Baitcasting finesse fishing. Part 1

For those among us who are tackle hounds for import tackle or frequents browsers of fishing forums, you may have heard of the term Baitcast Finesse Casting or Systems, or BFS for short. And among those who enjoy fishing light gear and relishing the skill involved in winning the fight on light tackle, one had to ask; what is this BFS? For the record, although I will try to write this article as subjectively as possible, the BFS concept has yours truly hooked line and lure. 

So what is BFS? Simply put, baitcast finesse system is the use of specialized baitcasting equipment to present light lures accurately in a subtle manner. With BFS fishing, the majority of techniques used in bass fishing could be applied, from jerkbaits and deep cranks to dropshotting and swimbaiting, techniques used in regular angling are used in BFS- only smaller and a lot lighter. 

Baitcast finesse systems were first used in Japan to effectively target species that are heavily pressured by overfishing. Originally begun using trout and panfish gear, anglers were casting baits weight a maximum of 1/4 oz. (7g) however 1/8 (3.5g) or even 1/16 oz is the norm. Casting baits usually reserved for spinning or spincast gear was suddenly possible with traditional baitcast reels.

Why bother? This is something one must ask- what is wrong with ultra light spin setups ? Well there are advantages and disadvantages among both of them, more on that later.

Many finesse fishermen will note that finesse does not necessarily mean small, after all, a 6" plastic on a dropshot rig is still a finesse setup. So why do BFS fisherman employ such small and light artificial baits? Smaller baits offer several advantages, those being:

1. Smaller and consequently lighter lures are less likely to spook a fish, which is desirable in heavily pressured fisheries. They also tend to illicit strikes by a larger range of sizes and species of predatory fish as well.

2. Because of their subtle presence, they can be worked faster than large lures without spooking fish off the bite and hence allow the angler to cover more water in the same period of time.

3. Lighter baits require lighter equipment and, over a long day spanning hundreds of casts, lighter baits reduce fatigue through reduced effort in casting and retrieving. This subsequently allows alertness and accuracy to be sustained for longer periods. 

Small lures doesn’t necessarily equate to small fish….be prepared!

Baitcasting finesse systems were first devised to target bass in Japan, however they have been very effective targeting other species including fish much larger than bass in both fresh and saltwater. They can be seen as an alternative to a light or ultralight spin setup. Indeed, BFS devotees often use lures designed for light spin rigs. In a bream fisherman's context, lures such as Megabass Live-X Smolts or baby Griffons are all within the capacity of BFS setups. 

A typical BFS lure: Megabass Live-X Smolt 3.5g jerkbait. 

Which leads to the $64k question; why BFS when there is plenty of ultralight spin equipment readily available? For the record, the author prefers BFS compared to light spinners but by no means states that BFS setups are superior to UL spin. What can be done however is a subjective analysis of the advantages of the two types of equipment 

BFS vs UL spin comparison.

 

Author’s UL spin setup of choice, a Shimano Vanquish C2000s slung on a Daiwa black label SSS 641LXS … the best of the big 2 

Casting weight and distance: When it comes to casting the extremely lightweights say 1/32 jigs, UL spin will cast easier and further that BFS lures ( with exception of 1 or 2 elite BFS reels ) however for practical distances crank baits around the 2g region are easy to cast with BFS reels.

Winner: UL spin.

 Price: For now, light spinning gear is by and large much more affordable than BFS equipment. Where the cheapest BFS setup will cost around $400 AUD, a Sienna FD and 1-3kg or 2-5kg rod could be owned for a fraction of the cost. That said however, even the entry level BFS gear are of a premium standard and the conversion of a regular baitcaster into a BFS reel is very affordable - an expanded purchase and upgrade guide in Part 2.

Winner: UL spin

 Ease of Use: This aspect can be rather debatable, baitcasters can and will birdsnest, and spin reels get wind knots. Yours truly is quite adept at not getting overrun and rectifying birdsnests, but hasn't figured out how to prevent wind knots...and dread doing the "tug and pray" each time a wind knot occurs. What can be said however, is that BFS reels are outfitted with extremely light spools and cast light baits- hence there is very little spool inertia (i.e. the spool keeps spinning after the bait has stopped). This results in a reel that is resistant to backlash and when it does happen the birds nest is not overly severe. At the top end of the BFS reels, thumbing is not required as the brakes will sufficiently stop the spool once the lure hits the water.

Winner: Tie

Lure Presentation:

The accuracy and subtlety in presenting the lure is highly subjective to the user experience. Depending the style of reel used most, some anglers will swear by thumb manipulation whereas others will maintain that feathering a spin reel can approach similar levels of control. BFS tends to favour low flat trajectories but for pitching and skipping lures, these techniques are much easier to achieve with spin reels. For this who like to power fish their way through snags, working the lure only in the immediate strike zones, BFS can be a joy to use. With rapid short accurate casts, rapid transition from casting to retrieving and the ability to cast, jig and retrieve one handed- it is possible to launch half a dozen casts at a snag from multiple angles while drifting past.

Winner BFS. 

Choice of lines:

When it comes to lines the main deciding factor between BFS and light spin will be line capacity required. For open water such as light inshore jigging, spin reels definitely hold the advantage. Light spools is the key to BFS fishing and the compromise is limited capacity. On most shallow spools, 80yd of 8lb line is the maximum capacity with super shallow spools holding approximately half that.

It is common for BFS aficionados to spool 35-40m of line for maximum casting efficiency.

Very light, very shallow spools.

However, the variety of lines that could be used on a BFS reel is it's advantage. Unlike spin reels baitcasting reels do not twist the line, which can create problems when using stiffer or thicker lines. This is a major advantage for targeting species that will grind through line- barramundi being an example. For those who prefer fishing light with straight mono and especially fluorocarbon lines BFS is by far the most efficient system.

Lastly, due to its small capacity, it is relatively quick, easy and economical to either turn over or replace line after each outing or in event of tangles- ensuring that the reel is spooled with pristine line at the optimum length. For uses with braid coupled with a leader, a leader much longer than the rod is possible as the leader knot is less likely to cause problems during the cast in a baitcasting setup, as opposed to spin setups where the knot pulls on loose loops. These are a major cause of wind knots. For those that worry about bringing in a fish that likes to run, there are adaptations to do so...more on that in part 2.

Winner: BFS 

Fighting the fish:

Post hookset, BFS being a baitcasting setup provides a more effective solution to controlling a fish. With the reel close to the rod and usually held by the reel, it is easier to change direction of pull when attempting to turn a fish around. Furthermore the typical use of a long leader or purely plastic lines allow for more shock absorption using the "belly" of the line, reducing the chance if hooks pulled and knot failure.

The author’s first foray in to BFS. A modified Shimano Core 50mg7 mounted on a Majorcraft Volkey BFS 692 XUL. On the exterior the Core 50mg7 looks stock, inside however it is loaded with parts from Avail and Hedgehog studio

 Now that the pros and cons of BFS setups are laid out and examines part 2 will divulge into the choice of kit, setups and rigging. Also, as the author regularly fishes in barramundi country, adaptations made to BFS setups to target species much larger than manufacturers ever intended for bait finesse. 

This articles has been reproduced with kind permission from Martin Lo from www.boar-bara.com , please also feel free to check the 2nd installment of this piece in out techniques section here