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Hey linc! That’s awesome to hear! The reel is quite a good one with the one small downside, in my particular model, of the slight geariness on the retrieve. Other folks I’ve spoken with have said they don’t have this but a few have said that they are also experiencing this. Hopefully you get a model without it. Also, thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to comment! I greatly appreciate it and hope you also have a wonderful weekend! Cheers my friend!

@@firebush hey fire! Haha you sort of can in the background 😅. Will get some more footage with the reel soon =). Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL haha thanks man can’t wait! love the channel👊

@@firebush hey fire! Appreciate the support and kind words! Cheers my friend!

Hey zz! Yea for all intents and purposes the performance of the conquest will be similar to the Aldebaran. I believe there are ever so slight differences that make the cq a bit easier to cast but I’m not sure that it affects the performance and low lure weight range at all. The cormorant and the kingfisher in the other hand are night and day difference. They lightened the spool and strengthened the brakes on the cormorant while adding the drag clicker. On top of that I am fairly sure they improved their manufacturing processes because the two reels feel very different with the cormorant being much improved vs the kingfisher. I will say it and say it again that the cormorant is my favorite reel of 2024 thus far. It casts down to 0.56g consistently and the farthest of all the reels I currently have in the stable. The giu99 can occasionally outcast it but it’s so inconsistent and the build quality is just not there. So, to answer your question, yes the cormorant would be an improvement in performance and imho is the best choice for what you are looking to do. Hope that helps! Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thank you I appreciate it! But side note you say favorite for 2024, I hope it still the same for 2025 lol cause that would get my impulse to buy whatever that future reel is!

@Zz-id5qp hey zz! Haha no one knows what’ll be released in 2025 😅. For the time being I don’t really foresee anything toppling the cormorant. It’s a very well made and wonderfully performing reel. I don’t think you will be let down with purchasing one. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

Hey Jonathan! Ah that’s a bummer… before you buy new ones have you considered trying to give your current ones a flush? Before you do I would suggest removing the orings around them and then giving them a soak and swirl in some isopropyl alcohol or acetone. Otherwise, you can probably order them directly from Shimano USA, plat.co.jp or hedgehogstudios. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thank you I'll give that a try

@jonathanrivera6815 hey Jonathan! Sounds good! Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers my friend!

Hey Jay! Right on! I really hope you were able to get one of the AAs that has no issues or at least were able to fix those issues fairly easily if you did. I had hoped to film the sub 1g shootout this week but were in the middle of, surprise surprise, another massive heat wave so it’ll likely have to be filmed next week. Anyways, I greatly appreciate you stopping by and telling us about your adventures and experiences! Your trip sounds like it was a really amazing one. Cheers my friend!

Hey hcb! Yep the reel dc module is waterproof and rated for IP68. You should be ok even if your reel gets dunked. Of course I wouldn’t keep it underwater for a prolonged period of time either… cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL my g what size line do you use or diameter? I like the 10 braid but I have a 8lb right now.

@@HCBCHEMISTRY hey hcb! I typically try to stick with 0.6goh braid but if I know that a manufacture understates diameter will downsize a bit. This particular braid is zukibo x8 0.4goh braid. It appears to be about the same diameter as most 0.6goh braids. Hope that helps! Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL how much does that line usually run and what lb test is it. I’ll find some strings with that diameter

@@HCBCHEMISTRY hey hcb! Mmm I think I picked up a spool of this particular braid for $11.48 during the most recent aliexpress sale. It was a 150m spool. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@305guysfishing5 hey 305! The rod is the purelure creek dance. If I’m not mistaken, it is the C492UL model. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

Hey per! The lure weight is approximately 5g and is a very small, dense and aerodynamic “jigpara/spoon” type lure. I did not officially measure the distance but by calculated average cmpt, meaning I am using the average diameter of the actual line, multiples by 61 handle rotations I should have achieved around 35m, approx 115ft, for this cast. Keep in mind, the rod I was using is not meant to cast this type of lure and is a 5’9” length. I would guessed based of my experiences with this FSQ DC braking system based reel that I can cast much farther on an appropriate length rod. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

Very nice cast Peter.😊

@christopherlee4613 hey Chris! Haha thanks! I was casting it much harder two handed but couldn’t as I was filming this. Cheers my friend!

