Honest opinions...is BFS really worth trying?

[DirtyD64]

Are there any good, cheaper 6'-7' Light powered rods for BFS? The Aliexpress rods have gotten so high they don't seem worth it, I'd rather step up to a US or brand name JDM model. I see Tacklewarehouse has the Major Craft Benkei in UL and Light, just not sure which one would fit the bill better...

[LowRange]

Are there any good, cheaper 6'-7' Light powered rods for BFS? The Aliexpress rods have gotten so high they don't seem worth it, I'd rather step up to a US or brand name JDM model. I see Tacklewarehouse has the Major Craft Benkei in UL and Light, just not sure which one would fit the bill better...

Either of the BFS Benkai rods would be great.

[DirtyD64]

Are there any good, cheaper 6'-7' Light powered rods for BFS? The Aliexpress rods have gotten so high they don't seem worth it, I'd rather step up to a US or brand name JDM model. I see Tacklewarehouse has the Major Craft Benkei in UL and Light, just not sure which one would fit the bill better...

Either of the BFS Benkai rods would be great.

Thanks, they seem to have good components. As far as sensitivity goes, that price range of rod should be fine for me. I will say for a cheap Aliexpress rod, the Proflex 2 UL I have is fairly sensitive, but most are when using light braid...

[LowRange]

Are there any good, cheaper 6'-7' Light powered rods for BFS? The Aliexpress rods have gotten so high they don't seem worth it, I'd rather step up to a US or brand name JDM model. I see Tacklewarehouse has the Major Craft Benkei in UL and Light, just not sure which one would fit the bill better...

Either of the BFS Benkai rods would be great.

Thanks, they seem to have good components. As far as sensitivity goes, that price range of rod should be fine for me. I will say for a cheap Aliexpress rod, the Proflex 2 UL I have is fairly sensitive, but most are when using light braid...

I've owned both a L and UL Volkey BFS. They are similar but I ended up using the L a lot more. I mostly threw 3/16 to 1/4 oz total weight baits. 1/10 oz weedless head ned rigs including long shank heads and Hula Sticks, 1/16 and 1/8 oz bitsy bugs with small trailer. Small #5 Shad Rap. 1/16 oz flick shake head with skinny finesse worm. Small neko rigs ect. If I threw 1/8 oz total weight jig and plastics then I would have used the UL a lot more. It's better for that. I mostly threw hard baits in the 1/8 oz range with the light Teton noodle trout rod thing.

[Spincastguy02]

I caught the bug about 4 yrs ago . Had all the best budget options then moved up to my first JDM Shimano slx . There are of course your over $300 bfs reels . I had fun but now had my fill . Going back to spinning for finesse as it is just more practical . I will keep a few bfs set ups I have . In the end you will never beat spinning for light lures . Baitcaster for my medium heavy tactics and crankbaits . Unless you buy the most elite bfs reels which are way overpriced and not worth the money you can buy 3 solid spinning reels with more versitily and no backlashes . Try it out , have fun then come back home .

[hoohoorjoo]

I caught the bug about 4 yrs ago . Had all the best budget options then moved up to my first JDM Shimano slx . There are of course your over $300 bfs reels . I had fun but now had my fill . Going back to spinning for finesse as it is just more practical. I will keep a few bfs set ups I have . In the end you will never beat spinning for light lures . Baitcaster for my medium heavy tactics and crankbaits . Unless you buy the most elite bfs reels which are way overpriced and not worth the money you can buy 3 solid spinning reels with more versitily and no backlashes . Try it out , have fun then come back home .

Assuming you are proficient with a baitcaster, you will never be as accurate with a spinning reel as you will said baitcaster, not gonna happen. If you're dropshotting, I can see a spinning reel over a bfs setup, or any place where you're trying to bomb-cast in open water. If i were to use eggbeaters around the ponds I fish, I would go home a lot lighter in the pocket because of all the lures I'd lose to overhanging branches and blowdowns in the water. And yes, the uber-expensive reels are worth it if you're serious about bfs. You're at TT, so the cost isn't usually discussed around here. At best, cost is an inconvenience. The bitterness of price is long-forgotten when considering the satisfaction of performance and longevity.

