QED

I like a UL setup that has decent balance for fishing from the shore at a nearby pond. Makes hand carrying a bit easier. I fish and carry my UL setups with only the forefinger ahead of the stem for spinning (infrequently I might place the middle finger ahead of the stem as well). For casting, I don’t ponder the lateral, static balance of the rig because those I usually carry those by holding at least a part of the reel.

Wow, that was the very first reel my dad bought for me. As a pre-teen, that made for a nice rig. ?

Since he sounds proficient at using casting reels, the Daiwa 20 Steez Air TW 500 and the Shimano 22 Aldebaran BFS are the shiznitz and are what I am using.

Seems you are intentionally missing out on some fishing fun then. Try a proper BFS rod with a Shimano Aldebaran BFS reel or a Daiwa Steez Air BFS reel and you’ll understand.

Stella FK 1000 is what I use for UL spinning. A functional work of art. The vanford is a good budget alternative.

I LOVE the old Shimano colfor (cold forged) aluminum pistol grip graphite casting rods. I had to pay ~$1k per rod recently for like new or NOS specimens so well worth it to me. A couple of other specimens were from my ditch school to go fishing days. Insanely useful BFS rods and possess comfort and beauty too, so they are highly recommended by me.

Agreed. I use high end Shimano, Daiwa, and Lew’s reels and find them all to be outstanding in form, fit and function. All three are good at industrial design so I think their reels look pretty good too.

Shimano 30 Size BFS reel is about 4.6oz - super light and super smooth. Stick with BFS for casting!

One of my best bass fishing buddies and I went fishing on the neighborhood lake where we would ordinarily just slay them. On the most recent trip, our casting precision had gotten a little sloppy so it took a while to get back into the groove. A perishable skill for sure.

I have and really like the Phenix K2. I also like the vintage Shimano graphite blank/aluminum grip shorter casting rods from way back for precision casting. But the K2s are spendy and the old Shimano BC rods with aluminum grips will run around a kilobuck if you can even find one.

I’ve got a several high end graphite U/L cork handled spinning rods and several graphite/short aluminum pistol grip casting rods that I use most often. Unfortunately, in today’s environment you just can’t get this stuff except possibly custom which presents its own problems (e.g., ideal blank and component availability). Love them and would rather fight than switch! ?

This is what I use for BFS. The PX-R is a bit obsolete but the other two Daiwa's remain flawless in use. Daiwa PX Type-R 5.8 oz 6/95, 8/75 Daiwa Steez AIR TW BFS 4.75 6/50 Daiwa Steez CT SV TW 70 XH 5.3 oz 8/110

They usually come with one. All but one of mine did.

Spool dimensions seem to be a bit different based on the stated line capacities. The Soare probably has a shallower spool, but beyond that I like them both just fine for UL spinning.

Try these: Shimano Soare CI4+ 500S 4.9 oz 3/76.5 Shimano Stella FK 1000 5.8 oz 4/160, 6/110 Shimano Vanford 500F 4.9 oz 4/100 6/60 Shimano Vanford 1000F 5.3 oz 4/160, 6/110 Shimano Vanford C2000HGF 5.3 oz 6/165. 8/105 And if you were wondering, there are several BFS casting reels under 5 oz!