John as someone that owns a reel like yours it is better to use the small braid. KastKing makes a 6lb braid, but the braid that I use is the Japanese Sunline Siglon PEX4 .6. And it’s actually 10lb test. It’s smaller than any braid that you’ve ever used. But mono can warp the spool on a BFS reel. I warped my first Zephyr spool with mono. I always refer to Aaron Hunt and Rawr Fishing for BFS. And before I forget it Rawr has a video on how to set BFS reels so you never have to touch the tension knob again. It has worked for me.
Clinton Bruning shows off a lot of really nice bait options for BFS bass fishing (though he catches just about everything)... and his videos are the most relaxing on UA-cam. Rawr is great for showing off the versatility of BFS along with the technical side.
@@HOLDFASTHOUND honestly I’ve used Suffix braid and the “Micro Braid”. I would rather use the Japanese braid. Another good braid that’s not real expensive is the lower end Varivas 4 carrier braid.
Man I'm glad you mention a roostertail from time to time, has to be one of the best pond and creek lures ever. Not necessarily the best for big fish, but for catching, and locating fish, it's hard to beat
I have a Zephyr, good reel but starts to struggle a bit under 1/8oz. And if you use really thin line tends to get stuck between the spool and the reel frame. There's some amazing reels casting easily under 1/16oz John, those would suit perfectly for your creek fishing.
Nice to see you experimenting with BFS. It’s all I do. I much prefer braid over mono though. Some of the higher end BFS spools can actually deform if you use mono, because it stretches and constricts the spool. I throw down to 0.75 grams or about 1/40th ounce on my lightest BFS rigs. That Rock Bass was a fighter! Great video.
That BFS setup looks perfect for the Booyah Pond Magic Spinner Bait & Buzz. They are 3/16 oz. and should have a smaller hook than the Covert series to allow you to get a hook in the Green Sunfish, Rock Bass and the bigger Redbreast in addition to the Bass.
coming from a person who been using BFS gears for a long time; for you to cast light lure you need to spool less line; like only spool up to 2/3 to your light up the weight of the spool, if you find you're having trouble casting light lure it means your spool is too heavy, because spool too much lines on your spool, just saying
The purpose of the super shallow spool is to keep us from doing this. My diawa zillion tosses tiny lures because the spool is so shallow. 15lb flouro or bigger will have you spooled on a decent cast. Gotta stick with 30lb braid to leader to efficiently fish it.
@@matthewotis3594 the word "tiny lure" is subjective coming from peoples mouth; if they don't give us a weight number how heavy the lure weight is. you can call any lure tiny just by looking at it. plus sorry to break to you the Daiwa Zillion spool are not that shallow at compares to spool that are specifically made for BFS reel. The Daiwa Steez CT SV TW is much more shallower than the Zillion yet it not even still consider a BFS reel at all. so if you think that Zillion spool is shallow; then that means you never used any shallow spool reel at all, plus you probably love fishing deep spool then. The Daiwa Zillion struggle to cast anything under 3g (1/8oz). in the BFS world the 3g is consider more of the upper-end heavy lure; just saying. go and try the Daiwa PX BF TW reel they just release then you'll know that you "tiny lure" you cast on your Zillion is actually consider heavy 😂
@leepao6302 I have the alphas air. Talk out our mouths. We can't all talk out our asses like you do. You don't know what zillion I have or the spool In it. Guess you just know everything .
@@matthewotis3594 of course i also have the Zillion 😂plus the Steez Air TW, Alphas Air TW and Gekkibinjin TW PE Special, Shimano Aldebaran BFS and Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and some these reels is tune to cast under 1g (1/64oz). just so you know just because you have shallow spool doesn't mean you can cast "tiny lure" if your rod doesn't allow you to load that lure weight, the rod plays a big part of allowing you to cast "tiny lure"; if you we're going to talk about cast "tiny lure"; just saying
When you throw, try to have six inches of line from the rod tip to the lure. More than that, and you'll backlash every time. Another thing that makes a big difference is not putting much line on your reel. I'd never go more than 75 yards of line on the reel. Any more line than that will "snarl" as the spool underneath is spinning. Finally, set the anti-backlash so that the lure drops slowly from the rod tip when you disengage or "unlock" the spool.
I really enjoyed this video, its a direct reflect of where I'm at in fishing with baitcasters. I just recently because a huge KastKing dude. Everything I have gotten was solid.
