Baitcasting Finesse Fishing Part 2 - Setting up

Those who have read the first part of this article will have set their own opinions of the pros and cons of BFS fishing and based on these opinions would have decided whether or not its tackle philosophy they wish to is adopt. This second part is for those who have decided that BFS is the way to go or is keen to try, here we shall discuss the setting up and application of BFS tackle.

Considerations. 

The most logical way to approach the setup of a baitcasting finesse setup is like any other forms of fishing; it should be oriented towards the target species. Note that in every category of tackle, there are equipment that weren’t designed for the species targeted but with modifications can utilised for the task. Starting from the target species, it is logical to work backwards from terminal tackle to the rod and reel.

Assessment process: 

1. Type of fish: considerations here would be the types of natural prey for particular fish, the depths in which the quarry feed and the characteristics of the fish that would affect the fight post hook set, e.g. Barramundi with their toothless yet abrasive mouth, mangrove jacks that strike close to cover and needs only a short powerful run to reach snags, mackerel itch their blistering runs and razor teeth etc etc.

2. Terminal tackle: The hooks required to take the fish. In the beginning of this BFS journey, bass finesse lures from megabass, bassday and cultiva were used in their stock form. Although they had little trouble taking bream, sooty grunter and perch, but when it came to the heavy hitters such as the mangrove jack and barramundi, the size 10 or smaller hooks were quickly taken past their capabilities with the lures trebles seldom usable after one fish. I have since adapted lures to optimise both hook set efficiency and keep the line away from the fishes mouth.

3. Line: Major considerations here is the typical distances the target species run and the cover (snags and vegetation) available in vicinity of the fishing area. Braided lines can help increase line capacity without adding too much to the total spool weight but keep in mind that with some spools braided lines are not advisable as the pressure of successive wraps around the spool can deform these very thin walled spools. Hence when choosing spools in some cases particular reels considerations of target species is pertinent.

4. Rod: With rods the major factor is the casting distances required. This is quite simple, the further you need to cast the long it should be. A lot of anglers like shorter rods for accurate for close point targets but in these instances I prefer to pitch the bait into location so for myself, it's a case of picking something as long as possible and still be comfortable.

5. Reel/spool: this last component is the one that is most discussed and usually when new a new product is introduced, the most excitement is garnered, yet it can also be the most difficult component to pick. Since the conception of BFS tackle in Japan was to target trout and bass, both fresh water only species, most of stock BFS reels are not rated for saltwater use with spools and other parts utilising magnesium alloys to lower weight. A lot of the lighter spools have very thin walls with a large percentage of it surface drilled out to minimise spool inertia, these reels can be quite restrictive in line choices with braid and even heavier monofilament not recommended. What makes it difficult is that these restrictions usually translate to a reel with incredible performance! The best example comes to mind is the Daiwa x KTF T3 Air, with 5.6g spool it is not recommended for salt or brackish, using braid or line heavier than 8lb or longer than 50m creates a risk of deforming the spool, even intricacies such as spooling with more than 500g of tension or pulling on the line to free a snagged lure is not advisable, but follow those guidelines and a reel that seeming defies the laws of physics and aptly nicknamed the "AirBender".

For those who already own a small low profile baitcaster, the chances are if your reel is from Abu Garcia, Daiwa or Shimano, there are shallow spools available for a BFS conversion.

Spool braking systems 

Casting brakes are the thing that prevents birdsnest when casting, every brand has the variations and combinations of brakes but there are essentially 2 main types, magnetic and centrifugal. As a general rule centrifugal brakes are better at controlling the spool at the beginning of the cast where as magnetic brakes are better at controlling the latter part of the cast. What does that mean to an angler? It means centrifugally controlled reels are more forgiving to hard snapping casts but magnetic brakes controls the spool better when casting into wind. There are reels with both brakes, with shallow spools available however they do weigh a little more. Whether this is due to the braking mechanism installed on spool (both, centrifugal weights and inductor plate) or the spools available is to be further investigated. Currently one aftermarket company Avail has a simple but effective solution of using the spool wall itself as the inductor, this has resulted in stronger, uniform spools, that is competitive in spool weight without drilling of the spool wall.

The setup of a BFS system.

