TackleTour

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 22, 2021 6:49 am

I appreciate the other users giving their input of performance. The Gekkabijin AIR TW has been quite nice to me. I replaced the stock bearings with Roro Hybrid Ceramic Micro Bearings and also the spool with the Roro AX24 Thickened brake BFS spool.

After the tune, I really like the Gekkabijin for stream casting. I feel short range distance/accuracy was easier to achieve. The braking profile of the Roro leads to a faster, flatter casting trajectory and still has control. Stock spool will do better in open water.

Below is a video I did with the Gekkabijin tune I did. It is a casting compilation so, no talking but, still entertaining.

Thank you for video, and thank you for informing that those are currently available on Digitaka. And now there's one piece less lefty available on Digitaka [DIGITAKA] Order confirmation

I took my Gekkabijin with me on a river float the last two days...with a standard inductor RORO/AX24 spool and 6# mono. Initial impressions are... 1) it seemed like I had to have a higher brake setting than with my AATW...but I'm not 100% sure as there are many other variables 2) it is noticeably smoother and more refined than my AATW 3) the drag(and clicker) worked very well on a bunch of 10-14" smallies

But...I have some questions still... 1) what is the deal with the stepped Gekkabijin spool design? What is the purpose of the offset like that? 2) how important is it actually to not use nylon/Fluoro on the Gekkabijin spool? 3) Is it okay to spool line on the raised edges of the Gekkabijin spool?

Freddie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:22 pm

I took my Gekkabijin with me on a river float the last two days...with a standard inductor RORO/AX24 spool and 6# mono. Initial impressions are... 1) it seemed like I had to have a higher brake setting than with my AATW...but I'm not 100% sure as there are many other variables 2) it is noticeably smoother and more refined than my AATW 3) the drag(and clicker) worked very well on a bunch of 10-14" smallies

But...I have some questions still... 1) what is the deal with the stepped Gekkabijin spool design? What is the purpose of the offset like that? 2) how important is it actually to not use nylon/Fluoro on the Gekkabijin spool? 3) Is it okay to spool line on the raised edges of the Gekkabijin spool?

Great to hear you also had good results with the Roro AX24.

1). The stepped design helps prevent line from getting in the spool edge/frame. Main reason though is to "narrow" the spool to result in smoother casting by reducing friction due to line angle to the line guide.

2). I usually take those recommendations with a grain of salt. I usually just use more caution when using FC or mono. I spool up with little tension and be sure not to pull hard when feeling in line. I have never had an issue with any spool doing that.

3). I do not see a benefit from spooling line on the spool edge. The line flowing off the spool edges would make casting irregular and could result in more backlashes. The line wouldn't stack on the spool edge without you manually putting the like on the spool edge every time.

Freddie on question 3 also see comments on previous pages.

Nobody on this site or any other site can give you guarantees on mono/fc. Still, I would not hesitate on using mono/fc.
I have nearly 50 BFS spools if I count stock and aftermarket spools. I have been using them for 6 years. I mainly use bfs gear when I fish.
I have spooled them with whatever I have wanted to use - mostly 10 lb (1 pe, 0.12 mm) braid and 7-10 lb mono/fc.
Pulled snags like there was no tomorrow.

I have never had any issue.
Still, I cannot give you any guarantee

Also note that I only have one gekkabijin spool and limited experience with it…..

Freddie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:22 pm

1) what is the deal with the stepped Gekkabijin spool design?

I suppose they have seek casting performance with thin braided line, light but streamlined lure and a just little bit longer rod...But I'm not sure.

When I will receive my reel, I will surely try to lift line on top of last step in case I'm casting Trout Magnet. I suspect it can help spool to start with too light lure But it's not allowed to do acc. to Daiwa. So please not to do that

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:17 pm

Freddie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:22 pm

I took my Gekkabijin with me on a river float the last two days...with a standard inductor RORO/AX24 spool and 6# mono. Initial impressions are... 1) it seemed like I had to have a higher brake setting than with my AATW...but I'm not 100% sure as there are many other variables 2) it is noticeably smoother and more refined than my AATW 3) the drag(and clicker) worked very well on a bunch of 10-14" smallies

But...I have some questions still... 1) what is the deal with the stepped Gekkabijin spool design? What is the purpose of the offset like that? 2) how important is it actually to not use nylon/Fluoro on the Gekkabijin spool? 3) Is it okay to spool line on the raised edges of the Gekkabijin spool?

