What is your finesse casting rod?

[earthworm77]

Initial impression of the Kuying Leadership ML is not so good.
The rod has Fuji components, which seem nice enough, and the action is nice for my application (moderate to mod-fast).
The blank is relatively thick for a BFS rod (casting weight 1/8-3/8 oz), and certainly thicker and heavier than my MC N-One BFS 782ML.
Moreover, the rod is tip heavy. With a 2nd gen. Revo STX the point of balance is on the blank just in front of the upper part of the handle (approx. 2" from the reel seat).
Is it value for money? The rod costs 100$, shipping is 20$ or so (and tax/customs were 50$). IMO the rod should be priced around 50-75$.

I will not buy a Kuying rod again.

you are paying 60.00 more for shipping and taxes/customs than to the US.......maybe the to US price makes it more economical?

[Dalleinf]

Initial impression of the Kuying Leadership ML is not so good.
The rod has Fuji components, which seem nice enough, and the action is nice for my application (moderate to mod-fast).
The blank is relatively thick for a BFS rod (casting weight 1/8-3/8 oz), and certainly thicker and heavier than my MC N-One BFS 782ML.
Moreover, the rod is tip heavy. With a 2nd gen. Revo STX the point of balance is on the blank just in front of the upper part of the handle (approx. 2" from the reel seat).
Is it value for money? The rod costs 100$, shipping is 20$ or so (and tax/customs were 50$). IMO the rod should be priced around 50-75$.

I will not buy a Kuying rod again.

you are paying 60.00 more for shipping and taxes/customs than to the US.......maybe the to US price makes it more economical?

Yes, but then you will also pay less for other rods imported from Asia, e.g. Major Craft. Plus you have so many great baitcasting rods on the US market where we have very few in the EU (spinning >> baitcasting). What I am trying to say is that although Kuying rods may be more economical to you in the US, I would still suggest that you think twice and consider other options before you buy one of the Kuying rods I have described...
I would still like to hold the Teton BFS rod in my hands - I may like it - but since I have to pay before doing so, it will not happen...

[LowRange]

The Teton is no BFS stick. It's a trout rod. It's closer to a Finetail than a Volkey.

[Dalleinf]

The Teton is no BFS stick. It's a trout rod. It's closer to a Finetail than a Volkey.

I must admit, I do not really worry about what species any given rod is "made" for. I guess the B stands for baitcasting/bait - it is not species specific.
I have many "bass" rods that work well for trout and vice versa, "bass" rods that are ideal for pike, and many "pike" rods that are excellent for cod or catfish - I could go on.

When I choose a rod for a day on the water, I look at length, power, action, casting weight etc.. If the rod does well with <5/16 oz lures or so, then I consider it suitable for finesse fishing (= BFS or UL in my book) no matter if the rod is 5' or 10'.
If I am on a boat, I may pick a short rod. If I am shorefishing a stream with a lot of reed, I may pick a 10' rod. The target species can easily be the same.

Do you consider "finesse casting" different from "BFS"? - you have given honourable mentions to the Teton earlier in this thread. Just curious. I guess we need better official definitions - or we shouldn't care and just go fishing

[earthworm77]

Initial impression of the Kuying Leadership ML is not so good.
The rod has Fuji components, which seem nice enough, and the action is nice for my application (moderate to mod-fast).
The blank is relatively thick for a BFS rod (casting weight 1/8-3/8 oz), and certainly thicker and heavier than my MC N-One BFS 782ML.
Moreover, the rod is tip heavy. With a 2nd gen. Revo STX the point of balance is on the blank just in front of the upper part of the handle (approx. 2" from the reel seat).
Is it value for money? The rod costs 100$, shipping is 20$ or so (and tax/customs were 50$). IMO the rod should be priced around 50-75$.

I will not buy a Kuying rod again.

you are paying 60.00 more for shipping and taxes/customs than to the US.......maybe the to US price makes it more economical?

Yes, but then you will also pay less for other rods imported from Asia, e.g. Major Craft. Plus you have so many great baitcasting rods on the US market where we have very few in the EU (spinning >> baitcasting). What I am trying to say is that although Kuying rods may be more economical to you in the US, I would still suggest that you think twice and consider other options before you buy one of the Kuying rods I have described...
I would still like to hold the Teton BFS rod in my hands - I may like it - but since I have to pay before doing so, it will not happen...

BFS does mean "Bait Finesse System", although I see it applied mostly to bass fishing, I do not think it is species specific at all.

I agree with you about Major Craft as I now own 12 MC rods. I do think the fit and finish of the Kuying rods is on par with Major Craft and maybe even nicer than my MegaBass Levante. Kuying also uses very good components. I own 2 6-6 Tetons and a 6 ft Teton and a Tournament Casting rod from Kuying......they are nice rods at a price point almost no one could argue with or compare to.

I appreciate your evaluation of the Kuying and maybe it just doesn't work for you, but at about 95.00 can you really fairly compare it to a Major Craft N-One which has a price point between 220.00 and 230.00 US? I mean, the N-One should be much better and higher quality in comparison.

I think those Teton's are better rods than the lower end Major Crafts like the Basspara or Trapara. They might be closer to Benkei's or even Corzza's.

I think LowRange has his all figured out. I'm sure he will do an on the water assessment of the Leadership rod.