Yes so many factors come into play on casting distance. Length of rod. Action of rod, line size, lure density

Hey Patrick! Yep, you are absolutely spot on! Cheers my friend!

Hey deebz! I do agree that DC reels aren’t a necessity at all. However, they are quite enjoyable to use and this model seems to cast very well. I think the Shimano dc algorithm is tuned to prevent and reduce backlashes at the cost of distance but this seems to lean more towards distance while still giving good backlash control. I will get more testing done and report back. Regarding your comment about not using your thumb while casting your Aldebaran, imho if you are doing that then really you aren’t taking advantage of distance as you are using either more braking than necessary or more spool friction(incorrectly referred to as tension) than necessary. Also, in my experience the Aldebaran is a very “touchy” reel that does not like a hard casting stroke. Oddly, I would always have to be very slow and smooth and I did not like having to adjust my casting style to the reel’s requirements. It is a very nice reel no doubt but imho there are better reels that outcast it and without the need for the user to conform to the reel. That said, I greatly appreciate you taking the time time to share your experience and appreciate your input! Cheers my friend!

​@@BFSFISHINGCHANNELI wasn't bashing the product especially never using it. I'm a DC stan. I'm all for a BFS DC reel if it's done right. I have been messaging shimano for yrs telling them they need to make an Aldebaran BFS

@@ReelKingsNQueens1 hey reel! Right on! Haha yea sometimes it’s hard to get the right context of what a person is saying via text. In any case, I do appreciate your thoughts and opinions and for the clarification! I also agree that a dc bfs reel is something that many have been looking forward to. While this and the loongze b50 dbc-1 reels aren’t 100% perfect I will say that they do seem to cast quite well. I look forward to sharing my short term impressions with you all and some casting comparisons at the extreme low end. Cheers my friend!

@@rockwellkepler338 hey Rockwell! Appreciate the kind words and support and glad you are able to get some good info out of them. Cheers my friend!

Hey jano! Hmm… I had considered that too but I don’t really ever have the need to skip lures so… I haven’t the faintest idea 😅. Cheers my friend!

@@JohnJames. hey John! That actually kind of awesome as RH casting reels tend to be a bit cheaper than LH reels. So… this works in your favor! Also, sounds like you’re fairly ambidextrous! Curious if you’re able to RH cast LH retrieve with spinning/casting gear as well. That would be even more amazing. Cheers my friend!

@@xMahes hey mahes! Haha more than happy to help and try! Let me ask you a few questions first though. -what is your budget for rod and reel? -what types of bodies of waters do you fish? -do you want long distance casting or short distance accuracy? -what lure weights do you need to cast? -what fish species and sizes do you target? Look forward to your responses! Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL hey thank you for your detailed answer and help! So I want to try it out so I was looking more into a bang for the buck set. I’ve my eyes rn on the acura hicc 50 as a reel. I live in Germany so mainly some pike or pike-perch. (15in - 40in, 5 - 20lbs) I really look to cast far. A combo that i found to be recommended so far would be the Solo king acura hicc 50 And as a rod the Magic L

@@r.galbraith6220 hey Galbraith! That’s a really great question and unfortunately I can’t answer that specifically for this rod because I have not used the L version of this rod. However, I would say that definitely UL would be more fun for all of the above mentioned fish but with the larger ones you will have a ton less control of the fish. That said, I have caught a 5lber on an UL rod and wow was it fun haha. The L rod will be a tiny bit less fun but you’ll have a bit more control for the larger guys. At the end of the day it’s kind of up to you and what you want/need but either choice should work well! Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@abelabner hey Abel! Thanks for the kind words! Cheers my friend!

Hey doc! Thanks as always! Cheers my friend!

Hey Steven! I’m all for budget CDM braids or high dollar jdm braid so it’s kind of your choice between the two. I just picked up some zukibo red x8 “0.4goh” braid that, imho, look really awesome against the black colorway. Let me know if you need a link or want some other suggestions. Cheers my friend!

