very nice review ...this is exacly what every reel manufacturer should offer in their line up of bassreels is shallow spool options... who the hell needs to put 300 yds of braid on their baitcasters to catch a bass with the common deep spools. i think this reel is geared for those who want to cast more efficiently with their bass baits with only putting 150ft of line or less on their setups... of course it will fail miserably as a bfs setup intended to cast 1 to 3gms. but as a bass fishing reel with shallow spool will probably excel
I think it can be used for that, but how much line can one put for thicker lines? I think they should look into a long cast reel, especially if their spools are this thick and heavy. So slightly deeper than this
@@rawrfishing no I handled a new Revo x about a month ago in store- felt pretty huge and thought that they may have just slapped a shallow spool inside the bfs release since they didn’t bother reviewing it for their Icast drop. Thanks for your unboxing this was perfect.
I just ordered one of these from TW, but I should've waited for your review!! With a spool that friggen heavy I'll probably return it. Really appreciate your unboxing and review
Great review Jimmy! I got this reel for my birthday and have it paired with the Abu Veritas 7’1” medium light rod. I was able to get on the water a few times with it and agree with a lot of the opinions in your comment section. It is not a true BFS. It reminds me of my last gen Revo X with a aftermarket shallow spool. I used that to cast weightless 4” Senko’s a country mile. I do like the Revo X BFS it is perfect for what I fish on the river, Ned’s, small cranks, small weightless worms and small topwater lures. I have it spooled with 8# mono but might go down to 6#. I don’t need tons of line for what I do so I love the shallow spool. I appreciate your suggestion on no side to side wiggle and using the mag brakes. I look forward to your on the water review.
I think if ur total weigh is over 4g, that would be fine.. As long as ur okay with the heavy 7.2 oz reel lol. It irks me to see it say it can't cast the most UL lure in my box, but the spool is so heavy that I definitely won't throw a Trout Magnet lol
Abu basically customized their conventional size spool into a shallow spool. Put it into their 5th gen RevoX frame. Heavy spool, no short shaft, graphite frame, no micro or ceramic bearings. This is not BFS. I'd return it buy something else with that $150. Abu also released at last year's iCast a $550 Zenon BFS reel with a $450 BFS rod. $1000 BFS combo was their idea to back into BFS fishing.
@@pacman_17 there's many bfs reels with the long shaft that have a light spool even with the long shaft and a bearing on the shaft. Those reels will cast Dien to the upper side of ultra light fishing. There's more to the design than just a light spool and short shaft to have a ultra light casting reel. A aluminum long shaft will weigh around the same as a stainless steel short shaft js lol. The correct breaking design, spool weight with a aluminum long shaft and light micro bearings that long shaft reel will still cast down into ultra light. I don't think this reel was even designed to do ultra light in the first place, this is a actual bfs bass reel. Which is what most abu bfs reels are targeting as that's a much larger market than ultra light casting is. There's small niche groups of trout and panfisherman compared to the bass side of things.
I work at BassPro in the fishing department and we just got this reel in. I can see why AbuGarcia didn't want to list the weight of the spool on their website. I'm looking forward to a casting review of this reel.
Returned mine. Felt heavy and had consistent problems with thin diameter PE line getting caught between spool and brake plate. Emailed ABU about it and was told to use larger diameter line
I’m considering the Shimano SLX 70A but will check out the Alphas. I was really disappointed that the ABU reel tech suggested the larger line. Im with you that they not call it a BFS reel.
That slx 70a is nice! Not a bfs reel, but I did cast a 3.5 gram spoon! I prefer to have a bfs reel as it Will be able to cast a 3.5 g spoon further due to a more shallow spool as it dispense more line per rotation. Take a look at it! I just made a post about it in my community tab! Cost 160 right now on Amazon!
For sure, I’ve been price checking and reading reviews on it. It was awesome to see your review right at the time I was looking into it. Do you think the Alphas is a better choice for small trout spoons/rooster tails/panther martins?
I “power bfs”, where we throw unweighted plastics for big angry fish in snags, using up to 20lb braid and leader - the high drag rating is appealing on this real, which looks to be the perfect tool for the job. Edit - that spool weight though 😬
That... It depends how low u are casting. My lightest lure is 3.5 grams so we shall see! I would use more line and thicker line than usual, so it will add weight to the spool
Hey jim im not sure how to DM you but i wanted to ask you about your hook removal tool you used in a crappie video i watched. I would like to know what you use. And get one . Sorry for being off topic
Hi, I’m having much troubles attaching the cover for the spool, in somehow it was off and I can not attach it again, appears can not find how to secure, do you have some slow motion video how to attach back that cover ?