When I was a kid, all I used was bait casters, but as I grew up and got away from my zebco education, I eventually graduated to spinning reels and have never looked back. I think that the reason a lot of people use only bait casters is because as a child they started out with zebco kiddie rods & reels and as they got older that's the type of fishing they grew up with and knew. and it was the easiest way for them to proceed. And at first that is what happened to me. But when I turned about 9 years old I had a professor from A&I college take me saltwater fishing for the first time and we went wade fishing and he gave me a spinning rod and reel and I caught about 20 golden croaker, 10 speckled trout and three large red fish. And I was hooked for life. I kept my bait casters and even bought more of them, but I started buying spinning reels too. The older I got the more I moved to all spinning reels and I got so good with them I could put small coffee cans around the bases at the baseball field and stand at home plate and land a small weight into each can almost every time. I would practice almost every day...😅,. After awhile, I only used bait casting reels for deep sea fishing. But I've been much more accurate with a spinning reel pretty much my whole life...
The best advice I have is to go fishing with someone who knows how to use them. I learned more in a day fishing with a buddy than I had on hours of UA-cam videos 😂
Personally... I've never really liked those Bait-Casting setups. That being said, though, all I'd need, is some practice with it, and maybe..... Just maybe..... I'd be fine with it. What'd be nice, is if they'd come up with a Bait-Casting System, that wouldn't tangle up like that, but... since there ain't no such thing, I guess it is what it is.
Once I learned how to use them. Line, weight, settings etc... I nearly never pick up a spinning setup for anything other than verticle crappie fishing. I learned to use them over a few months. But the addiction is reel. That reel you have is known to be over breaked and makes it harder to use compared to the better bfs reels. Price doesn't mean better in BFS. Well not all the time. Reach out to Rawr fishing. It would make a neat collaboration video to have him get you more advanced into the BFS fun. Enjoy your videos, keep up the good work.
All of my bait casters are MH-EH. I want a good medium BC set up because ever since I started using BC combos, I mess up almost every cast with a spinning rod that isn't light action or ultralight... my Mediums always end up in a tangle now. its so weird. I kind of want to try BFS, but if I like that, I won't ever use my spinning tackle anymore lol
I realize the drag on a good spinning reel is superior but still like my BFS set up more. It is definitely personal preference and you should use what you like. I always think of baitcasting like a stick shift in a car, once you learn how to use it, it's hard to go back to something else. Just has a fun factor to a skill you learned....jimi
Unrelated to today's video, but I finally found some Yum Dingers in BubbleGum/Lemon Swirl at a store in my city- bought 'em up and headed to a local strip pit to try 'em out. Less than 3 hours later I'd caught about 25 nice largies, most between 11/2 and 3 lbs.-all while bank fishing. I rigged them Wacky style, and they were eating it up! I caught 6 out of the same little hole! Anyways, love your channel and keep it up!
Tuning a BFS setup is a bit different to regular casting reel. You have to get the side to side once, and instead of loosening the breaks for lighter lures, you should tighten the breaks a little for lighter lures. Braid is also a lot easier to use for BFS with a leader. Not all BFS reels can go down to 1/16 without some fine tuning.
You can try to use single hooks on your rooster tail #6 or #8 . They make hooks that the eye is already open, just snip off the treble and put on the single and close the eye. Easier for the to get in their mouth also to unhook.
I love my BFS setups, so much fun. I still use my ultra light spinning equipment but I think the BFS is more fun. Definitely looks like you have too much line on there, BFS setups are different than normal bait casting setups.
Appreciate this video and honest feedback. Like anything new it takes time with trial and error. Since I split time between bank fishing and wading mostly I have a harder time with getting the baitcaster out. When I do its pretty similar to what you experienced, give me lots of room with little overhanging trees and limbs and I'm solid. Need to skip under there and I'm more accurate with spinning gear. Jury is still out for adding another. Blessings brother
I’m still having a blast with my zephyr on my BFS setup and yes I use 6-8lb on mine because the line can get between the spool and cover when you go smaller diameter.
I always have braid on any baitcasting reel I use... And just put a 6 to 50 ft length of whatever kind of leader I want on it... Looks like a really cool little setup... Never saw the sense in BFS, but to each their own.❤❤❤
I just got the same reel. Using it on a 7.1 Phenix rod. It take some getting used to compared to a regular baitcaster. I also changed to ceramic bearings on the spool.
Shades Creek in Alabama is full of every species around like that, & it's never fished, I used to wade it for miles & loved it, it floods enough that lots of debris & some bigger fish, & Huge turtles especially a soft shell that's about 2ft plus across.
I have a lot of luck with the micro chatterbaits on BFS setups. With jighead setups, I tend to use a double jig rig setup just to add a touch of extra weight to help casting. Glad to hear someones thoughts on it who wasn't instantly sold on it.
I have a Seasir Mansory BFS reel. It works really good for me. I use a 10lb PE braid line and can throw 2 grams lures with really confortable casts. BFS is so engaging.
I love rooster tails. But…they kill a lot of fish. And I think the best bet is to take off the treble and use a single hook or cut 1 or 2 hooks off the treble
I fish an eighth quarter and 1/6 ounce rooster tail on my slx xt with 10lb mono and a 6'6" medium power rod. Love it. Still love my spinning combos though.
