Kestrel Elite Baitcasting Fishing Reel, Finesse Baitcaster Lightest, Easily Cast Lures Down to 1/32 oz, 11+1 Double Shielded BB, Available in 8.4:1 and 7.5:1 Gear Ratios

If you are new to baitcasters and BFS this is the one for you. You literally can't go wrong with it, and it makes casting easy.. maybe too easy and I'll get to that below.Just got the reel in today and I put some 4lb flourocarbon on it and casted it around in the yard and I was extremely impressed. Very smooth casting. Very smooth reeling. The drag clicker is satisfying to play with.I set the tension down low, lower than you normally would on a baitcaster. I turned the brake down to the lowest setting and I could not get it to backlash with the flourocarbon. I was tossing a 1/16 oz jig head, pictured for reference, and i was getting 20-30 yard casts. Very accurate placement of the jighead, it wasn't pulling to the left or anything like that. I'll have to see how it handles smaller sized jigs. It says it can go down to 1/32 so that would half the weight of what I was throwing. My only concern is that I couldn't get it to backlash at all, which is normally a good thing, but could indicate that it's over-braked. Again I had it at the lowest setting and the tension low (when I hit the release the jig fell to the ground quickly, so that low) and it wouldnt backlash on no thumb casts. if I have any issues fishing with finesse jigs I'll come back and update it. I also plan on putting some 6lb braided with a leader, so again if there's any issues with that I'll come back and update. But if this thing is throwing flouro this well I expect no issues at all with braided.I've had other baitcasters from other brands, cheaper and more expensive alike. This is one of the best right out of the box reels I've purchased. I'm quite happy with this purchase.

I’ve heard a lot of bad things about KastKing. I’ve also heard a lot of good. Things like “quality control,” and “value for money” are thrown in the ring of debate about the brand. Knowing this, I decided to take the risk. Let me say this: out of the box, I knew this might be something special.First thing I did was slap it to a 7’ Field and Stream M/H, took a rubber practice cast fish and went to my decently-sized back yard. I set the spool tension, flicked the brakes to what I thought appropriate, and gave the girl a gentle flick. About 4 seconds later I’m walking across my yard in the direction of my westerly neighbor to retrieve said rubber fish from one of his trees. While the length of the cast should’ve been the most surprising, the lack of backlash caught my eye first. My second thought was “I need to go to the lake. Like right now.”Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wield the infinity gauntlet? I do sometimes, and this feels like it might be as close as I’ll ever get. The slim profile often makes you forget you’re actually fishing with more than just a stick and some line. My father casually teased me about “being used to handling small gear,” but was pretty dang quiet after I out-casted his 1.5oz crank bait with a 1/16th oz Rapala.Anyway. I’ve only had one birds nest with this thing in almost 3 months of using it every Saturday, Sunday, and occasional Monday when my boss decides to give me the day off for a federal holiday. Mid cast my son decided to swan dive off a picnic a picnic bench and I buried a Choppo about 5 feet in front of me and probably 15 feet straight into the water, so can’t really blame the gear there. I mean I’ll straight whip it as hard as I can and let the spool run free without even thumbing it and it doesn’t spool up on me at all. I’m convinced the brakes are managed by a small witch practicing magic and a gnome that cares only about perfectly matching spool RPM with how much line is flying out of my hand.For the curious I added a picture of the rod I lovingly mated this reel with. It’s an Abu Vendetta M/H with fast action resting at a height of what tinder girls will call an acceptable 6’9”. Light. Nimble. Effective. Drag punches well above its weight, and will hold up over the 15lb braid I tenderly rapped around the spool. Looks great. Feels great. If you’re torn about it, just do it.

This reel performs as well as reels that cost 2 times as much. The tension and cast control adjustments provide for backlash-free fishing. The drag system is smooth with incremental adjustments to support big fish.

I purchased the Kestrel BFS Finesse Baitcasting Reel late in the season so was only able to use it a few times before the weather changed but my initial impressions are that this is an excellent reel and a great value.I spooled it with 4 pound monofilament and had no difficulties casting small jigs. I had initially spooled a little too much line and got some backlash until I peeled a bit off. The build quality seems good and the reel is smooth. Its small size fits perfectly in my palm. Since I only got out a few times I can’t speak to the durability of this reel but my experience with other KastKing reels (both baitcasting and spinning) is that they hold up well.I started buying KastKing products a few years ago because didn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount getting outfitted. I’ve purchased a number of rods and reels: lightweight for panfish, slightly heavier for walleye & northern, much heavier for Muskie, and pair of collapsible rods with spincasting reels for canoeing. I’ve been satisfied with everything that I’ve gotten.I think that the value is excellent, and the quality is better than I expected when I bought my first reel a few years ago. That reel had a small plastic “clutch plate” wear out this year. I was able to order a replacement part from KastKing for $13 after shipping which is much better than throwing out a perfectly good reel because I couldn’t find parts.When I contacted KastKing about replacing that part my emails got answered within a day or two and my calls got answered immediately. A year ago I had the locking mechanism on the handle of a collapsible net fail. It was under warranty and when I contacted customer service I got through to someone right away and they shipped a replacement to me without any hassle.