Yea think thats ok for bfs fishing but wont drop into ultra light fishing. Ive seen it cast lighter side ned rigs effectively. I think he went down to a 1/16th head and the plastic which was between 2.5 and 3g total. I guy ive been following for years is sponsored by abu, hes had this reel a couple months using it for bfs bass fishing. Hes throw neds and small cranks on it very well. Hes also got it paired with the abu veritas ml mod bfs rod. I seen Ike using it too he seemed to be casting the bfs bass lures well with it too. Is it a aluminum frame or carbon at that weight?? I thinn for 150$ id go shimano curado bfs or the slx bfs lol i can get both at or under 150$ all day long every day 😂.
@@rawrfishing yea I don't think it will do any ultra light lol but should do well for actual bfs fishing. I haven't really looked at all the specs until you posted this video so I wasn't aware of how heavy everything was lol. I kind if figured it was just another bfs bass reel though. Is it a carbon frame like the regulations revo x???
It's like the Rev x, but they slapped a shallow spool and drag clicker. It's gonna be interesting lol. Well I already know since I already did the cast testing video. But yall gonna need to wait for the published video :p
@@rawrfishing yea there's a pretty nice shallow spool for the black max 3 not sure it will fit the newer max x though. And it's lighter than this revo spool by a lot lol. I thought of getting it and the one for the daiwa cc80 and see how both do. Not big on carbon framed reels though ad they just don't last as long but...being for light lures and generally not catching big bass with tight heavy drags they may last a little longer. I had gotten away from the customizing and bfs style reels and went all spinning for everything for awhile. But a few years ago I got back into baitcasters and feel uncomfortable using a spinning setup now lol so back into the light casting game I go lol. It's fun and more comfortable but i catch way bigger bass on traditional casting gear and techniques. I don't think the black max even with the lighter newer shallow spool would be more than a standard bass bfs reel. Just don't see it going full on ultra light but...might surprise me with the right mods.
I think you will enjoy the direction u are going. Even if say the revo x bfs isn't great for the sub 4 gram mark.. The fun part is throwing the 3.5 to 12 grams on thin line and on a ML rod. I wanna see more ppl go this route! Especially salt scene!
@@rawrfishing for sure. But first I have to do my workout to be able to hold this heavy reel :D . Even CDM - BFS rods are under 60g...why they build such heavy reels... .
Here's a fun fact! my first BC reel that i spent most time on learning how to cast was Abu Garcia Revo back in the late 90s! But I moved on after 1 more reel. xD Fast Forward, My latest Abu reel was last summer, the Abu Black Max X. Gotten it to do a BFS conversion, but apparently the spool didn't fit. But I now know there is a spool for the that reel, so perhaps we can shove it into it and see if it's better than this reel?
@@rawrfishing my first baitcaster was a daiwa magforce from the early 80s and a abu gatcia ambassaduer lol. I still have them and they perform like they did back then lol. The no breaks in the abu was rough learning ok but the daiwa breaking has always been the best out there.
Wow! That thing is like 40 grams heavier than my Silver Creek, and I thought that was on the heavier side! lol Its also heavier than the Silver Wolf! 🤦🏻♂️
How did you manage to break something like that? It might be the beefiest BFS reel that isn't made out of all aluminum LOL. Well...my reel went right back to amazon so I don't have any more feedback other than what I have shared here.
Return asap is u can't figure it out! Shouldn't be that different from a normal size BC reel. But baitcasting reels are restricted to specific lure range it can handle based on many factors... But the spool plays the biggest part.
@rawrfishing all I use is baitcasters. This is my first attempt at bfs. Maybe I bought wrong bfs. I have been fishing for 40 yrs now. 34 of them with bait caster. From 150 size to the monster ocean penn reels
@@rawrfishing 4 lbs test trout stuff on Shakespeare ultra light casting 4'6 rod. I am now going to try 6 lb test floro on zebco 33 untra light casting with meos light comet inline spinners
Kind of disappointing honestly, with a spool weight that heavy its going to be hard to fish most finesse plastics sub 3 grams. I'd rather pay the extra $150 and go for the Zenon BFS. Even then, i can always just buy a Calcutta or Alphas Air at that point.
very nice review ...this is exacly what every reel manufacturer should offer in their line up of bassreels is shallow spool options... who the hell needs to put 300 yds of braid on their baitcasters to catch a bass with the common deep spools. i think this reel is geared for those who want to cast more efficiently with their bass baits with only putting 150ft of line or less on their setups... of course it will fail miserably as a bfs setup intended to cast 1 to 3gms. but as a bass fishing reel with shallow spool will probably excel
I think it can be used for that, but how much line can one put for thicker lines? I think they should look into a long cast reel, especially if their spools are this thick and heavy. So slightly deeper than this
Good stuff broke down nicely 🙏🔥👀🎯
Thx mate!
