"Ultralight" Casting Reel?

[N.Y. Yankee]

I 've not searched much yet. I was wondering if there is a good casting reel that will cast light lures well such as Mepps spinners and smaller plugs like original Rapala's and such and lines like 4,6,8 pound mono, 10 pound braid with a mono leader on a 6 or 6.5 foot light action rod. I fish mostly smaller waters now and target trout, panfish, smallies and some smaller largemouths. I have other casting rods for bigger lures and heavier lines but now I mostly swing lures across creeks and rivers. Not much distance casting. I like the compactness and speed of a casting reel over a spinning reel. I have been using mostly spin casters but they have their own issues. Just thought a good baitcaster would be ideal.

[new2BC4bass]

Short answer is 'Yes'.  There are several threads on fishing light lures with a baitcast reel.  Someone will be along shortly to give a few suggestions.  I am only good down to #5 Shad Raps.  Lures lighter than that are going to require a lot more practice on my end. 

[wisconsin heat]

Yes, look for BFS reels. The issue you will encounter is availability and line capacity, although if you will be throwing ultra light lures with the appropriate line size, you should be able to fit plenty of line.

 

I use mine for trout often. It is a Daiwa T3 1016 with an aftermarket BFS spool that allows the reel to cast lures down to a YoZuri Snap bean. More commonly I throw 1/8 and 1/16 oz Inline Spinners. 

 

 

[ThatZX14Fella]

How much are you looking to spend? You can buy a Black Max, buy a shallow spool off of eBay, and get some decent bearings and it may be ok for the price. On the other end of the spectrum, you can buy an Aldebaran or Steez and have a really good BFS reel, but have an empty wallet.

[brophog]

10 hours ago, torm said:

Yes there are but the biggest issue is that a lot of the bfs baitcasters are not sold in stores in America that I am aware off. 

 

Well said. It’s definitely not something you can just walk into your local sporting goods store to buy. IMO, an even bigger obstacle than the reels are the rods, but a lot of dedicated BFS anglers will solve that by building their own on spinning rod blanks.

 

This is a very expensive part of the hobby, and if you really want to go down this rabbit hole I heartily recommend not getting a larger reel and putting in a shallow spool. That can work to a degree for some of the larger and more aerodynamic finesse baits but you’ll quickly find it lacking overall. Those reels brakes just aren’t tuned for the very small baits and though you may find them capable of casting a bait, the accuracy greatly suffers.

 

Doing a search for “BFS” on this site and tackletour will provide you a wealth of information. It’s not a cheap nor easy way to fish, but it is very fun.

[Jig Man]

I don’t know just what you are looking for or how much you want to spend.  When I wanted to use a bait caster for light baits I tried a Shimano 70.  I use it for Ned rigs down to 3/16 oz with a TRD. 

[dodgeguy]

lews custom lite 199 at sportsmans outfitters. almost impossible to backlash. i would not use braid that thin on a baitcaster. go with mono or flouro. btw the reel weighs 4.9 oz.

[J Francho]

22 hours ago, N.Y. Yankee said:

Just thought a good baitcaster would be ideal.

Yes, this is a complicated solution to an issue that is just preference.  A spinning reel will be exponentially less expensive, complicated, and require far less skill.  Luckily there are plenty of expensive BFS options.  You might be able to save a few bucks buying a used setup from another member that has given up this pursuit.  There's more than a few here.

[WRB]

we Trying to make a baitcasting reel do what a Spinning is designed for is a challenge or hobbie then a practical solution to casting lures under 1/8 oz.

Tom

PS, WTB a BFS combo in the Flea Market forum.

[jimmyjoe]

10 hours ago, J Francho said:

You might be able to save a few bucks buying a used setup from another member that has given up this pursuit.  There's more than a few here.

 

   I think that statement, right there, is one that is the most telling about this whole subject.   jj

[brophog]

8 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

i would not use braid that thin on a baitcaster. go with mono or flouro.

