BFS Casting Motion - why not a full on 'whip'?

[ultralight]

Ok, this is where I REALLY show my ignorance. So you BFS enthusiasts and pros....help me out here - to cure my ignorance...

I know that one of the major draw of BFS is accuracy which requires a controlled smooth cast. This limits the distance. In contrast, when I casting 1/32 or lighter minijigs, I whip my rod as fast as possible for max distance. 2 lbs Sunline Sniper gets me about 65 feet. Virtually everyone who cast does so where you hear this whistling sound through the air as the UL rod just WHIPS through as fast as possible.

However, there's a video on youtube where the person cast a trout magnet (about 1.3 grams?) about 40+ feet. And that's with a gentle casting motion. If that cast was with a whipping motion, it sure looks like it will easily go as far as a spinning rig.

So my question - is there no way a BFS reel can be set up so that one can cast the rod as fast as possible without getting overrun and yet not use too much braking? Apparently this is not practically possible or someone would be doing it - but is it theoretically possible? What needs to happen?

Thanks for helping out with my ignorance...

[Tim Kelly]

I think the Reel Test guy is in a little bubble of his own. Good luck to him, but don't take him as an authority on anything fishing related.

[earthworm77]

video link would help

[ss30378]

Ive tested many different bfs combos and lure weight ranges from .64g on up. If the combo youre using is not allowing you to use full smooth casts then you either have something not set right or its not designed to throw that weight.

For instance when i try and toss a sub 3g lure on a med power rod and 10lb flouro i have to use a soft lob cast because the lure doesnt have the mass to pull the line off the spool efficiently if i use a full cast. Using the lightest of lures sometimes even dedicated bfs reels have too much spool weight or startup mass to cast lures accurately. I see this more in sidearm casts when (i cast with my right hand) the lure hooks left of where im aiming. I tested my little .64g jig with the alphas air and airstream custom back to back with the same line and on the same rod. The air stream was much more effective at getting the lure where i was aiming just because the airstream had less startup inertia and the lure would fly straighter.

The avail aldebaran setup has the least startup force requirement ive seen yet in a bfs reel but my dummy self didnt order the extra magnet kit (its require if you want any braking force) until after the i got the spool. So now I'm waiting on that to fully test its capabilities.

[poisonokie]

I can whip mine out there no problem, so I don't know. I almost always side arm, whether whip casting or slow rolling.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

The rod being able to load with the weight is key. If it doesnt, you will have to whip it and that force can usually overpower the delicate brakes require for BFS. If your brakes are too high to compensate with a whipping motion, it will kill your distance.

[ultralight]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAGPkVkknXY&t=26s

If he is getting 40+ feet with a nice relatively controlled stroke, and if a full on whipping cast is possible without having to put on a lot more brakes, then surely 60+ feet is possible? And that's not even using the lightest sub 5 gram aftermarket spool?

What am I missing?

Thanks for the discussion guys. Most intrigued.

[LowRange]

The rod is loading up and doing a good job of casting the bait with minimal effort. The small jig heads and plastics cast very well too. If sure if he wanted to cast further he could whip the rod but that reel has linear mag brakes and has no centrifugal componet so there is a risk of a backlash. I also don't consider this BFS. BFS rods are bass rods and have much more back bone with stiffer tips and are meant to be cast harder. Trout rods like Teton in the video are much softer and whippy and will load deeply with tiny baits with minimal effort. That's the Kuying Teton Stream Soft SUL.

[reason162]

I think the Reel Test guy is in a little bubble of his own. Good luck to him, but don't take him as an authority on anything fishing related.

lol, truth

[Edward78]

Ok You can wip it but you will have to have a very educated thumb or centrifugal brakes that work very well, if you crank up magnetic brakes to compensate for the initial burst of the spool with the bait being so light it will not keep the momentum going against the brakes so that’s why some say the lob cast needed. You need to find the cast that that works for you and practice a lot. Remember spool tension is very important when it comes to light baits as well, a little can go a long way. You have to just experiment.

[Carlos Carrapiço]

I think the Reel Test guy is in a little bubble of his own. Good luck to him, but don't take him as an authority on anything fishing related.

After all I'm not the only one thinking that
It hurts my eyes just seeing how poor his casting technique is and yet everyone seems to not notice it nor his lack of knowledge about casting reels and just takes him for an authority.

PS: There will be a generation of fisherman casting like him

[Carlos Carrapiço]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAGPkVkknXY&t=26s

If he is getting 40+ feet with a nice relatively controlled stroke, and if a full on whipping cast is possible without having to put on a lot more brakes, then surely 60+ feet is possible? And that's not even using the lightest sub 5 gram aftermarket spool?

What am I missing?

Thanks for the discussion guys. Most intrigued.

First, he is casting 1gr. lure which is in the very low limit of what is attainable with casting gear. Yes you can cast it and so on but I do fish 1gr. lures for trout and my experience is that when you have limited space, aiming at small targets and you cannot choose your favorite casting motion then you start asking yourself if it is possible.

Over the years I realized that even the line being wet on the reel makes a huge difference.
I use PE and never spool more than 40 meters on my T3 Air. The rod is a Smith BST-EXS47UL/C3. (There is a post about this rod here: http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=80486)

With this setup you can cast far considering the short rod and the 60+ feet are not a problem with 3g. lures.

But if one considers an inexperienced user that is testing a reel for the first time with a 1gr. lure and a full spool of mono, then one cannot expect much.

About the spool, that reel has a very capable spool and an aftermarket spool will probably add no noticeable performance specially because he is using a fully loaded spool with mono that adds 3 or 4gr. more of weight in the worst configuration for keeping the spool inertia low.

So, are 60+ feet possible with 1gr. lure? In ideal conditions probably. In fishing conditions, no and the aim of BFS is not pure distance but accuracy and control.

[Dalleinf]

^ Carlos, I agree with you.

I sometimes get tired when other fishermen say that they can cast ultralight lures >60 feet with their grandfathers Ambassadeur 6000. Perhaps they can, probably not, but IF achieveable then it is with considerable risk of birdsnests and only in very optimal conditions (not my standard fishing conditions).

Still, for me BFS and ultralight trout fishing is about control, accuracy, AND distance in often quite difficult conditions. Therefore, I am interested, at least to some degree, in knowing how far I can cast a light lure with my setup in optimal conditions (e.g. local football field). This gives me an indication of how far I can cast in difficult conditions and also informs me on the ease of operation (accuracy, control).

[Allsorts]

This is probably crusty old age speaking but I agree with the foregoing comments - as a young man I was more interested in 'stunt' UL fishing and pushing tackle boundaries just for the hell of it. Now I'm looking for tackle that is refined, as light as possible but still practical in the situations I fish. Doesn't have to be the most efficient option but I don't want to jump through hoops because my tackle can't deal with a little wind or I have to have no obstacles around me to cast a nano grub etc etc.

This is main reason why I've stopped SW and most all warm water fly fishing. Fishing time is too precious and fish too few and far between to waste time waiting for a flyline to sink and then not being able to detect a bass bite properly in 15' of water. Good luck to those fellows who live in places where the living/fishing is easy but my clock is running on and even on a good day I'm super grumpy...

[ultralight]

Thanks everyone. I hear you on the 'accuracy and control' part. but often, in wide open waters, the distance also matters a lot to reach fish that may be just outside of a ledge at the edge of casting distance. I am attracted by the accuracy and control part because I recently started visiting some waters where there are huge numbers of growth in the water - never lost so many jigs in my life when I start casting to 'dangerously overgrown' areas.