I can already see why! Been out a few times, and don't even think about the spinning setups. Maybe for bank fishing for catfish in the rivers - but i've always used lighter tackle there too!
I'm also looking at higher end BFS reels. Been going back and forth on reviews of the Daiwa Alphas Air TW and the Shimano Aldebaran BFS. Did you consider the Aldebaran and why did you choose the Alphas Air? Or is the preorder reel you mentioned the Aldebaran 2022?
I'll start with why I chose the Alphas Air to start: it seemed to be the best mid-range all around reel that was readily available. As a bank fisherman, casting distance in lakes and rivers is important. So if I was going to have one reel I thought maybe the AATW is it. And I also ordered the Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra for the same reason, and figured comparing the two would make sense. I've been a Shimano fan all my life, but the daiwa lineup of BFS reels seems more intriguing to me. And I didn't immediately consider the Shimano because the new version wasn't supposed to ship until Late February, and I was hoping to get started in early February. The reel I had preordered was the Okuma Hakai. It was supposed to ship Feb. 8th but was delayed until May. But the more I looked into BFS the more I realized I wanted to try out a lot of combos to figure out what really suits my style of fishing, and that various reels are going to be better for certain things. So here's a preview of the reels that are coming this spring: Aldebaran 22, Daiwa Silver Creek (both arriving next week), the Okuma Hakai is supposed to arrive in May, and then the Daiwa Gekkabijin, probably also in May. My goal is to fish with them all and ultimately create a vid for each one giving my perspective as a BFS newb as to why someone might want to start with that reel - and maybe why they wouldn't. And to find my favorite few setups to catch more fish and have more fun doing it! So far, the Dark Wolf has landed me 2 PBs on the same trip. And that's next week's video! This week the goal is to catch fish on the Alphas Air. Appreciate the comment.
@@AaronHuntFishing Appreciate the reply. Subscribed and looking forward to your future videos. Nice to follow someone who is starting out at BFS just like many of us.
How did you end up liking this rod? Could you compare it to the Jenko double down. I’m looking at this rod and hard to know what it feels like since there aren’t many videos of it.
Sold it. About my least favorite rod. Fairly stiff. Decent sensitivity. Jenko double down has a lot of bend, maybe a little less backbone, but better casting with "typical" BFS weights around 1-5g. I really like the double down. Couldn't bond with the Benkei.
@@AaronHuntFishing would you describe it as a "crisp" action? how did it handle the lighter lures? the jenko does have a more moderate action than i like so maybe the benkei is something im interested in.
@@WereBettaThanU maybe crisp is the right word. I like the Jenko, glass, and Shimano Expride - so you may like the Benkei. many people do - which is why I started with it!
Did you encounter any extras fees from eBay when ordering from a Japanese seller? I’m thinking about ordering several bfs items from a seller and he mentioned possible extra fees depending on country it was shipping to but when asked was not sure about the US
I like the combo I think the gold and red complement each other honestly I have a bunch of red/red combos and it’s cool to have different colors that still work together How’s the combo working for you - looking into getting a bfs setup myself
Honestly - so far my least favorite out of 5! But about to switch up a few rod and reel combos to see if the rod or the reel is the culprit! Appreciate the comment, and thanks for watching.
@@DiamondHead2010 just not as smooth as other reels. Feels more "mechanical". Other reels just feel more natural and intuitive. Plus I just simply don't catch as many fish as I do with others. Most of my "Skunks" have come on days I fished with the AATW. So going to switch rods and see how much of it is the Benkei Rod and how much is the AATW reel.
@@AaronHuntFishing always appreciate personal accounts of a product vs marketing, thanks! I was looking at the fancy version of the alphas (the gekkabijin) but for that price I could get an aldebarren For best bang for you budget - what would you recommend?
