New BFS frog....exciting

[Dannicus]

I just got this in the mail from Eurotackle. It's a Caperlan FRG. It's light enough to throw on my power BFS gear. Really looking forward to trying it out. I may have to fish Otay tomorrow.

[Lady Quagga]

my power BFS gear

[Dannicus]

my power BFS gear

Power BFS. It's like bass finesse gear. Light and medium rods instead of ultralight, and reels that can handle 10 lb test. I didn't coin the term it's just what the guys in the fishing shows are calling it.

[Lady Quagga]

Light and medium rods instead of ultralight, and reels that can handle 10 lb test.

So like, normal bass gear?

[Dannicus]

Light and medium rods instead of ultralight, and reels that can handle 10 lb test.

So like, normal bass gear?

Personally, for me, normal bass gear is medium heavy to heavy rods, with 20-30 pound test, and lures 1/2 oz. and up. Anything less than 1/4 oz, on 5 to 7 pound test I put into the finesse category. Most of my "power" BFS runs in the 1/85h oz. range, and my regular baitcasters just won't throw that light well. Hence the BFS reels (Ark Gravity, Bates etc ..). True BFS is baitcasting gear that can handle 1/32oz, hence the term power BFS.

[DarkShadow]

Haha, man, marketing in the fishing industry is a funny thing—though I see it worked so well it even tricked the SDFish mods into giving 'BFS' its own special forum section!

Not trying to knock the BFS setup, Dannicus—throw whatever gets you bit! But anyone who was fishing SoCal back in the 80s, this whole 'Power BFS' label really just sounds like classic SoCal finesse casting with a shiny new name and a slick label. (Don't worry, I'm over here checking out "Mid Strolling" rods, myself)

Back in the day, if you wanted to throw 1/8 oz or lighter, you'd....use a spinning rod. But if you were so hell bent on using a baitcaster, you didn't buy a special 'BFS' reel—you bought a Shimano Calcutta 50 (or tricked out an old Abu Ambassador if you're that old and collecting social security), backed the deep spool with dacron, ran a 50–75 yard topshot of 6 lb test, dropped in ceramic bearings, and called it a day. Paired that up with a light-action Phenix boron casting rod designed for Don Iovino’s doodlin' style, and you were throwing tiny baits all day long. Shimano literally made the Conquest 50 Shallow decades ago for Japanese trout streams doing the exact same thing.





Now tackle brands realized they can rebrand an old reel, stamp 'BFS' on a box, charge a premium, and subdivide it into 'True BFS' and 'Power BFS' to sell more gear. But at the end of the day, you're throwing 1/8 oz on a Medium rod with 8–10 lb line... that's just the exact same finesse bass fishing we've all been doing in SoCal for 40 years.

Glad to have you aboard!

[Dannicus]

Haha, man, marketing in the fishing industry is a funny thing—though I see it worked so well it even tricked the SDFish mods into giving 'BFS' its own special forum section!

Not trying to knock the BFS setup, Dannicus—throw whatever gets you bit! But anyone who was fishing SoCal back in the 80s, this whole 'Power BFS' label really just sounds like classic SoCal finesse casting with a shiny new name and a slick label. (Don't worry, I'm over here checking out "Mid Strolling" rods, myself)

Back in the day, if you wanted to throw 1/8 oz or lighter, you'd....use a spinning rod. But if you were so hell bent on using a baitcaster, you didn't buy a special 'BFS' reel—you bought a Shimano Calcutta 50 (or tricked out an old Abu Ambassador if you're that old and collecting social security), backed the deep spool with dacron, ran a 50–75 yard topshot of 6 lb test, dropped in ceramic bearings, and called it a day. Paired that up with a light-action Phenix boron casting rod designed for Don Iovino’s doodlin' style, and you were throwing tiny baits all day long. Shimano literally made the Conquest 50 Shallow decades ago for Japanese trout streams doing the exact same thing.





