Trout on BFS
So, BFS for trout, what is it about those stunning fish we love ?
For me, firstly is the speed and aggression they are capable of, they hit a lure faster than a London pigeon on freshly dropped McDonald's fry, yet on the flip side they can be as uncooperative as your wife the day after a “ A few quick after work beers”, with the lads that turns into a party into the early hours.
Trout on casting gear is the ”origin” of BFS, some may argue it was finesse bass fishing (The Daiwa Pixy), which was designed as a finesse reel for finicky bass, but the first dedicated BFS reel was designed to target trout in Japan on small streams- again by Daiwa. Either way it's a new exciting way to target fish of all sizes and species on casting gear which was only possible on a fixed spool before.
To me trout in small streams on BFS proved to be a big challenge at first, I'm from a big river, power fishing background, so learning to read the water of a small stream compared to the contours on a fish finder was challenging at first, it blew my mind how shallow these fish will actually hold and how a tiny pocket will hold a big fish. I applied some of the skills I learnt targeting yellows in South Africa on fly , the yellow is similar to a chub but with the fight of a barbel!
I started targeting them on conventional BFS gear, my favourite combo was a Speedstyle 64 UL/BF, 1-7g paired with a Daiwa Pixy with a upgraded Ray's shallow spool and 4lb fc.I can comfortably and accurately cast below 3g with this combo and it was great for wild brownies in small streams with little cover behind me. As my journey continued I realised I needed to 'bush bash' (fish tight to cover) a lot more to get quality fish. At this point the Finetail came on to my radar, I went for the 4’10” and paired it with a KTF tuned Aldeberan loaded with 2lb mono. What a dream combo, not only did the small rod make it really easy to conquer the bush and stay snag free while tramping through the nettles and thick shrubbery but it allowed me to do flick casts and pitch into spots that with a long stick would be impossible to get a good presentation.Needless to say the size and number off fish I started catching improved dramatically.
The backbone that little rod has blew me away , I was able to turn big trout easily by applying pressure, the rod absorbs so much of the fight , and the fast tip and sensitive blank ensure you feel every hit.
As for the lures I use well it depends hugely on gut feel for me , I'll swap between 1” plastics on a 1g jig head to 5g ,3” jerkbaits and small cranks. It depends on the water I'm fishing and more importantly the fishes mood. If you're into casting outfits and haven't tried BFS yet you're missing out on a world of fun, but I warn you it's a poison, once you try it there's no looking back.
Respect your catch and enjoy the release as much as the fight, trout can be fragile fish, take time and care on the release!
Jason Vorster