3/4 piece ultra light baitcaster rods? 2025

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

I'd love to build up a super-compact ultralight BFS rig but i'm not able to find much online..
am I after something that doesn't exist? I can find lots of 2 piece but nothing that breaks down smaller..

fishwizzard reply :

I know there are some multipart trout casting rods out of Japan, Diawa has one in their Wise Stream line.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Ive seen a lot online 3 pc but out of china dont know what quality they are seem to be around the 25 to 40 $ mark

craww reply :

I put casting guides on a 1-piece spinning rod and it functions well. That may be an option for you if nothing else. I thought the lack of a trigger would bug me but it really doesn't- TBH I kindve like being able to wrap my fingers around the rod & sidearm cast it. Maybe it would be an issue on a stouter rod w/more resistance?

Admittedly my threadwork wont win any beauty contests, but it slings some of my 1/10 oz cranks when creekfishing better than any rod I've used.

Good luck with your search.

WRB reply :

The market is too small for L or ML bait casting travel rod, UL travel spinning rods would be available over the counter. You can try contacting Fenwick or St Croix if they make 3 piece L or UL rod blank or a site sponsor DVT custom rod builder.

Tom

fishwizzard reply :

This is the Daiwa rod I was thinking of:

https://www.finesse-fishing.com/daiwa-wise-stream-45ulb-3.html

On 6/3/2019 at 9:12 PM, Maxximus Redneckus said:

Ive seen a lot online 3 pc but out of china dont know what quality they are seem to be around the 25 to 40 $ mark

The Kuying rods sold on Aliexpress are amazing for the money, at twice the price I would still buy them. I don’t know if they have a UL travel casting rod but it would be worth a look.

WRB reply :

On 6/4/2019 at 2:25 AM, fishwizzard said:

This is the Daiwa rod I was thinking of:

https://www.finesse-fishing.com/daiwa-wise-stream-45ulb-3.html

The Kuying rods sold on Aliexpress are amazing for the money, at twice the price I would still buy them. I don’t know if they have a UL travel casting rod but it would be worth a look.

Good find, didn't know Daiwa made a UL bait casting rod.

Tom

fishwizzard reply :

On 6/4/2019 at 2:42 AM, WRB said:

Good find, didn't know Daiwa made a UL bait casting rod.

Tom

The Japanese branch makes all sorts of rods that never make it to the US.

I wouldn’t say that ultralight is casting is super common over there, but it’s enough that there are a couple dozen companies cranking out high-end rods and reels specifically for ultralight baitcasting for trout.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrQAtakEbQa-YZ6zmESV92w

Check out this guy’s channel. It’s almost all UL casting gear being fished in some unbelievably gorgeous terrain in Japan.

BaitFinesse reply :

The Tsurinoya Dragon rods are pretty good and come in a 6' and 5' UL 2pc. Once broken down they come out to 3 feet long or under. That's pretty compact.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

Oops accidentally deleted the wrong post. Thought I’d found something close to home (Australia) but it ended up being a spin rod.

Thanks for the responses guys!

The Daiwa wise stream looks great, wondering if 4’5” would be too short tho?

CrankFate reply :

Get a JDM telescopic rod. These are better than a normal multi piece rod. And they make these down to small extreme finesse sizes that don’t exist anywhere else. I’m sure you can find them if you search hard enough.

fishwizzard reply :

On 6/4/2019 at 4:47 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

Thought I’d found something close to home (Australia)

Oh, well then check out Bone World rods then. They have a multi-piece light power casting rod that is apparently quite nice. It may not be light enough for what you’re looking for, but you should be able to get it quite easily down there.

A lot of the Japanese trout rods are very short because they’re fishing some incredibly narrow waters. Definitely check out some of those videos that I liked, it will give you an idea of what these rods can do.

I believe there is a longer model of the wise stream travel rod, somewhere around 6 feet I think.