Got the same reel a week ago because a Thai friend got me in UL fishing for hampala barbs. Being a spinning guy like you i always find easier to use my spinning setup for UL and i can place a lure better with that . On the other hand i've found baitcasters are fun for heavy power fishing. Just tried to make some cast om the garden and i am not feeling it for now , but i'll bring it im the next session .
I love love love rooster tails. They will catch just about anything in a creek in my experience. One of my go to baits for sure when wading. Seems like it would be weird to throw it on a bait caster for me however. You making it look easy.
The usual reason for using a bait caster or level line reel is it is perfect for heavy line for bass and stripes and catfish where you are pulling big fish out of thick cover. The line does not twist as bad as a spinning reel. Never went ulta-light with a BC. Braided is a good option as well. Generally, you hit the release on a BC and your lure should drop slowly to the ground while you hold the rod steady. If it falls fast....get ready for a backlash. If it does not move at all....casting will be tough. Your thumb is your favorite tool with a BC.
I cast 1/6 rooster tail on my regular baitcasters . I am still messing around with my zephyr to see what I think of it . I have been using it for about a month .
I bought the four piece mirco rebel lures. I gave up on lures years ago. But I watched you catch a ton of fish on those little lures. I caught a bunch of nice size bass, crappie and bluegills on Saturday. Thanks man glad I bought them
I tried a bfs for days and decided to stick with my ultralight's spinning reel's cause they are way more versatile when wanting to switch to smaller lures or jigs.
John the Kestrel 6'9 L is an amazing bass rod. It shines at downsized bass lures like Mule Donkey tails, 5" dingers, Whopper Plopper 60, small cranks, ned rigs, finesse swim baits etc... I have caught bass up to 8lbs on it with 6lb line and it works great. I actually dont love BFS for micro baits. I love it for downsized bass techniques. I can't speak on the zephyr reel I have the Kestrel Elite. The rod is awesome though
Hey Bob, what oz jig head are you using with the Donkey Tails? Do you think you’d be able to throw a Donkey tail Jr on a 1/16th with the Light power rod?
Nice looking combo. Looked like you had fun with it. But for creek fishing I’ll stick to a spinning out fit. Would hate to have a crazy birds nest from a branch or whatnot. But from an open bank or from a boat would be fun.
I've had the Kastking Zephyr for ....I know for 2 years. I didn't spend much time with it. I guess I wanted to catch fish more at the time. I'm gonna have another go at it . Maybe mess with it a few minutes a day.
My son got a bait caster last year. He spends more time untangling it than fishing, sadly. I use a Zebco 404 spin cast. I've caught two species of catfish, large mouth and sand bass, multi different sunfish many bluegill. All I have to do to it is add line! 😂😂
I'd like to try the BFS thing. Casting all day with a spinning reel is hard on my wrist, plus line twist stinks when you're throwing those little inline spinners.
Brother John-That's not a bad-looking setup ya got there! Those Ultralight setups just take some getting used to, that's all. If it was me, I'd reserve that particular setup for Smallmouth Bass.. or, in the Fall and Winter, try to catch some Trout with it. Have a great night, & God bless you and your family!
My BFS experience seems similar to yours. For stuff where a baitcaster is really the better option it's great to be able to throw stuff down to 1/4oz with ease. It's not replacing my ultralight spinning setup anytime soon though, especially when I wade creeks and can't take a lot of spare rods. A trout magnet or 1/64th mule jig, in and around trees and bridges? Not on any baitcaster that's eventually going to birdsnest and put a rod out of business.
They really are awesome ned rig reels I've got this and a curado I've used for a long time I feel alot more accurate when casting small lures also poppers and other small top waters but also small square bills. But I've found it doesn't matter what I use it's always fun
I love BFS! Been using a Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and a Handing 6' ultralight rod. The rod is ok but looking for a better one. I have been throwing the Nikko and Yum hellgrammite's Texas rigged with a 1/16-1/8 bullet weight. I also bought some of the Z-Man bulletz jigs but haven't tried t hem yet. I have a great spinning set up but really like using the bfs when I can get away with it...FishOn...Jim
I'm the same way with a spinning reel, I don't like it much, but the more I use it the better I will get at using it, I don't think bfs would be good with a lot brushy banks, more wide open areas like this video, if you want to learn more about bfs, tactical bassin has several videos using it!👍
Shimano and Daiwa make some really nice ultralight bait casting equipment for the Japanese Domestic Market ... there are a few distributors in this country ... they just call it JDM for short
I wince for the fish everytime you unhook one with those barbed trebles!...You will hook and land more fish if you crush the barbs or even use barbless singles. The hook just slides out, way better for the fish too!...I am 80 years old, been fishing since I was 5. My grandfather taught me 75 years ago, to always use barbless for catch and release for the same reasons!...and to this day I don't think I have lost a single fish because i was using barbless, on the contrary, I think I have caught more because there is no barb to impede hook penetration.