Now tackle brands realized they can rebrand an old reel, stamp 'BFS' on a box, charge a premium, and subdivide it into 'True BFS' and 'Power BFS' to sell more gear. But at the end of the day, you're throwing 1/8 oz on a Medium rod with 8–10 lb line... that's just the exact same finesse bass fishing we've all been doing in SoCal for 40 years.

Glad to have you aboard!

Well, maybe. Certainly I did that as well, but I guarantee that the reels (and rods for that matter) that I am using now outperform that setup significantly. The spools are way lighter and the braking systems are vastly improved. I get way more distance and control with them than I ever could with my ceramic equipped calcutta.

I hate spinning rods and don't even own them for bass anymore since the combos I fish are very capable of anything I used to use a spinning reel for. In general I use the same reels for BFS and power BFS (which I have never actually seen marketing for to date BTW) just heaver line and rods to achieve good hooksets on up to 1/4 oz lures. Vinny has seen my gear and I think he will attest to how far the technology has come.

The thing about fishing is that there are a lot of ways to get them in the boat, and whatever you like is what you should do right?

[Lady Quagga]

I hate spinning rods and don't even own them for bass anymore since the combos I fish are very capable of anything I used to use a spinning reel for.

{...}

The thing about fishing is that there are a lot of ways to get them in the boat, and whatever you like is what you should do right?

Wait a minute - what are you saying?

That we have an entire section of this board created solely based on personal preferences?

[Dannicus]

I hate spinning rods and don't even own them for bass anymore since the combos I fish are very capable of anything I used to use a spinning reel for.

{...}

The thing about fishing is that there are a lot of ways to get them in the boat, and whatever you like is what you should do right?

Wait a minute - what are you saying?

That we have an entire section of this board created solely based on personal preferences?

Haha isn't every section of this forum about personal preferences?

[Lady Quagga]

I hate spinning rods and don't even own them for bass anymore since the combos I fish are very capable of anything I used to use a spinning reel for.

{...}

The thing about fishing is that there are a lot of ways to get them in the boat, and whatever you like is what you should do right?

Wait a minute - what are you saying?

That we have an entire section of this board created solely based on personal preferences?

Haha isn't every section of this forum about personal preferences?

Well, since as you have pointed out BFS is about gear, wouldn't Fishing Tackle be more appropriate?

Back to the subject at hand - how does "Power BFS" frogging excel at any other method of frogging?

[Dannicus]

@Lady Quagga

I am not the forum moderator, and didn't choose where to put the category. I am retired, getting old, have arthritis in both hands and shoulders, and enjoy my light and ultralight finesse gear/techniques because they are easier on my joints and put fish in the boat. I'm not certain if I've somehow offended or wronged you in making posts in this section?

I'm not sure fishing a small light frog excels over a regular frogging much in the same way a Ned bait may not exactly excel over a large Texas rigged worm, but I would argue that different equipment is required to fish each optimally.

What I can say is that BFS has allowed me to fish very light finesse baits with baitcasters, that would have previously required spinning gear. Today I have plans on fishing some top water, jerk, and crankbaits each weighing under 1/8 ounce. If you don't like it, or think it's stupid then feel free to not try/use it.

[Dfishin]

If you can ski the fish you hook to you, I think that is regular bass gear. If you have to fight every fish, I think that is BFS. Just my thoughts, you do you.

[1Fishdude]

Haha, man, marketing in the fishing industry is a funny thing—though I see it worked so well it even tricked the SDFish mods into giving 'BFS' its own special forum section!

Not trying to knock the BFS setup, Dannicus—throw whatever gets you bit! But anyone who was fishing SoCal back in the 80s, this whole 'Power BFS' label really just sounds like classic SoCal finesse casting with a shiny new name and a slick label. (Don't worry, I'm over here checking out "Mid Strolling" rods, myself)

Back in the day, if you wanted to throw 1/8 oz or lighter, you'd....use a spinning rod. But if you were so hell bent on using a baitcaster, you didn't buy a special 'BFS' reel—you bought a Shimano Calcutta 50 (or tricked out an old Abu Ambassador if you're that old and collecting social security), backed the deep spool with dacron, ran a 50–75 yard topshot of 6 lb test, dropped in ceramic bearings, and called it a day. Paired that up with a light-action Phenix boron casting rod designed for Don Iovino’s doodlin' style, and you were throwing tiny baits all day long. Shimano literally made the Conquest 50 Shallow decades ago for Japanese trout streams doing the exact same thing.





