BFS rod question

How small is your rod and how light is your line? It's not about the size of your tackle, but how you work it. Come share your Ultralight and Bait Finesse System (BFS) fishing success here!
Jagerboy
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BFS rod question

Post by Jagerboy » Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:52 pm

Hi all,
Been lurking for a while & finally decided to sign up. So, sort of an intro & a question. I fish for anything I can with a ton of different techniques, I love new gear & styles of fishing. I'm mostly a stream trout guy & am interested in a BFS setup for tossing small jerkbaits & spinners. My question is : Does anyone use or has anyone used a kokanee rod for this? I prefer longer rods & most of the ones I am seeing are short for my taste. It looks like the kokanee trolling rods might fit the bill for what I want. I'll probably mostly be throwing 1/8 -3/8 oz lures & at times a jig & bobber or even bottom bouncing with bait. Thanks for any input!

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by hoohoorjoo » Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:30 pm

First off, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined us. And yes, a kokanee rod would make a nice bfs rod. Like you said, it is longer than most bfs rods and is moderate action, perfect for your intended use. Just be sure you pick one that is graphite. Most are glass and flex all the way to the reel seat. This will make it harder to cast accurately, plus the sensitivity isnt great compared to graphite. Lamiglas has a nice selection of kokanee rods(glass and graphite), built here in the States and well-constructed, also.
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Hobie-Wan Kenobi
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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:24 pm

The Kokanee rods could have a lot of "slop" in the cast. What length are you looking for? Custom may be your best best. I built many BFS rods and can recommend some blanks for you.
IG @hobie_wan_kenobi_fishing

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by hoohoorjoo » Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:42 pm

Hobie-Wan Kenobi wrote:The Kokanee rods could have a lot of "slop" in the cast.
Thats why I recommended a graphite model. Soft, but much faster recovery than the glass blanks.
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Dalleinf » Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:30 pm

Welcome to the forum. Most of my fishing is BFS/UL bait-casting with 1/16-1/4 oz lures (esp spinners) in small streams where I target seatrout (sea run browns). I never float fish.
For many local streams I have to use longer rods of 8-10’ due to vegetation.
Among the rods I use I can mention:
Major Craft N-One 7’8” (NSL-T782ML/BF, 2-15 gram) has nice power and action for 3-8 gram lures. Soft but not sloppy. Spiral wrapped and sweet.
St Croix Wild River Kokanee 8’ LM, which I find too soft and sloppy for tossing lures. It may work better for float fishing.
TFO Gary Loomis Signature Series Salmon/Seatrout 9’6” (TFG STC 962-2, 1/16-3/8 oz), which is also soft but not as sloppy and works fine for me. Unfortunately, the 9’6 Light power version is no longer in production.
St. Croix Avid and Legend Elite 9’ to 9’6” ML (1/8-5/8 oz) are fantastic rods for lures above approx. 5-6 gram but are just about too powerful for use with 1/8 oz lures IMO. I really like my Avids and Legend Elites. In general, it is my impression that many US rods, eg St Croix and G loomis, are underrated and can handle heavier lures than specified whereas JP rods are more spot on with regard to lure weight.

If you can get away with shorter rods then you have more options. I recently acquired a Daiwa Wild Stream 6’ rod, which is absolutely sweet for BFS/UL trout lure fishing.
One advantage with the long and soft/slow action rods is that I can use braid with my treble hook lures and still get a nice hook-up ratio. For faster action rods I use mono.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Dalleinf » Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:39 pm

I should mention that I have had some issues with overruns/birdsnests when combining 8+’ sloppy rods and some of my baitcast reels - perhaps esp Daiwas/Mag brake reels. As an example - My Daiwa Alphas Air Stream custom is a fantastic reel (so much that I bought a second) but my first trip out with this reel on my TFO 9’6” rod was a complete disaster... I have used the TFO rod with many other reels including some daiwas (eg PX68 SPR) with no issues. It may be my casting technique, but I still think it is worth mentioning.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by LowRange » Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:52 pm

If you're after longer BFS rods then look at some sea bass rods. Some of them are like long BFS rods. Majorcraft has a line of sea bass rods but I have no experience with them. I have the Kuying Leadership 762L which is like a 7'6" long Majorcraft Volkey L or UL BFS.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Bronzeye » Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:57 am

Jagerboy wrote:Hi all,
... I'm mostly a stream trout guy & am interested in a BFS setup for tossing small jerkbaits & spinners. ...I prefer longer rods & most of the ones I am seeing are short for my taste. ...I'll probably mostly be throwing 1/8 -3/8 oz lures & at times a jig & bobber or even bottom bouncing with bait. Thanks for any input!
A longer rod is better for casting a fixed bobber or bottom bouncing.

