On A Budget?

[Spektrum]

Coming in at $100 is this Histar Aurora Air reel paired with a Handing Magic L two piece rod. If the names don't sound familiar, it's because they are straight from AliExpress. After roughly 15 trips to san diego bay, every thing has surprisingly held up very well. Can easily cast ting baits such as the Zman Shadfryz on 1/20oz heads. So far this has been the perfect setup for fishing the back of the bay. No need for anything besides ultralight back there.

Spooled with 6# bass pro brand braid with 4lb flouro leader.

I bought these before the tariff blunder, by now the prices should be back to normal.

Bonus croaker

Corvina's favorite snack, tiny kastmasters

[Dannicus]

Coming in at $100 is this Histar Aurora Air reel paired with a Handing Magic L two piece rod. If the names don't sound familiar, it's because they are straight from AliExpress. After roughly 15 trips to san diego bay, every thing has surprisingly held up very well. Can easily cast ting baits such as the Zman Shadfryz on 1/20oz heads. So far this has been the perfect setup for fishing the back of the bay. No need for anything besides ultralight back there.

Spooled with 6# bass pro brand braid with 4lb flouro leader.

I bought these before the tariff blunder, by now the prices should be back to normal.

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Bonus croaker
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Corvina's favorite snack, tiny kastmasters
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This looks awesome! We should fish the bay together at some point. Maybe you can show me the ropes.

[Dfishin]

I like the magic L rods. I use to fish there and the flats past the bridge with 4lb trout rod. Lots of fun, had a few bat rays that took me on tours of the bay.

[Luc42]

Hello,

I want to get into BFS and would like to know a budget friendly set up reel included under 100. Not sure where to start or what I’m really looking for. BFS is new to me.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

[Dannicus]

Check out baitfinesseempire.com. They have lots of budget rod and reel options. If you see something there that you like, check AliExpress and you might find it cheaper. I can't help too much with the under $100 options. I think my cheapest combo retails around $250, but I know there are other great options out there.

[1Fishdude]

I started using BFS and wanted something less expensive to see if I liked it. I went to aliexpress and fell in love with the handling magic l rods I have now a few and the price is less than 50 bucks. I paired them with A Dark Wolf ultra bfs baitcaster and they are around %0 also. Cant be happier with the quality and price of these combinations. Smooth and light

[Spektrum]

So the tariffs have made the aurora air reel simply not worth it any more. Sure it casts really lightweight lures but it’s still a very cheaply made plastic reel.

Half of the plastic on the thumb bar exploded away randomly in the sun at Barrett. Still works, just less place to rest your thumb.

I’ve torn it down a couple times and serviced it since I’ve owned it. Most of its time is in the salt. Luckily the only metal in the reel is the gears.

Look into the hicc-50 or dark wolf ultra reel. They can be found on Amazon most of the time. As well as the Handing rods.

Prices on the rods haven’t changed much. Lightweight and extremely sensitive for ~$40. I’ve since ordered a couple other of their rods out of curiosity to see how they are