Link please. Thank you sir

@steven9573 hey Steven! Here you go. As required I am informing you that this is an affiliate link and that I earn a small commission if you use the link to purchase the line. Cheers! s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_mKr9u0s

Hey gisli! This reel isn’t one of the super light reels that we’ve been seeing. If you watch the weights chapter you’ll notice that this comes in around 145g or so. The frame on this is cast aluminum and the side plates using carbon fiber reinforced plastics. In terms of durability I think that that is the million dollar question that everyone wants answered and not something that’s easily answered without time. Hope that helps explain this particular reel a bit more. If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask! Cheers my friend!

@@danspanos hey Dan! That is an amazing price! Cheaper than it is available on taobao even. Nice pick up my friend! Cheers!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNELBy the way Peter, what was that red line you had spooled on it? Decent line in red is surprisingly hard to find.

@@danspanos hey Dan! The line I used is made by Zukibo. It is a x8 braid and the diameter I was using is 0.4goh which, imho, looks closer to 0.6goh. More than happy to provide you with a link if you’re interested. The braid has not bled its color whatsoever so far and my only complaint is that it sinks a little on the slow side(normal for non sinking PE though). Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I have never heard of that brand. If you have that link handy I would appreciate it! Thanks buddy!

@@danspanos hey Dan! So the version I bought is 0.4goh and it seems to have gone up a bit in price but here is the link for that: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_mqSa8Ok Here is the same line but starting at 0.6goh and on sale: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_mMTuBpe The 0.4goh feels more like 0.6goh so keep that in mind. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@kallesjostrom6127 hey kalle! Yep glad to have another non app dependent bfs dc reel on the market now! Especially so, as the price isn’t quite as high as the loongze b50 option. Will put it through the paces and report back! Cheers my friend!

Hey jate! I apologize in advance but I’m gonna approach your question with more questions lol. Here we go: -what kind of line are you using? Material? Diameter/line strength? Brand might help I suppose. -what waters are you fishing? Fresh/salt? Stream/lakes/open water? -what fish species are you targeting? How large weight wise? If you can answer those questions I think I can help answer your question a bit better. Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I was planning on using Spiderwire stealth smooth 8x 0,11m 22lb braid. Fishing from bank on fresh water lakes for perch weighting 200-700g and using softplastics weighting 3-7g.

@@jate_9215 hey jate! Imho, I would downsize your braid a bit. Look for 0.8goh or 0.148mm diameter braid or 1.0goh or 0.165mm diameter braid. They will be quite a bit thinner than the spider wire braid you mentioned as US branded braids tend to be 1.5-2x their reported diameter. There is no need to go for braid that thick imho. Instead of spooling your reel by approximation using your spool amount as a unit of measure I would suggest trying to measure out how much line you are adding. The method I like to use is as follows; measure the diameter of the line of spool you purchase but only where the line actually comes up to. Then you can use a circumference calculator to tell you what the circumference of that spool of line is. Once you have that number in meters then you can divide that into however much line you want to add. I’d say anywhere between 60-80m is probably more than enough but you know more about how much line you actually need. That number is the amount of rotations that spool of line needs to go through to add the distance of line you want. Does it take some calculating and counting with this method? Yes but the upside is that the amount of line you add to your spool will have a much higher accuracy to the amount of line you want to have on your spool. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask! Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thank you for the quick answer! I will look for other braids and do some calculations.

@jate_9215 hey jate! Right on! Let me know if you have more questions. Cheers my friend!

Hey Jinsuo! Yes, you are absolutely correct. I showed both versions in this video and have the ETA(Bluetooth/button) version in my possession. The EXA and ETA MIIEC reels use the same braking system as the loongze dbc-1 and dbc-2 reels which are made by FSQ(Fangshangqiao). The more expensive ETA version comes out to around $200usd or so on taobao after taxes and shipping and the EXA is around $135 usd after taxes and shipping on taobao. Thanks for sharing the information with us! I look forward to sharing both this EXA and the ETA versions with you all. Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL To be honest, DC is not suitable for BFS as its magnetic module needs to make the spool heaver than normal one. Shimano FTB brake is the perfect solution to make the spool light enough. As I use fluorocarbon line all the time, I will not buy this reel. If the line's tension will break the spool, then it is a product defect (sacrifice its strength to get a lighter spool) because sometimes you will need to use Nylon or Fluorocarbon line for some lures or cases.

