BFS reels and line?

[TheWitness33]

In the past, running small diameter braid on a BC has left me with dug in line and snapped lines. I’m looking to move into BFS and am wondering what the lightest braid I should go with is. I’ll be using a light rod. I’d like 8 or 10lb Berkeley x9 but I’m thinking that’ll dig in.

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, TheWitness33 said:

In the past, running small diameter braid on a BC has left me with dug in line and snapped lines.

Dig-in isn't a factor with ultra shallow BFS spools. You'll find out that you won't often be ripping casts as you would with standard MH rods and common bass baits. BFS really doesn't work well that way unless you're throwing transfer weighted hard plastic minnows. Use whichever line you prefer. However, you do not need to fill the spool. 120' of mainline plus a leader should cover most bases, IMO. Most of your casts will often be quite a bit less than that with lighter soft plastic baits, especially if you choose a reel with a 28-30 mm spool.

[bulldog1935]

deja vu

[FishTank]

Not a huge fan of braid with BFS gear but I do like it for some topwater.  I have tried lines from YGK and Varivas. My big complaint with most braid and BFS baits is that the line floats causing the baits, especially hard baits, to not move the way I want.  Also any wind can be an issue. I'm over stating it....Ever seen spider webs floating in the wind? Another big thing with braid,  even when you have your drag set properly,  you will bend some hooks if you're not careful. 

 

This is where I'm at in my BFS line choice.  The line from YGK sinks and works great especially with leader. Overall,  I prefer fluorocarbon 5lb Sunline Invisible. I haven't tried the BMS below yet in 5lb but the sizes I've used have been fantastic. 

 

[TheWitness33]

Well, I ordered:

-Daiwa 24 PX BF 70

-Major craft Benkai 6’7” light/fast rod

-Sufix 832 8# (subject to change after I fish it, I may go with mono, I can put the 8# on a spinning setup I have)

 

after much back and forth with the rod. Watching videos, reading reviews and looking at specs the rod I chose is as close to the dobyns while being $60 less which will allow me some BFS tackle. Plus, it looks nice (though function over form for me). Hopefully I like this setup. I’m excited but nervous as well, I don’t normally drop $550 on a setup I’m unsure of.

[Bigbox99]

I'll use a 15lb braid but prefer light fluorocarbon between 7 and 10 lbs for L and ML BFS rods. 

[waymont]

Braid on a bfs reel is the only way I roll. 8lb power pro to a 6-8lb fc leader. Impossible to get any dig, the spool is so shallow it can’t happen. 8lb power pro is crazy thin, and fun to fish with. Almost no drag in the water.

[JN94]

I use 10lb braid but a lot of people use 8. I wouldn't go above 10 on BFS personally. Won't have any issues with line dig bc your drag will be set too light to dig in

[GaryH]

Another braid user. 10 lb. 832 with 6 lb. Seaguar gold. Works great.

[ATA]

I honestly go with Varivas only. If you use them once, you'll never go back. Please look them up.If you need me to help you choose what exactly work for you, I can help you to get the perfect line for your fishing.

[GaryH]

3 minutes ago, ATA said:

I honestly go with Varivas only. If you use them once, you'll never go back. Please look them up.If you need me to help you choose what exactly work for you, I can help you to get the perfect line for your fishing.

Going to have to look into that. Thanks bud for the tip.

[ATA]

10 minutes ago, GaryH said:

Going to have to look into that. Thanks bud for the tip.

You are welcome.

[bulldog1935]

@ATA

All the Japan X-braids are made by Izanas, and at the same diameter, their breaking strength doubles 832.  Each Japanese brand specs their own FEP-based coatings.  Duel and YGK coatings have held up well for me.  Seaguar and Yamatoyo have not.  Varivas coatings seem to run extra tough, and is easiest to find, because they have both US website and Amazon store. If you're adding to a JDM cart, you can usually get better prices.  My freshwater finesse reels have Super Trout Advance #1.   Varivas lines labeled "Casting" also have extra-hard FEP coating, intended to help prevent line dig.  