Great to hear you also had good results with the Roro AX24.

1). The stepped design helps prevent line from getting in the spool edge/frame. Main reason though is to "narrow" the spool to result in smoother casting by reducing friction due to line angle to the line guide.

2). I usually take those recommendations with a grain of salt. I usually just use more caution when using FC or mono. I spool up with little tension and be sure not to pull hard when feeling in line. I have never had an issue with any spool doing that.

3). I do not see a benefit from spooling line on the spool edge. The line flowing off the spool edges would make casting irregular and could result in more backlashes. The line wouldn't stack on the spool edge without you manually putting the like on the spool edge every time.

Thank you for the response…it was very informative. I’m hoping to do some cast testing of braid vs mono for distance.

jvelth74 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:50 pm

Freddie wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:22 pm

1) what is the deal with the stepped Gekkabijin spool design?

I suppose they have seek casting performance with thin braided line, light but streamlined lure and a just little bit longer rod...But I'm not sure.

When I will receive my reel, I will surely try to lift line on top of last step in case I'm casting Trout Magnet. I suspect it can help spool to start with too light lure But it's not allowed to do acc. to Daiwa. So please not to do that

I have nothing wrong with Trout Magnet lures. In regards to BFS fishing, I think the Trout Magnet is almost meme-worthy. The test of all tests that doesn't prove much, especially how people do the testing. I can stand at the edge of a pond with 2lb braid and whip a Trout Magnet 20ft in every direction besides where I am aiming.

I haven't cast Trout Magnets much, but without float I have had issues with spool startups and cast aiming. I tried thin Sufix Nanobraid, but didn't like it. Best for Trout Magnets so far has been thin mono, but still there is startup issue / aiming control. But I haven't really cast much of Trout Magnets...

Finally took my Gekkabijin on the water yesterday. It was the only setup I brought. Spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bait Finess 0.5 PE on a custom light rod rod that has rec guides. I love the smoothness, handling, and drag. It was superb when fighting fish. Fishing PE line took a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any backlashes which was refreshing. I had a couple of line breaks when casting oddly enough, but I'm pretty positive that was user error.

Compared to the AATW, it feels more refined, but I want to spool up PE on both to more properly test the two head on. Also, I tried putting the AX24 from both the AATW and Steez Air (they're different) standard Roro spools on the Gekkabijin and neither seemed to fit perfectly. I heard a bit of grinding with both.

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:27 pm

Finally took my Gekkabijin on the water yesterday. It was the only setup I brought. Spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bait Finess 0.5 PE on a custom light rod rod that has rec guides. I love the smoothness, handling, and drag. It was superb when fighting fish. Fishing PE line took a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any backlashes which was refreshing. I had a couple of line breaks when casting oddly enough, but I'm pretty positive that was user error.

Compared to the AATW, it feels more refined, but I want to spool up PE on both to more properly test the two head on. Also, I tried putting the AX24 from both the AATW and Steez Air (they're different) standard Roro spools on the Gekkabijin and neither seemed to fit perfectly. I heard a bit of grinding with both.

All of those spools should fit with no issues. Perhaps the tension knobs needs a small adjustment? My Roro spools fit the AATW and Gekkabijin just fine.

Thank you! After adjusting the tension knob, the AATW Roro Spool is now fitting without grinding sounds so I’ll definitely be testing that this week if I can get out. Still can’t get the Steez Air Roro spool to fit without grinding in it though, but it seems the fixed inductor cup juts out maybe 2 pieces of paper further than the other AX24 spool. Any ideas on how to move that fixed inductor cup back the tiniest bit?

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:19 pm

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:27 pm

Finally took my Gekkabijin on the water yesterday. It was the only setup I brought. Spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bait Finess 0.5 PE on a custom light rod rod that has rec guides. I love the smoothness, handling, and drag. It was superb when fighting fish. Fishing PE line took a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any backlashes which was refreshing. I had a couple of line breaks when casting oddly enough, but I'm pretty positive that was user error.

Compared to the AATW, it feels more refined, but I want to spool up PE on both to more properly test the two head on. Also, I tried putting the AX24 from both the AATW and Steez Air (they're different) standard Roro spools on the Gekkabijin and neither seemed to fit perfectly. I heard a bit of grinding with both.

All of those spools should fit with no issues. Perhaps the tension knobs needs a small adjustment? My Roro spools fit the AATW and Gekkabijin just fine.

