Dobyns Ultra Finesse/BFS rods out now

[waymont]

On 2/14/2021 at 9:07 PM, FryDog62 said:

I am on the current backorder for the Ultra Finesse. I have heard the order should be fulfilled in March. If it doesn’t arrive in time I’m thinking of another Feather in the 7’1” Light/Fast

?

That's a favorite of yours huh? I'm thinking about it now, since I don't think I will enjoy the solid tip on the Dobyns. I'm looking for a casting rod for 3/32oz Neds, 1/8oz grubs, and small crankbaits, do you think the Feather 7'1" would fit the bill? Is the fast tip pretty light? I had a Shimano Sensilite rod but it had a problem with the guides, they were roughing up my line so I returned it. I liked the rod quite a bit, just not the guides. There doesn't seem to be many choices out there for a light power casting rod for bass. I'm not really interested in casting the lightest baits, 1/32 or 1/16.

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, waymont said:

That's a favorite of yours huh? I'm thinking about it now, since I don't think I will enjoy the solid tip on the Dobyns. I'm looking for a casting rod for 3/32oz Neds, 1/8oz grubs, and small crankbaits, do you think the Feather 7'1" would fit the bill? Is the fast tip pretty light? I had a Shimano Sensilite rod but it had a problem with the guides, they were roughing up my line so I returned it. I liked the rod quite a bit, just not the guides. There doesn't seem to be many choices out there for a light power casting rod for bass. I'm not really interested in casting the lightest baits, 1/32 or 1/16.

What you’re describing is very close to how I fish. 1/16th the lightest (hair jig) and Neds 1/10-1/8 oz, etc. pretty much cover the range - Although I do cast occasional heavier lures on the Feather up to 1/4 oz like Mimic Minnows, Micro/Mini Chatterbaits. I haven’t thrown small cranks on it but I think it could work for that too. Cranks would be better with fluorocarbon than braid IMO but that’s any rod. 
 

If I’m throwing 1/16th oz lures with no cover for smaller fish/trout then I think the Sierra Ultra Finesse is a pretty cool rod. But that tip is so thin and soft I would have a hard time bass fishing with it - especially If working a dense 1/8 oz Ned... or pulling anything through even light cover.  The Feather handles all that very well and with the right reel will cast even the super light 1/16th oz hair jigs really well too. 

[Corey T]

Well, good news is the Sierra Ultra Finesse came in today. The bad news is that we have 50mph gusts here so the field test will have to wait. I remember when I first bought my ML Phenix Feather... I was positive I was going to snap that thing in no time. You can imagine my anxiety already with this one. ?

[waymont]

1 hour ago, Corey T said:

Well, good news is the Sierra Ultra Finesse came in today. The bad news is that we have 50mph gusts here so the field test will have to wait. I remember when I first bought my ML Phenix Feather... I was positive I was going to snap that thing in no time. You can imagine my anxiety already with this one. ?

Nicely sharpened pencil!

[Corey T]

37 minutes ago, waymont said:

Nicely sharpened pencil!

Hey if you have a #2 Ticonderoga looking that good you have to show it off. 

[waymont]

On 3/29/2021 at 8:21 AM, FryDog62 said:

What you’re describing is very close to how I fish. 1/16th the lightest (hair jig) and Neds 1/10-1/8 oz, etc. pretty much cover the range - Although I do cast occasional heavier lures on the Feather up to 1/4 oz like Mimic Minnows, Micro/Mini Chatterbaits. I haven’t thrown small cranks on it but I think it could work for that too. Cranks would be better with fluorocarbon than braid IMO but that’s any rod. 
 

If I’m throwing 1/16th oz lures with no cover for smaller fish/trout then I think the Sierra Ultra Finesse is a pretty cool rod. But that tip is so thin and soft I would have a hard time bass fishing with it - especially If working a dense 1/8 oz Ned... or pulling anything through even light cover.  The Feather handles all that very well and with the right reel will cast even the super light 1/16th oz hair jigs really well too. 

I had my Phenix light show up today right before leaving to go fishing. I set up  a total weight 7 g ned/shaky head and took it with me. Good timing for once! I caught a bunch of bass on it, the biggest was 1 3/4lbs. Thanks for the recommendation, it's exactly what I wanted. It similar in action and power to the Shimano Sensilite, BUT way way way nicer, and sensitive. I'm impressed with Phenix Rods now.

It was windy, I tried a 3/16oz first but it was not staying on the bottom, but it did cast very well too.

[fishwizzard]

My 74UL is cursed.  I have had it out for 4 trips totaling like 6 hours.  In that time I have mostly fished two presentations: 

• A 3" grub, rigged on a 1/8oz Daterhead, Total weight ~1/4oz
• A 3" grub, t-rigged on an 1/0 Twistloc w/ a 1/16oz weight and 8mm red glass bead, Total Weight ~3/16oz

Same grub for both.  Both fished the same, a long cast, a sink to the bottom, and then a slowish swim back to me.  I will fish an area with each, alternating which one I start with.  

