Robin

Probably have 15 plus Kistler rods that I have accumulated over the years. Most of them are Heliums. Everything from medium-light to heavy. The medium lights also work great for BFS, although they have a separate BFS rod line now. For the money, nothing beats a Helium for sensitivity and pure fishing enjoyment. They are very lightweight. I have yet to have any problems with quality or performance. They are the "real deal"! I also still have several of the old original Castaway rods from back in the 90s. I still rotate them in and out of service. These date back to Trey's Dad's old company. I will never part with them as long as I am still alive and fishing.

Picked up a 6'4 BFS model a couple of months ago and am very pleased. No experience with the previous Adrena models, but do have a number of the recent Exprides. The new Zodias is noticeably lighter than the Exprides and extremenly sensitive. Very pleased with my purchase. Would definitely buy again.

Still love my Calcutta 50 reels, but I have also crossed the 65 mark and my Aldebarans are much more enjoyable to fish for extended periods. I have some of the original Aldebarans, along with the 50s, 30s and BFS versions and they are all phenomenal reels. Paired with a 3 ounce BFS rod, the feeling is hard to describe. The Calcuttas are still in rotation though, for nostalgia purposes, and I suspect I will take them with me to my grave.

Just received a 24 Poison Adrena BFS rod from JDM Tackle Heaven. Rod is excellent and crazy light. Probably 10 grams lighter than the 2018 model (which is an excellent rod also).

Digitaka and JDM Tackle Heaven. Have ordered from both of them numerous times and service is very fast. Prices are great too. No complaints!

Hopefully a way will be found for someone to reintroduce the jigs and spinnerbaits. The design of their spinnerbait has certainly withstood the test of time for decades and it is still my top producing spinnerbait even after all of these years. There is a lot more competition then there was when it was released.

Bad news. So sorry to hear that.

I have converted several Shimano Curado 50, Adebaran 50 and Scorpion Xt 1000s to BFS using Avail spools and Roro bearings. They all perform great. I love the simplicity of the basic Shimano centrifugal brake system. More of a set and forget routine. They can all throw down to 2 grams without any problems. I do have some of the current BFS specific Aldebaran/Alphas that can throw lighter, but the old school modified Shimanos will beat them in distance once you get to 3-4 grams.

Stanley baits has evidently been acquired by GSM Outdoors. I believe this is the same group that has acquired Dobyns Rods along with numerous other fishing and hunting related small businesses. Wishing them the best going forward, but am currently extremely frustrated with the current state of affairs. I have been an avid and long-time user (30 plus years) of Stanley products and most of their products have seemingly disappeared from the major retailers inventories. I have ordered directly from Stanley's in the past with very good results. Although their website is still functional, it is not possible to place an order since they have no payment options available.They give you a phone number to call if you need help, but there are usually 40 plus calls ahead of you so the wait time is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not sure what GSM's future plans are for the Stanley product line, but I certainly hope things get back to normal quickly. Does anyone have any insight on what is going on over at GSM?

I would love to see Megabass release some worked over Daiwa reels. They add the "bling" factor. Not sure I would buy one though if the price is outrageous. SLP Works released a Millionaire CT last year that looked fantastic. Limited release though, and all were pre-sold. Available on ebay for $1500 plus or minus which is ridiculous.

Still lamenting yet another takeover of a long time/trusted brand by a VC group. Having worked in this industry in the capacity as a CPA for the past 45 plus years, it is all about the profits. Nothing else really matters. I have represented buyers and sellers over the years and most acquisitions turn out bad for the loyal long time supporters. Wishing GSM the best though! From what I can tell, they have a very good reputation and are led by a bunch of outdoor enthusiasts. Keeping my fingers crossed that they maintain the Stanley line. sts. s.

BFS covers a wide range of lures/weights. It is more about down-sizing. I also throw a lot of 2-4 gram hard baits, but love throwing very small spinnerbaits on my BFS gear. I guess you could call it "power " BFS. I do not believe there is one single concrete definition of what BFS actually is. In Japan they throw some fairly heavy stuff and often use 10lb test fluoro in many situations. I am not a trout magnet guy as most of my quarry are largemouth, Guadalupe and smallmouth bass in Texas Hill Country rivers and streams.

Just curious what everyone is using in this area. I have primarily been throwing Stanley baby 1/8oz spinnerbaits and have had tremendous success with them. I have been a huge fan of their spinnerbaits in all sizes forever. They just plain "work"! It appears they have recently been acquired by GSM Outdoors (like a lot of fishing companies) and you are not currently able to order anything off their website. I called the number they posted for questions, but every time there was approximately 20 people on hold ahead of me. Hopefully, they will get things up and running soon and maintain the existing product line. In the meantime, any suggestions on alternatives? I have tried the Strike Kings babys and Booyah pond magics and they are way to flimsy. I routinely run into 2lb plus bass and the Stanleys can handle them.

