side the 16 aldebaran bfs with mag brakes is phenominal and with a spool upgrade can cast the lightest of lures.

With bfs it seems like once you get one nice one setup you want to get a few more...

[LowRange]

Depending on what he wants to cast the Roro may not hold enough line. I can very quickly spool all the 10# nanofill off my BM3 BFS and it is a wide 34mm spool with an 1/8oz inline spinner.

[ss30378]

Very true, generally an 1/8oz spinner with swivel is getting close to 4g and at that weight my aldebaran 30 will get the nod over the shallow spool bfs reels.

[WisconsinHeat]

Thanks for all of the replies, as far as lures I plan to throw, I will be using a lot of lures in the 2-4 gram range, I don't plan on attempting to cast tiny "trout magnet" style jigs/lures with it. Mostly very small hardbaits, 1/16th and some 1/8 oz inline spinners, etc.

How much line does the roro spool hold? Would it be a problem holding enough line to cast ~1/8oz lures.

I plan on using 8/10lb braid on the reel, and would like the ability to make a long cast when I am fishing out of my kayak, but it isn't necessarily a deal breaker as long as I can get enough line to cast, a decent distance, idk 50/65 ft or so.

[Knotty]

Thanks for all of the replies, as far as lures I plan to throw, I will be using a lot of lures in the 2-4 gram range, I don't plan on attempting to cast tiny "trout magnet" style jigs/lures with it. Mostly very small hardbaits, 1/16th and some 1/8 oz inline spinners, etc.

How much line does the roro spool hold? Would it be a problem holding enough line to cast ~1/8oz lures.

I plan on using 8/10lb braid on the reel, and would like the ability to make a long cast when I am fishing out of my kayak, but it isn't necessarily a deal breaker as long as I can get enough line to cast, a decent distance, idk 50/65 ft or so.

What Ali reel did you buy that you didn't like? I have the Tsurinoya XF-50 and a Fishband GH100. Both a quite usable. FWIW, I also have an Aldebaran BFS, so I have something top notch to compare them to.

[LowRange]

Thanks for all of the replies, as far as lures I plan to throw, I will be using a lot of lures in the 2-4 gram range, I don't plan on attempting to cast tiny "trout magnet" style jigs/lures with it. Mostly very small hardbaits, 1/16th and some 1/8 oz inline spinners, etc.

How much line does the roro spool hold? Would it be a problem holding enough line to cast ~1/8oz lures.

I plan on using 8/10lb braid on the reel, and would like the ability to make a long cast when I am fishing out of my kayak, but it isn't necessarily a deal breaker as long as I can get enough line to cast, a decent distance, idk 50/65 ft or so.

The Roros are fixed inductor which is great for tiny UL baits like trout magnets but I would go for a Ray's Studio Spool and the SV spool like Air Brake and tapered inductors.

Probably something like one of these spools. Unlike the reels the Aliexpress spools are great. I still think this one might be line capacity challenged for some of the baits you want to throw. If you use 10# or 15# braid you should be OK.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000020 ... hweb201603_

There is also this one but I don't know how well it will fit a T3. Some 103 spools don't like some 1016 reels. I have this one on the way but no idea how it performs. It's fixed inductor and looks like a poor mans ZPI NRC100M.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000804 ... 37559%2316

I hate to tell you this but I would go with a Tatula 100 and a Ray's Studio Long Cast spool. The Ray's spools are GREAT distance casters of baits like that but for god knows why the deeper (but still very shallow) version is only for the Tatulas. Guys who have this spool report better than Pixy performance with 1/8 oz jigheads and small plastics.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3281477 ... hweb201603_

You want to trick out a T3 so you should trick out a T3. Screw Tatulas. You can get T3s for dirt cheap used from bass.co.jp. I'm not sure how the Covid-19 is affecting shipping but their used stuff is great. The last reel I got from the was a like brand new SS SV105 from them for $140 + $20 shipping. They have a few T3 MX on there with color parts that are awfullly tempting. The one with the purple parts for 6,200 yen ($58) haunts me.