 

So far, I have caught 32 bass, all dinks.  All of them, every one has been on the Daterhead, not even a single hit on the T-rig!  Its nuts, they are so so close in terms of action and appearance.  The rod isn't super sensitive imho, but there is no way I would be missing that many hits on the T-rig if they are happening at even half the rate the Darthead versions gets hit.  

 

It's driving me nuts as all I want to know is "Can I get good hookesets at the end of a long cast with t-rigged plastics?", but at this point I don't think I even care as clearly there is no reason to throw the dumb things!

 

Other then that, I am liking the rod more and more. Now that I am used to casting with it, it has become easy to make 50-70' casts into some decent wind with pretty good accuracy.  The length and taper was hard to get used to as most of my L and UL rods are a lot shorter and/or slower in taper.  The Dobyn's UL has a lot of power compared to an UL Trout rod and even to a few L spinning rods I have owned.  I am dying to hook into a larger bass with this thing as I think it will handle it very well.  The tip is going to be amazing for river fishing, I debarb my hooks and even a jumpy little smallie is going to be hard put to escape it I think.   

[Corey T]

Finally on the board fishing from the bank in Iowa with the Sierra/Alphas Air TW combo! 38 degrees out at the time but we got the job done!

 

I was running a Rebel Super Teeny Wee-R with 6# InvisX. That tip folded in a hurry but I was able to see that nice backbone. I hope to get in some single hook presentations this weekend. 

[Corey T]

I caught some more dinks on a weightless 3.6 finesse presentation. The rod performed well again but I have yet to catch anything with any size. I’m hoping to get out in the boat this weekend and get away from this small city pond. 

[Corey T]

Hey  @fishwizzard I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I picked your brain a bit on a rig. I know you were working on a t rig curly tail and I’m working on something kind of similar with a 3.6 flat worm I make. I have the 1/O twistlock and am wondering if I want to go to the finesse twistlock instead. This worm has a flat side that will cause rocking back and forth on the way down and I am trying to control the fall rate. I think I would like the lighter wire hook. Then again, I like the stouter hook on the regular 1/0 twistlock. 
 

I tried my own makeshift rig as well. I took a #1 vmc neko hook, put it on a split ring and added an owner twistlock. It worked but I would like to get rid of that split ring if I can. Bottom pic is my DIY. 
 

I’m also throwing around the idea of just getting that Phenix light. I know I will like it but it is extra money I could put towards a plastic mold. 
 

@FryDog62 I know you have both. Would you just use the Feather light for this rig? I’m thinking that I could have the Dobyns BFS be my 1/32 Ned, the Feather Light be my flat worm and then my Feather ML be my 1/15 Nedlockz rod. 
 

I only carry 6 rods in our team tournaments so I need to be versatile with my finesse presentations. I think an added benefit is that the Feather Light might be able to drop shot as a secondary option when we aren’t pounding the banks. 

[fishwizzard]

@Corey T, I wish I could help you, but I never got a single bite on that t-rigged grub!  After like 3-4 dozen bass on the jighead version I gave up and moved on to other things.  The little bass will be hungry for a while, so I will pick it back up soon.  I have an abundance of small 2-4” plastics, so I am going to try a few more t-rig options.  
 

I don’t have any of the current Phenix rods, I did have the Recon 2 6’8” L/F and loved it.  Regretted the sale the second the rod left my hands.  The taper was ever so slightly on the Mod side of Fast and was the perfect blend of castability and hookseting Power. I would replace it if I could and I’m going to give a Light from one of the more current lines a try someday.  

[FryDog62]

12 hours ago, Corey T said:

Hey  @fishwizzard I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I picked your brain a bit on a rig. I know you were working on a t rig curly tail and I’m working on something kind of similar with a 3.6 flat worm I make. I have the 1/O twistlock and am wondering if I want to go to the finesse twistlock instead. This worm has a flat side that will cause rocking back and forth on the way down and I am trying to control the fall rate. I think I would like the lighter wire hook. Then again, I like the stouter hook on the regular 1/0 twistlock. 
 

I tried my own makeshift rig as well. I took a #1 vmc neko hook, put it on a split ring and added an owner twistlock. It worked but I would like to get rid of that split ring if I can. Bottom pic is my DIY. 
 

I’m also throwing around the idea of just getting that Phenix light. I know I will like it but it is extra money I could put towards a plastic mold. 
 

@FryDog62 I know you have both. Would you just use the Feather light for this rig? I’m thinking that I could have the Dobyns BFS be my 1/32 Ned, the Feather Light be my flat worm and then my Feather ML be my 1/15 Nedlockz rod. 
 

I only carry 6 rods in our team tournaments so I need to be versatile with my finesse presentations. I think an added benefit is that the Feather Light might be able to drop shot as a secondary option when we aren’t pounding the banks. 

You'll have to experiment but those options sound workable. Biggest factors are ability to cast the lure weight and retrieve them in/around cover, weeds, rocks, etc. I think the Dobyns will cast well enough and probably has adequate backbone to fight most fish - just can't imagine pulling anything through light cover with it. 

