desmobob

+1 I replaced the old-school nylon mesh net bag on my trout net with a Fishpond silicone net bag and it is a huge improvement.

My Daiwa Bass-X 682LB Y2 arrived today. (Six days after ordering from Japan... quick service and FedEx shipping from Digitaka, as usual.) This arrived about as quickly as a domestic order. The rod was $90.07, shipped, at the current exchange rate. I was very surprised to find it was butt-over-tip construction, lacking any traditional ferrule. The entire butt section is finished with an attractive cross-weave pattern and is quite stout. The fit/finish is nice and it's outfitted with a Fuji reel seat and their Alconite guides. The tip section felt pretty stiff and I was a little leary about it being able to cast down to 1/16oz. I braved the nasty heat and humidity (heat advisory in effect today) and took it out to the back yard. It didn't feel well-loaded with a 1/8 finesse jig (skirt but no trailer) but casted it perfectly; straight and easy with plenty of distance. Same with a slightly more wind-resistant 1/8 bladed jig. A plain 1/16oz. ballhead jig hardly loaded the rod at all but still casted reasonably well. I'd guess that 3/32oz. or so is probably the comfortable low limit for this rod but 1/16 oz. is certainly do-able. The rod feels like it has a whole lot of reserve power and with a reel having a good drag, I'd confidently take on any biters. I think it has plenty of backbone for setting the hook through T-rigged plastics. That's something some of my lighter BFS rods lack. Most of my other rods are in the boat but I did compare it to an Ace Hawk CU Double with the L tip installed (the CU double comes with UL and L tip sections). It is a little stiffer than the Ace Hawk but the action seems slightly slower... maybe MF compared to the Ace Hawk's F. I didn't throw anything heavier than 1/8 oz. but the listed upper limit of 3/8oz. seems reasonable. I'm looking forward to getting it out on the water to find out how it fishes and what techniques it's most suitable for.

I'm guessing the new projectile will work fine. Only one way to find out... shoot some groups. You never know. I have a .223 with a fast, 1:7 twist that should, theoretically, shoot best with heavier (longer) bullets. It shoots its best groups with 52gr. match bullets. So, spinning the projectile a little bit too fast (1:7 vs. 1:9) doesn't seem to hurt at all in that case. Maybe that won't hold true in muzzle loaders or in your individual rifle. My old Armsport Hawken has a very slow round ball twist and that's all it will shoot well. My Pedersoli three-band Enfield is very particular about bullet weight/length.

That's my experience as well. I use an Alberto on the small diameter leaders and braid.

It is Scotch, aged in rum barrels.

This is a great shortcut for the FG on a heavy leader. Where the FG starts getting more difficult is when you're trying to connect 6lb. or 8lb. mono onto light braid.

...and the interviews with the guy are pretty entertaining! The guy has brass ones. Big brass ones.

Wow! How have I missed seeing that video up until now? Might be my new favorite song... ? Edit to add: The cougar attack in Episode 2 is impressive!

Here are some rigs I just posted in another thread. I use most of them to throw Ned Rigs at some point... From the "spin vs. BFS" thread.

Some BFS rigs that were on deck today... From L to R: Daiwa PXL-R on a Major Craft Volkey VKC68L-BFS Daiwa 20 Alphas Air TW on a Kuying Teton 632UL KastKing Zephyr on an Ace Hawk CU Double 6' UL Fishband GH100 on a Tsurinoya Pro Flex II 632 UL Not quite BFS, but on the far right: Daiwa Alphas SV105 on a Kistler KLX 7' ML I had a very slow afternoon. The water looked like chocolate milk. The southern end of Lake Champlain is usually quite silty, but it was extra-thick today after the heavy rain yesterday/last night. At one point, I was throwing a Rapala Floating Minnow I've had for over forty years (!) on the GH100 (you can see it in the photo) and got a solid hit. A d**n longnose gar rolled up on top with the Rapala in his beak and then cut me off nearly immediately. Heartbreaking! But wait! Up pops the little F7 to the surface. I motored over and grabbed it. And put it away. I had found the Rapala in an old tackle box I had. It's actually even more than forty years old... I can tell because it has a splash of red paint on the throat. I remember that was a tip I read in an outdoor magazine when I was a teenager. I think I dabbed red Testor's model paint on every hard bait I had at the time. I still have a couple of Rebel baits with the red paint treatment.