Even spinning reels don’t need a deep spool most of the time
Truth
Thanks for the video Jimbo! Can’t wait to see the cast testing video!
you bet dude! coming soon!
Been waiting for this.
Hope the Unboxing didn't disappoint you! Stay tuned for the cast testing
@@rawrfishing no I handled a new Revo x about a month ago in store- felt pretty huge and thought that they may have just slapped a shallow spool inside the bfs release since they didn’t bother reviewing it for their Icast drop.
Thanks for your unboxing this was perfect.
Yeah I think they missed a few things!
I just ordered one of these from TW, but I should've waited for your review!! With a spool that friggen heavy I'll probably return it. Really appreciate your unboxing and review
Probably if u wanna use it for UL fishing. Power bfs likely
yeah @@rawrfishing - I wanted to do some UL fishing with it.
Ark Gravity bfs reel ftw! Same price
Thanks for the recommendation Jimbo!
Great review Jimmy! I got this reel for my birthday and have it paired with the Abu Veritas 7’1” medium light rod. I was able to get on the water a few times with it and agree with a lot of the opinions in your comment section. It is not a true BFS. It reminds me of my last gen Revo X with a aftermarket shallow spool. I used that to cast weightless 4” Senko’s a country mile. I do like the Revo X BFS it is perfect for what I fish on the river, Ned’s, small cranks, small weightless worms and small topwater lures. I have it spooled with 8# mono but might go down to 6#. I don’t need tons of line for what I do so I love the shallow spool. I appreciate your suggestion on no side to side wiggle and using the mag brakes. I look forward to your on the water review.
I think if ur total weigh is over 4g, that would be fine.. As long as ur okay with the heavy 7.2 oz reel lol. It irks me to see it say it can't cast the most UL lure in my box, but the spool is so heavy that I definitely won't throw a Trout Magnet lol
Abu basically customized their conventional size spool into a shallow spool. Put it into their 5th gen RevoX frame. Heavy spool, no short shaft, graphite frame, no micro or ceramic bearings. This is not BFS. I'd return it buy something else with that $150.
Abu also released at last year's iCast a $550 Zenon BFS reel with a $450 BFS rod. $1000 BFS combo was their idea to back into BFS fishing.
Yeah..... Their approach is not correct at all. Hope Abu sees all the comments!
@@pacman_17 there's many bfs reels with the long shaft that have a light spool even with the long shaft and a bearing on the shaft. Those reels will cast Dien to the upper side of ultra light fishing. There's more to the design than just a light spool and short shaft to have a ultra light casting reel. A aluminum long shaft will weigh around the same as a stainless steel short shaft js lol. The correct breaking design, spool weight with a aluminum long shaft and light micro bearings that long shaft reel will still cast down into ultra light. I don't think this reel was even designed to do ultra light in the first place, this is a actual bfs bass reel. Which is what most abu bfs reels are targeting as that's a much larger market than ultra light casting is. There's small niche groups of trout and panfisherman compared to the bass side of things.
Yes, this reel isn't made for UL, but they advertised it as UL. That's the stance I have taken when doing the review!
Hi friends, can u do a video on the field test for this reel, how many grams of the lightest lure can be thrown by this reel. Cant wait to watch it.
@@SyafikAgitoChannelOfficial yes. It's in the works. About done. Should be available next weekend since this weekend is focused on trout fishing
I work at BassPro in the fishing department and we just got this reel in. I can see why AbuGarcia didn't want to list the weight of the spool on their website. I'm looking forward to a casting review of this reel.
@@samueldyson1394 I am gonna schedule that for next weekend. This weekend focused in fall trout since they just stocked
It seems like exactly what we think. They just put a larger diameter spool on a revo
@@ConTheDon187 while that could still work... How will it perform? Hmmm
Returned mine. Felt heavy and had consistent problems with thin diameter PE line getting caught between spool and brake plate. Emailed ABU about it and was told to use larger diameter line
Oh my! So what's the next reel ya getting? I suggest Daiwa Alphas SV TW 800S for that price
I’m considering the Shimano SLX 70A but will check out the Alphas. I was really disappointed that the ABU reel tech suggested the larger line. Im with you that they not call it a BFS reel.
That slx 70a is nice! Not a bfs reel, but I did cast a 3.5 gram spoon! I prefer to have a bfs reel as it Will be able to cast a 3.5 g spoon further due to a more shallow spool as it dispense more line per rotation. Take a look at it! I just made a post about it in my community tab! Cost 160 right now on Amazon!
