FishTank

I have a Winch and an AL-F. Both have been good and fun to fish. The previous versions seemed to be fine. Not sure why this one was a dog.

I returned one and one was enough. It was surprisingly bad.

I have no issues throwing up to the max rating on this rod, 3/4oz but it's sweet spot is 1/2oz, which the the D10 is pretty close. Despite it being a Med. rod it's pretty stout where it counts. Where it struggles is bringing in deeper diving baits like the DeepX 300 from the bottom. The tip can bend enough to the point where it will start put some good pressure on your hand but if you bring it up slow, it's not an issue. It does work great for the DeepX 200 though. My current favorite is the Megabass Super-z series. All of them work great with this rod.

I have the St. Croix Legend Glass in the 7'2'' M Mod and it works great for DT10's and their like. I have tried several crankbait rods over the years and this has been my favorite.

Nice. I have thought about the 250 but the Slide Swimmer 175 looks to be more of what would work on the lakes I fish. Have you tried one of these?

Nice and I am envious not only of the bait but that you have a place to throw it with bass large enough to eat it. There is a thought..... The bait you bought or this (below), both the same price. The reel is more practical but the bait tells a better story.... ?

5in wacky rigged senko in black with blue flake or green pumpkin black flake.

I thought of another one, Gamma Edge FC. I bought three spools many years ago (2007?) and it was a waste.

I haven't tried it but a guy at my last tournament said he liked the new Basix. I tried multiple spools of Red Label and didn't care for it. It had all characteristics that I dislike about FC. I found Invizx to be the opposite. Great line. For the money, I might have to give Basix a try.

I guy use to fish with had a batch of the 3.8:1 Curados. He use to say anything higher was too fast.

The Megabass Valkyrie M+.

Yes. Love it so far. I have used it for three all day trips and one tournament and I think it might be the best reel I have ever used.

The backlashes I think are a normal thing with this gear. Everything I watch and have read suggest that. You definitely need to bring your casting A-game with these lures. As far as spooky fish go, there is a video in Japanese with English subtitles that i saw on Facebook explaining and showing why BFS gear is a big thing in Japan.... The guy in the video was fishing what looked like a group of pay lakes. He was casting a topwater bait at trout in crystal clear water with 20lb+ braid on spinning gear and the fish would scatter when he moved the bait slowly. He then used the same bait on a BFS setup with 8lb braid with a leader and the fish were going to the bait. He repeated this at a bass lake over and over again except the bass wouldcrush this lure on BFS gear but not on spinning. It was the same line, same bait, and same water conditions just a different size line.

Sunline Defier 13lb or FC Crank 16lb depending how deep and how much gunk is in the water.

I mainly use these two but I also have a pair of Gerber pliers that have an anvil type cutter and they work just as well.

It's just for fun for me as well. When BFS stuff comes up, I am usually the one that says something like the line from from Jurassic Park.... You Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not You Could, You Didn’t Stop To Think If You Should. So far it has been a lot of fun. The pond I go to has a lot of 1.5-2lb fish and when you hook into one with the setup I have, it feels like a monster on the end of the line. A 3+lb'er feels like a once in lifetime fish. I have 4 spinning rod set ups and I have fished them with light stuff but this is a whole different way of fishing. I can't really explain it. It's not for everybody though and I get that. I like it because it opens up a different kind of fishing for me. There are other rabbit hole discussions when it comes to BFS about spooking fish with heavy line, light line and hook ratios, little baits equal small fish, etc. I can tell you this. I have fished my new set up twice at two different ponds and I caught 20+ fish at each time in about 2 hour time frame. I have fished these ponds for years and never I have I caught that many fish. I usually get about 3-5 fish if I am lucky so whatever this BFS stuff is I'm sold so far.

One of the lakes I fish as an abundance of sauger and they can be ferocious. One of local guys uses saltwater mono leader for topwater. Not sure what brand. I would guess that it is around 20-25lb test. He reties often and catches a ton of bass and sauger.

It's feels thinner to me than Bantam oil but works fine. It's not my first choice. I think the only downside would be that you might have to reapply it more often, depending on how you use your reels. Otherwise, I haven't had an issue with it.

Thanks for all the great suggestions and please keep them coming. I will be placing an order this week so I'm trying to narrow it down to about 7 hard baits and some jigs. This is my set up, a 2022 Aldebaran BFS XG and a Dobyn's Sierra 7' Ultra Light . I was able to test it out last night. I will do a review when I get more time with it.

I bought some BFS gear, a Mustang life jacket, and handful of misc baits, including a Megabass 110 in Spawn Cherry. I received a nice gift from work and a bonus plus I had some money left over from last tournament. So I think I only spent $65 out of pocket. The next thing will be baits which ATA and a lot of other members have helped me with with. I will post pics when it all arrives.

I have both and like both. Both are smooth and cast well, with maybe a slight edge to the BB1 in distance but the Curado K has better, consitant braking. I like the drag on the K better especially for deep diving baits. For all day ergonomics the BB1 is more comfortable to use. So really, you can't go wrong with either one.

I use a MH/Fast with 12-15lb FC and 5/0 offset worm hook or for heavy stuff I like a 1/4oz shakey head. If there is wind or current moving the water, just some slight bumps up and down can get a lot of movement on a big worm.

St. Croix Legend Glass. I have really enjoyed mine over the past few years. It's perfect for it's intended purpose.

I have loved both of mine so far but if you go back to Daiwa get the new Zillion. It's so good, it's making me rethink how I fish.

No snap ever on a 110 or any jerkbaits for that matter. They are tuned to be a specific way without any added hardware. Some Megabass jerkbaits even come without the split ring so it can have the specific designed action for that bait.