[LowRange]

$73 shipped and the purple one is mine. This is your fault for reminding me about T3s I'll have you know.

[WisconsinHeat]

The Roros are fixed inductor which is great for tiny UL baits like trout magnets but I would go for a Ray's Studio Spool and the SV spool like Air Brake and tapered inductors.

Probably something like one of these spools. Unlike the reels the Aliexpress spools are great. I still think this one might be line capacity challenged for some of the baits you want to throw. If you use 10# or 15# braid you should be OK.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000020 ... hweb201603_

There is also this one but I don't know how well it will fit a T3. Some 103 spools don't like some 1016 reels. I have this one on the way but no idea how it performs. It's fixed inductor and looks like a poor mans ZPI NRC100M.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000804 ... 37559%2316

I hate to tell you this but I would go with a Tatula 100 and a Ray's Studio Long Cast spool. The Ray's spools are GREAT distance casters of baits like that but for god knows why the deeper (but still very shallow) version is only for the Tatulas. Guys who have this spool report better than Pixy performance with 1/8 oz jigheads and small plastics.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3281477 ... hweb201603_

You want to trick out a T3 so you should trick out a T3. Screw Tatulas. You can get T3s for dirt cheap used from bass.co.jp. I'm not sure how the Covid-19 is affecting shipping but their used stuff is great. The last reel I got from the was a like brand new SS SV105 from them for $140 + $20 shipping. They have a few T3 MX on there with color parts that are awfullly tempting. The one with the purple parts for 6,200 yen ($58) haunts me.

Congrats on the purple one!
I was looking at the Tatula 100s before I saw the T3, and it is something I'd consider, but didn't find much for reviews on them. Looking at the Tatula spools, are we buying the ported one or the solid one? Would this still handle 1/16 oz baits fine, 1/8oz jigheads with plastics is probably at the ceiling of the weight range I'd be throwing.

[LowRange]

What 1/16 oz baits do you want to throw?

[WisconsinHeat]

What 1/16 oz baits do you want to throw?

Inline spinners for trout, rooster tails. The package says 1/16 oz but I guess I do that know that true weight .

[WisconsinHeat]

What Ali reel did you buy that you didn't like? I have the Tsurinoya XF-50 and a Fishband GH100. Both a quite usable. FWIW, I also have an Aldebaran BFS, so I have something top notch to compare them to.

China reel was a seaknight potm. I added extra magnets and it can handle 1/8 oz and up lures well but really really struggles with anything under it and I don't think it will last very long, so I was hoping to pick up a reel that will last a very long time.

[LowRange]

What 1/16 oz baits do you want to throw?

Inline spinners for trout, rooster tails. The package says 1/16 oz but I guess I do that know that true weight .

I would be worried about line capacity for 1/8 jig heads and a small plastic with any DIY spools except the Tatula Long Cast but if you don't make long casts then you should be fine with a regular Ray's spool or Roro. I would probably opt for the Ray's studio DIY for 103/1016 just for the Air Brake. 1/16 oz rooster tails and inline spinner should cast pretty well With Magforce 3D you can always put it on Max Brake if you feel the spool is too fast or struggling to activate the inductor.

[WisconsinHeat]

What 1/16 oz baits do you want to throw?

Inline spinners for trout, rooster tails. The package says 1/16 oz but I guess I do that know that true weight .

I would be worried about line capacity for 1/8 jig heads and a small plastic with any DIY spools except the Tatula Long Cast but if you don't make long casts then you should be fine with a regular Ray's spool or Roro. I would probably opt for the Ray's studio DIY for 103/1016 just for the Air Brake. 1/16 oz rooster tails and inline spinner should cast pretty well With Magforce 3D you can always put it on Max Brake if you feel the spool is too fast or struggling to activate the inductor.

Thanks! I pulled the trigger on a t3, Is this the Ray's studio spool?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000020 ... hweb201603