Armtx77 reply :

Fenwick has one. I have one in their HMG spinning configuration and I have landed some nice fish, including the one in my profile picture.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

On 6/4/2019 at 7:40 AM, fishwizzard said:

Oh, well then check out Bone World rods then. They have a multi-piece light power casting rod that is apparently quite nice. It may not be light enough for what you’re looking for, but you should be able to get it quite easily down there.

A lot of the Japanese trout rods are very short because they’re fishing some incredibly narrow waters. Definitely check out some of those videos that I liked, it will give you an idea of what these rods can do.

I believe there is a longer model of the wise stream travel rod, somewhere around 6 feet I think.

that channel is the thing that really caught my eye, been watching them non stop for the last couple of weeks!!

how rad are their setups?!!!!
I think it's best to sit on it for a while (trout season closes here next Monday), want to finish my light Tatula 100 lightweight spool/2-6kg 6' rig before I start working on the next setup (I already have 4 spin and 4 fly setups)

Update:

actually stuff it it, just bought the 4'5" Daiwa YOLO, think it would look rad with a Daiwa Air Stream Custom (I'd love to put a Shimano Conquest BFS on it but dunno if I can stomach a Daiwa/Shimano combo cos I'm a big Daiwa fan)

fishwizzard reply :

On 6/4/2019 at 11:15 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

Update:

actually stuff it it, just bought the 4'5" Daiwa YOLO, think it would look rad with a Daiwa Air Stream Custom (I'd love to put a Shimano Conquest BFS on it but dunno if I can stomach a Daiwa/Shimano combo cos I'm a big Daiwa fan)

I think the ASC would be a perfect for for that rod. The tiny spool capacity is well suited to an ultra short rod.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

My only concerns with the Air Stream Custom is that it’s freshwater only and it’s quite chunky and modern looking. A Shimano Conquest or AG Ambassadeur would definitely get me the astheic I’m after. Ill try my Tatula with the honeycomb spool and see how it goes

fishwizzard reply :

On 6/5/2019 at 6:16 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

My only concerns with the Air Stream Custom is that it’s freshwater only and it’s quite chunky and modern looking. A Shimano Conquest or AG Ambassadeur would definitely get me the astheic I’m after. Ill try my Tatula with the honeycomb spool and see how it goes

I don’t know what makes it fresh-water only, as far as I know it has an aluminum frame and plastic sideplates. Maybe the bearings?

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

On 6/5/2019 at 6:46 AM, fishwizzard said:

I don’t know what makes it fresh-water only, as far as I know it has an aluminum frame and plastic sideplates. Maybe the bearings?

"Freshwater only (ball bearings are all high precision stainless steel bearings, not anti-rust treated)"

No point trying to fight it...Shimano Conquest BFS is it

fishwizzard reply :

On 6/5/2019 at 7:07 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

"Freshwater only (ball bearings are all high precision stainless steel bearings, not anti-rust treated)"

No point trying to fight it...Shimano Conquest BFS is it

Hah. I am sure the Conquest BFS will be great as well.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Ceramics in a used BFS reel ...saltwater wont bother them ive seen sets go for 12 bucks

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

On 6/5/2019 at 6:23 PM, fishwizzard said:

Hah. I am sure the Conquest BFS will be great as well.

Currently looking at a Daiwa Alphas Air (it looks a bit chunky tho), they're about half the cost of a Conquest in Aus

BaitFinesse reply :

On 6/6/2019 at 9:46 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

Currently looking at a Daiwa Alphas Air (it looks a bit chunky tho), they're about half the cost of a Conquest in Aus

Alphas are pretty small reels. I can't think of too many reels that are smaller.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

On 6/6/2019 at 10:35 AM, BaitFinesse said:

Alphas are pretty small reels. I can't think of too many reels that are smaller.

Sweet as. Cheers for that, it may look a bit big on a 4’5” rod...the alphas air will be bigger than the new Tatula (my point of reference) won’t it?