@@jinsuozhang9432 hey Jinsuo! Hm… I think some of what you’re saying is correct but some of what you’re saying is also assumption and subjective. That said, a lot of what we feel and think is totally subjective. Anywho, I will kindly disagree with you in your assessment on both FTB and DC for BFS. In my experience, FTB is poorly implemented and the Aldebaran was extremely touchy/finnicky/picky with how it needs to be cast. I would constantly get overruns with the Aldebaran if I wanted to cast a bit harder or farther. It almost requires and demands a smooth gentle cast and the distance isn’t better or farther than a reel like the SS air tw, the DMK silver feather air or yhe FF01 cormorant. All three of those reels will outcast the Aldebaran quite handily. As for this DMK miiec exa and the loongze b50 dbc-1, they can actually cast under 1g and not much shorter than other non digitally controlled bfs reels. With the exa my 0.56g lure was able to be cast between 30-32 ft, the b50 dbc-1 about 33-35 ft and most of my magnetic brakes bfs reels range from 30-35/36 ft. So… imho casting distance is not too far off or nearly identical. Regarding fluorocarbon use, you need a stronger thicker walled spool to withstand the crushing force of taut spooled fluorocarbon/nylon line which adds weight. Also, FC/nylon are much thicker and much heavier than PE which is why a lot of brands don’t recommend straight FC/nylon use. I have not found an instance where I absolutely need FC or nylon for any lures or any specific cases. I almost only use PE either with or without a FC leader. So… you can see how I interpret some of your statements as being a bit counterintuitive. Anywho, I’d love to hear more of what you think and always enjoy our conversations/discussions even though we may not quite agree on everything. These sorts of exercises help us to understand more about what we love. Cheers my friend!

Hey bedo! That is one of the million dollar questions for all reels imho. Ofc there’s no way of knowing but there are plenty of electronic products coming out of China that have good longevity. Consider that this DC system shouldn’t be too complex and from the photo of the PCB I showed in the video, I would say the construction looks to be quite good. However, on the flip side it does have a battery, which was unexpected, and batteries all have a lifespan. It’ll be interesting to see but I do plan on using the reel long term and so when the inevitable happens we’ll see how things go. As far as the manual use question that is something that I can’t quite answer as I haven’t gotten to that point yet. Thanks for the questions and bringing up a great point! Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL no worries. This is Sunset from the group by the way. 😝 Thanks again for the video. Good stuff 👍🏾

Hey sunset! Haha yea I figured you might be in the group =). The question/concern you have about longevity is definitely a valid one and isn’t something we can quite answer just now unfortunately. That said, I’ll definitely share all my findings with you all and if anything happens I will always share that information. Hope that helps and cheers sunset!!! See you in the group =)

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks!

@@bedokboy my pleasure!

Hey Ricardo! Yep that’s pretty much the price I was able to purchase it for as well. The latest sale price was quite good and actually lower than what taobao has it for. Cheers my friend!

Hey Jacob! Yea the spool tension setup isn’t too bad but I do wish it was just a tad tighter. Likely it won’t get moved easily but it definitely can with the current amount of force required to move the knob. Cheers!!!

Hey Jacob! Yep you’re in master! I think the current work around of just keeping the reel in M until you notice the modes actually switch kinda works but is kinda frustrating… would’ve liked more consistency but my b50 dbc-1 also does that too sadly… cheers mate!

Hey Jacob! Haha yea their wording was quite… confusing to begin with so I tried tidying it up a bit. It still has some very oddly worded sections but I think overall it’s much better than it was before. Also, I noticed a few typos… 😅. The reel, imho, is going to be a good one. Cheers my friend!

No cramps or condiment on there is always nice.

Hey Ricardo! Haha I am so confused lol… any chance you can explain what you mean? Cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I had a bluetooth soundbar that had what it seemed part heatstroke description, part recipe on the user manual.

That's a cool reel. Can't wait for your real test on the water.

Hey Lintang! Thank you so much for the suggestion! However, the ireel2 isn’t quite a bfs reel and so it isn’t something this channel focuses on. The miiec and b50/100 dbc-1/2 reels however are which is why I took a look at them. I apologize for that and hope you understand. Cheers my friend!

Kastking is garbage

@@jinsuozhang9432 hey Jinsuo! I wouldn’t quite say that… some of their reels are manufactured by DMK after all. I just tested the valiant eagle 2 pro and it does cast what they claim it will cast. My only issue with it was the slight geariness in the retrieve, otherwise, I think they did a much better job than they did with their first iteration of their recent bfs reels. Cheers my friend!