For sure, I’ve been price checking and reading reviews on it. It was awesome to see your review right at the time I was looking into it. Do you think the Alphas is a better choice for small trout spoons/rooster tails/panther martins?
How light is small? It is not an UL bfs reel.
Might be fine for finesse bass fishing with the right rod. But for true ultralight/light lures there are probably better options
We shall see. Finesse bass fishing is very broad. I feel that a bfs reel with a lighter spool would be more versatile.
I “power bfs”, where we throw unweighted plastics for big angry fish in snags, using up to 20lb braid and leader - the high drag rating is appealing on this real, which looks to be the perfect tool for the job.
Edit - that spool weight though 😬
I think it's over powering finesse there lol. How light do u Cast for power bfs? I throw 3.5 g for snakeheads with thick line
@@rawrfishing down to 2-3g, more often 4-6g.
Gotcha.. Stay tuned for that cast test!
I just use my Diawa Zillion for light baits. The Zillion can do anything
@@RyanSmith-fb8rf the zillion is amazing! But the price difference between this reel and is pretty large!
Mabey a good power bfs for big snakehead
That... It depends how low u are casting. My lightest lure is 3.5 grams so we shall see! I would use more line and thicker line than usual, so it will add weight to the spool
Power finesse, at best. If you're throwing between 7 and 10 grams, it'll work, but nothing lighter.
Probably can handle a bit lighter than that. But I rather have a reel that can handle down lower.
Great review and honest , its sad to see abu Garcia mis the boat ( fish in this case ) , thanks for the review
Looks and sounds like a kids toy , sorry
Yeah it's a shame since they should know BFS by now. But I guess abu Japan and America are so out of sync :(
Hey jim im not sure how to DM you but i wanted to ask you about your hook removal tool you used in a crappie video i watched. I would like to know what you use. And get one . Sorry for being off topic
Never off topic if it's something related to me! That's the unhookum tool www.unhookum.com/
I am skeptical of this Abu Garcia reel Jimmy !
stay tuned and find out :P
I saw your review on this on Amazon 🤣🤣
@@HookedOnCat lol... Yeah... Don't spoil it haha
Hi, I’m having much troubles attaching the cover for the spool, in somehow it was off and I can not attach it again, appears can not find how to secure, do you have some slow motion video how to attach back that cover ?
@@riosabu try loosening your tension first. Maybe it's too deep in and the spool is preventing you from closing the side plate
Yea think thats ok for bfs fishing but wont drop into ultra light fishing. Ive seen it cast lighter side ned rigs effectively. I think he went down to a 1/16th head and the plastic which was between 2.5 and 3g total. I guy ive been following for years is sponsored by abu, hes had this reel a couple months using it for bfs bass fishing. Hes throw neds and small cranks on it very well. Hes also got it paired with the abu veritas ml mod bfs rod. I seen Ike using it too he seemed to be casting the bfs bass lures well with it too. Is it a aluminum frame or carbon at that weight?? I thinn for 150$ id go shimano curado bfs or the slx bfs lol i can get both at or under 150$ all day long every day 😂.
The box said UL. So it's very misleading! And it was bold enough to say the lightest lure in my box lol... That's not gonna happen lol
@@rawrfishing yea I don't think it will do any ultra light lol but should do well for actual bfs fishing. I haven't really looked at all the specs until you posted this video so I wasn't aware of how heavy everything was lol. I kind if figured it was just another bfs bass reel though. Is it a carbon frame like the regulations revo x???
It's like the Rev x, but they slapped a shallow spool and drag clicker. It's gonna be interesting lol. Well I already know since I already did the cast testing video. But yall gonna need to wait for the published video :p
@@rawrfishing yea there's a pretty nice shallow spool for the black max 3 not sure it will fit the newer max x though. And it's lighter than this revo spool by a lot lol. I thought of getting it and the one for the daiwa cc80 and see how both do. Not big on carbon framed reels though ad they just don't last as long but...being for light lures and generally not catching big bass with tight heavy drags they may last a little longer. I had gotten away from the customizing and bfs style reels and went all spinning for everything for awhile. But a few years ago I got back into baitcasters and feel uncomfortable using a spinning setup now lol so back into the light casting game I go lol. It's fun and more comfortable but i catch way bigger bass on traditional casting gear and techniques. I don't think the black max even with the lighter newer shallow spool would be more than a standard bass bfs reel. Just don't see it going full on ultra light but...might surprise me with the right mods.