[waymont]

Fished from 4pm-7:30pm today with my Dobyns, with a 3/32 ned, and my Phenix 71L with an 1/8oz Owner Ultrahead w/a Zman GOAT and caught a bunch of bass on both. The weeds have just started coming up, so I was pulling the baits through them and the Dobyns did just fine. However the Phenix was better, maybe because the the Owner head pulled through better. I caught a 2.5 on the Dobyns, and a 3lber, and this tank that was  6.75lbs on the Phenix. It was a great fight, and the Phenix handled it great.

[waymont]

30 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

I like how large the blank is on the L powered Phenix.  Looks like a proper BFS rod rather than a trout noodle.  I'll have to keep my eye on that one.

I just got into light bait casting, I’m not sure if it’s considered BFS or not. I have about 40 bass on the 71L and I can’t find any problems with it at all, it does everything I’ve tried really well. The taper is really perfect, and has plenty of backbone. That big bass had it bent into the backbone with 8lb InvizX, and did a hell of a job. I can also report the Tatula has an exceptionally smooth drag with such light line too. So is this rig BFS, or just a light setup?

[cdlittle]

On 4/17/2021 at 8:44 AM, waymont said:

I just got into light bait casting, I’m not sure if it’s considered BFS or not. I have about 40 bass on the 71L and I can’t find any problems with it at all, it does everything I’ve tried really well. The taper is really perfect, and has plenty of backbone. That big bass had it bent into the backbone with 8lb InvizX, and did a hell of a job. I can also report the Tatula has an exceptionally smooth drag with such light line too. So is this rig BFS, or just a light setup?

 

@BaitFinesse summed it up better than I can. 

 

As long as it's under 1/4-ish oz and uses a rod like BaitFinesse explained, it's BFS to me. 

[waymont]

I just posted my like new Dobyns 700 BFS rod in the flea market if anyone's interested.

[JayTee]

A bit of an old thread, but I do enjoy this rod.  I have two of the 7'4" rods.   Both paired with Daiwa Alphas Air TW 20.  I personally feel that the are a good all around rod.  I threw down to 1/32 jig heads with 2" bobby garland plastics.  All the way to 1/4 crank baits.  Handles everything very well in my opinion.   I have recently been throwing a drop shot with 1/16 weight and it works well even on light cover.   

[QED]

On 1/12/2021 at 7:20 AM, J Francho said:

The B in BFS is for baitcasting.  While the idea of light tackle isn't new, using a casting reel is relatively new.  I don't think I heard of it before 2005.

Shimano did USDM ultralight carbon fiber casting rods with cold forged aluminum reel seats/rubber grips in the early eighties.  They were slightly stiffer than the UL spinning gear of the time but could handle 4 -10 lb test and 1/16 - 3/8 oz lures quite well.  That would probably qualify as BFS gear now. 

[J Francho]

I don't have any recollection of that line, but it sounds pretty cool.  I'd guess it was around 1984-5 I got into casting gear.  I'd started on spincast, then spinning, and then learned baitcast reels.  I'm not surprised I didn't know about it. The shop I dealt with was primarily a Daiwa dealer.

[bulldog1935]

Ambassadeur 1500 was introduced in 1977 - hard to argue it was intended for anything else. 

Don Iovino was making his mark fishing BFS in the '80s. 

This diminutive Shakespeare Tournament freespool, 1935 model year, will fish 1/8 oz all day - light alloy spool with factory cork arbor making it shallow for 50 yds 4-lb silk braid  - the cane rods of the day were offered in matching light action. 

 

[QED]

 

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I don't have any recollection of that line, but it sounds pretty cool.  I'd guess it was around 1984-5 I got into casting gear.  I'd started on spincast, then spinning, and then learned baitcast reels.  I'm not surprised I didn't know about it. The shop I dealt with was primarily a Daiwa dealer.

 

Not a great picture but it's all that I have on my laptop right now.  Still using it but with a modern Steez CT SV TW 700 XH with 6 lb test.  Was my first casting rod!

 

[J Francho]

Nice.  Any idea when the term "BFS" was being marketed?

[QED]

10 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Nice.  Any idea when the term "BFS" was being marketed?

Sorry I don't know, but @bulldog1935 would probably be able to shed some light on that.  Or google it - I seem to recall reading some history on it in some specialty BFS sites.  The one I pictured is specifically designated as ultralight and became at some point part of the Bantam line.

[bulldog1935]

The Japanese coined BFS about a dozen years ago, referring to the combination of shallow light spool and low-inertia micro spool bearings.  Their target was stream trout fishing. Targeting bass followed. 

Over the past few years, they've been offering salt BFS rods.

[Tatulatard]

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

The Japanese coined BFS about a dozen years ago, referring to the combination of shallow light spool and low-inertia micro spool bearings.  Their target was stream trout fishing. Targeting bass followed. 

Over the past few years, they've been offering salt BFS rods.

I've never seen bfs in reference to trout.  Its always been a bass thing.  Japanese rod brands that have both kinds of rods don't even call the trout ones bfs.  This article explains it pretty good.  

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewbaitfinesse.html