I had one of them reels and the line just keep winding up in the spool inside the reel and I had to take the reel apart to get the line out. I don’t know what in the world was,wrong with it but I sent it back got my money back and got the Shimano Aldebaran bfs and the conquest bfs never look back
Like the others have mentioned, try 6 pound braid. I had a zephyr for a year and it would not work with mono or fluorocarbon. I got mad and busted it over the chain-link fence post a couple of weeks ago and bought a new ark gravity BFS. I watch RWR fishing on UA-cam and he fishes exclusively with BFS, that’s where I get most of my information… mine had micro bearings I bought on eBay it would cast a 1/32 oz jig 40feet, I caught a bunch of fish last year in Minnesota on vacation then all of a sudden it just started acting weird.. You seem to have pretty good luck with yours ,mine you had to really fling it hard. It was not easy to fish in streams.
The thing about any baitcaster is that you will find you are retrieving faster than you think. You really have to focus on speed because you can be burning that lure in without even realizing it.
i cant wait to see more of that set up im planning on getting a feather light with that same setup but running flouro on it might be a big mistake but i only fish 1/8th and 1/16th oz rooster tails for trout and panfish and i prefer baitcasters at this point hopefully i get to see more of that set up so i can see if its worth the investment. great video as always good sir cant eait for the next
@@BanksOpenKayakFishing i absolutely despise braid on a baitcaster lol all my casters get straight flouro and i do braid to flouro on the spinning combos. with the way i setup my baitcaster braid is just too light and birdsnests too often. flouro works better in my situation or even mono i just cant get down with braid on them tried several times with different braids and it just doesnt feel right for me
You may need to adjust the brake till the lure barely falls free but slow, that usually will take care of birdsnest tangles. Works for me but then again I've never thrown 1/16 or 1/8 lures, so take this advise with a grain of salt. Love your videos, I never considered creek fishing till I saw your videos, it also got me back to panfishing & ultralights.
I've never used a bfs reel but what is the benefit over a spinning reel? My biggest problem with spinning reels is the line twist issue and that you can't effectively cast with the bottom half of the line on the spool.
John as someone that owns a reel like yours it is better to use the small braid. KastKing makes a 6lb braid, but the braid that I use is the Japanese Sunline Siglon PEX4 .6. And it’s actually 10lb test. It’s smaller than any braid that you’ve ever used. But mono can warp the spool on a BFS reel. I warped my first Zephyr spool with mono. I always refer to Aaron Hunt and Rawr Fishing for BFS. And before I forget it Rawr has a video on how to set BFS reels so you never have to touch the tension knob again. It has worked for me.
Appreciate the shout out Rougaroux! :)
Clinton Bruning shows off a lot of really nice bait options for BFS bass fishing (though he catches just about everything)... and his videos are the most relaxing on UA-cam. Rawr is great for showing off the versatility of BFS along with the technical side.
@@mike2687 Clinton is Awesome too!
Is that really alot better than suffix 832?
@@HOLDFASTHOUND honestly I’ve used Suffix braid and the “Micro Braid”. I would rather use the Japanese braid. Another good braid that’s not real expensive is the lower end Varivas 4 carrier braid.
Man I'm glad you mention a roostertail from time to time, has to be one of the best pond and creek lures ever. Not necessarily the best for big fish, but for catching, and locating fish, it's hard to beat
I have a Zephyr, good reel but starts to struggle a bit under 1/8oz. And if you use really thin line tends to get stuck between the spool and the reel frame. There's some amazing reels casting easily under 1/16oz John, those would suit perfectly for your creek fishing.
Nice to see you experimenting with BFS. It’s all I do. I much prefer braid over mono though. Some of the higher end BFS spools can actually deform if you use mono, because it stretches and constricts the spool. I throw down to 0.75 grams or about 1/40th ounce on my lightest BFS rigs.
That Rock Bass was a fighter! Great video.
Between Aaron Hunt Fishing and Rawr fishing, you can really shorten the learning curve of BFS. They are both excellent people.
That BFS setup looks perfect for the Booyah Pond Magic Spinner Bait & Buzz. They are 3/16 oz. and should have a smaller hook than the Covert series to allow you to get a hook in the Green Sunfish, Rock Bass and the bigger Redbreast in addition to the Bass.
coming from a person who been using BFS gears for a long time; for you to cast light lure you need to spool less line; like only spool up to 2/3 to your light up the weight of the spool, if you find you're having trouble casting light lure it means your spool is too heavy, because spool too much lines on your spool, just saying
The purpose of the super shallow spool is to keep us from doing this. My diawa zillion tosses tiny lures because the spool is so shallow. 15lb flouro or bigger will have you spooled on a decent cast. Gotta stick with 30lb braid to leader to efficiently fish it.
