Check out this article on Fishing Discoveries on the Dark Wolf Ultra.. looks like they have a fix for the weak brakes fishingdiscoveries.com/tsurinoya-dark-wolf-ultra/
Great information! So it wasn't the pivot point difference in the Left hand model but a bit weak brake for my casting style on my DW1. Should try the suggested brake mod and make my DW1 dynamic braking again.
I just did this fix on both the dark knight 2 and the dark wolf ultra, the dark wolf almost seems over braked and the black knight 2 looks like I can start fishing it now. Thanks for the fix!!
Was fishing yesterday with BK2 (full spool of 6lb Fireline) with 5 grams jig and 9 gram popper. The reel casted the lures a long distance with no backlash at all. I tightened the spool tension as necessary with different weight of lures. With 1-2.5 grams lures, the spool tension is adjusted until the lure just dropped slowly from the rod tip. With heavier lures, just adjust the spool tension until the lure dropped from the rod tip to the ground without much backlash. Learnt this tip from an Abu Garcia reel brochure.
With heavier lures (5 grams and above) that can cut the wind, the BK2 can be casted into the wind with no problems. But for casting into the wind with lures below 3 grams, the BK2, and I supposed for most other baitcasters, backlash can happen without any thumbing on the spool.
High. Thanks for the shout out. Very interesting. I guess as anglers what is little or no side to side play/end tension is subjective. I also guess distance expected is. For me with the light lure it appeared to have good distance/accuracy, but again i haven't used high end reels to compare, so what i'm expecting/achieving may be less than yourself. I think i probably do have slightly more end tension and may also thumb the spool more as i'm simulating what i would do when fishing. I do use a longer drop and admittedly do not overhead cast, which obviously generates more initial inertia, so possibly would have given more tangles. Wether using Braid of 0.4# PE / 10lb made a difference i don't know? Will try when have time to see what it is like with a shorter drop off the rod tip in tight areas. Absolutely love your channel it was my initial inspiration to get into BFS. I'm always learning. Have you checked out Paul Gaskell's recent article comparing it to the Alphas air? it's very interesting. I am only using 50m of line which does make a huge difference?
Thanks for the shout out but pretty sure ya just said I Jerry-rigged my BKII...lol 😂 I prefer Charlie-rigged Anyway .. these reels seem to be finicky for sure and I recommend the LingL as of now for the best all around AliExpress reel for sure.. But... But.. these reels can cast down farther and easier than any reel I've seen or used.. even my Aldebaran with the chameleon spool can't reach the same distance with a trout magnet.. I think the smaller diameter spool is what helps there but what also curses these reels even if they had better braking for being a great all around bfs weight caster.. I don't have a problem casting the trout magnet or weights up to as high as bfs is considered without much wind or with the wind.. the only problem I've had with my bk2 is throwing into the wind I do have to go higher on the brakes but that was with 6g and crazy 15mph or so winds... Adding 4 brakes internally allowed me to go from 4 clicks away from full brake to like 7 or 8 so only 3 or 4 clicks doesn't sound like much but if you're only a click or 2 away from being dialed it's worth it . Simple process and I know you have magnets laying around.. Now as far as what I think is wrong.. I think the magnets already in the reel just don't get close enough to the spool but need to do some more testing.. My other BKII and DWU should be in by next week and I'm going to test all three together just to see if at least they're consistent.. my other LingL is also coming with them and hopefully it has a 7.3g spool like advertised. I'll put it up against them with the trout magnet.
Awesome info! Fishing discoveries goes into great deal about how to fix with proper magnet placement and number of extra magnets.... He has Definitely gotten this reel figured out.
Using braid and the magnet modification as shown by Bass N Bonsai, my BK2 casts from a Trout Magnet up to and including 7 grams (1/4 oz) with no problem. The modification is very easy using double stick carpet tape and transforms the reel's usability. I was hoping the DW ultra would be better and I have one coming, but now I know I will have to mod it. Thanks for the timely and informative video. I agree that manufacturers should evaluate their reels more fully before releasing them for sale, but to be able to get a reel that outperforms a Shimano Aldebaran BFS overall for $85.00 plus an easy 15 minute modification seems like a darn good deal.
@@2musiclover534 RUclips has eliminated any link I post in a comments section, but if you go to the Bass N Bonzai channel and check out his last 3 videos, he has the fix covered in them. His latest is video is about an advanced fix, but his earlier one is very easy and quick.
