walleyecrazy

Exactly the same for me in the lakes I fish in NY.

The Bizzbaits Dizzy Diamond is my go to 99% of the time when I am Neko fishing.

This has become my go to braid to use on all of my finesse setups. I’ve tried quite a few, and to me this is very hard to beat for the money.

Bizz Baits Dizzy Diamond has been my go to for the neko rig for about the last 3 years now.

Definitely felt it pretty good up here in NY.

I am pretty happy with both the Tsurinoya Partner, and the Kuying Freestyle Walker travel rods that I have. I give the edge to the Tsurinoya though because it comes with two tip sections with slightly different ratings, so it is a little more versatile.

All of my conventional reels stay generally stay with the stock handle knobs. I tend to change out the knobs on my BFS reels to wood though. There is just something I prefer about the wood knobs on these smaller finesse setups.

I’m a sucker for wooden handle knobs, so I made a little change to two of my favorite BFS reels.

Keep an eye on your emails if you have an Omnia Premium membership. My account was coming up for renewal next month. I just got an email offering me an upgrade to the premium pro account for 1 year for $5. I believe a year of Premium Pro is normally around $50.

Well unfortunately my recently purchased Taylor didn’t work out. I ended up noticing a defect that I hadn’t caught when I initially purchased it. I ended up returning that and after looking around a little I brought home this Guild. So far I think this worked out for the best, as I am finding this Guild to be easier to play for some reason over the Taylor. I actually prefer the sound out of the Guild as well.

I go with Simms for my waders, and Korkers for my boots. I am currently using the Simms Freestone waders, and Korkers Buckskin boots. I love having the ability to swap different soles onto the boots for different scenarios. It makes them great for pretty much all situations.

The humidity in my house is actually quite low right now due to the wonderful northeast winter. My house is hovering around 30% humidity right now. I have a D’Addorio humidity pack setup in my case that came with a headstock pack, and a sound hole pack. I’m hoping that will be enough to counteract this crazy dry air we currently have. As far as a setup goes, I haven’t had one done yet. I do have a Taylor Guitars certified service dealer about 20 minutes from me, so I figure I will likely take it there at some point to get that done.

I believe Reset Reels is the only company that currently has an aftermarket spool for these. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of their prototype spools earlier this summer, and it performs amazingly well. I can bomb little 1.5-2g hair jigs quite a distance with their spool.

I played drums for years when I was younger, but was always interested in playing guitar. I finally decided that the time was right, and I’m going to finally get off my butt and try to learn. So with that in mind I picked up my first guitar about a week ago to start my journey. I ended up going with a Taylor 110e. I wouldn’t call what I’m doing so far as playing guitar, but so far I’m loving trying to learn.

I bought an SS Air when they first came out, and I really enjoy using it. I actually like it enough that I recently bought a second one. The reel is super smooth and light with a super controlled braking system. As far as how it compares to the Aldebaran I would say they are about equal in smoothness. The Aldebaran is definitely more finicky to get dialed in, but isn’t too bad to adjust once you get it dialed in. I will say though that my least favorite part of the Aldebaran is the brake adjustment dial. It’s very stiff, and the numbers are very hard to read. I have perfect vision and I still have an issue seeing them half the time. In my use I would say that the main difference between the two is in the casting. The SS Air is a much more controlled and forgiving braking system, and the Aldebaran offers slightly more casting distance. I really enjoy both reels, but if I had to choose just one I think my pick would be the SS Air.

I find it interesting that they are releasing them under a new brand rather than using the name recognition that St Croix already has.

They are releasing some decent stuff, but I don’t understand how they have not included a BFS reel for the US market. That segment of the market it growing exponentially in popularity, and it makes no sense to me to not try and capitalize on that. I also don’t understand their strategy with their bait runner reels. They offer a new one in a 3000 and 5000 size, and a different one in a 8000 and 10000 size. For some reason they are completely leaving out the 6000size from that lineup which to me is kind of a sweet spot for a lot of people that use that style of reel.

Currently using the Daiwa Zillion 10.0

I am using braid to leader with an Alberto knot on most of my BFS setups. I have a number of rods with micro guides, and I have zero issues with the connection knot moving smoothly through the micro guides.

I have really found that fishing in current, especially streams/creeks is where I see the biggest advantage to BFS gear over spinning. I have switched to all BFS gear for my trout fishing where I’m fishing in swift current. The BFS setups allow me to more easily make pinpoint casts, and then instantly start my retrieve while easily keeping up with the swift current. This allows me to more effectively present my baits the way that I want them, and I have seen an increase in my catch rate as a result. These pinpoint casts let me have some fun with the trout earlier this morning, and I pretty sure at least two of these fish would not have been caught on my spinning gear just due to the circumstances in which they were caught. In open water this isn’t so critical, and I find in open water a lot of the BFS advantage is honestly just in the fun factor for me. I have way more fun catching bass on BFS gear than I do on my spinning gear. You aren’t too far from me. I am just across the river from Albany. If you want to get a feel for some BFS gear before you make the plunge feel free to get ahold of me.

So far this year my two most frequently used BFS baits have been a 3/16oz Keitech mono spin jig with a Mule fishing burrow bug trailer, and a 1/16oz Jenko Big T whirly bird head with a 1 3/4” Zman micro finesse Shad fryz. I also throw baits like the Duo Realis Rozante 63sp jerkbait which is 3/16oz. The majority of my baits fall between the 1/16 to about 1/4oz max

I have not tried hair jigs on this rod, but one of the main baits on throw on this rod is either a 1/16 or 3/32 Keitech mono spin jig with a mule fishing burrow bug trailer. The main lake I fish is absolutely loaded with vegetation, and I have no problem getting the jig through it with quick pops of the rod tip when it hangs up.

The Phenix Classic BFS is my current favorite BFS rod for specifically targeting bass. I’ve fished it with a few different reels including the Daiwa Gekkabijin, and new Daiwa SS Air, but currently have it paired with the 23’ Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS. This combo is a dream to fish with, and I think Phenix absolutely nailed this rod. It has a great crisp, but light tip, and enough backbone to give you at least some control on your fish. I went with the 7’1” version to start, and I like it enough that I will likely end up buying the 6’8” and 7’4” versions as well. I can’t recommend the Phenix Classic BFS enough. It has an awesome action, and excellent build quality. It is my current favorite, and I reach for it more than any of my other BFS rods every time I go fishing.

I’m going to preface this by stating that I am not a tournament guy, and strictly fish for fun. I decided to try BFS before the fishing season last year, and found that I absolutely love it. I have more fun fishing now that I use BFS gear than I have since I was a little kid. I am up to 9 different BFS combos, and have probably 8-9 spare rods now. I enjoy it so much that I actually have not touched any of my 25+ conventional combos yet this year.

New dedicated BFS setup for stream fishing. Daiwa Alphas Air TW on a Tailwalk Troutia Feerique C49L/G-P4. This rod is pretty unique in that it is a 4 piece travel rod with the two lower(handle end) pieces being carbon, and the two upper(tip end) pieces being glass. The overall setup is a joy to use, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite BFS setups.