@@matthewotis3594 the word "tiny lure" is subjective coming from peoples mouth; if they don't give us a weight number how heavy the lure weight is. you can call any lure tiny just by looking at it. plus sorry to break to you the Daiwa Zillion spool are not that shallow at compares to spool that are specifically made for BFS reel. The Daiwa Steez CT SV TW is much more shallower than the Zillion yet it not even still consider a BFS reel at all. so if you think that Zillion spool is shallow; then that means you never used any shallow spool reel at all, plus you probably love fishing deep spool then. The Daiwa Zillion struggle to cast anything under 3g (1/8oz). in the BFS world the 3g is consider more of the upper-end heavy lure; just saying. go and try the Daiwa PX BF TW reel they just release then you'll know that you "tiny lure" you cast on your Zillion is actually consider heavy 😂
@leepao6302 I have the alphas air. Talk out our mouths. We can't all talk out our asses like you do. You don't know what zillion I have or the spool In it. Guess you just know everything .
@@matthewotis3594 of course i also have the Zillion 😂plus the Steez Air TW, Alphas Air TW and Gekkibinjin TW PE Special, Shimano Aldebaran BFS and Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and some these reels is tune to cast under 1g (1/64oz). just so you know just because you have shallow spool doesn't mean you can cast "tiny lure" if your rod doesn't allow you to load that lure weight, the rod plays a big part of allowing you to cast "tiny lure"; if you we're going to talk about cast "tiny lure"; just saying
I’ve struggled with with baitcasters for decades. Only recently have I begun to appreciate them. Big fan of rooster tails, especially the yellow ones👍
When you throw, try to have six inches of line from the rod tip to the lure. More than that, and you'll backlash every time. Another thing that makes a big difference is not putting much line on your reel. I'd never go more than 75 yards of line on the reel. Any more line than that will "snarl" as the spool underneath is spinning. Finally, set the anti-backlash so that the lure drops slowly from the rod tip when you disengage or "unlock" the spool.
I really enjoyed this video, its a direct reflect of where I'm at in fishing with baitcasters. I just recently because a huge KastKing dude. Everything I have gotten was solid.
This is a legitimate post John. Thanks for showcasing the rooster tail. I have several different colors and don’t always think about tying it on.
When I was a kid, all I used was bait casters, but as I grew up and got away from my zebco education, I eventually graduated to spinning reels and have never looked back. I think that the reason a lot of people use only bait casters is because as a child they started out with zebco kiddie rods & reels and as they got older that's the type of fishing they grew up with and knew. and it was the easiest way for them to proceed. And at first that is what happened to me. But when I turned about 9 years old I had a professor from A&I college take me saltwater fishing for the first time and we went wade fishing and he gave me a spinning rod and reel and I caught about 20 golden croaker, 10 speckled trout and three large red fish. And I was hooked for life. I kept my bait casters and even bought more of them, but I started buying spinning reels too. The older I got the more I moved to all spinning reels and I got so good with them I could put small coffee cans around the bases at the baseball field and stand at home plate and land a small weight into each can almost every time. I would practice almost every day...😅,. After awhile, I only used bait casting reels for deep sea fishing. But I've been much more accurate with a spinning reel pretty much my whole life...
If you ever need a bird's nest just hand me a bait-caster.
Same lmao I can’t get the hang of them yet
The best advice I have is to go fishing with someone who knows how to use them. I learned more in a day fishing with a buddy than I had on hours of UA-cam videos 😂
Personally... I've never really liked those Bait-Casting setups. That being said, though, all I'd need, is some practice with it, and maybe.....
Just maybe.....
I'd be fine with it.
What'd be nice, is if they'd come up with a Bait-Casting System, that wouldn't tangle up like that, but... since there ain't no such thing, I guess it is what it is.
Once I learned how to use them. Line, weight, settings etc... I nearly never pick up a spinning setup for anything other than verticle crappie fishing.
I learned to use them over a few months. But the addiction is reel. That reel you have is known to be over breaked and makes it harder to use compared to the better bfs reels. Price doesn't mean better in BFS. Well not all the time. Reach out to Rawr fishing. It would make a neat collaboration video to have him get you more advanced into the BFS fun.
Enjoy your videos, keep up the good work.
😂
Got into BFS last year. Pretty fun way to fish.
All of my bait casters are MH-EH. I want a good medium BC set up because ever since I started using BC combos, I mess up almost every cast with a spinning rod that isn't light action or ultralight... my Mediums always end up in a tangle now. its so weird. I kind of want to try BFS, but if I like that, I won't ever use my spinning tackle anymore lol
I realize the drag on a good spinning reel is superior but still like my BFS set up more. It is definitely personal preference and you should use what you like.
