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BFS/Ultra lightweight fishing.

Donk

Donk

Piss Artist Formerly Known As OllieNZ
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
48
Messages
971
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Limeyland
Anyone into this? I'm getting back into fishing after a long hiatus and this method in particular has piqued my interest. Planning on targeting perch, trout, zander (European walleye) and maybe even pike (although I'll probably need a heavier setup for those).

For those the don't know what BFS is have a read here: Bait Finesse System (BFS) Fishing: The Ultimate Guide

Bait Finesse System fishing is using baitcasting reels with special shallow, drilled out/ultralight, spools and light-action rods to throw lures weighing less than approximately 5-7g (3/16 oz to ¼ oz and below).
Click to expand...

Being that proper BFS reels are pretty expensive I've opted for a 1000 size spinning reel with 10lb braid and a matching 3-14g 6ft drop shot rod.
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Hoping to get out this week to give it a go.
 
Funny how they just make something “Japanese” to church it up and sell gear vs what poor folks have been doing for 100 years (Tenkara).

I have a couple 5’6” Ultralight rods with 1000 size spinning reels and 2 lb braid on them. They still don’t cast a 1/32 - 1/16 oz jig very far at all.
 
Gatorgrizz27 said:
Funny how they just make something “Japanese” to church it up and sell gear vs what poor folks have been doing for 100 years (Tenkara).

I have a couple 5’6” Ultralight rods with 1000 size spinning reels and 2 lb braid on them. They still don’t cast a 1/32 - 1/16 oz jig very far at all.
Click to expand...
Where I'll be fishing, simply standing on the bank with the rod at arms length will reach halfway across the stream in most places so I'm not significantly worried about casting distance. I'm also going try using the drop shot technique which should give me a bit more weight for casting.
DropShottingRig-1024x576.png
 
There is nothing ultralight about that setup.

It should be just fine for what you are doing.

I would not be afraid to use it for pike.
 
I HATE PONIES said:
There is nothing ultralight about that setup.

It should be just fine for what you are doing.

I would not be afraid to use it for pike.
Click to expand...
Interested in how you'd define ultra light? This is considerably lighter than pretty much anything else I'm likely to come across anyone else using.

It'll be OK for jack pike but given the fishery record is somewhere in the region of 30lb with fish in the high teens being fairly common. I'll be running a second setup with heavier braid and a wire trace for deliberately targeting them.
 
Managed to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon.....
Catch of the day:
20220404_140813.jpg

Guess I was getting in nice and close to the snags at least :homer:

Rod is good, can feel every little bump but no real takers as I think the water was a bit murky. Hopefully I can get out again tomorrow and try the next pond over which was considerably clearer.
 
OllieNZ said:
Interested in how you'd define ultra light? This is considerably lighter than pretty much anything else I'm likely to come across anyone else using.
Click to expand...
Rod less than 5 feet.

Line 2 to 4lb test.

Micro reel.
 
I first read this post topic and figured meh, nothing a little spinning reel can't do. The more I read about high end BFS the further down the rabbit hole I go. I'll probably try a zephyr due to the price point to get my feet wet and go from there. Thanks for the link.

My original ultra light from back in the day was a diawa 500c with 120 yards of 2lb test on a little flea fliker rod. The Shimano mlz10's were a nice upgrade. My light line steelhead rig is the mlz10 with 2 lb test on a 12 foot noodle rod. Getting spooled is a kick in the pants.
 
90% of the fishing I do is with ultra light gear. My main setup is a St. Croix Triumph series 5'-6" rod, Cadence CS10 spinning reel and 4lb. test mono.
My backup is a Berkley Hunter series5'-6" rod. Mitchell 310 Pro spinning reel and 4 lb. mono. They'll absolutely launch a 1/32 or 1/16 Kastmaster way the fuck out there.
I've landed a few Trout over 6 lbs., a Pike at 7.5 lbs. and a Carp that was 9.5 lbs. with these setups but usually its 1-3 lb. Trout.
 
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Just thought I'd revisit this now it's open season for lures on the lakes.
Picked up a longer 7ft rod but still pretty light with a 1-10g casting weight, paired it with a 1000 sized reel and due to some recent issues on the fishery leading to a braid ban, 6lb fluoro coated mono.
Still refining my technique and getting feel for the new setup but mostly happy with the performance.

I've mainly been picking up small (tiny) perch
20221011_142510.jpg

with cheb or ned rigged 50mm (2") sticks and shads so today I opted to try a slightly larger 75mm (3") ned stick in the hope of attracting the attention of some bigger fish.
It worked, just not quite as expected.......
20221013_124321.jpg

A 15lb common carp :laughing:. That kind of puts my mind to rest about how tough this lightweight gear is.
 
Annndddd......
Another dozy carp snagging a jig :laughing: still not having much luck with the perch though :homer:
Slightly smaller at 11lb 6oz but a lovely looking fish nonetheless

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