Secret? I was exaggerating/bragging. ? I think I snag one on every other cast. At least it seems that way...

It's irresponsible to leave it it laying around outside. It's also downright dangerous to leave it laying around inside where it can get wrapped around the innards of the ol' lady's vacuum cleaner... ?

I thought smallmouth fishermen still threw all three sizes of Rebel craws and the deep version too! I have some in my box that are probably older than a lot of guys on the forum, and some brand new. Just a great lure...

I'm headed out later this morning and will be throwing Ned Rigs on 6lb. mono spooled on a Daiwa PXL-R on a Major Craft Volkey VKC-68L rod and 8 lb. braid/8lb. mono leader spooled on a Daiwa 20 Alphas Air TW on a Tsurinoya Pro Flex II C632UL.

That's the biggest issue with the Z-Man ElaZTech... you practically have to treat it like unexploded ordnance.

I know that feature can be a double-edged sword in Elaztech baits... after catching a fish or two, the hook point and barb often goes through one side or the other, distorting the bait. The toughness and elasticity of the plastic can make it a challenge to un-foul. I still love the durability and buoyancy of their plastics though!

...and it looks like the bait's little dorsal fin deflects weeds away from the hook point, so skin-hooking (and the resulting reduction in hook-ups) is not necessary? I just ordered some Texas Eye jigheads. I haven't tried any of the Z-man heads with that type keeper yet. Cool.

It's frustrating that there is such a great selection of BFS rods already out there, but not imported to the USA. They're still easy to get but it's probably harder or impossible to find reviews, tests, and the other stuff we might like to read before making a purchase. I just ordered a Daiwa Bass-X 682LB Y2 from Digitaka. 6'8" L power, Lure rating: 1.8g - 11g. (1/16 - 3/8 oz.) Daiwa has an interesting chart showing the Bass-X rods and their recommended uses, but it's Greek to me, so to speak... ...just past half-way down the page, here. I should have it in a week or so. I'll post my impressions.

I've been rigging my Z-Man TRD baits on an Owner ultrahead finesse ballhead or T-rigged. I love the Shroomz, but it seems like I spend more time hanging up and tying on new ones then fishing them. The hook-up ratio goes down, especially if you skin hook, but it beats losing the rig every half-dozen casts or clearing vegetation off the hook point every cast...

But it will blend right in with all the other manure spreaders there... ?

My sonar goes on just after I launch, while the engine is warming up before I take off fishing. I turn it off when I tie up to the dock to go get my vehicle and trailer. Maybe I should try fishing all day without turning it on to see if it's scaring fish away...

When I started using braid-and-leader, I used InvisX for leader material. The zebra mussels and hard structure would raise curls out of it like a block plane does to wood. The AbrazX is quite a bit tougher. I've never tried the dedicated leader materials and had assumed they would be even more durable than AbrazX. Hmm...

By all means, get out there and wet a line! And take my posts with a grain of salt. I'm fairly new to BFS. The folks with most experience in it have had, by necessity, lots of experience dealing with the Japanese Domestic Market and know the ins and outs of it, as well as being knowledgeable in customizing available equipment to make it optimal for BFS. As a BFS newbie, most of my experience is with trying to round up some affordable gear that's somewhat easily obtainable and works well out of the box. It appears that BFS is gaining popularity and it might get a lot easier for folks to wade in and give it a try. I hope so... it's a blast!

I haven't tried one. As has been mentioned, there is a difference between a BFS "trout" rod and BFS "bass" rod. Both may list a similar lure weight range but the bass rod will have a lot more reserve power that you'll need if you target larger fish. The bass rods are generally better for fishing bottom-contact baits, too. Without having any more information, I'd guess (and a WAG, at that) that these rods, listed as "UL" power, might be more along the lines of trout rods... maybe not. Also, no-name guides and reel seat... For another thirty bucks you can get a rod with good Fuji components.

I'd guess most folks venturing into BFS are looking for something that works out-of-the-box. You can certainly add the Daiwa 20 Alphas Air TW to the list of out-of-the-box BFS reels. It has the ability to cast down to 1g. comfortably. Its ability to cast very light lures easily is surprising... it feels like you're casting normal baits on a normal baitcasting rig. Works great for trout/UL style (can those be grouped together?) BFS on something like a Kuying Teton 602UL and bass style BFS on something like a Major Craft Volkey VKC-68L or Tsurinoya Pro Flex II C632UL.