Bait Finesse Casting Rod Buyer’s Guide & Features Breakdown

What makes a bait finesse casting rod the right one for you and your fishing? Here’s a quick guide to what to look for and how to avoid making a bad decision and maybe regretting your choice.

What is a Bait Finesse Casting Rod?

The style of baitcasting lure fishing known as BFS or Bait Finesse System is named after a concept coined by Shimano to describe reels and rods capable of casting ultra light finesse baits. Taking the reels first – they require extremely light, shallow spools and also refined casting brake systems for the physics of casting light lures to work.

Unsurprisingly the character of the rod is the second, vital ingredient in being able to cast very light lures. While there is not an exact, scientific definition of when a lure is light enough to be classed as “BFS” – it seems that most will weigh less than 5g (a nudge over 1/6th oz). Many of those lures will be in the 2.0-g to 3.5-g weight range (1/14th to 1/8th oz).

A super simplified way of looking at it is that bait finesse casting rods and reels let you use baitcasting gear for what would normally only be possible with spinning gear.

With that said, it isn’t just the lure weight rating that identifies a bait finesse casting rod...

Line guides

While it may be too obvious to need stating for anyone experienced in lure fishing – anglers transferring from a fly fishing background (for instance) might benefit from a quick tip on line guides. For spinning rods (used with fixed spool “spinning” reels), the butt line guide stands a long way off the rod blank (shown upper left, below). This is to allow the line to pass easily through that guide according to the angle that the cone-shaped swirl of line pours off the spool during a cast with a spinning reel.

For baitcasting rods, that guide sits much closer to the rod blank (shown lower right, above). This works since the line flows out in a much straighter and more continuous strand from the line-guide on the front of the baitcasting reel (while the spool rotates).

Reel Seat Designs for a Bait Finesse Casting Rod

As well as a down-locking reel-seat, bait finesse casting rods tend to have a trigger grip on the opposite side to the reel itself. However, not every bait finesse rod has that classic trigger grip.

 For some anglers, particularly those who prefer a classic “round” baitcasting reel to a low-profile one, might choose a triggerless grip.

Aside from identical twins, anglers don’t often have exactly the same shape or size of hand as each other. For many, a trigger could get in the way of palming a round reel comfortably.

This is one reason to know the different line-guide designs between spinning and baitcasting rods (so you can pick out a baitcasting rod, even without a trigger-grip). Having said that, you might realistically need a custom-made rod to find many options with a triggerless grip for bait finesse at this time!

Choosing the Action of a Bait Finesse Casting Rod

As discussed in the main BFS article on Fishing Discoveries, the action of a rod is its bend profile. It isn’t really a description of its overall stiffness (power) or how quickly it jumps back to being straight and stop wobbling after being whipped into a bend during casting (recovery).

Instead:

Here’s where it gets a bit tangled between recovery and action… 

With a fast-action rod, it is a bit like casting a very short “slow” rod strapped to the end of a longer, stiff rod.

The overall effect of that is that, because there is such a short portion of the rod which is doing the most bending, it tends to jump straight in a much shorter time than a full-flex rod.

In other words, a “fast” flex profile tends to also create a quicker recovery – with all other things being equal.

One of those “other things”, however, is the stiffness of the blank. That interaction between the flex profile and the blank stiffness seems to be pretty complicated. It’s safe to say bait finesse rod-making is probably a hellish mix of voodoo and science…

Why Pick a Fast Action Bait Finesse Casting Rod?

In short you want a fast action rod when throwing heavier baits, working them vigorously with the rod and setting the hook hard. A quick, short flick is the best casting action for fast rods and sometimes this will help in tight settings where you cant swing the rod far. This fishing style is typical of heavy, sinking minnows fished in powerful, fast-flowing headwater streams in Japan. The Japanese Youtuber "Tsurinan" shows this fast "whip" style of casting and also vigorous working of the rod:

Those small-stream/fast action rods tend to be relatively short (between 4’ 3” and 5’ 6”). At the other end of the scale, a fast action/relatively stiff rod which is longer (between 6’ and 7’) is also probably what you want for throwing baits as far as possible from the shore on big waters.

Why Pick a Slow Action Bait Finesse Casting Rod?

When you want the rod blank to do much of the casting (accuracy with very light lures). Slow-action rods extend the time-window for you to choose your casting release point. This is because the flex and recovery takes longer. At the same time, more of that flex/recovery feedback is transmitted down through the whole rod. Click the following orange link to check out more about release points, backswings and other bait finesse casting fundamentals.

Actions anywhere between medium-fast and slow could be good for flip-casting depending on the overall stiffness and recovery of the rod. Again, you’ll have an easier time flip-casting when the timing window for your ideal release point is extended by having a slower action or a slightly slower-recovering material for the blank…

Blank Materials and Construction

Graphite

Bait finesse casting rods are available in two main graphite constructions – the common hollow tubular construction and a more unusual solid graphite blank. However, many bait finesse rods have hollow butt and mid-sections which are joined to a solid tip (to take advantage of each construction method’s properties. 

Let’s explore those now.

Hollow Blanks

The physics and material science of tubular structures means that a hollow tube has a greater resistance to being deformed and bent than a solid rod of the same material. That greater resistance makes hollow blanks stiff, fast-recovering and potentially very lightweight (as long as the proportion of graphite fibres is high relative to the amount of resin which binds them together.

If you'd like to try one of these "two in one" affordable Kingdom Pro BFS rods with the matt-finish blanks - you can check out current pricing and global availability on my Aliexpress affiliate links in this article (which earn Fishing Discoveries essential commissions on qualifying purchases). Mine is the 1.8m Casting version:

For light, hollow construction rods, the lure will be heavy relative to the blank. Therefore, elasticity of the rod and the speed of the casting stroke is what creates casting force. The inertia of the lure is much more important in creating a bend in the rod compared to a heavier blank.

