My Baitfinesse Core is finally complete with the arrival of my Semperfi finesse platinum carbon handle. I'm overall really satisfied with the finalized product in terms of looks and feel however performance on the water would be the most important and final trial to determine success of the project. Thus it was time for a final shakedown and a test of it's ability.
Project BaitFinesseCore
Volkey VKC-652UL BFS 3-10lb
Sufix 832 6lbs mainline
Berkley Vanish 8lb shock leader
It took about 3 casts to finalized a balanced casting setting without really pushing it, resulting in a user friendly, moderate thumbing setting. I clipped on a Zipbaits Rigge 46S and the first twitch upon landing resulted in an instantaneous bite. Hook was set and the fish was on. What a great start for the day and the reel.
I tried casting a range of lures from 1/16oz jighead rigged mebaru rubber to several plugs ranging from 2.3g to 2.8g. Casting of the BFC was superb and i have to say i was pretty much blown away. It exceeds my px68 in every way (both reel spooled with same line, leader and paired to the same rod however the px68 finesse spool has not been tested yet). The overall distance was quite a bit further while maintaining controlled, smooth and effortless casting.
The high retrieve ratio on the shimano HEG gearing made retrieval a breeze and provided lots of power. While Daiwa reels had a very direct mechanical feel whilst cranking, Shimano reels emphasized on buttery smoothness. Neither offered any form of edge over the other as it boils down to preference of feel.
The bite was plentiful today however nothing of notable size was landed thus the drag capability have not been put to the test as yet. However i'm extremely pleased with the reel and can't seem to shake off thoughts of going fishing and using it again.
Some of my good buddies catches for the day.
Hi bro! I really luv your Core's handle! I also got a Core 51mg and rite now looking for upgrading my stock handle too.How does it's feel on the field? Better than an original one? 90mm?
ReplyDeleteHi bro sorry for the late reply as i've been very busy with exams. In terms of performance wise you will hardly notice any difference from the stock handle. The Semper Fi handle is 85mm, Core's handle length is 80mm while aldebarans are 84mm. The main difference would be the slight weight reduction and the dressed up look.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps! and tight lines always =D
Thank you for poisoning me, and now, my semper-fi carbon handle are on it's way to my home,hehe.
ReplyDeleteRegarding on the shallow spool, why did you choose the Avail spool rather than Yumeya BFS spool? Yumeya BDS spool come complete with svs brake which I think much more plug and play than using the stock spool's brake.
Don't worry man you'll be one happy man when u receive the handle! i chose the avail spool mainly because i wanted to keep my options open just in case i would like to pick up the avail mag brakes in the future. Secondly the colored options from avail had me hooked. My original intention was to do a bait finesse tuning based on the Abu revo Aurora using zpi parts but ended up with the core and couldn't be any happier =D
ReplyDeleteYes bro!
ReplyDeleteI already got Steez 100SHL and just buying a Core 51 for the sake of brand & system comparison and trowing light lures. And now I found myself loving the Core more than my expensive Steez!
I found out, the Core is really easy to tuned out without having a regular backlash.Steez need more fine tune to prevent backlash compared to Shimano's cast-and-forget old school centrifugal brake system without even sacrificing my casting distance.
But Daiwa win when it's come to smoothy retrieve.Enough ranting and now my Steez will only be my backup reel.haha.Will get the yumeya spool in near future to complete my project.
Tq for sharing bro and do update this sweet blog!
Anytime bro! i myself, have been a daiwa person most part of my life with the exception of some scorpions and antares in the past. However the overall feel of the core in every aspect is really good though i find the aldebaran feels somewhat more refined but the core makes up with the awesome color. I wish you all the best and hope you can complete your bait finesse project soon as well!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy my humble fishing logs and random articles i churn out. Tight lines always! =D