UL Baitcasting setup/ Finesse tactics for Ultra spooky fish

[ISS A SQUID!!!!]

Hey guys I'm thinking about running an Ultra light/Light BC setup, ideally I want to throw small weedless plastics and jerks, I am pretty set on the reel, which will have some Kattobi air bearings on the spool, plus anything else I need to cut down weight, I'm looking at running 10lb Fluoro. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience in light BC rods, I'm thinking of going custom but I'm keen on some input of ideas. Also the fish I've been chasing are in crystal clear water, they're larger and very smart, and very cunning, I'm out of ideas on how to catch them. They seem to spook even at the line coming across the surface, hence why I want to run 10lb fluro. Does any one have any input into what I could try? Sorry about how vague it is, any sort of help appreciated.

[mr perch]

What are you trying to catch mate ?

[Slazmo]

10 FC that's heaps heavy. I'm running 6 lb FC and that's heaps for flatties etc around in the Broadwater on my Calcutta 50B and BFS Volkey.

Depending on your intended species it's all relying on.

Andrew

[ISS A SQUID!!!!]

10lb is about as light as I can go here, heaps of sooties around 50cm in tight structure, but I'm after JP, they aren't the same JP you would encounter in the north, these are ultra shy and even smarter, usually they will wait until everything else has tried to have a crack at your lure, it all boils down to luck I think, I've been lucky enough to land a 50cm model but there are bigger ones here that are so ridiculously smart it's doing my head in, they spook on just about every lure, so I'm trying to think out side the box and maybe see if anyone else has a few thoughts

[ISS A SQUID!!!!]

I was using spin but I'm far more comfortable and accurate with a BC

[ISS A SQUID!!!!]

I want to run 10lb straight through on a Pixy

[redfinfisho]

Chuck some pics of the 50cm jp love seeing the monsters

[Martin Lo]

Originally Posted by ISS A SQUID!!!!

I want to run 10lb straight through on a Pixy

10lbs fine, I use either 8lb AbrasX (hard stuff), or 12lb Tatsu. Try that on a light spinner and you'd have about a 3m cast. Heavy straight FC is definitely a bait casting affair.

For the bigger units in snags + flow baitcaster is definitely the go. There is however 2 reels that will outcast a tuned pixy straight out of the box, the Aldebaran BFS XG Limited with the SS spool

And the Daiwa SS Air.



Here running a 8lb on a purpose built rod and reel.



For the spooky smart buggers something less common and critter like the Yamamoto Hula double tail (or the keitech/damiki copy)in the pic above fools them easily enough, and when moving bait fails I go full finesse with 3" senkos.

I'll be ready do it again soon ISS, let me know if you wanna pair up.

[Martin Lo]

Originally Posted by Slazmo

10 FC that's heaps heavy. I'm running 6 lb FC and that's heaps for flatties etc around in the Broadwater on my Calcutta 50B and BFS Volkey.

Depending on your intended species it's all relying on.

Andrew

Like this ?
VKC BFS /w Calcutta, conquests 50S 4lb sniper FC

Core 50mg7 /w ALD0928RR 4lb Shooter FC
Can be done right down to 2lb but with VKSs you'd need a heap of room to run and no structure, might be ok for structure YFBs tho.

Big, dominant JPs hogs the best snags with a decent flow, 10lb ain't a bad way to start along with a rod that casts light like a volkey UL and pull like a battler ML.

[FTP]

I think that you will really struggle with 10lb fc and weightless plastics. The only real concern that I have when using straight through fc (I run a 3lb and a 6lb setup) is line control. The heavier the fc the more weight you generally need when casting. If fc isn't kept under a bit of tension it causes quite mysterious levels of birdsnest. Sometimes you have odd loops that are metres below where you cast i the spool, e.g a 15m cast might reveal a loop that is another 10m into the line laid on the spool that wasn't there the last cast...

X2 for the reels that Martin has suggested, if you haven't used a lot of really light bc setups there really is no point in upgrading bearings and spools until you re-learn how to use your thumb. I have seen a number of people with all the upgrades casting with full magnetic controls and spool tension dialled right up, which negates the increased spool speed they are trying to achieve. Buy a Baitcaster with centrifugal brakes and remove most of them if you can't control that with fc then don't bother upgrading bearings etc.

