NYWayfarer

I like a split grip and in order of preference, cork, EVA foam or Winn Grip handle. Black or grey blank to match most reels.

I have this and it is excellent. Comes in a nice sturdy rod tube travel case. I also recommend the St Croix 4 piece Triumph travel rod and the Shimano Convergence 4 piece travel rods.

I always have a pack of Senko’s in my tackle bag. 4” Senko rigged weightless on a 2/0 work hook is one of my go to presentations.

The scissors on my Gerber handle almost anything. I have a backup pair of cuda scissors for braid.

I use lots of different mono line. My favorites are: Berkley Big Game Vicious Fishing Ultimate Mono Cajun Mono abrasion resistant gator green Berkley Trilene XT Sufix Siege

1/8 oz in-line spinner test was a success. 4 Fish during my lunchtime fishing session today. The ultralight casting rod performed better than expected for $18

My new ultralight casting rod arrived in the mail today. The Goture Fire Phoenix. For the reels next test I switched to 6# mono and tied on a 1/8oz Panther Martin in-line spinner. Can’t wait to try this out.

I took my new setup to the river this morning to see what I could catch. Shimano Curado BFS XG spooled with 8# Stren and mounted on a 6’,8” Powell Max 682C medium ex-fast action rod. I tried a weightless 4” watermelon Senko on a 2/0 worm hook. I set the brakes to 3 and was able to get some nice distance on my casts. First fish was a Pickerel Next was a dink Smallmouth Bass. Then a solid 2# Smallmouth slammed my bait. A nice fight to land it which highlighted the clicking drag on this reel. I tied on a beetle spin next and caught about half a dozen Smallies under a pound. I had a blast with the new BFS reel. It performed as good as I hoped with lighter lures I usually throw on a spinning reel. Can’t wait to get it out on the water again.

I picked up the hedgehog medium light oil. Meant to get the ultralight oops ? I also purchased Lew’s hyperspeed bearing oil. From the reviews I see it is a lighter oil and seems like it will work for BFS reels.

Thanks! Just what I was looking for.

Black Velvet. It’s basically Crown Royal without the fancy glass bottle and velvet bag. Half the price. Definitely a mixer, I like it over Diet Pepsi with a twist of lime juice.

No. Since Covid my company has had a hybrid work from home schedule. It has done wonders for my fishing time. I can go before work and at lunch.

I took the Curado BFS XG out for a spin at lunchtime today. Was able to cast it for about 40 minutes to get a feel for it. I am impressed. So far it is everything I hoped it would be. Need to hook and land a fish to complete the test. I had some bites but failed to set the hook.

My new Shimano Curado BFS reel was delivered this week from Tackle Warehouse. I was surprised to find no oil in the box. I thought I saw an unboxing video where it came with a tube of Shimano BFS oil (green cap) as opposed to the Bantam oil (blue cap) I went online to order some and to my surprise it is out of stock for US sellers. The cost to get it shipped from overseas is criminal. Are there any other options for BFS oil that I can purchase without have to pay $20+ in shipping? What oil are you guys using on your BFS reels?

The Shimano Curado BFS XG has arrived. I spooled it with some 8lb Stren and mounted it on a 6’8’ Powel Max medium ex-fast action casting rod. To start I am going throw some 4” weightless Senko’s this weekend. Once I get used to it I will go lighter. I have a 6’ ultralight casting rod from Temu on the way. The Goture Fire Phoenix, gotta love those names. $18 and free shipping. If I like that I have my eye on the Mavllos Plume ultralight casting rod next. Eventually I will spring for a Dobyn’s Sierra ultra finesse rod.