I think you will enjoy the direction u are going. Even if say the revo x bfs isn't great for the sub 4 gram mark.. The fun part is throwing the 3.5 to 12 grams on thin line and on a ML rod. I wanna see more ppl go this route! Especially salt scene!
BFS & >200g overall weight? Okey.... thanks for the review!
Lol... Not gonna comeback for the cast test video? 😂
@@rawrfishing for sure. But first I have to do my workout to be able to hold this heavy reel :D . Even CDM - BFS rods are under 60g...why they build such heavy reels... .
I can't answer that! But I hope to hear from Abu about this lol. I'm gonna send it over to em lol
abu garcia it the last brand i would think would make bfs reels
But they have been doing it for a while now
😂😂😂 you obviously aren’t familiar with abu Garcia
Abu garcia has a high end bfs reel 😂. Actually have multiple bfs reels but this is the first "budget" lower end cost one I know of.
Here's a fun fact! my first BC reel that i spent most time on learning how to cast was Abu Garcia Revo back in the late 90s! But I moved on after 1 more reel. xD Fast Forward, My latest Abu reel was last summer, the Abu Black Max X. Gotten it to do a BFS conversion, but apparently the spool didn't fit. But I now know there is a spool for the that reel, so perhaps we can shove it into it and see if it's better than this reel?
@@rawrfishing my first baitcaster was a daiwa magforce from the early 80s and a abu gatcia ambassaduer lol. I still have them and they perform like they did back then lol. The no breaks in the abu was rough learning ok but the daiwa breaking has always been the best out there.
Where did u purchase it from bro?
I mentioned it at the beginning of the video bro
I don’t like Abu Garcia’s, i had one but they’re insanely cheap. I wonder how this will perform
Lower end ones are gonna feel cheap. But I never used any expensive stuff from em. What model did u use? Stay tuned for the cast testing session
Wow! That thing is like 40 grams heavier than my Silver Creek, and I thought that was on the heavier side! lol Its also heavier than the Silver Wolf! 🤦🏻♂️
Like a full size with shallow spool
lol whats the total weight of your silver creek plus your rod? :P
I mean.. i got large reels with shallow spools like the Silver Wolf SV TW 1000 and the abu spool is still heavier!
@@rawrfishing Exactly! I think I’ll pass.
Has anyone had this reel malfunction? I love it, they cast a mile but I think it broke today.
How did you manage to break something like that? It might be the beefiest BFS reel that isn't made out of all aluminum
LOL.
Well...my reel went right back to amazon so I don't have any more feedback other than what I have shared here.
@ yeah it’s definitely dead. I seen another video where a guy did the same as mine. Said it happens when they get too wet.
ouch. so what exactly happened and what broke? did you get a chance to take it a part?
I bought this reel. This is my first bfs reel. I am trying to still figure it out with bird nests. Not impressed
Return asap is u can't figure it out! Shouldn't be that different from a normal size BC reel. But baitcasting reels are restricted to specific lure range it can handle based on many factors... But the spool plays the biggest part.
@rawrfishing all I use is baitcasters. This is my first attempt at bfs. Maybe I bought wrong bfs. I have been fishing for 40 yrs now. 34 of them with bait caster. From 150 size to the monster ocean penn reels
how light were u trying to cast?
@@rawrfishing 4 lbs test trout stuff on Shakespeare ultra light casting 4'6 rod. I am now going to try 6 lb test floro on zebco 33 untra light casting with meos light comet inline spinners
I am normally a bass and musky fresh water person. And sail fish/sword fish, shark and tuna ocean
All I have to say is Abu Garcia USA needs to get with Abu Garcia Japan 🇯🇵 and have a talk 😂
Some of their reels were somewhat heavy too. But this is a new record!
Dude, 20lb drag!? Hastag#notBFS😢
definitely not bfs. rod snapping time!
Kind of disappointing honestly, with a spool weight that heavy its going to be hard to fish most finesse plastics sub 3 grams. I'd rather pay the extra $150 and go for the Zenon BFS. Even then, i can always just buy a Calcutta or Alphas Air at that point.
right? is 300 the going price for the JDM version?
@rawrfishing $260 is what it sits at on Digitaka right now. But depending on where I look, it's usually between that and $300 yeah.
I should get one to impress Ike got out next trip lol
@@rawrfishing Oh you absolutely should. Maybe get one for the man himself
He can get one himself haha. He's sponsored by abu. If anything... He should get three.. One for me, him and his son :P
Looks to be to much plastic and way to heavy i will stick with Shimano BFS reels.
Glad you found this initial unboxing review useful!
Not BFS NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Ultra Power bfs lol