With so many considerations the variations in choices; like fishing tackle in general, can be staggering. For purpose of competitions or a day out targeting a specific species, those considerations is used as a guide for setting up. However one setup I wish to share is my general purpose setup, a rig that I would take on trips and just fish without a targeted species with versatility in both species and baits in mind.

Reel: Shimano Core 50mg7. Although it has the same frame design as the Curado 50e and Chronarch 50e, the Core 50 mg7 has frame and handle side plate constructed from magnesium alloy, hence it's much lighter than its siblings which balances out the rod of choice perfectly. Furthermore a lighter overall systems translates to less fatigue during long sessions of fishing. Besides its svelte form and weight it also has fast but torque oversized main gear allowing a large aftermarket carbon fibre drag disc. Reliable, constant drag performance is critical to protect the very light lines used in BFS, especially when up against small pelagics with their often blistering runs.

 

Spool bearings: Hedgehog 1030 AIR finesse bearings. These bearings have balls and inner race in the smallest size possible, to minimise spool and bearing inertia ( note: the outer race is heavy but since it doesn't spin it isn't part of the kinetic system ). This allows less effort for spool to start up and slow down, reducing effort in cast and spool braking to prevent professional overruns. According to manufacturers, these bearings assists in a flatter flight trajectory with the lure casted.

Spool: Avail Microcast ALD 0929 Spool. Weighing in at 8g and capable of holding 50m of 0.31mm line, it is a good balance of weight and capacity for general purpose fishing. This capacity allows for the UL top shot. More on that later.

Casting brakes: Avail SHSC-05A step less magnetic brake. Great control in headwinds and since nothing is added to the spool, minimises spool weight. Can fit up to eight magnets and adjustments can be made on the fly by screwing the magnet holder in and out ( increases and decreases the distance between the magnets and the spool). The only downside is that it requires more modifications to the reel compared to the simple drop in process of a centrifugally braked spool.

Line: UL top shot: for optimal casting performance minimal line is best. However when attempting to overcome 20-30lb fish on 8lb line, capacity is needed to tame those runs. the solution is a UL top shot.

Firstly a metre or two of monofilament is anchored on as braid will slip on the spool, this is followed by that it is PE line as thin as possible with optimally a PE line with its knot strength breaking roughly that of the top shot monofilament's breaking knot strength. then last, a casting length of roughly 30-35m of monofilament is wound on top. I will use my personal setup as an example. I start of with 1m of the most supple nylon in 4lb strength, next I use 50m either Tasline All White or SAS braid 6lb which has a true breaking strain of over 8 and more importantly when employed in a FG knot breaks at about 6lbs. This correlates to the 35m of fluorocarbon 8lb where by using a San Diego Jam knot or palmar knot, an average breaking strain of 6.1 is achieved. This allows runs of up to 85m, there is no leader knots to interfere with the guides and levelwind and lastly 35m of monofilament stretches on load which acts as a shock absorber that tires out the fish quicker and keeps trebles pinned to the fish, it also helps cushion the shock of big hits and hook sets where a joining knot on a short leader may fail. When I happen to snag or my quarry finds suitable cover to stop the fight, I know the weakest link is the terminal knot ( unless the fish ran past the length of the monofilament ) and after breaking retying is a quick process without having to deal with tying on a new leader.

Rod: I use the Majorcraft Volkey BFS 692. It length is a balance between manoeuvrability and distance. Equipped with microguides, it has very low tip weight which gives it very crisp casting characteristics. With a soft tip yet powerful lower sections, it is adept at protecting the line yet allows decent force to be imparted on the fish. Furthermore. Being a 2 piece rod it can easily be dismantled for remote fishing spots where the insertion phase is either on foot or by mountain bike. 

Lure: whatever fancied at the time!

I hope that information and methodology described here will work for readers as well as it had for me. Keep in mind this techniques are not the only solution that with a virgin technique tweaks and improvements are constantly developed. B'n'B hopes to stay at the forefront of this development and keep readers informed as it arrives.

 This has been repoduced with kind permission of Martin Lo from www.boar-barra.com we are in the midst of writting a larger piece on bait finesse and findings between the continents and the differences and similarities contained so watch this space :)

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