For small diameter spools, you probably need to select a special line. I was winding a braided cord of 0.04 mm. On my channel there is a video of casting 1.7 - 1.1 grams of lures. BUT! There I throw a homemade short stream glass spinning rod 4'3". When I cast with the same set as yours (Dark Wolf Ultra + Ace Hawk Duble C602UL), the reel allowed casting lures weighing up to 0.7 grams. Used external adjustment of magnets from 2 to 4. Before that, I successfully fished with the Fishband Brilliance GH100, casting 1 gram lures without any upgrades. However, Dark Wolf Ultra allows you to throw 1 gram more comfortably. Note that my Dark Wolf Ultra for the right hand is important!
Having seen numerous BFS reel reviews now and watched people struggle with them, even experienced BFS fishermen, I've decided to stick to my fixed spool. I have tried 3 BFS reels and each are temperamental when switching between lure weights. My cheap fixed spool though, casts each and every lure without a birds-nest of a tangle.. each and every time. Underhand flick, overhead, from the side... it works every time without fail. Baitcaster reels, in my experience, are definitely not all they are hyped up to be. I never have to think about thumbing the spool to stop it knotting and it can handle any line I put on it... from 0.06mm braid through to 8lb fluorocarbon... 0.5 gram ultra light lures through to 10 gram - no knots or tangles at any time. So I get to enjoy my fishing as opposed to standing untangling my lines. So I'm putting the three BFS reels on Ebay this week. I'm done with them.
I hope your just keeping the plastic on the rod handle to wind up bass and Bonsai because he says you have QVC hands. Thanks for the content, think I'm going with the lingle for looks and performance
I have a Daiwa ( laguna) reel that used to backlash like crazy. Turns out it was partly me but the problem disappeared when I put it on a softer action rod? Nice rundown nonetheless. Thanks!n
You can keep tightening the spool tensioner much past it having any kind of play and throw much heavier lures.. I use it for pitching and if I want to do a full cast with a 5-inch Senko which is about 3/8 of an ounce I put the magnet on 4 take all play out and just keep adjusting it tighter until it's non-problematic
Hey! Reduce your line to maximal 50 m and then you will cast perfectly without any overruns or backlashes. You can do this also with the Black Knight 2. You can cast so much better. Give it a try and you will see that it works.
I use the the blacknight 2 for lures from just under a gram up to around 3 grams. The breaks throwing that weight I have no issues. I brought it specifically to throw really light lures and it does that no problem. So to me to be able to throw lures that light it's worth the money( but it is very small window for the breaks.
I'm wondering if you got a bad DK2 (cdm..). I bought one with the same rod after your first DK2 video and it throws a 3.5 gram spoon a country mile with the brakes on 4.2, no thumbing at all. I'm probably using about half the amount of line your are and using 4# fluoro though. I also spent a fair amount of time obsessing over the spool tension but I can't imagine its not similar to hows yours is set now, I'm one click back from where the side to side play stops.
You can buy a 10 pack of neodymium magnets from harbor freight for like 4$ and they're strong af magnets and very small Diameter. Would probly pop right into the same slot as the stock magnets. I think that would improve the Performance of your brakes
I really wished you done this test with braid, I'm brand-new to using a baitcaster never mind the ultra and I was casting great with my Dark Wolf, I wasn't a far as your are but I like it. I was using a 5g jighead which helped a lot.
Can’t wait to see the bfs olympics video…. I have a bk2 and have the same issues as you and bass & bonsai….. I have the same 200 magnets if you would like to try them …. I’ll send them to you if you would like to make a video testing them out just let me know…. Thank you again for your videos
Hey brother I really appreciate you making these videos. I love my bfs setup even though it is only a kastking zephyr on a daiwa aird-x rod, but I caught my pb largemouth on it, and boy was it fun. I want to get a better feel now that I know I like bfs, I am thinking about getting the shimano slx A I think it's called. What is your opinion on that reel?
Even with six mags added to the dark knight with 6# line you'll still get over run But I'm going to keep working with it. However Last week I order the Shimano Curado BSF made 2021. Thanks for the info.
