BFS rod/reel help

[Creek Chub 1]

I’m very interested in getting a BFS combo for river smallmouth fishing. Honestly, the choices and options are a little overwhelming and I was hoping for some suggestions.

 

I don’t want to skimp on quality and will likely buy the reel first due to the cost and then the rod later in the year.  I have an older falcon low rider ml with a mod fast action that should work with larger lures until I make the rod purchase. 
 

admittedly I am a shimano guy for reels but not a brand snob so all suggestions and recommendations are welcomed 

 

Thanks

[roadwarrior]

 

[redmeansdistortion]

JDM Daiwa Blazon 6'4" L and an Alphas Air TW would be a great combo.  I fish a lot of streams and find shorter rods easier to maneuver in those types of conditions.  If you're more on a budget, look at the SLX BFS as it's close to $100 cheaper than the Alphas.  The exchange rate is crazy good right now so you get a lot for your money.  If you like round reels, the Millionaire CT SV and Calcutta Conquest BFS are both right around $320 right now at the usual shops.

[WC53]

The Curado or SLX(with exchange rates) are a great bargain and excellent performers. If you stay in the 3+ gram range, the low rider could be an excellent performer. Is that the Trout model? Just give it a test run to save money. If you have a ML crank bait rod, some will toss surprisingly light lures.

[Creek Chub 1]

14 minutes ago, WC53 said:

The Curado or SLX(with exchange rates) are a great bargain and excellent performers. If you stay in the 3+ gram range, the low rider could be an excellent performer. Is that the Trout model? Just give it a test run to save money. If you have a ML crank bait rod, some will toss surprisingly light lures.

I’m not sure if the low rider is a trout model. It’s an older one from either the late 90’s to early 2000’s. It’s a 6’ model and doesn’t list the action but it seems moderate to moderate fast and loads really nice when chunking lures

[walleyecrazy]

If you are a Shimano guy I’d pick up the SLX BFS from someplace like digitaka. With the current exchange rate it’s a pretty good deal at around $150. As far as rods for river fishing I think the new Cashion ICON BFS 7’ Light model would be a good choice. I got to mess around with one for a short time, and I think that would be a great all around rod for river fishing with 2 gram and above lures. 

[Tatulatard]

What bait types and weight ranges do you want to throw?  Do you have a prefered length.

[WC53]

2 hours ago, Creek Chub 1 said:

I’m not sure if the low rider is a trout model. It’s an older one from either the late 90’s to early 2000’s. It’s a 6’ model and doesn’t list the action but it seems moderate to moderate fast and loads really nice when chunking lures

I have an old low rider ultimate trout rated as a ML 3 power rated down to 1/16 of an ounce. It tosses an 1/8th nicely . Definitely a moderate tomod-fast, but a nice rod.

[T-Billy]

I'm a big fan of my Curado BFS and Phenix Feather combos. 7'1" L and ML. They're a joy to fish with.

[Creek Chub 1]

47 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

What bait types and weight ranges do you want to throw?  Do you have a prefered length.

I’d likely use it as an all purpose rod; ned rigs 1/20 and 1/16 oz, small cranks 1/4 oz and jerks about a 1/4 oz but may fling a 3/8 oz jerk occasionally if the rod will handle it. 6’6” is my preferred length but have 6’ and 7’ rods too

[ike8120]

I just bought a TSURINOYA  Dragon L  C702. This fit into my budget. Also available is C662. 

[Creek Chub 1]

5 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

I just bought a TSURINOYA  Dragon L  C702. This fit into my budget. Also available is C662. 

Do you like it? I haven’t heard of that brand and new to the bfs scene and it appears the Japanese are leading the charge on this technique and their suppliers are ahead of the us companies 

[redmeansdistortion]

37 minutes ago, Creek Chub 1 said:

Do you like it? I haven’t heard of that brand and new to the bfs scene and it appears the Japanese are leading the charge on this technique and their suppliers are ahead of the us companies 

That Tsu Dragon is a pretty legit rod.  From a quality perspective, I'd say they're pretty neck in neck with budget offerings from Lamiglas, particularly the X11.  I have the 5' casting and 6' spinning models, they're both great for what they sell for.  It is a Chinese Domestic Market rod, but you do get a lot for the money.  When I bought mine a couple of years ago, they were only ~$50, but have gone up in price due to the increasing popularity of BFS.