As for the rod, everyone seems to love those Volkey BFS rods. If you want a custom rod, Weapons (on Facebook) makes really good rods for qld conditions. A 10lb fluorocarbon ultra-light Baitcaster with a soft tip to throw weightless plastics but a powerful backbone to turn fish is either going to come from the USA or custom built. Or get a Daiwa Steez megatop.

[ISS A SQUID!!!!]

Thanks guys, big help, there is little to no run where I go, giving them plenty of time to see what I'm using for them, I've watched them slowly follow my lure then dart away as soon as they think something is wrong, it's also very weedy, with a big log jam, I've been trying to catch this one fish for a long time, it will be a great personal achievement to finally do so, thanks for the tips.

[Martin Lo]

that mysterious deep nest is the result of either too little CC tension, too much or too little tension on initial spooling, or simply having the filler spool pointing the wrong way and spooling against its natural lay. Or a combination of a few.

1. When spooling have the filler spool facing so the line leaves from the top like an 8 track (On spin reels do the reverse).

2. Spool with tension but not enough to stretch the line.

3. Bed the line in afterwards with max brakes & CC casting heavier weight.

4. If your getting overrun in the beginning of the cast don't be a hero and turn up the casting brakes, if the overrun is occurring late into the cast tightened up that CC.

And yes, both Weapons Customs and CKR builds the Skunk BFSes.

On the JDM side, I have a friend in JP that makes and fishes BMs for a living, he reckons the Steez Machine-gun Cast Type 1 is great for your needs too. I believe him.

Originally Posted by FTP

I think that you will really struggle with 10lb fc and weightless plastics. The only real concern that I have when using straight through fc (I run a 3lb and a 6lb setup) is line control. The heavier the fc the more weight you generally need when casting. If fc isn't kept under a bit of tension it causes quite mysterious levels of birdsnest. Sometimes you have odd loops that are metres below where you cast i the spool, e.g a 15m cast might reveal a loop that is another 10m into the line laid on the spool that wasn't there the last cast...

X2 for the reels that Martin has suggested, if you haven't used a lot of really light bc setups there really is no point in upgrading bearings and spools until you re-learn how to use your thumb. I have seen a number of people with all the upgrades casting with full magnetic controls and spool tension dialled right up, which negates the increased spool speed they are trying to achieve. Buy a Baitcaster with centrifugal brakes and remove most of them if you can't control that with fc then don't bother upgrading bearings etc.

As for the rod, everyone seems to love those Volkey BFS rods. If you want a custom rod, Weapons (on Facebook) makes really good rods for qld conditions. A 10lb fluorocarbon ultra-light Baitcaster with a soft tip to throw weightless plastics but a powerful backbone to turn fish is either going to come from the USA or custom built. Or get a Daiwa Steez megatop.

[Martin Lo]

Although not really ultra light finesse, here I was throwing small square bills, 3.5" unweighted swim senkos and on a 6-12lb rod on 16lb straight FC.

A 50cm JP would pull just as hard if not harder than this jack in just as tight cover albeit a little less abrasive an environment. I'd use as heavy a fluoro as I can without ruining the action, with the right rod and the right shallow spool casting distance/accuracy ain't a problem.

[Allsorts]

Just a few tactical thoughts (I'll likely never throw at a JP sadly).

1. Low light - I've caught super tough fish near their hidey holes right at dark - they're less spooky and often more inclined to strike
2. A BFS rod with a solid graphite tip might be a little better at handling the unweighted SPs - example = Evergreen Stingray, I think Jackson also does solid-tip models
3. Use Gary Yamamoto plastics - their salt and sand loading means they are heavier than anything else so they cast better size-for-size. 3" Senko, 3" Ika and 3" grub all heavy enough for BFS and in clear or smoke quite subtle weedless presentations are possible - Martin has already made the point on this I think...
4. A short (8') 6-7wt fly rod can be deadly accurate and with 10-12' leader and a fly you have the best finesse presentation of all and great control. As the Harro said 'a flyline is a handline you can cast'.

[Martin Lo]

I did a quick settings and casting guide, posted it up to:

http://www.breammaster.com/forum/sho...634#post662634

Will do the Q&A for more in depth setting up there.
Hope it clarifies a few points in question