Strange on our review the bl2 was overbraking compared to alphas air tw maybe some inconsistency of production. To be honest compared to alphas air tw the build quality and casting convenience is significantly less in black knight2 I was quite disappointed because I did suggest this reel to a friend. Still price wise I think it is a good choice but not as good as I assumed from some RUclips reviews I watched. For instance I would not make my friend buy it if I watched your review before.strange that our reel is over braking and yours is underbraking We used 0.6 pe braid with 2-10 gr lure range , maybe it is related with braid I don’t know 🤷
Ciao caro, sono italiano e non conosco la lingua, come ti sembra questo mulinello da bfs? Lo consigli? Secondo te è il miglior bfs low cost su aliexpress? Mi puoi consigliare una canna da casting low cost da abinare a questo mulinello ?
I have the same question, is he a legit dealer???, google gives me a warning about his site being insecure etc etc.... Would be nice to support him if he's legitimate. Thanks reel test
Would you say the Lingl is the go to budget Ali express bfs reel? I want to get a bfs setup to try it out before I go out and spend a small fortune on the metainium dc with bfs spool.
The point is, these are copycats. Shimano put years In developing FTB system, Daiwa put years in developing the body. This aren't created by engineers, that's the single reason why this reels aren't performing well.
Check out this article on Fishing Discoveries on the Dark Wolf Ultra.. looks like they have a fix for the weak brakes fishingdiscoveries.com/tsurinoya-dark-wolf-ultra/
Great information! So it wasn't the pivot point difference in the Left hand model but a bit weak brake for my casting style on my DW1. Should try the suggested brake mod and make my DW1 dynamic braking again.
I just did this fix on both the dark knight 2 and the dark wolf ultra, the dark wolf almost seems over braked and the black knight 2 looks like I can start fishing it now. Thanks for the fix!!
So now they are being fixed at the factory with the brakes being static instead of dynamic and that seems to have fixed things?
Was fishing yesterday with BK2 (full spool of 6lb Fireline) with 5 grams jig and 9 gram popper. The reel casted the lures a long distance with no backlash at all. I tightened the spool tension as necessary with different weight of lures. With 1-2.5 grams lures, the spool tension is adjusted until the lure just dropped slowly from the rod tip. With heavier lures, just adjust the spool tension until the lure dropped from the rod tip to the ground without much backlash. Learnt this tip from an Abu Garcia reel brochure.
With heavier lures (5 grams and above) that can cut the wind, the BK2 can be casted into the wind with no problems. But for casting into the wind with lures below 3 grams, the BK2, and I supposed for most other baitcasters, backlash can happen without any thumbing on the spool.
High. Thanks for the shout out. Very interesting. I guess as anglers what is little or no side to side play/end tension is subjective. I also guess distance expected is. For me with the light lure it appeared to have good distance/accuracy, but again i haven't used high end reels to compare, so what i'm expecting/achieving may be less than yourself. I think i probably do have slightly more end tension and may also thumb the spool more as i'm simulating what i would do when fishing. I do use a longer drop and admittedly do not overhead cast, which obviously generates more initial inertia, so possibly would have given more tangles. Wether using Braid of 0.4# PE / 10lb made a difference i don't know?
Will try when have time to see what it is like with a shorter drop off the rod tip in tight areas. Absolutely love your channel it was my initial inspiration to get into BFS. I'm always learning. Have you checked out Paul Gaskell's recent article comparing it to the Alphas air? it's very interesting. I am only using 50m of line which does make a huge difference?
Thanks for the shout out but pretty sure ya just said I Jerry-rigged my BKII...lol 😂 I prefer Charlie-rigged
Anyway .. these reels seem to be finicky for sure and I recommend the LingL as of now for the best all around AliExpress reel for sure..
But... But.. these reels can cast down farther and easier than any reel I've seen or used.. even my Aldebaran with the chameleon spool can't reach the same distance with a trout magnet..
I think the smaller diameter spool is what helps there but what also curses these reels even if they had better braking for being a great all around bfs weight caster..
I don't have a problem casting the trout magnet or weights up to as high as bfs is considered without much wind or with the wind.. the only problem I've had with my bk2 is throwing into the wind I do have to go higher on the brakes but that was with 6g and crazy 15mph or so winds... Adding 4 brakes internally allowed me to go from 4 clicks away from full brake to like 7 or 8 so only 3 or 4 clicks doesn't sound like much but if you're only a click or 2 away from being dialed it's worth it . Simple process and I know you have magnets laying around..
Now as far as what I think is wrong.. I think the magnets already in the reel just don't get close enough to the spool but need to do some more testing..
