45 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

People have been casting light weights baits with baitcasters for ages but no one thought to give it a name other than "going fishing".  BFS didn't enter the lexicon outside of japan until 2011 when Yukihiro Sawamura of KTF was using prototype rods on his KTF tuned Alphas to present small plastics and jigs on hard 7-10 lb flourocarbon line for bass in cover.  The rods were designed with larger blank diameter on the back half of the rod to significantly stiffen the rod and make controlling a bass around cover possible.  What separates these BFS rods from other rods with the same power rating used for trout is the significant increase in power for bass fishing.

You can skip very easily with it as long as you have the right reel.  The guy who invented BFS also invented the air brake the SV spools use.  He was doing it 1st with his KTF spools before daiwa stared using the same brake with their air spools then later SV spools.  He spends the entire video skipping baits into brush.

I

Between you and @bulldog1935 I’ve learned a lot since I started down this BFS rabbit hole. Much appreciated!

8 hours ago, rboat said:

Anybody using BFS gear have a problem with braid to leader? Some of the BFS rods have tiny eye guides where the connection knot may get caught or hang up a bit.

 

I haven't had any trouble.  I prefer an FG knot for braid to mono, but I find it much more difficult to tie with the small diameter mono and fluoro I use on my BFS stuff, so the Alberto gets a lot of use.

17 hours ago, desmobob said:

 

I haven't had any trouble.  I prefer an FG knot for braid to mono, but I find it much more difficult to tie with the small diameter mono and fluoro I use on my BFS stuff, so the Alberto gets a lot of use.

Neither I. And I use the modified alberto knot.

On 6/24/2023 at 12:51 PM, ska4fun said:

Neither I. And I use the modified alberto knot.

Can you describe the “modified” Alberto knot?  Is that finishing with some wraps through the leader loop or half hitches on the braid main line?  Or some other finish to lock the connection knot?  Thanks.

On 6/20/2023 at 2:13 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I see a BFS setup in my future for personal use and more for R&D for customer builds. 

You really need to get in on that.  When I first opened for business, most of my customers were charters, guides, and recreational fishermen that troll our Great Lakes for salmon, steelhead, walleye, and musky.  I've probably had more Penn 209 variants, Shimano Tekotas, and Okuma Coldwaters across my workbench than anything else by a long shot.  When I took up BFS, it sparked a lot of interest from others and now make up a nice chunk of my business. 

 

Most of my BFS customers are simply conversions of reels we have readily available here.  I'll ask what their target species may be, what line they plan on running, and which baits they are intending to use.  Then I will make a spool recommendation and let them make a decision.  The train of thought is almost the same as a traditional baitcast reel.  Aside from the spool, you will want to focus most of your attention to your lubricants and the braking systems of the reels you work on.  Most of the braking systems in BFS conversions have too much bite for such a light spool, so you may find yourself swapping inductor springs in the case of Daiwa reels or going with lighter shoes in something like a Shimano SVS reel.  Some of your Abus use a linear mag brake so you may find yourself removing magnets to get the full range of braking similar to how it was with the factory spool.  Feel free to pick my brain any time you want.  Always looking to help a brother out!

2 hours ago, warefisher said:

Can you describe the “modified” Alberto knot?  Is that finishing with some wraps through the leader loop or half hitches on the braid main line?  Or some other finish to lock the connection knot?  Thanks.

Exactly, at least two wraps. Traditional Alberto can be untied on continuous jerking and twitching.

I love my BFS setup. Use it regularly. I also hate spinning gear though. I would recommend giving it a go if you're interested and just seeing what you think about it.