Ultralight BFS rod vs Trout rod Comparison

[Bootytrain]

I took the Major Craft Finetail 5'4 baitcasting trout rod (mod fast taper)and paired it with the 2016 Aldebaran BFS XG with all magnets installed and 4lbs mono and put it up against the Abu Garcia Decider 6'7 BFS rod rated at 1/32 to 1/8 (mod fast) paired with the 2016 Revo LTX BF8 with all magnets installed. The only lures I casted were these


trout magnet

rapala ultralight minnow

SK Bitsy Minnow

Matzuo crank

random BPS mini swimbait

lure size compared to a dime

[Bootytrain]

The results were as follows, the casting distances were pretty even but the Decider rod casted the Ultralight Minnow about 5-10 feet farther(about 20 yards). The Finetail casted the 2 gram lures a little farther but it was a wash really. After I got my one handed casting stroke and the Aldebaran settled(outside dial to around 4) I was getting 45-50 foot with a nice easy overhead casting motion with both rods. Im confident I could hit 20 yards if the place I was fishing allowed me to rear back and put some more muscle into it and whip the rods. Once I got the Aldebaran/Finetail combo dialed it I was grinning from ear to ear because the combo was so light and comfortable. It did make the Decider/LTX combo feel somewhat bulky by comparison even though that combo is about 8 oz. I did not catch any fish but there were some huge trout swimming around (several looked to be 20+ inches and at least 5 lbs). the water was too clear and the sun was out so they would chase then turn around at the last second. So draw your own conclusions, you can say the short trout rod equaled the longer bfs rod in distance on the lightest of lures, but then you can say the BFS Bass rod handled the lightest lures (down to 2 grams) just as good as the trout rod. Now keep in mind these were 2 different reels so it wasnt a true apples to apples comparison. I think there is more distance to be had with the Finetail with the 2 gram lures with more fishing time on it. Its definitely worth the 170 shipped if you want to have a nice creek/stream set up with your favorite BFS reel.

[LowRange]

Interesting. How does the Decider compare to Majorcraft UL BFS taper of 1/32-1/4?

[Bootytrain]

Interesting. How does the Decider compare to Majorcraft UL BFS taper of 1/32-1/4?

They handle about the same but the decider is more accurate. It's got the carbon tape wrap all the way to the tip which probably helps. This is compared to the 6'9 Volkey UL.

[John G]

Nice test Booty. All being equal, I'd still rather have an ultralight bass rod that a trout rod any day of the week.

[Bootytrain]

Nice test Booty. All being equal, I'd still rather have an ultralight bass rod that a trout rod any day of the week.

Hmm.. I dont know man.. one handed casting kinda gets addicting.. with the lightest lures there was no real consistent advantage for either. However I didnt hook into any fish and there were some monster trout 10 foot in front of me, I have no clue how that little rod would have handled big fish like that. With the bass rod Id be very confident as my PB bass of 5.2 lbs came on my Volkey.

[southpaw619]

Great info, thanks! Was the trout magnet on their 1/64th or 1/32nd jig head? Also, what's your reasoning or opinion on all magnets in? I've played around with the additional magnets in and out for same lure range you're using and honestly I can tell little difference. I'm leaning towards leaving the magnets out because with braid it was very hard to backlash with/without magnets and I prefer braid, but I did notice when testing mono the extra magnets did reduce backlash. Our first trout stock is this week, so excited! Hope you stick a good one next trip!

[Bootytrain]

Great info, thanks! Was the trout magnet on their 1/64th or 1/32nd jig head? Also, what's your reasoning or opinion on all magnets in? I've played around with the additional magnets in and out for same lure range you're using and honestly I can tell little difference. I'm leaning towards leaving the magnets out because with braid it was very hard to backlash with/without magnets and I prefer braid, but I did notice when testing mono the extra magnets did reduce backlash. Our first trout stock is this week, so excited! Hope you stick a good one next trip!

It was definitely not the 1/64th head. I added all the magnets for insurance that i had the maximum braking available, because in my experience with BFS, is that the lower the lure weight, the higher the brakes needed plus a slower more deliberate cast stroke. Sounds counterproductive but the light lures travel farther for me this way. It definitely tamed the Revo which was very finicky before adding all the magnets.

[the hooligan]

Nice little comparo booty

Honestly, both combos have there place in a bfs arsenal. Keep the fast action bfs combo for bass fishing and the moderate/regular for trout fishing. I hope to try a finetail one of these days, they look like fun little rods...

[kinniyoubi]

Good to know that a UL bass rod can handle lighter lures just fine as I was debating between the fine tail VS. other UL bass rods because of the post you made earlier on!

Cant wait to get my hands on a BFS/UL set up

[Bootytrain]

For the lightest of lures I think the Finetail had more distance available than what I was able to get on its maiden trip. The accuracy however was head and shoulders above the bass set up.

[IAY]

Great write up! Trout rod will never do the job that true BFS rod does because of the taper and power for me. As long as you have good spool and breaking system, you will get the lure out there.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

My BFS trout rod only cost about 25 bucks. It's a 4ft UL ice fishing rod. Really soft tip with a good bit of backbone.
Pretty good sensitivity.

The best part is the stripper guide is small enough for casting reels. The short rod helps when navigating through all the brush around the streams. I just reel my lure about 1cm from the tip and give a little roll/flick and the lure goes where I point the rod.

http://www.stopperlures.com/whipr_rods3.html

[earthworm77]

I am normally a Major Craft guy but look into the Kuying Teton Trout rod 662. They make both a spinning and casting version, I purchase both together on Alien for 115.00 shipped for the pair. These are deceptively high quality rods that fish better than many of the high dollar versions and there is nothing cheap about them except the price.

Toray blank, Fuji components and there is a video of a guy from Singapore talking about the difference between the BFS systems and trout setups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGy1yfn2vvI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePynv4B ... AYwWZvHNPE

[southpaw619]

I am normally a Major Craft guy but look into the Kuying Teton Trout rod 662. They make both a spinning and casting version, I purchase both together on Alien for 115.00 shipped for the pair. These are deceptively high quality rods that fish better than many of the high dollar versions and there is nothing cheap about them except the price.

+1! I have both the UL and L Teton and they're awesome rods for the price!

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