My other BKII and DWU should be in by next week and I'm going to test all three together just to see if at least they're consistent.. my other LingL is also coming with them and hopefully it has a 7.3g spool like advertised. I'll put it up against them with the trout magnet.
Awesome info!
Fishing discoveries goes into great deal about how to fix with proper magnet placement and number of extra magnets.... He has Definitely gotten this reel figured out.
Using braid and the magnet modification as shown by Bass N Bonsai, my BK2 casts from a Trout Magnet up to and including 7 grams (1/4 oz) with no problem. The modification is very easy using double stick carpet tape and transforms the reel's usability. I was hoping the DW ultra would be better and I have one coming, but now I know I will have to mod it. Thanks for the timely and informative video. I agree that manufacturers should evaluate their reels more fully before releasing them for sale, but to be able to get a reel that outperforms a Shimano Aldebaran BFS overall for $85.00 plus an easy 15 minute modification seems like a darn good deal.
Thanks Jay. Do you have a link to that video? Thanks again for posting.
@@2musiclover534 RUclips has eliminated any link I post in a comments section, but if you go to the Bass N Bonzai channel and check out his last 3 videos, he has the fix covered in them. His latest is video is about an advanced fix, but his earlier one is very easy and quick.
@@jayludvigh6958 Thank you!
What's this modification please??
For small diameter spools, you probably need to select a special line. I was winding a braided cord of 0.04 mm.
On my channel there is a video of casting 1.7 - 1.1 grams of lures. BUT! There I throw a homemade short stream glass spinning rod 4'3".
When I cast with the same set as yours (Dark Wolf Ultra + Ace Hawk Duble C602UL), the reel allowed casting lures weighing up to 0.7 grams. Used external adjustment of magnets from 2 to 4.
Before that, I successfully fished with the Fishband Brilliance GH100, casting 1 gram lures without any upgrades. However, Dark Wolf Ultra allows you to throw 1 gram more comfortably.
Note that my Dark Wolf Ultra for the right hand is important!
Having seen numerous BFS reel reviews now and watched people struggle with them, even experienced BFS fishermen, I've decided to stick to my fixed spool. I have tried 3 BFS reels and each are temperamental when switching between lure weights.
My cheap fixed spool though, casts each and every lure without a birds-nest of a tangle.. each and every time. Underhand flick, overhead, from the side... it works every time without fail.
Baitcaster reels, in my experience, are definitely not all they are hyped up to be. I never have to think about thumbing the spool to stop it knotting and it can handle any line I put on it... from 0.06mm braid through to 8lb fluorocarbon... 0.5 gram ultra light lures through to 10 gram - no knots or tangles at any time. So I get to enjoy my fishing as opposed to standing untangling my lines.
So I'm putting the three BFS reels on Ebay this week. I'm done with them.
I hope your just keeping the plastic on the rod handle to wind up bass and Bonsai because he says you have QVC hands. Thanks for the content, think I'm going with the lingle for looks and performance
I have a Daiwa ( laguna) reel that used to backlash like crazy.
Turns out it was partly me but the problem disappeared when I put it on a softer action rod?
Nice rundown nonetheless.
Thanks!n
You can keep tightening the spool tensioner much past it having any kind of play and throw much heavier lures.. I use it for pitching and if I want to do a full cast with a 5-inch Senko which is about 3/8 of an ounce I put the magnet on 4 take all play out and just keep adjusting it tighter until it's non-problematic
Hey! Reduce your line to maximal 50 m and then you will cast perfectly without any overruns or backlashes. You can do this also with the Black Knight 2. You can cast so much better. Give it a try and you will see that it works.
Yeah. Seems like it is a overspool problem. But the brake does seem very weak.
I use the the blacknight 2 for lures from just under a gram up to around 3 grams. The breaks throwing that weight I have no issues. I brought it specifically to throw really light lures and it does that no problem. So to me to be able to throw lures that light it's worth the money( but it is very small window for the breaks.
Even though I grenaded my DWU within 6 months of use, I love this reel.
I'm wondering if you got a bad DK2 (cdm..). I bought one with the same rod after your first DK2 video and it throws a 3.5 gram spoon a country mile with the brakes on 4.2, no thumbing at all. I'm probably using about half the amount of line your are and using 4# fluoro though. I also spent a fair amount of time obsessing over the spool tension but I can't imagine its not similar to hows yours is set now, I'm one click back from where the side to side play stops.