 

With their narrow and shallow spools, line is going to be thin on a BFS reel and when line starts getting really thin they all become susceptible to dig in issues. The shallow spool really negates a lot of the consequences, though.

 

The bigger issue, on some reels, is thin line getting between the frame and spool and wrapping itself around the spool shaft.

[cottny27]

I’m an newbie to the BFS world.  This is a PW100 and was $55 and weighs 4.8oz.  I can bomb this 1/8th crank a good 30yds on 10# fluoro with ease.  I’m sure if I went down to 6# line it would handle a 1/16oz.  I really just bought it to fish 1/10 - 1/8oz Ned rigs.  It’s just a cheap alternative if you are also a newbie.

[FishTank]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

we Trying to make a baitcasting reel do what a Spinning is designed for is a challenge or hobbie then a practical solution to casting lures under 1/8 oz.

Tom

PS, WTB a BFS combo in the Flea Market forum.

 

Agreed.  This is what has stopped me from getting a BFS set up. 

 

It seems we (anglers) want to increase the challenge of bringing in a fish to make the reward just that much better.   I often thought this is what fly fisherman go through.  I could catch a dozen smallmouth in creek but a fly fisherman will spend all day catching one or two.  Sometimes, it's in the art of the catch rather than the quantity. 

[PhishLI]

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

It seems we (anglers) want to increase the challenge of bringing in a fish to make the reward just that much better.

Some do, some don't. Some like to fish as if they're in a tournament and think in terms of a 5 fish limit where that fantasy pressure is their challenge. For some it's just about quantity. Fishing isn't solely about catching fish for everyone though. We all have different priorities, and  some people aren't easily amused. I find it curious how certain people dispense information based on their struggle to meet a challenge, then assume it will apply to someone else, or even everyone else. It's essentially discouragement, even though they feel like they're just trying to help. The ego is a funny thing.

 

One sincere member here often responds to BFS threads by adding his conclusion that people only do it to impress others, or to look cool. I don't know how one chooses to fish impresses anyone, or that it's any cooler than bowling. Bowling's fun, but it isn't cool. 

 

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

Sometimes, it's in the art of the catch rather than the quantity. 

Perfectly said. Doing anything artfully takes time and perseverance. Doing something inherently difficult artfully is a layer too far for some people. For others its bliss.

 

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

This is what has stopped me from getting a BFS set up. 

That's fine. A man's gotta know his limitations, but why assume the limitations of others will be yours?

[redmeansdistortion]

6 hours ago, PhishLI said:

For some it's just about quantity. Fishing isn't solely about catching fish for everyone though.

Quantity seems to be the prevailing mentality when it comes to most forms of fishing.  I understand, we all love to catch fish, but sometimes it isn't just about the fish.  I do a lot of hike-in trips over the year, hiking deep into the bush for two or three days at a time and living out of a backpack.  The sense of adventure is unlike anything one could possibly get sitting on a boat.  This is why I lost a lot of interest in bass fishing over the years, it got to be too routine for me.  There's very little exploration involved that touches upon every human sense or invokes curiosity like wandering the forest and taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells.  The ultimate reward is a meal of wild trout and morel mushrooms cooked over a campfire to finish off a day of fishing.  That said, I still like to go bass fishing for a couple of hours here and there to kill time since I can do it minutes from my house.  

[J Francho]

9 hours ago, FishTank said:

It seems we (anglers) want to increase the challenge of bringing in a fish to make the reward just that much better.

I try to lower the odds.  I'm not wasting my precious time on the water frothing up a creek for a dinky trout, nor am I bringing knife to a gun fight.  None of what's been discussed is what I'd consider UL fishing.  I've done quite a bit of for crappie and panfish before they opened bass fishing year round.  1/8 oz. would be considered a cinder block in that realm.  I'm bent on lowering my frustration, disappointment, and doing things that ensure success.  If I had nothing but small creeks loaded with hundreds of smallies, heck yeah I think a BFS rig makes perfect sense, and would probably increase the catches for sure.  It's an interesting topic for sure, but I think it gets employed in the wrong place sometimes.

