Daiwa BFS Baitcasters

[Jeffrey Walker]

How do these Daiwa BFS reels compare?  I don't understand the differences and where one would be preferred.  Just looking for an all around BFS baitcaster

Alphas
SS Air 
SV Lite
 

[Dan Strain]

which Alphas ?
 

Alphas SV TW ? Alphas Air ? 
 

the other 2 are older reels I believe 

 

as a hard core Daiwa guy - I’d say consider the Aldebaran BFS if you wanna throw true BFS 

 

[Jason Penn]

i'm no help with the reels you're asking about, but just a tatula sv with a diy spool will cast an 1/8oz jig head with 2" baby shad a pretty good ways.  i'm using a 6'4 l daiwa blazon rod

[FishTank]

If you can swing it, the Shimano Aldebaran BFS would be my choice. It's a good all around BFS reel. The Daiwa Silver Wolf would be my next choice. I don't own the Alphas Air but when I researched people didn't seem to like it for bass. I can't say why. It seem a lot of the BFS reels are designed for fishing streams for trout and not open water. 

 

No matter what reel you choose, the rod will be the key component. 

 

 

[Jrob78]

49 minutes ago, FishTank said:

No matter what reel you choose, the rod will be the key component. 

 

 

This seems to get left out of a lot of these threads. The best bfs reel in the world won't do much if on the wrong rod.

 

With the aftermarket spools available now, a lot of different reels can make great bfs reels.

[redmeansdistortion]

4 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

With the aftermarket spools available now, a lot of different reels can make great bfs reels.

They can, but many overlook the braking system.  Many of your Magforce V and Z reels have exceptionally strong magnets because those reels were designed to fish heavier baits.  In the case of Daiwa, magnet swaps can be done to tame the braking profile and make them suitable for throwing lighter stuff.  I magnet swapped a Millionaire Ringa SSS which was originally a Magforce V reel and it was a very stark difference with the Roro spool.  With the factory magnets, it was very choked off and the range of braking was very slim.  

 

[Robin]

Amen on the right rod. I have a few of the old Alphas that were pre-BFS and they work fine assuming I am using a BFS rod rated down to 1/6 of 1/8 oz. I also use several Curado 50s modified with Avail shallow spools and they perform as well or better than my Aldebaran and Curado BFS specific reels. Bottom line, centrifugal brakes still work as long as you are mindful of your cast and you are using the right rod action. Most of my lures average around1/8 oz and I have no problem with getting good distance with my casts.

[PressuredFishing]

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

seem a lot of the BFS reels are designed for fishing streams for trout and not open water. 

Silver wolf was marketed as this, and the gekkabijin is a open water sw version, both are almost the same as the alphas air

[WRB]

The current Bassmaster mag, pages 48-53 is a good article on BSF reels, rods, line and lures.

Tom

[redmeansdistortion]

18 minutes ago, Robin said:

Bottom line, centrifugal brakes still work as long as you are mindful of your cast and you are using the right rod action.

I'm a big fan of centrifugal for BFS.  I have a few of the small Ambassadeurs outfitted for BFS and they cast easier and are less fiddly on the brake than my Millionaires and my Conquest BFS.  While they won't cast sub 1/16 very easy, they are spot on above that with zero spool tension whether I'm doing short range pitches or trying to get more distance.  With my magnetic reels, I find myself needing to adjust the brake depending on lure weight and conditions, the Abus are set and forget.

[FishTank]

29 minutes ago, PressuredFishing said:

Silver wolf was marketed as this, and the gekkabijin is a open water sw version, both are almost the same as the alphas air

 

That's correct, which is why I bought the Silver Wolf. Not sure on the Gekkabijin. It seemed more like the Silver Creek.  The one Daiwa BFS reel I don't here a lot about is the Steez Air. Seems like it would be the greatest reel ever for BFS.

[ska4fun]

Old Alphas with mag-V: somewhat overbraked, controlled, a favorite of brazilian magronce snook anglers.

ASC - more friendly linear braking, freshwater casting.

Alphas Air:  daiwa try into bfs longcasting.

SV lite: standard controlled Alphas (MagZ-Air).

 

[WRB]

I don’t usually recommend Bassmaster articles however dedicating 6 pages is worth reading.

Reels discussed are;

DaiwaTatula SV 70

Daiwa Steez SV 70

Shimano Curado BFS

Shimano Alderbarran BSF

Shimano Scorpion BSF

Abu Limited LX992Z

KastKing Kestrel

Rods;

Shimano Curado  6’10 Glass

Shimano 7’2” ML 

Dobyns BSF Sierra 6’5” light to 7’4” Light

Tom

[FryDog62]

I was not a fan of the Alphas SV for BFS, poor distance. I now have a Daiwa Air TW and Courage BFS and they are both excellent. 