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Thank you! After adjusting the tension knob, the AATW Roro Spool is now fitting without grinding sounds so I’ll definitely be testing that this week if I can get out. Still can’t get the Steez Air Roro spool to fit without grinding in it though, but it seems the fixed inductor cup juts out maybe 2 pieces of paper further than the other AX24 spool. Any ideas on how to move that fixed inductor cup back the tiniest bit?

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:19 pm

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:27 pm

Finally took my Gekkabijin on the water yesterday. It was the only setup I brought. Spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bait Finess 0.5 PE on a custom light rod rod that has rec guides. I love the smoothness, handling, and drag. It was superb when fighting fish. Fishing PE line took a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any backlashes which was refreshing. I had a couple of line breaks when casting oddly enough, but I'm pretty positive that was user error.

Compared to the AATW, it feels more refined, but I want to spool up PE on both to more properly test the two head on. Also, I tried putting the AX24 from both the AATW and Steez Air (they're different) standard Roro spools on the Gekkabijin and neither seemed to fit perfectly. I heard a bit of grinding with both.

All of those spools should fit with no issues. Perhaps the tension knobs needs a small adjustment? My Roro spools fit the AATW and Gekkabijin just fine.

Does the spool appear centered in the frame? If not you may be able to switch to a thinner bearing to allow the spool to slide more towards the handle side of the reel. I had this issue with a Amo spool in a Ryoga. The Amo bearing sat too far out on the spool shaft and prevented the spool from fitting all the way centered in the frame even with the spool tension knob removed.
viewtopic.php?f=65&t=80168&start=45

Spool is centered. As far as I can tell, the bearings between the Roro spools are identical. The fixed inductor cup on the other side though has a little groove from where it seems to be rubbing against something, so I'm wondering if there's a way to move that inductor cup back a super small amount. I reached out Roro and they confirmed the spools, while both AX24s are indeed different.

LowRange wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:24 am

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Thank you! After adjusting the tension knob, the AATW Roro Spool is now fitting without grinding sounds so I’ll definitely be testing that this week if I can get out. Still can’t get the Steez Air Roro spool to fit without grinding in it though, but it seems the fixed inductor cup juts out maybe 2 pieces of paper further than the other AX24 spool. Any ideas on how to move that fixed inductor cup back the tiniest bit?

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:19 pm

slimjim1135 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:27 pm

Finally took my Gekkabijin on the water yesterday. It was the only setup I brought. Spooled with Varivas Super Trout Advance Bait Finess 0.5 PE on a custom light rod rod that has rec guides. I love the smoothness, handling, and drag. It was superb when fighting fish. Fishing PE line took a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any backlashes which was refreshing. I had a couple of line breaks when casting oddly enough, but I'm pretty positive that was user error.

Compared to the AATW, it feels more refined, but I want to spool up PE on both to more properly test the two head on. Also, I tried putting the AX24 from both the AATW and Steez Air (they're different) standard Roro spools on the Gekkabijin and neither seemed to fit perfectly. I heard a bit of grinding with both.

All of those spools should fit with no issues. Perhaps the tension knobs needs a small adjustment? My Roro spools fit the AATW and Gekkabijin just fine.

Does the spool appear centered in the frame? If not you may be able to switch to a thinner bearing to allow the spool to slide more towards the handle side of the reel. I had this issue with a Amo spool in a Ryoga. The Amo bearing sat too far out on the spool shaft and prevented the spool from fitting all the way centered in the frame even with the spool tension knob removed.
viewtopic.php?f=65&t=80168&start=45

I finally got to spend some time on the water with my Gekkabijin in stock form. I spooled up with 50M of 4-strand 10# braid(.08mm) and this perfectly filled the narrow spool. I typically fish a FC leader on my braided mainlines but I don't have anything suitable at the moment so I was fishing straight braid. What I found is that the zero stretch line actually worked fairly well to counter act the moderate taper of my rod that I use for BFS. Still, I will probably use a short FC leader in the future. I was pleasantly surprised by the casting performance. I was throwing a 2g+TRD TicklerZ Cheburashka rig that probably weighed around 4g total and it was controlled and yet didn't feel choked. Despite the wind and having a noodleyish 6'6" rod it was consistently giving me ABOUT 30-35M distance. I may do a head to head casting comparison with the Aldebaran BFS. At this point the only advantage the Aldebaran has for me over the Gekkabijin is it's a squeak over an ounce lighter.