[Freddie]

Yes. I've caught more fish with a TRD TubeZ 2.75" on a 1/24 oz jighead than with any other bait ever. Big fish, too. That includes multiple +3# and a 4# SMB, as well as walleye, panfish, all kinds of fish.

The total weight of this bait is around 2.5-3 grams and there is something about the slow sink rate that just drives fish mad. I get bit on nearly every cast on a good day here in south central PA on the Juniata River.

A X27 RORO spool + '21 Zillion with 6# FC will launch this quite well with the right BFS rod.

[MK49]

I don't know the answer to "is BFS really worth trying?". First of all, I don't use spinning reels. Second, I don't use super light baits. I'm not really a finesse kind of guy. That being said, I bought my first BFS reel, Daiwa PX68 about 12 years ago. Honestly, I haven't used it that much. Only time I used it was when the fishing was tough, mostly in the winters. A few months ago, I bought a Daiwa Gekka Bijin, knowing I would not use it much. I still don't know why I bought it. I've used it once so far, just to test the reel. Then, I bought a Roro BFS spool for my old Steez, which I used for every fishing trip. I liked it, so I ordered another one last week, which is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I didn't buy them for finesse baits. I bought them mostly to throw 1/4oz to 3/8oz topwater baits, which I normally used with the stock spools, but the Roro spool performed better.

I have three medium light casting rods. I use one of them regularly, just because it's closer to medium action than ML, and I've been using it with my Steez with the Roro spool for the last few weeks. I like the setup. I barely use the lightest ML rod, because it's too light for what I normally do. It's for winter time for me.

Is it really worth it? At least, I can make longer casts with BFS, which I like. But, is it worth the money? I'm not sure. At least, I kind of regret that I bought the Gekka Bijin. I don't regret the Roro spool for Steez, though.

[dragon1]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

[MK49]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search, but couldn't find it. Where can I buy the spool?

[dragon1]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search, but couldn't find it. Where can I buy the spool?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568024 ... pt=glo2usa

The only reason why I don't have one yet is because I refuse to set up an account with AliExpress.

[MK49]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search, but couldn't find it. Where can I buy the spool?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568024 ... pt=glo2usa

The only reason why I don't have one yet is because I refuse to set up an account with AliExpress.

I don't know anything about AliExpress. What's wrong with it? Thanks

I actually found one on eBay, but AliExpress is basically half the price.

[dragon1]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search, but couldn't find it. Where can I buy the spool?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568024 ... pt=glo2usa

The only reason why I don't have one yet is because I refuse to set up an account with AliExpress.

I don't know anything about AliExpress. What's wrong with it? Thanks

I actually found one on eBay, but AliExpress is basically half the price.

There is probably nothing technically wrong with AliExpress, just like there's "nothing wrong" with TikTok...I'll leave my comment there.

[MK49]

Pick up a Ray's BFS deep spool for your Gekkabijin and it'll match up a bit better for your power-finesse techs.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search, but couldn't find it. Where can I buy the spool?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568024 ... pt=glo2usa

The only reason why I don't have one yet is because I refuse to set up an account with AliExpress.

I don't know anything about AliExpress. What's wrong with it? Thanks

I actually found one on eBay, but AliExpress is basically half the price.

There is probably nothing technically wrong with AliExpress, just like there's "nothing wrong" with TikTok...I'll leave my comment there.

There must be a reason why you refuse to setup an account with them. I guess it's safe not to buy from them.

I've used my Gekkabijin twice so far. I'm planning to go fishing tomorrow. I'll try the stock spool again. Maybe, it's OK. At least, the 2nd time was better than the 1st time I used the reel. I still have hard time seeing the super thin braided line, though.

[dragon1]

It's a personal choice...like deleting FB and nearly all social media apps, no longer watching any pro sports , etc.

The older I become, the more I walk in line with my inner spiritual beliefs.