Sensitivity tends to be greater in stiff, hollow, lightweight blanks, because the lure has significant mass relative to the low mass/low inertia of the blank – meaning that any change in movement of the lure easily moves the blank and that movement is transmitted directly down the rod to your hand.

Solid Blanks

A solid graphite rod is a softer blank with slightly slower recovery – but is still typically a little stiffer than glass (depending on the resin/carbon mix). Because there is no need for a hollow centre to the blank, a light or ultralight power rod may have a really thin diameter when solid graphite is used.

That softer, slower recovery helps to create a deeper flex with light lures – making it good for casting styles which rely less on a fast swing of the rod acting as a lever. Instead, the spring/recoil of the rod when you bend it is what creates most of the casting impetus.

Consequently, this can be a good option for flip casting or similar styles where the rod is not so much swung as bent and then allowed to throw the lure in the same way a bow “throws” an arrow.

Solid Tips

Based on those properties above, it is relatively easy to see how a solid-tipped graphite rod is an easy way to create a fast or ultra-fast action in a rod. The hollow portion of the blank provides the stiffness – and then there is a rapid increase in flexibility as you pass into the solid section. The tapering profile of both hollow and solid sections allows further fine-tuning of the overall shape of the bend.

The Kuying Teton TTC 510S 0.3g to 3g (above) is a super ultra light bfs rod, which at the same time has a fast action owing to the thin, soft solid tip. The spiral wraps of carbon tape along the solid tip add extra reassurance and the build quality is exceptionally high. Take care to note that the "spinning" rods built on the same blank are TTS (rather than TTC) - an important detail.

You can check availability and order your own TTC510S directly from Kuying's store on Aliexpress using my Fishing Discoveries affiliate links in this article (which earn essential commission on qualifying purchases and support the running of the site):

Glass Bait Finesse Casting Rods

The best glass bait finesse casting rods are a hollow blank construction (though some, generally cheap, solid glass rods are available). In addition, the glass-fibre cloth itself needs to be of one of the more modern formulations which gives the blank greater stiffness than older glass blanks. An example of this would be “S-glass”.

This will tend to create a deeper bend in the rod for a very light lure compared to a stiffer, lighter rod – and when the elasticity of the blank springs it straight again; that momentum/authority will throw that light lure more positively and easily.

With that increased momentum and flexibility, the flip side is that feedback from the lure has more inertia to overcome. The relative softness can be a boon to keeping wildly thrashing fish pinned (where a stiff rod can bounce the hooks free).

Also, if the tip is too stiff (for instance in some cheap, solid glass bait finesse rods), the momentum of the tip and relative flexibility of the mid-sections of the rod will create a problematic “wobble” after the end of the casting stroke. The kick-back and wobble created will tend to increase the risk of back-lashes as well as making casting accuracy difficult.

For good quality glass bait finesse casting rods, there is a paradox of them being flexible with slower recovery – but a lot of the bend concentrated towards the tip. However, rather than a true “fast” action, it is more the type of action which would be described as Progressive in a fly rod. So, with each inch you progress from the tip towards the handle, there is a smooth multiplying up of the stiffness.

Particularly with glass rods, if you aren’t able to try-before-you-buy, then having video available to watch the bend profile and, particularly, the vibration damping/wobble-control during casting is really important.

Other material mixes

With ever-increasing complexity in material science, there are now many materials – and blends of materials – used in rod-building. Blends of glass-fibre and graphite with carefully-chosen resins are one example. Mackenzie fly rods were the first to include graphene in their blanks, Hardy incorporated “Sintrix” (silica nanospheres) into their rods – and I’m sure these and many other technologies will be passed on into other branches of fishing too.

The important things to stay on top of is what each material or material blend tends to do to a rod’s character. The addition of glass will tend to soften and slow down a rod – Sintrix and graphene will create greater stiffness and durability for a lighter-weight and slimmer blank.

Again, video of the rods in use so that you can see bend profile and recovery characteristics is the way to separate marketing hype from actual performance (and suitability for your specific needs).

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Single-piece or Multi-Section Bait Finesse Casting Rod?

Particularly in baitcasting there is a strong idea that putting joints into a rod will reduce its quality and performance by creating flat-spots, increase the weight and generally mess up what was originally a perfectly good single-piece blank. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, single-piece blanks are great – until you want to travel or hike somewhere…

Split Handle or Full Handle?

Unlike longer rods for casting heavier lures over long distances, a lot of bait finesse casting is done with a single hand. Particularly on small streams with lots of obstructions, you are often improvising back-hand, fore-hand, overhead and flip-casts. The freedom to do that isn’t so available if you’re having to hold the rod with two hands.

This probably explains why you see a lot of full handle designs (and why those full handles are often quite short). With that said, it is still perfectly possible to cast a split-grip rod with one hand – especially in the UL and L ratings common to BFS.

Sometimes it is nice to put some extra zing into a cast by the combined action of pulling back the butt of the rod with one hand and blocking/pushing the front grip forward with your other hand.

That style of cast feels better with a split handle. Perhaps, then slightly longer rods and fishing situations requiring more distance casting suite a split handle better than small-water “trick-casting” styles.

Bait Finesse Casting Rods Round Up

Hopefully by combining the information above with your own experience of the type(s) of fishing you do will help you match up the stated specifications of different rods to what you actually want to own. 

Knowing what action, length, lure-weight rating and recovery characteristics best support the tactics you are going to be using goes a long way to avoiding buyer’s regret. Wherever possible, checking out video of any prospective bait finesse casting rod before you buy it will give important clues when you can’t physically try-before-you-buy.

Let me know what your BFS rod-buying experiences have been in the comments…

Paul          

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