 

My frogger has YGK Oddport #2, which, with updated version YGK Sinji, stands above the herd for both extra strength and tough coating, and priced accordingly (and you gotta admit 100-m pentagram colors finishes sharp on this spool).  

As I get around to replacing braid (about 3-yr life), adding reels and BFS spools, I'm working my salt reels over to Varivas Seabass Si-X, because it has the toughest coating on any braid I've tried, and I fished them all hard.   These happen to be more round reels, but I have two Daiwa Zillion w/ Ray's spools also charged with #1 and #1.2 Si-X.  

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

 

Great information, Thank You for sharing.

 

My BFS approach is coming from a more limited budget perspective as a casual recreational angler. I'm seeking simple low cost and reasonably available components.

 

I'm using 4 lb CrappieMaxx mono spooled on my budget BFS reel. I just made the long drive up the metro PHX area to purchase one of the BassPro Micro lite glass casting rods today. I wanted to try a slower rod action with the BFS reel just to see how that performs. I had been using a rod from an ultra lite spin cast combo. While that worked, it was time to try something different.

 

While there in the metro area I attached my BFS reel to it and taunted bass in the canals. The slower action of the glass took a bit of adjustment. The crazy wind speeds 25 mph with 36 mph gusts made it very challenging to toss the 3 inch worm on a 1/16 oz jig. Challenge accepted, as it all came together on several occasions.

 

I am not advocating my configuration. Your mileage may vary. I am simply sharing information on what I'm using with my rationale for it.

 

I am sort of new to this BFS and bait cast reels in general. Most of my angling experience has been with using ultra lite spinning gear. 

 

I am just beginning my exploration into bait cast reels and BFS so I'm creeping in using a very low cost approach to deliberately minimize the investment in gear.

 

I'm also comparing the BFS configuration side by side with a $40 bait cast reel from a big box retailer. That conventional spooled bait cast reel simply has 4 lb Zebco bulk spool mono line. Yes, there is a huge amount of that mono on that reel. It tosses a 3 inch weedless worm with a 1/16 oz bullet weight reasonably well too. The timing is different due to the different rod and different release point.

 

I'm having a good time learning to cast with the occasional catching too. I'm also not heavily invested so I'm feeling good about that too. It is nice to have the additional retrieve speed using the bait cast gear. That being said, there are times where I've got to remind myself to slow down. Fortunately it is spring time and the aggression level has increased recently with the warming trend. So I'm working the bait cast gear for the time.

 

Note: as with many who are learning to use bait cast reels. I'm paying a tuition price in line. Yes, the dreaded, "I can't fix it, I've got to cut it" syndrome. So by using mono, my impact is minimal as it is not huge $$s invested in high quality line. For me and for now the various 4 lb mono is satisfactory and keeps with my simplified low cost approach.

 

Wishing each of you well and Cheers! Keep the information sharing flowing. It is very helpful to learn of other's experiences and knowledge.

[ATA]

20 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

@ATA

All the Japan X-braids are made by Izanas, and at the same diameter, their breaking strength doubles 832.  Each Japanese brand specs their own FEP-based coatings.  Duel and YGK coatings have held up well for me.  Seaguar and Yamatoyo have not.  Varivas coatings seem to run extra tough, and is easiest to find, because they have both US website and Amazon store. If you're adding to a JDM cart, you can usually get better prices.  My freshwater finesse reels have Super Trout Advance #1.   Varivas lines labeled "Casting" also have extra-hard FEP coating, intended to help prevent line dig.  

 

My frogger has YGK Oddport #2, which, with updated version YGK Sinji, stands above the herd for both extra strength and tough coating, and priced accordingly (and you gotta admit 100-m pentagram colors finishes sharp on this spool).  

As I get around to replacing braid (about 3-yr life), adding reels and BFS spools, I'm working my salt reels over to Varivas Seabass Si-X, because it has the toughest coating on any braid I've tried, and I fished them all hard.   These happen to be more round reels, but I have two Daiwa Zillion w/ Ray's spools also charged with #1 and #1.2 Si-X.  

Forwarded to my personal email to take note and go shopping

[johnmyers]

I have 2 Aldebaren BFS using 6lb 832 with a leader is working great. Usually a 6 or 8 lb floro leader