[ska4fun]

23 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

I'm a big fan of centrifugal for BFS.  I have a few of the small Ambassadeurs outfitted for BFS and they cast easier and are less fiddly on the brake than my Millionaires and my Conquest BFS.  While they won't cast sub 1/16 very easy, they are spot on above that with zero spool tension whether I'm doing short range pitches or trying to get more distance.  With my magnetic reels, I find myself needing to adjust the brake depending on lure weight and conditions, the Abus are set and forget.

Classical centrifugal blocks works superbly for BFS, even more so  than SVS-like ones. They use both atrittion and angular momentum changes to deliver braking.

 

Continual aciton centrifugal brakes, like IVCB-4 works too, even feeling like a linear mag one. I believe the ceramic blocks are the culprits.

[Robin]

Wish I could find some old affordable Abu 2500s. The prices on these in good condition are nuts.

I was fortunate to have a supply of Curado 50es, Aledebaran 50s, and Scorpion XT1000s that I accumulated years ago. Converting them to BFS basically only required an Avail spool. The old school centrifugal only brakes work just fine for BFS. Just use the right rods and line and you are golden.

[redmeansdistortion]

6 hours ago, Robin said:

Wish I could find some old affordable Abu 2500s. The prices on these in good condition are nuts.

They can still be had for good prices.  If you buy on eBay, you're looking at dropping coin.  Browse other places, like Facebook, Let Go, Nextdoor, antique shops, garage sales, estate sales, or even just plain old Craigslist.  I paid $120 for my 2500C and $100 for my 1600C IAR, just gotta play the long game.  They were both Facebook finds.  The expensive part is actually making them BFS reels.  Once you get the spool, cog wheel, worm gear, line guide, and spool bearings, you will be another $300+ in it.  Not cheap, but when done up they are great.  My favorites easy.

[ska4fun]

12 hours ago, Robin said:

Wish I could find some old affordable Abu 2500s. The prices on these in good condition are nuts.

I was fortunate to have a supply of Curado 50es, Aledebaran 50s, and Scorpion XT1000s that I accumulated years ago. Converting them to BFS basically only required an Avail spool. The old school centrifugal only brakes work just fine for BFS. Just use the right rods and line and you are golden.

I would be happy with a Morrum 1601/3601.

[redmeansdistortion]

2 hours ago, ska4fun said:

I would be happy with a Morrum 1601/3601.

That's next on my list.  Prices have been going up on those lately too.  A year or two back they could be found in the $100 to $150 range give or take.  Now they're going over $200 or even closer to $300 from some sellers mostly dependent on braking system.  The Mag does sell for more than the centrifugal model.

[ska4fun]

2 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

That's next on my list.  Prices have been going up on those lately too.  A year or two back they could be found in the $100 to $150 range give or take.  Now they're going over $200 or even closer to $300 from some sellers mostly dependent on braking system.  The Mag does sell for more than the centrifugal model.

My problem is actually find one, here o Brazil.

[redmeansdistortion]

49 minutes ago, ska4fun said:

My problem is actually find one, here o Brazil.

So far from what I've seen, they're most expensive here in the states when buying on eBay, whether it's through a Japanese or American seller.  When I look at the Japanese auction sites, the price is considerably less, even when not accounting for the current exchange rate between the US dollar and Japanese yen.  I see the exact listings on Yahoo Auctions as I do on eBay from the same sellers.  The eBay prices from Japanese sellers is higher probably due to eBay fees whereas Yahoo Auctions charges a flat rate per item instead of a percentage of the sale.  Sometimes that price can be 50%+ more than what they are asking on Yahoo Auctions.

[QED]

This is what I use for BFS.  The PX-R is a bit obsolete but the other two Daiwa's remain flawless in use.

 

Daiwa PX Type-R                        5.8 oz     6/95, 8/75

Daiwa Steez AIR TW BFS            4.75        6/50

Daiwa Steez CT SV TW 70 XH    5.3 oz     8/110

[ska4fun]

On 1/16/2023 at 4:27 PM, redmeansdistortion said:

They can, but many overlook the braking system.  Many of your Magforce V and Z reels have exceptionally strong magnets because those reels were designed to fish heavier baits.  In the case of Daiwa, magnet swaps can be done to tame the braking profile and make them suitable for throwing lighter stuff.  I magnet swapped a Millionaire Ringa SSS which was originally a Magforce V reel and it was a very stark difference with the Roro spool.  With the factory magnets, it was very choked off and the range of braking was very slim.  

 

Third-party spools compensate for that using the SV-like ramps in the spool, absent in the common mag-z brake.

[Junger]

On 1/17/2023 at 2:39 PM, FryDog62 said:

I was not a fan of the Alphas SV for BFS, poor distance.

 

Same, but then I bought a $40 Ray's DIY BFS spool for it and transformed the Alphas SV to a pretty good BFS caster. Then I got a drag clicking washer set from Ebay and it's my favorite perch/panfish combo (on a 6'5 MajorCraft Benkei UL).

[Jeffrey Walker]

Im more looking for feedback on how thse models compare to each other.  Where does one shince over the other. 

 

PS referring to Alphas Air TW