Well, I plan on getting the Gekka in June - but it is a braided line-focused reel supposedly optimized for casting distance. I plan on using it for lakes and rivers - maybe Steelhead int the fall. The Aldebaran feels like the smoothest, most well rounded reel so far in that range. I'm putting it on the Benkei to target some bass. But i don't have any real negatives in the few times I've had it out. The brakes are VERY sensitive - every click makes a difference. If you are a small creek / stream fisherman - the '21 Daiwa Silver Creek has really impressed me as well. And suprisingly, the Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra has been really impressive; I have a review on it coming out next week. And I can't speak highly enough of Japan Lure shop for your JDM reeels. I'm moving the AATW to the Kuying Teton, which has performed well with one of my two DWU's.
I did not. Kinda stiff and boardy feeling to me. I've landed on rods that are a bit softer and more sensitive for my BFS fishing. Shimano Expride, Obsession Mojo bass, Obsession Sensation Trout, MajorCraft Finetail Glass, and Lemoren Windshadow if you want a flick rod. Those are my favorites so far.
@@surphvision The Silver Creek pairs very well with the MajorCraft Finetail Glass. Here's my silver creek review: ruclips.net/video/-HT5QOHIv4Y/видео.html
@@AaronHuntFishing i just test this rod today i love it An all around rod If i understand you find this rod to fast and not enought sensitive ? I'm looking for rod with good sensitivity do you have advise ? In traditinal brand and in alie brand ?
@@olivierthiriau6674 If you love it, stick with it. So far my favoriters have been the Shimano Expride and for AE, sensitivity, probably the Ace Hawk Venom.
Welcome to the club. Got my first bfs setup 2 years ago. Haven’t picked up my spinning gear ever since.
I can already see why! Been out a few times, and don't even think about the spinning setups. Maybe for bank fishing for catfish in the rivers - but i've always used lighter tackle there too!
You have jumped onto a very slippery and expensive slope! You will enjoy the ride though 👍
@@makeorwellfictionagain3553 just had my best day fishing in probably a decade using BFS. multiple PB's in one day! I'm hooked....
Fish don’t care what it links like, but I’m just like you I want it to look awesome in my hands! Great video! I just bought this rod!
same
Nice! I agree that the fish don’t care what it looks like!!! 👍🏼😂thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching! Sorry for the late reply - your comment got filtered out for some weird reason! Just found it today. :P
Looks like a great setup. Now just some nicer weather so you can try it out.
Thanks Joe. Seems pretty nice. Hopefully stress test it next week with some trout! It's ready to go.
I'm also looking at higher end BFS reels. Been going back and forth on reviews of the Daiwa Alphas Air TW and the Shimano Aldebaran BFS. Did you consider the Aldebaran and why did you choose the Alphas Air? Or is the preorder reel you mentioned the Aldebaran 2022?
I'll start with why I chose the Alphas Air to start: it seemed to be the best mid-range all around reel that was readily available. As a bank fisherman, casting distance in lakes and rivers is important. So if I was going to have one reel I thought maybe the AATW is it. And I also ordered the Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra for the same reason, and figured comparing the two would make sense.
I've been a Shimano fan all my life, but the daiwa lineup of BFS reels seems more intriguing to me. And I didn't immediately consider the Shimano because the new version wasn't supposed to ship until Late February, and I was hoping to get started in early February.
The reel I had preordered was the Okuma Hakai. It was supposed to ship Feb. 8th but was delayed until May. But the more I looked into BFS the more I realized I wanted to try out a lot of combos to figure out what really suits my style of fishing, and that various reels are going to be better for certain things.
So here's a preview of the reels that are coming this spring: Aldebaran 22, Daiwa Silver Creek (both arriving next week), the Okuma Hakai is supposed to arrive in May, and then the Daiwa Gekkabijin, probably also in May.
My goal is to fish with them all and ultimately create a vid for each one giving my perspective as a BFS newb as to why someone might want to start with that reel - and maybe why they wouldn't.
And to find my favorite few setups to catch more fish and have more fun doing it!
So far, the Dark Wolf has landed me 2 PBs on the same trip. And that's next week's video! This week the goal is to catch fish on the Alphas Air.
Appreciate the comment.