But when you say you mostly fish streams and will be casting lures with treble or at least multiple single hooks, I can't imagine that you'd be better off with a rod longer than 6 feet for that. To me, a "stream" is a flow one can easily cast an 1/8 oz spoon across on 4 lb. mono. When I fish streams (and I've done a lot of it), most casting is not blind distance launching but target casting: eddies behind rocks and logs, slow-moving water within 18" of the banks, the shade of overhanging bushes and undercut grassy banks. Short rods are much better than long ones for helping one cast lures into such spots.

I assume you'll only be taking one rod at a time. Slip bobbers can be used with short rods. Are the ability to bottom bounce and a need for great distance the main drivers in your search for a long rod? If not, and if I correctly interpret your reference to "stream," then maybe the rods "short for [your] taste" are the best for the job.

I have used a 7' UL kokanee rod for 1/32-1/8 oz. baitcasting into open lake water from shore, both because I wanted distance then and because it loads well with light lures. It is good for that. I wouldn't use it for short-to-medium distance precision work.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Dalleinf » Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:08 am

^^^ The many streams I fish are all quite different. Some are easily and best fished with short rods. Others have so much tall grass and other obstacles along the shore, which may be swampy, that they are best fished with long rods that can extend beyond grass etc. Nice to have rods for all occasions :-)

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Bronzeye » Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:01 am

I understand. I hadn't had those scenarios in mind.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by BARRAMANIAC » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:52 pm

I believe the Major Craft N One series have some longer bfs rods. 7' to 7'6" if I remember right.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Aquaftm45 » Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:21 pm

I have been eying some longer BFS rods for a while. Here are some options...

Daiwa Gek B73LML, around $340
http://www.daiwa.com/jp/fishing/item/ro ... index.html

Fenwick GP Techno 74, they have a light and a ML version, this used to be a $600 rod, deal of the century here at $240
https://www.7palmsweb.com/products/deta ... t_id=20147

If you really want to go for it, have a thick wallet, and the luck of the gods, you might get your hands on one of these when they come out. Should be around $600+ and although the picture is blurred, they make some of the best looking rods I have ever seen
The Sedition Beowulf, 8'6, 1/16th to 3/8th, 107 grams
http://sedition.jp/product.html

enjoy...

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Isaiah20 » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:21 am

I have also used a Kokanee rod as a BFS rod. A no longer in production G. Loomis CR842-2. My experience with that rod is that it is good for cranks and spinners. I have been fishing a Daiwa WiseStream 62-LB-3, this rod is much more versatile. I can fish jerkbaits, spinners, cranks, and jig and soft plastics. And recently I've been fishing drop shots, and shakeyheads for small water smallmouth.

I don't know if you are wading your trout streams or how big there are. The streams of the Driftless in Mn are much more conducive to a shorter rod. This being said I fish 7'6" and 8' spinning rods on these streams. I found the 7' casting rod to be more of a hinder on the water. Especially fishing jerkbaits. The down stroke I wanted for the baits was all but impossible with the longer rod. So I've settled on the shorter Wisestream but your situation may be different than mine.

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Dalleinf » Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:03 am

^It is the same Daiwa Wise Stream that I have (I errornessly called it wild stream above). I relly enjoy using that rod...

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Re: BFS rod question

Post by Jagerboy » Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:59 am

Thanks for all the info everyone, looks like I have some research to do! I guess I just got used to the advantages of a longer rod during my years fly fishing. I like the extra shock absorption a long rod offers as well as line control. I just dislike fishing with short rods now tbh. Most all of my fishing is done with rods over 7' with 9' being my all around favorite length, even on streams you could jump across. I would be using this setup on larger water than brook trout trickles though. I fish some larger rivers with some mean trout in them lol.

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