BaitFinesse reply :

On 6/6/2019 at 11:44 AM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

Sweet as. Cheers for that, it may look a bit big on a 4’5” rod...the alphas air will be bigger than the new Tatula (my point of reference) won’t it?

I'm not sure about the new Tatula but probably. It is considerably smaller than the Tatula CT. The new Tatula weighs in at 6.9 oz with a plastic handle side plate and brass gears. An older Alphas with an aluminum side plate and brass gears weighs in at around 6.5 oz. This would indicate that the Alphas is smaller than the new Tatulas but I don't know by how much. Size wise they are very similar to the Curado 70 reels. I've got both and they are basically the same size.

Here is a pic to get an idea what it will look like on a short UL rod. This is a TT member rods and reels. I believe it is a 4'5" rod with an Alphas Air Stream Cuatom on it.

The round reel is my Monoblock on a light powered casting rod. The Monoblocks are pretty small round reels. They are roughly Conquest 50 sized.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

On 6/6/2019 at 1:15 PM, BaitFinesse said:

I'm not sure about the new Tatula but probably. It is considerably smaller than the Tatula CT. The new Tatula weighs in at 6.9 oz with a plastic handle side plate and brass gears. An older Alphas with an aluminum side plate and brass gears weighs in at around 6.5 oz. This would indicate that the Alphas is smaller than the new Tatulas but I don't know by how much. Size wise they are very similar to the Curado 70 reels. I've got both and they are basically the same size.

Here is a pic to get an idea what it will look like on a short UL rod. This is a TT member rods and reels. I believe it is a 4'5" rod with an Alphas Air Stream Cuatom on it.

The round reel is my Monoblock on a light powered casting rod. The Monoblocks are pretty small round reels. They are roughly Conquest 50 sized.

ah ok that size looks ok.

i can get the alphas air here for $399aud (conquest will cost $680aud)
d**n the Monoblock looks epic!!! The round reel looks way cooler!! Any other round BFS capable reels you'd recommend?

Bfs is such a rabbithole

BaitFinesse reply :

On 6/6/2019 at 2:02 PM, Benjamin Kinsman said:

ah ok that size looks ok.

i can get the alphas air here for $399aud (conquest will cost $680aud)
d**n the Monoblock looks epic!!! The round reel looks way cooler!! Any other round BFS capable reels you'd recommend?

Bfs is such a rabbithole

I think the Conquest 50 is the only one out there right now. There is the Daiwa Milionare CT which is a small Millionaire with a 30 mill spool from the Steez CT and Alphas CT. No word on how it performs but it looks gorgeous. If saltwater is a concern than the Alphas Air should be great. The spool isn't ported to prevent moisture from getting past the spool and onto the spool bearings and into the crank case of the reel through the pinion.

The Alphas ASC and Aldebaran BFS are better with the UL trout baits from what I hear but the Air is still a really good performer and good value for your money for what they can be had for. There are $55 US honeycomb spools for the 32mm Air reels on Aliexpress if you want to go even lighter than stock.

For freshwater use the Aldebaran BFS is very well liked. I'm also hearing crazy good things about the new Steez CT. It is supposedly as capable as an Alde BFS while being more versatile. ABU has some UL capable BFS reels but they are all going to be magnesium.

I plan on getting a shallow, lighter weight spool for my monoblock to make use of the F1.5 rod it is on. Someday. The reel basically fell into my lap for a really good price that I could not pass up and then I found a matching rod shortly after.

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

ok update...

Found a guy a few hours from me with an Aldebaran BFS XG new in the box with errythang for $290 AUD, done!
Rod is on the way from Japan and the rod should be in my hands late next week, now i just gotta agonise about what line to spool it with..

Benjamin Kinsman reply :

Can I mod this reel's gearing (can only find a guy who has modded an older model) or will I just get used to winding it a bit more delicately with the 8:1 ratio?

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