@@AaronHuntFishing Appreciate the reply. Subscribed and looking forward to your future videos. Nice to follow someone who is starting out at BFS just like many of us.
How did you end up liking this rod? Could you compare it to the Jenko double down. I’m looking at this rod and hard to know what it feels like since there aren’t many videos of it.
Sold it. About my least favorite rod. Fairly stiff. Decent sensitivity. Jenko double down has a lot of bend, maybe a little less backbone, but better casting with "typical" BFS weights around 1-5g.
I really like the double down. Couldn't bond with the Benkei.
@@AaronHuntFishing would you describe it as a "crisp" action? how did it handle the lighter lures? the jenko does have a more moderate action than i like so maybe the benkei is something im interested in.
@@WereBettaThanU maybe crisp is the right word. I like the Jenko, glass, and Shimano Expride - so you may like the Benkei. many people do - which is why I started with it!
Did you encounter any extras fees from eBay when ordering from a Japanese seller? I’m thinking about ordering several bfs items from a seller and he mentioned possible extra fees depending on country it was shipping to but when asked was not sure about the US
I've had no issues with multiple orders at this point. I can recommend Digitaka and Japan Lure Shop. No extra fees.
I'm a little late to the party, but this rod is available on Tackle Warehouse
Subscribed!!!
thank you.
I like the combo
I think the gold and red complement each other honestly
I have a bunch of red/red combos and it’s cool to have different colors that still work together
How’s the combo working for you - looking into getting a bfs setup myself
Honestly - so far my least favorite out of 5! But about to switch up a few rod and reel combos to see if the rod or the reel is the culprit! Appreciate the comment, and thanks for watching.
@@AaronHuntFishing interesting!
What are the detractors?
@@DiamondHead2010 just not as smooth as other reels. Feels more "mechanical". Other reels just feel more natural and intuitive. Plus I just simply don't catch as many fish as I do with others. Most of my "Skunks" have come on days I fished with the AATW. So going to switch rods and see how much of it is the Benkei Rod and how much is the AATW reel.
@@AaronHuntFishing always appreciate personal accounts of a product vs marketing, thanks!
I was looking at the fancy version of the alphas (the gekkabijin) but for that price I could get an aldebarren
For best bang for you budget - what would you recommend?
Well, I plan on getting the Gekka in June - but it is a braided line-focused reel supposedly optimized for casting distance. I plan on using it for lakes and rivers - maybe Steelhead int the fall. The Aldebaran feels like the smoothest, most well rounded reel so far in that range. I'm putting it on the Benkei to target some bass. But i don't have any real negatives in the few times I've had it out. The brakes are VERY sensitive - every click makes a difference. If you are a small creek / stream fisherman - the '21 Daiwa Silver Creek has really impressed me as well. And suprisingly, the Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra has been really impressive; I have a review on it coming out next week. And I can't speak highly enough of Japan Lure shop for your JDM reeels. I'm moving the AATW to the Kuying Teton, which has performed well with one of my two DWU's.
how do you like the Benkei?
I did not. Kinda stiff and boardy feeling to me. I've landed on rods that are a bit softer and more sensitive for my BFS fishing. Shimano Expride, Obsession Mojo bass, Obsession Sensation Trout, MajorCraft Finetail Glass, and Lemoren Windshadow if you want a flick rod. Those are my favorites so far.
Thank you! I will look in to all of those. I am probably going with the silver creek for a reel. it seems like the best deal for the money.
@@surphvision The Silver Creek pairs very well with the MajorCraft Finetail Glass. Here's my silver creek review: ruclips.net/video/-HT5QOHIv4Y/видео.html
@@AaronHuntFishing i just test this rod today i love it
An all around rod
If i understand you find this rod to fast and not enought sensitive ?
I'm looking for rod with good sensitivity do you have advise ? In traditinal brand and in alie brand ?
@@olivierthiriau6674 If you love it, stick with it. So far my favoriters have been the Shimano Expride and for AE, sensitivity, probably the Ace Hawk Venom.