Now tackle brands realized they can rebrand an old reel, stamp 'BFS' on a box, charge a premium, and subdivide it into 'True BFS' and 'Power BFS' to sell more gear. But at the end of the day, you're throwing 1/8 oz on a Medium rod with 8–10 lb line... that's just the exact same finesse bass fishing we've all been doing in SoCal for 40 years.

Glad to have you aboard!

Well, maybe. Certainly I did that as well, but I guarantee that the reels (and rods for that matter) that I am using now outperform that setup significantly. The spools are way lighter and the braking systems are vastly improved. I get way more distance and control with them than I ever could with my ceramic equipped calcutta.

I hate spinning rods and don't even own them for bass anymore since the combos I fish are very capable of anything I used to use a spinning reel for. In general I use the same reels for BFS and power BFS (which I have never actually seen marketing for to date BTW) just heaver line and rods to achieve good hooksets on up to 1/4 oz lures. Vinny has seen my gear and I think he will attest to how far the technology has come.

The thing about fishing is that there are a lot of ways to get them in the boat, and whatever you like is what you should do right?

Funny I am one of those old guys your talking about who equipped myself with that same boron rod and ambassadeur reel and yes my social security check has let me upgrade my fishing arsenal. I felt the same way about BFS when I first heard about it. Just rebranding of an old finesse style of light gear I had been fishing for years. I confess I was terribly wrong. The new BFS rods and reels are hands down much better than "back in the day" I now fish almost exclusively with relatively inexpensive Handling bfs rods and Dark Wolf reels. Both in salt and in freshwater. They are a pleasure to throw all day with no fatigue. And as i am driving my old retired ass home I still feel great.

[DarkShadow]

The new BFS rods and reels are hands down much better than "back in the day"

Well yeah. Back then we also had 8-tracks, and now I stream music on my phone. Of course rod and reel technology got better over 30 years—that’s just basic engineering and human progress, not a new fishing discipline.

Nobody is gonna argue that dynamic magnetic braking, ultralight shallow spools, high-modulus graphite, and carbon-infused blanks haven't come a long way since the 90s. Technology definitely makes throwing light stuff effortless now compared to picking out backlashes on 6 lb test back then.

Heck, take rod tech. We went from heavy fiberglass and early generation IM6 graphite to high-tonnage carbon wrapped with cross-ply tape. Rods today are lighter, recover faster, and have insane tip sensitivity. But putting a lighter blank and micro-guides on a casting rod doesn't mean we invented a brand-new way to fish. Don Iovino, Phenix, and G. Loomis were designing light-action casting rods specifically for 6-8 lb test and 1/8 oz baits back in the doodlin' days. The technique and intent were identical—we just have better carbon fiber and rolling technology in our hands today.

My point was never that old gear was superior; it's about the marketing labels. Upgraded materials don't magically make light-line finesse casting a brand-new category.

Take my old early 90s telescopic Fenwick 'Flippin' Stick' HMX that I had 20 lb mono on. Today, I'm using a modern high-modulus blank spooled with heavy braid. Guess what? It’s still called Flipping. We didn't need to rename it 'H-BFS: Heavy-Duty Barrier Flipping System' just because the rod got lighter and the line got stronger!

[Dannicus]

I would argue that you have to call it something to differentiate the BFS reels and rods from other rods and reels on the market and make no mistake there are some huge differences.

I mean today I was throwing a 1/14 oz jerkbait with one of my BFS combos. I simply couldn't do that with my normal bass gear. I think the naming convention is irrelevant. BFS is as good a term as any. Baitcaster Finesse System describes the line of equipment pretty well to my way of thinking. Of course there will always be bleed over, but generally when I hear BFS I have a pretty good understanding of what's being referred to.