[brophog]

It’s certainly an area of fishing where expectation can exceed reality and if someone enters it without realizing the compromises involved it can be frustrating.

 

However, it’s exciting because it’s a new way of fishing for a lot of people. We are well past the point where practically every budget can just dominate something like a bass, and so going about that experience in a different way brings new life to the sport. The technology gains in pursuit of casting smaller and smaller baits has also filtered down throughout product lines benefiting even those not in pursuit of BFS.

[J Francho]

8 minutes ago, brophog said:

The technology gains in pursuit of casting smaller and smaller baits has also filtered down throughout product lines benefiting even those not in pursuit of BFS.

Do have any examples?

[redmeansdistortion]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I'm not wasting my precious time on the water frothing up a creek for a dinky trout, nor am I bringing knife to a gun fight.

Is it wasting time if you enjoy it?  

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Is it wasting time if you enjoy it?  

 

1 hour ago, redmeansdistortion said:

I'm not  I don't enjoy wasting my precious time

Better?

[J Francho]

12 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

I love wasting my time catching fish fishing.

[brophog]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Do have any examples?

 

I would say Daiwa’s SV brakes fit. Obviously iterative from before BFS specifically became a thing but it has evolved from a system thought of as a finesse spool to become a mainstream braking technology. It has a lot of benefits to non finesse users such as being good in poor weather or great for beginners.

[fishwizzard]

For the bass fishing that I do, there is only a single factor that makes using a BFS combo less efficient/practical/whatever then a spinning combo.  That factor is the relative fragility of "thinner then 0.010" fluorocarbon line".   I have found that fluoro that is much thinner than that is very easy to damage when trying to work out a decent backlash.  It takes a lot of care and time to get the line free and if I pull too hard the line will kink and lose too much strength to keep fishing it.  Depending on how deep the kink occurs, I might be left with too little line to really keep fishing.  

 

However, I have found some good ways to mitigate that issue.  First, by carrying a spare spool (which I do for all reels when I am going to be more than a 1/2m from my car) I can swap out and get back to fishing.  Second, and most importantly, by disciplining myself to not make hotdog casts when using thinner fluoro.  A lot of the fun that comes from using light/short casting equipments is being able to make fast, accurate one handed casts, but there are times when I know a given cast will be pushing the limits of my skill/the conditions, so by just calming down and looking for an alternative way to get my lure where I want it to go really reduces the number of bad backlashes.  

 

I do still prefer spinning combos for some presentations, for example with Ned Rig/MWF fishing I feel like I can get the slow stop/start retrieve cadence to work better with a spinning reel.  I also prefer a spinning combo for cold weather finesse fishing as a spinning reel gets my hand a lot less wet then a casting one.  

[J Francho]

 

16 minutes ago, brophog said:

I would say Daiwa’s SV brakes fit. Obviously iterative from before BFS specifically became a thing but it has evolved from a system thought of as a finesse spool to become a mainstream braking technology. It has a lot of benefits to non finesse users such as being good in poor weather or great for beginners.

 

It evolved from MagForce, to Mag V and Mag Z (predate the term "BFS" by over a decade), now SV and retrofitted to what is called BFS.  I was asking about examples that worked in the opposite direction, where some tech appeared in BFS gear, and then mainstream gear.

[fishwizzard]

17 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

It evolved from MagForce, to Mag V and Mag Z (predate the term "BFS" by over a decade), now SV and retrofitted to what is called BFS. 

 

The first Pixys came out in 2003, almost a decade before the first SV spooled reels, so the idea of using a casting reel for lighter stuff has been around for a while even if the term "BFS" is newer.    

 

 

The only tech that maybe has trickled up from finesse casting is a trend towards lighter/shallower spools, but that might just be a Daiwa thing.