You can buy a 10 pack of neodymium magnets from harbor freight for like 4$ and they're strong af magnets and very small Diameter. Would probly pop right into the same slot as the stock magnets. I think that would improve the Performance of your brakes
I really wished you done this test with braid, I'm brand-new to using a baitcaster never mind the ultra and I was casting great with my Dark Wolf, I wasn't a far as your are but I like it. I was using a 5g jighead which helped a lot.
Can’t wait to see the bfs olympics video…. I have a bk2 and have the same issues as you and bass & bonsai….. I have the same 200 magnets if you would like to try them …. I’ll send them to you if you would like to make a video testing them out just let me know….
Thank you again for your videos
Hey brother I really appreciate you making these videos. I love my bfs setup even though it is only a kastking zephyr on a daiwa aird-x rod, but I caught my pb largemouth on it, and boy was it fun. I want to get a better feel now that I know I like bfs, I am thinking about getting the shimano slx A I think it's called. What is your opinion on that reel?
Thanks for the tips. I pressed out and lifted the Dark Wolf ULTRA magnets. A video about this method is on my channel.
You should try the magnet fix as suggested and give us the results of the magnet fix
Braid is the way. Jbraid 10lb or the best suffix 131 6lb
You know when JDM reel parts from japan start flying all over smokey mtns and you never used Asian portal before
Even with six mags added to the dark knight with 6# line you'll still get over run But I'm going to keep working with it. However Last week I order the Shimano Curado BSF made 2021. Thanks for the info.
In your opinion, which reel casts better? Dark wolf or fishband clamber.
Another great video I have a question what would you do if you needed to find the brake side plate for an exsence DC SS
Contact Plat
Do you have a way to get in touch with them
Strange on our review the bl2 was overbraking compared to alphas air tw maybe some inconsistency of production.
To be honest compared to alphas air tw the build quality and casting convenience is significantly less in black knight2 I was quite disappointed because I did suggest this reel to a friend.
Still price wise I think it is a good choice but not as good as I assumed from some RUclips reviews I watched.
For instance I would not make my friend buy it if I watched your review before.strange that our reel is over braking and yours is underbraking
We used 0.6 pe braid with 2-10 gr lure range , maybe it is related with braid I don’t know 🤷
Ciao caro, sono italiano e non conosco la lingua, come ti sembra questo mulinello da bfs? Lo consigli? Secondo te è il miglior bfs low cost su aliexpress? Mi puoi consigliare una canna da casting low cost da abinare a questo mulinello ?
Yes, he is Adrain Evans... The Constant Angler
Kastking Spartacus plus mu dark wolf mu ?
Is there a deeper (larger capacity) spool for the dark wolf II?
CAN YOU TELL ME HOW I CAN PURCHASE ONE OF THESE SMALL BAITCASTERS? THIS TOO ONE WITH A BAIT CLICKER?
Is Asian portal a good place to order from?
I have the same question, is he a legit dealer???, google gives me a warning about his site being insecure etc etc.... Would be nice to support him if he's legitimate.
Thanks reel test
It is, I bought a scorpion dc from Asian portal fishing back in late December around Christmas and it arrived just 5 days later
Would you say the Lingl is the go to budget Ali express bfs reel? I want to get a bfs setup to try it out before I go out and spend a small fortune on the metainium dc with bfs spool.
where did you see a metanium dc bfs spool? I've been looking for a bfs spool for my scorpion dc but can't find one
Can you share link for the rod
I’ll just get the Curado bfs
Was there fresh mono or the old mono on the Dark Knight? Older mono with no conditioner might explain the difference in the old test vs. the new.
I would bet that is what caused the marked increase in backlashes.
What the weight for Dark Wolf spool? 6.1g?
Hello guys
Can anyone tell me if there are differences between tsurinoya dark wolf 50 and dark wolf ultra 50?
I will never understand some peoples' aversion to just clicking their spool tension up a click or two.
Braid to fluorocarbon leader, you’re welcome
The point is, these are copycats. Shimano put years In developing FTB system, Daiwa put years in developing the body. This aren't created by engineers, that's the single reason why this reels aren't performing well.
Can't see why you wouldn't spend six dollar's to help 70dollar reel perform like a reel worth 3 it's price don't make no sense
You're the problem not the reel, no thumb and you complain when it backlashes? you're not using a curado dc.... what a joke.
Exactly. It's not a spinning reel....thumb the damn spool