I have purchased 6 rods from JDM Tackle Heaven and never had a problem. Use my wife's Shop-Pay account and everything has worked out great. Delivery is usually within 4 days. Sorry to hear you are having problems with them. Digitaka usually beats them on reel prices, but JDM has about the best selection of JDM rods anywhere. Already got a 24 Poison Adrena BFS from them along with an Orochi Cliffhanger.

Still have several in service. Favorite is a calcutta 50xt. It has a drilled/lighter spool than the standard calcutta. Swapped out for Roro bearings and was pleasantly surprised. It will now cast down to 2 oz. with some effort, but 3-5 oz is no problem with 8lb braid. Also have a Millionaire CT with a Roro spool and it can easily handle 2 grams.

I still use 8lb Power Pro in moss green. I believe there is a hi-vis yellow available. The Power Pro has performed exceptionally for me over the years with no failures. Every time I "experiment" with a different line, I come back to original Power Pro. Maybe not the state of the art braid now, but it is very reliable.

Just received the "cliffhanger" BFS rod and tried it out this morning. Unbelievable rod. Very impressed! They weigh a bit more than the P5s, but still pretty light. Balance is great. Hard to describe the action. Soft but fast. I got the Cliffhanger BFS and had no problem throwing 3 inch weightless senkos. Sensitivity was very good, but you quickly get into the "backbone" when you need it. Very pleased with the rod!

I use a 6'9" Waterloo Slam Mag rod. Although this is a salt water rod, it is a Medium/XF action rod that handles 1/2 oz jerkbaits better than any rod I have ever used. Also use this rod for topwater and it is a phenomenal "spook" rod. Soft, but fast tip for casting, and plenty of backbone. Do not overlook the selection of saltwater rods available. There are some very "high end" rods out there that are extremely light and rival any top of the line JDM rods currently available.

FWIW I have also tried some of the PE lines in the past. You can get these in smaller diameters than the 8lb Power Pro. They cast great, but I have experienced several unexplained line snaps that were nowhere near the leader knot. Not much fun when you have a $15.00 JDM trout minnow on the end of the line!

I normally use a bit of cheap mono that I have laying around for the backing except for some of my Daiwa reels which have super shallow spools. On those, I skip the backing completely. My usual leader material is 6lb clear CXX by P Line. It is very abrasion resistant and quite a bit stronger than normal 6lb. Connecting knot is either an albright or alberto. These knots have performed very well and are relatively easy to tie with a little practice. I tried fluorocarbon and did not see any advantages over the CXX. This line ties very good knots and I do not have to worry about unexplained failures.

I generally run 8lb Power Pro on all of my BFS reels. Never had any problems. I started with 10lb several years ago before I switched. The 10lb worked fine, but the 8lb casts a bit better and gives some extra distance.

The old ones are not dead. Mine will not die! I have three of the 100s that are more than 20 years old. I have replaced the bearings once or twice, but they still feel as smooth as they did when I got them. They have seen fresh and salt water use and have withstood the test of time. These were purchased way back when the Chronarch was top of the line for Shimano here in the States. I doubt that I will ever part with them. I love all of the new Shimanos and there are a number of newer models that surpass the current Chronarch. In my opinion, they still cannot match the build quality of the old Chronarchs though.

Late to the party, but another albright knot fan hear. I use it for just about everything including BFS with 8lb braid to a 6/8lb copoly leader. No problems as long as I tie the knot properly. Always test the knot after you trim the tag ends and you should be good to go. When I need to break off due to a snag, it is rare for the albright knot to be the culprit. Leaders and connection knots do need to be checked periodically due to line fray. I generally start off with a 6 foot leader. Once I am down to around 4 foot due to re-tying, I replace the leader and start over. This knot is comparatively easy to tie when on the water (kayak). Once you get it down and are consistent it is my idea of a perfect leader knot.

I have the 62BF Tricker that I am using as a BFS rod. It is a very nice rod with great aesthetics and it is a top quality build. I also recommend checking into some of the Hook Up Tackle Youtube videos covering these rods. I will be purchasing more of their rods in the near future.

Another Texas Hill Country enthusiast (Llano River). Once I converted to BFS from spinning and regular bait casting, life has never been the same. I trend toward the BFS rods more suited for bass which generally are light action that can handle lures from 2-6 grams rather than "trout" rods which are usually UL, or a bit lighter, and very slow action. I find that my casting distance and accuracy are much improved versus spinning gear set-ups. There are a tremendous number of rods available nowadays that work fine at all sorts of price points. Manufactures have recognized the growing market recently and are providing very good products to match our needs. Reel selection has also vastly improved over the past two years.