I always think of baitcasting like a stick shift in a car, once you learn how to use it, it's hard to go back to something else. Just has a fun factor to a skill you learned....jimi
Unrelated to today's video, but I finally found some Yum Dingers in BubbleGum/Lemon Swirl at a store in my city- bought 'em up and headed to a local strip pit to try 'em out. Less than 3 hours later I'd caught about 25 nice largies, most between 11/2 and 3 lbs.-all while bank fishing. I rigged them Wacky style, and they were eating it up! I caught 6 out of the same little hole! Anyways, love your channel and keep it up!
wow nice trip
Nice to see you using a BFS setup. I love bass fishing with my BFS setup.
Tuning a BFS setup is a bit different to regular casting reel. You have to get the side to side once, and instead of loosening the breaks for lighter lures, you should tighten the breaks a little for lighter lures. Braid is also a lot easier to use for BFS with a leader. Not all BFS reels can go down to 1/16 without some fine tuning.
I absolutely LOVE my BFS Curado on my 701c Dobyns. I can cast a weightless finesse TRD on that setup with 8lb fluorocarbon
You can try to use single hooks on your rooster tail #6 or #8 . They make hooks that the eye is already open, just snip off the treble and put on the single and close the eye. Easier for the to get in their mouth also to unhook.
They also make them with a single hook for the delayed harvest, single hook only trout streams.
I love my BFS setups, so much fun. I still use my ultra light spinning equipment but I think the BFS is more fun. Definitely looks like you have too much line on there, BFS setups are different than normal bait casting setups.
I have that reel with 6lb mono and a 6'3" medium light casting rod and it cast a 1/8 jig with 2.8" swimbait body very nicely. Smallies love it.
Appreciate this video and honest feedback. Like anything new it takes time with trial and error. Since I split time between bank fishing and wading mostly I have a harder time with getting the baitcaster out. When I do its pretty similar to what you experienced, give me lots of room with little overhanging trees and limbs and I'm solid. Need to skip under there and I'm more accurate with spinning gear. Jury is still out for adding another. Blessings brother
I’m still having a blast with my zephyr on my BFS setup and yes I use 6-8lb on mine because the line can get between the spool and cover when you go smaller diameter.
Love those Redbreast Sunfish!!! They are bright colored like Longear Sunfish are!!! Beautiful fish 🐟
I always have braid on any baitcasting reel I use... And just put a 6 to 50 ft length of whatever kind of leader I want on it... Looks like a really cool little setup... Never saw the sense in BFS, but to each their own.❤❤❤
Guy’s in Japan use them with small cranks ect on trout in tiny creeks. It’s amazing how accurate they can cast.
I just got the same reel. Using it on a 7.1 Phenix rod. It take some getting used to compared to a regular baitcaster. I also changed to ceramic bearings on the spool.
I have that Kastking zephyr real on a dirt cheap UL zebco casting rod. So much fun at the local pond.
Shades Creek in Alabama is full of every species around like that, & it's never fished, I used to wade it for miles & loved it, it floods enough that lots of debris & some bigger fish, & Huge turtles especially a soft shell that's about 2ft plus across.
I have a lot of luck with the micro chatterbaits on BFS setups. With jighead setups, I tend to use a double jig rig setup just to add a touch of extra weight to help casting. Glad to hear someones thoughts on it who wasn't instantly sold on it.
I have a Seasir Mansory BFS reel. It works really good for me. I use a 10lb PE braid line and can throw 2 grams lures with really confortable casts. BFS is so engaging.
KastKing makes some solid gear. Nice to see the new Zephyr BFS in action!
I love rooster tails. But…they kill a lot of fish. And I think the best bet is to take off the treble and use a single hook or cut 1 or 2 hooks off the treble
Pumped to see you trying out the bfs, I been enjoying it myself, perfect for your creek adventures, thank you for all the quality content
I fish an eighth quarter and 1/6 ounce rooster tail on my slx xt with 10lb mono and a 6'6" medium power rod. Love it. Still love my spinning combos though.
Great video I have the zephyr and have it a light powered rod I am liking so far I have it spooled with 6 pound braid and a 4 pound leader
Got the same reel a week ago because a Thai friend got me in UL fishing for hampala barbs. Being a spinning guy like you i always find easier to use my spinning setup for UL and i can place a lure better with that . On the other hand i've found baitcasters are fun for heavy power fishing. Just tried to make some cast om the garden and i am not feeling it for now , but i'll bring it im the next session .
I'm glad you're using the bait caster more with with lighter baits. In the long run that reel will give you better results.
How so?
I love love love rooster tails. They will catch just about anything in a creek in my experience. One of my go to baits for sure when wading. Seems like it would be weird to throw it on a bait caster for me however. You making it look easy.
The usual reason for using a bait caster or level line reel is it is perfect for heavy line for bass and stripes and catfish where you are pulling big fish out of thick cover. The line does not twist as bad as a spinning reel. Never went ulta-light with a BC. Braided is a good option as well. Generally, you hit the release on a BC and your lure should drop slowly to the ground while you hold the rod steady. If it falls fast....get ready for a backlash. If it does not move at all....casting will be tough. Your thumb is your favorite tool with a BC.