[Eric 26]

If you’re not brand specific, as it’s been pointed out here many times there are a ton of aftermarket bfs spools ready to drop in various Daiwa reels. You can probably find a used Fuego or Tatula CT cheap enough that it would help offset the cost of the spool and as @bulldog1935does you can carry the standard spool with braid, fluorocarbon  or monofilament and essentially have 2 reels for the price of one. Those are 2 of the more moderate priced reels but heck look up some of these guys bfs reels and the sky’s the limit. As I’m thinking of it you can purchase a gen 4 Abu Garcia Revo X for $80.00 and I know there are bfs spools available for the reel. I have a Revo X winch that is very compact and comfortable. Or you can get the Revo SX for $120.00 which also has bfs spools available.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Eric 26
Added content

[redmeansdistortion]

22 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

If you’re not brand specific, as it’s been pointed out here many times there are a ton of aftermarket bfs spools ready to drop in various Daiwa reels. You can probably find a used Fuego or Tatula CT cheap enough that it would help offset the cost of the spool and as @bulldog1935does you can carry the standard spool with braid, fluorocarbon  or monofilament and essentially have 2 reels for the price of one. Those are 2 of the more moderate priced reels but heck look up some of these guys bfs reels and the sky’s the limit  

I'm going to piggy back on this one.  Yes, lots of excellent aftermarket spools available.  The higher quality spools are from Roro, AMO, and Ray's Studio.  Ray's spools usually have an SV style inductor, but some also come with the shorter Magforce Z style that's better for distance casting.  The Roro and AMO use a fixed inductor, which is better for stream and creek fishing.

 

In the OP's situation, I would opt for the fixed inductor found in the AMO and Roro spools.  The moving inductor found on the Ray's and Daiwa factory spools takes some RPM to be effective, while the fixed inductor is always providing braking throughout the entire cast.  The close range casting inherent with stream fishing lends itself better to the fixed inductor.  

 

The good news is that a moving inductor works well itself, just not as well.  The smaller 30mm and 28mm spools found in the previous and current generation Daiwa Alphas do well, but their larger 32mm and 34mm cousins do not.  Those small diameter spools spin up mighty fast.

[bulldog1935]

Roro...............................................Rays................................................Stock Daiwa

All 34 mm dia., I can mix and match in Zillion and Steez.  

 

 

 

The AMO spools from Express website are also very good spools, also made for full-spindle Daiwa mag-force reels.  Others on the forum have recommended inexpensive Billings spools, also on the Express site. 

 

This one for Tatula and Fuego is AMO spool available from a US vendor on ebay

You can improve them further by swapping in spool micro-bearings - spool and palm plate. 

. 

[Creek Chub 1]

Dang, you guys are awesome! So much info to digest with great options

[ska4fun]

Major Craft Benkei, for a true BFS rod and not these miss rated M power rods, from brands trying to surf in the BFS trend.

[ike8120]

11 hours ago, Creek Chub 1 said:

Do you like it? I haven’t heard of that brand and new to the bfs scene and it appears the Japanese are leading the charge on this technique and their suppliers are ahead of the us companies 

I am waiting on its arrival.

[Tatulatard]

16 hours ago, Creek Chub 1 said:

I’d likely use it as an all purpose rod; ned rigs 1/20 and 1/16 oz, small cranks 1/4 oz and jerks about a 1/4 oz but may fling a 3/8 oz jerk occasionally if the rod will handle it. 6’6” is my preferred length but have 6’ and 7’ rods too

A light powered bfs rod from majorcraft would be ideal for those baits and they usually top out at 1/4 oz baits but I have also heard great things about the phenix light powered rods so I would look into those too.

[Creek Chub 1]

13 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

A light powered bfs rod from majorcraft would be ideal for those baits and they usually top out at 1/4 oz baits but I have also heard great things about the phenix light powered rods so I would look into those too.

I have a phenix 6’10” light spinning rod. I’ll check out their casting rods. The spinning rod is rated 1/16 - 3/8 ounce. It’s got a soft tip but good backbone