[Dalleinf]

I only have Volkey and N-one rods so I cannot compare the Kuying rods to other MC rods. Perhaps my expectations were too high (for the Kuying rods) and, yes, maybe the comparison is not totally fair pricewise. However, I got my Volkeys for the same price as the Kuying Leadership so I cannot help but make the comparison. In the end, the two - and only two - Kuying rods I own I am disappointed with (finish wise and with no on the water experience). As with Daiwa/Shimano/Abu etc., some take a liking to products from a certain brand, and others do not. I am just the guy who dislikes Kuying rods (and who cannot comprehend why anyone would prefer a Megabass Pop-x or other Japaneese lure over a Mepps Aglia size 3 - obviously not entirely sane )

[LowRange]

Do you consider "finesse casting" different from "BFS"? - you have given honourable mentions to the Teton earlier in this thread. Just curious. I guess we need better official definitions - or we shouldn't care and just go fishing

Yes, I do separate finesse casting from BFS. For example a BFS rod, such as a Volkey 682L, would have a soft tip section with a fast or extra fast taper with powerful backbone and rigid lifting section for setting hooks and fishing around cover. On the other hand there are casting rods, such as the Teton 662L, with with soft tips enabling them to cast finesse baits but have very small diameter blanks producing a noodly and moderate taper. See Below:

[Dalleinf]

Ok, fair enough. Still, the Major Craft Volkey XUL (I have not tried), Go Emotion BFS UL 4pc. (I have tried), and the N-One BFS (I own), and I do think some other designated BFS rods are all regular to regular fast (moderately tapered) noodles with soft tips and little backbone.

I think others have discussed the definition of BFS here on TT, and there are some nice posts by Mcyl on BFS. I cannot recall having read a that BFS requires a fast action rod, but if that is the case then I have mentioned some rods in this thread that I should not (subject being finesse and not BFS).

[LowRange]

I don't have any of the UL Majorcraft rods but I do have a Jackson Super Trickster STC-63UL and while it can easily out finesse the Teton the blank is larger in diameter in the lifting section of rod and as a result has much, much more power when fighting a fish by boat.

[Dalleinf]

I don't have any of the UL Majorcraft rods but I do have a Jackson Super Trickster STC-63UL and while it can easily out finesse the Teton the blank is larger in diameter in the lifting section of rod and as a result has much, much more power when fighting a fish by boat.

Very nice setup!

[LowRange]

Very nice setup!

Thanks. That combo exists purely for my own amusement. While I've never fished a Majorcraft UL rod, I did have a knock off, see pic below, of a Volkey 652UL for a while. I bought a cheap BFS rod and BFS reel on Aliexpress to try out this whole BFS thing. I really liked the combination of soft tip and rigid backbone of the UL Vokley knock off and when it broke I tried to source a VKC-65UL but was unable and settled for a VKC-682L which I have come to adore. If the knock off is like the real deal then even the Volkey 652UL has a larger diameter lifting section producing a more rigid backbone when compared to the Teton.


1st BFS fish and also 1st Ned rig fish.

[LowRange]

The epiphany moment: when I replaced the knock off with yet another Aliexpress rod, the Kuying Teton, I discovered that it was nothing like the knock off. The Teton was so much softer and flexible deeper into the rod than the knock off. The realization that a BFS stick is a rod that has L or even UL tip sections but also have larger diameter lifting sections is what lead towards purchasing my 1st real BFS stick, the 682L Volkey.

I still use the crap out of that Teton though. It's my go to tiny crank and topwater rod for mix of bass, crappie and bluegill.

[earthworm77]

Ok, fair enough. Still, the Major Craft Volkey XUL (I have not tried), Go Emotion BFS UL 4pc. (I have tried), and the N-One BFS (I own), and I do think some other designated BFS rods are all regular to regular fast (moderately tapered) noodles with soft tips and little backbone.

I think others have discussed the definition of BFS here on TT, and there are some nice posts by Mcyl on BFS. I cannot recall having read a that BFS requires a fast action rod, but if that is the case then I have mentioned some rods in this thread that I should not (subject being finesse and not BFS).

I have the Volkey 692XUL, for a UL rod it has more backbone than the Teton 6-6's.......which just goes to show that among different manufacturers, specs differ greatly.

[LowRange]

The Teton has a much smaller diameter blank in the back half of the rod than what you would find on an L powered BFS. As such I don't consider the Teton a BFS rod but rather an UL casting rod. I don't care to fish it near cover or throw anything other than tiny hardbaits and light wire jig heads.

Maybe this pic will help to illustrate the blank diameter. Notice how it is significantly smaller than any of the BFS sticks, including two UL models.

[Dalleinf]

Ok, fair enough. Still, the Major Craft Volkey XUL (I have not tried), Go Emotion BFS UL 4pc. (I have tried), and the N-One BFS (I own), and I do think some other designated BFS rods are all regular to regular fast (moderately tapered) noodles with soft tips and little backbone.

I think others have discussed the definition of BFS here on TT, and there are some nice posts by Mcyl on BFS. I cannot recall having read a that BFS requires a fast action rod, but if that is the case then I have mentioned some rods in this thread that I should not (subject being finesse and not BFS).

I have the Volkey 692XUL, for a UL rod it has more backbone than the Teton 6-6's.......which just goes to show that among different manufacturers, specs differ greatly.

I would add that specs differ greatly "within" a given manufacturer. I have two BFS rods from Major Craft with a "Regular Fast" action - the N-One ML and the Volkey L. The N-One is a more soft moderately tapered rod (almost remniscent of my Finetail) and the Volkey is much more stiff.