If you have it set right you don’t need thumb
my favorite go to lure is a number 3 mepps spinner with red and black blade and rooster tail
I cast 1/6 rooster tail on my regular baitcasters . I am still messing around with my zephyr to see what I think of it . I have been using it for about a month .
I bought the four piece mirco rebel lures. I gave up on lures years ago. But I watched you catch a ton of fish on those little lures. I caught a bunch of nice size bass, crappie and bluegills on Saturday. Thanks man glad I bought them
Cool video. Looks fun catching them bream on an ultra light caster set up. Fish on. Go Dawgs.
I cant wait to see you and chris go head to head with hand reels since you suggested trying everything 😀😀
I tried a bfs for days and decided to stick with my ultralight's spinning reel's cause they are way more versatile when wanting to switch to smaller lures or jigs.
John the Kestrel 6'9 L is an amazing bass rod. It shines at downsized bass lures like Mule Donkey tails, 5" dingers, Whopper Plopper 60, small cranks, ned rigs, finesse swim baits etc... I have caught bass up to 8lbs on it with 6lb line and it works great. I actually dont love BFS for micro baits. I love it for downsized bass techniques. I can't speak on the zephyr reel I have the Kestrel Elite. The rod is awesome though
Hey Bob, what oz jig head are you using with the Donkey Tails? Do you think you’d be able to throw a Donkey tail Jr on a 1/16th with the Light power rod?
@@takG6 yes you can. However I prefer the 3/32nd mule jigs.
@@PhotoBob awesome! Good to know. Do they use the same size hook?
@@takG6 pretty sure yes but make sure you verify that. I have so many different jigs I forget!
Super glad you choose to test this reel out, is been a question of mine. The whole bfs idea is different.
Nice looking combo. Looked like you had fun with it. But for creek fishing I’ll stick to a spinning out fit. Would hate to have a crazy birds nest from a branch or whatnot. But from an open bank or from a boat would be fun.
Glad to see you trying a BFS setup.
I've had the Kastking Zephyr for ....I know for 2 years. I didn't spend much time with it. I guess I wanted to catch fish more at the time. I'm gonna have another go at it . Maybe mess with it a few minutes a day.
As for spinnerbaits you should try the strike king micro spinnerbaits. They are 1/16oz and cast good with a half a 3in yum dinger on bfs
My son got a bait caster last year. He spends more time untangling it than fishing, sadly. I use a Zebco 404 spin cast. I've caught two species of catfish, large mouth and sand bass, multi different sunfish many bluegill. All I have to do to it is add line! 😂😂
You find the sweetest streams to fish. Always nice looking
I'd like to try the BFS thing. Casting all day with a spinning reel is hard on my wrist, plus line twist stinks when you're throwing those little inline spinners.
That’s my current favorite reel!
Brother John-That's not a bad-looking setup ya got there! Those Ultralight setups just take some getting used to, that's all.
If it was me, I'd reserve that particular setup for Smallmouth Bass.. or, in the Fall and Winter, try to catch some Trout with it.
Have a great night, & God bless you and your family!
I’ve never had luck fishing ultra light with a bait caster.
I’m sure with these new digital controlled reels they have out now makes it a tad easier.
My BFS experience seems similar to yours. For stuff where a baitcaster is really the better option it's great to be able to throw stuff down to 1/4oz with ease. It's not replacing my ultralight spinning setup anytime soon though, especially when I wade creeks and can't take a lot of spare rods. A trout magnet or 1/64th mule jig, in and around trees and bridges? Not on any baitcaster that's eventually going to birdsnest and put a rod out of business.
Very true!
They really are awesome ned rig reels I've got this and a curado I've used for a long time I feel alot more accurate when casting small lures also poppers and other small top waters but also small square bills. But I've found it doesn't matter what I use it's always fun
Great to hear!
For a small profile spinner bait try a Rocket Shad. You would like it
Great reel picked one up last year. Really like it alot.
I love BFS! Been using a Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and a Handing 6' ultralight rod. The rod is ok but looking for a better one. I have been throwing the Nikko and Yum hellgrammite's Texas rigged with a 1/16-1/8 bullet weight. I also bought some of the Z-Man bulletz jigs but haven't tried t hem yet. I have a great spinning set up but really like using the bfs when I can get away with it...FishOn...Jim
I just ordered some big 1OZ Rooster Tails to take pike fishing this year. Should be good.
I love rooster tails. I caught a 15 lb striper on a 1/6th oz white one about 20 yrs ago.
Once you're comfortable with the zephyr . I think you will find it very accurate. Try some of Ike's micro jigs! Fun!
Roster tails are a sunfish and creek bait. Catches everything. I'm with you on small baits stay with shining tackel
Great video. Reminds me of myself using a baitcaster unless I'm on a lake.
I'm the same way with a spinning reel, I don't like it much, but the more I use it the better I will get at using it, I don't think bfs would be good with a lot brushy banks, more wide open areas like this video, if you want to learn more about bfs, tactical bassin has several videos using it!👍
I’ve used mono for years on bait casting reels. When modern braid came out, I switched. I’m far happier with braid. I’d suggest 6 pound braid.
thanks
Shimano and Daiwa make some really nice ultralight bait casting equipment for the Japanese Domestic Market ... there are a few distributors in this country ... they just call it JDM for short
I wince for the fish everytime you unhook one with those barbed trebles!...You will hook and land more fish if you crush the barbs or even use barbless singles. The hook just slides out, way better for the fish too!...I am 80 years old, been fishing since I was 5. My grandfather taught me 75 years ago, to always use barbless for catch and release for the same reasons!...and to this day I don't think I have lost a single fish because i was using barbless, on the contrary, I think I have caught more because there is no barb to impede hook penetration.
This is the best casting skill I've seen, period.
Yakama Bait company out of Granger Wa. Best rooster tail spinners. Use the silver and black. Catches everything.
I had one of them reels and the line just keep winding up in the spool inside the reel and I had to take the reel apart to get the line out. I don’t know what in the world was,wrong with it but I sent it back got my money back and got the Shimano Aldebaran bfs and the conquest bfs never look back
Sounds like a perfect time to try the 5’9” Lewis medium heavy I have. Rated to 5/8 lol
use a musky rooster tail
I love my zephyr!! I like to run small Texas rigs with little creatures or finesse jigs!
Like the others have mentioned, try 6 pound braid. I had a zephyr for a year and it would not work with mono or fluorocarbon. I got mad and busted it over the chain-link fence post a couple of weeks ago and bought a new ark gravity BFS. I watch RWR fishing on UA-cam and he fishes exclusively with BFS, that’s where I get most of my information… mine had micro bearings I bought on eBay it would cast a 1/32 oz jig 40feet, I caught a bunch of fish last year in Minnesota on vacation then all of a sudden it just started acting weird.. You seem to have pretty good luck with yours ,mine you had to really fling it hard. It was not easy to fish in streams.
I have the Lews custom light ss bait caster and I can cast almost all the line off it with a micro chaterbait.
The thing about any baitcaster is that you will find you are retrieving faster than you think. You really have to focus on speed because you can be burning that lure in without even realizing it.
I've never had an inline spinner last more than two or three casts, especially in creeks before snagging and breaking off 😅
I love bfs but I'm useing 6 to 10lb braided line to leader on my reels
I have several combos from ultra light thru medium light that will cast 1/8oz or less.
i cant wait to see more of that set up im planning on getting a feather light with that same setup but running flouro on it might be a big mistake but i only fish 1/8th and 1/16th oz rooster tails for trout and panfish and i prefer baitcasters at this point hopefully i get to see more of that set up so i can see if its worth the investment. great video as always good sir cant eait for the next
Go braid to fluoro leader instead
@@BanksOpenKayakFishing i absolutely despise braid on a baitcaster lol all my casters get straight flouro and i do braid to flouro on the spinning combos. with the way i setup my baitcaster braid is just too light and birdsnests too often. flouro works better in my situation or even mono i just cant get down with braid on them tried several times with different braids and it just doesnt feel right for me
BFS was a challenge but it’s really been fun after a year of using it.
You should try the sonic rooster tail my favorite lures for creeks.
To be, BFS is lots of fun. But for the same range and purpose I find my UL spinning setup to be more dependable and versatile.
I remember when you started using baitcasters. You caught on quickly. I decided to try them again. I have not caught on very quickly 🤦♂️
I bet if you put on 8-10 pound braid i bet you will be casting better without a leader bet it would help
I love my BFS.
Thank you for showing the trouble along with the good.
As a kid, I spent more time unraveling a bird nest than I did fishing 😢
That might be the answer to my wish for a setup that can throw light lures but has more backbone than a light spinning rig.
You may need to adjust the brake till the lure barely falls free but slow, that usually will take care of birdsnest tangles. Works for me but then again I've never thrown 1/16 or 1/8 lures, so take this advise with a grain of salt. Love your videos, I never considered creek fishing till I saw your videos, it also got me back to panfishing & ultralights.
Nice video! I think I'll stick with spinning gear though.
can you put a bfs reel on a ultralight pole, or does it have to be a bfs pole
I've never used a bfs reel but what is the benefit over a spinning reel?
My biggest problem with spinning reels is the line twist issue and that you can't effectively cast with the bottom half of the line on the spool.
im still trying to see if its better, sounds like for certain lures it can be good
Not a fan of the bait caster. Nor the rooster tail. But still try to use them. Always have fun and try new and different methods
I love your content! 3:17 Was that first fish you caught a spotted bass?
its about time you used this technique,,
Really like that rod and reel ❤