Thank you very much for the information

Daido predator finesse from Indonesia

Hey Steven! Haha cheers mate! Appreciate the kind words and I hope you got some good info on the reel! Cheers my friend!

Hey Kim! Haha time is a luxury I don’t have much of… and yt is very much a passion project for me. With a career and a family it’s often hard for me to find moments where I can brainstorm, plan, film, edit, write descriptions, and upload. I am trying though =). I greatly appreciate your patience and understanding and you’re always more than welcome to ask questions in the comment section of other videos. Cheers my friend!

Hey Patrick! Yep! Through lenzs law the reel is generating an electrical current which charges the battery and powers the IC that controls the braking on the reel. Cheers my friend!

Hey RJ! That is a 0.8g cheburashka weight with a #8 EWG hook and a 4cm Spinpoler TPR Agile Shrimp soft plastic lure. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

Hey Patrick! Thank you for all of your support and your friendship. Cheers Patrick!!!

@@jensmatthaei3293 hey Jens! Hmm honestly I had to google fjord 106 to find out what kind of reel it is. It does look similar to an older Shimano Bantam but I can’t say I know much more than that. I am still willing to see if I can help you with your question and maybe posting it here will get the attention of someone who might be able to help? Please feel free to post your question and cheers my friend!

Hey James! First, let me start by saying that I greatly appreciate your time and your opinion as well. Second, I don’t think I have ever stated that I am an expert and will never say that as I’m not. These are just my opinions, thoughts, findings etc and are what I think, they are not fact or rules that people must follow. Not by any means at all. Was I critical of the Curado bfs? Yes. Why? Allow me to explain. 1. When I made this video the Curado bfs had just been “released” and was being sold for $200 and above. For the price, Shimano USA was selling a heavy 175g alum framed reel that was a design dating back to 2016 with a whole 7 bearings and a ton of grease. The Aldebaran, on the other hand, was selling for around $250(from Japanese etailer sites) and weighs in at around 130g is a much more premium design and has 10 bearings. This is why I recommended people just look at the Aldebaran if considering a Curado. To be honest, as of August 2024 I wouldn’t even recommend a $140 aliexpress Curado or a $250 Aldebaran anymore. Nowadays, I would gladly point people to something like a purelure/DMK silver feather elite, or a FF01 Cormorant as I believe these reels are far superior in terms of value for money and performance vs the Curado bfs and the Aldebaran bfs. I’m sorry that my review doesn’t support your belief in the Curado bfs but I have held, used and reviewed many reels and that is just my opinion that there are far superior reels to it. Honestly, how can you say that a design from 2016 is a superior design to the Aldebaran, released in 2022, or compared to reels that have more features and capability for a lower price? Anywho, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write in and leave a comment sharing your thoughts and opinions. I do wish you could have been a bit more civil and not attacked my review but I do hope you are able to have a better day and enjoy your three Curado reels. If you ever want help or would like advice(I don’t quite expect you will…) then I am more than happy to offer it as I do for anyone and everyone who asks. Also, keep in mind that my disappointing review should be a sign that my review is an unbiased one. Others out there will only point to positives in order to make a sale. At least I strive to be honest and as unbiased as I can on my channel. If that means that I tell people about the cons of products then that is exactly what I aim to do. I aim to be as critical as possible so that people are able to make the most informed purchasing decision that they can about whatever product they are watching my videos for. So… yes you are absolutely correct and right in your assessment of this channel. Thank you for pointing that out and for proving that my channel is honest and unbiased. Anywho, if you would like to chat more or ask me questions please feel free to do so as I have said that I would be more than happy to help. Cheers my friend!

@@MrAntinsk8 hey Antin! Nice! I should be getting mine today sometime. Very excited to see how the reel is as I received the MIIEC ETA(Bluetooth version) a week ago and it is quite nicely made. Cheers my friend!

@@goinnovate26 hey goinnovate! Hm I guess that would depend… in terms of build quality and performance I think the cormorant still has the edge, especially when it comes to sub 1g lures. However, as this reel has a larger diameter spool than the cormorant it should be able to outcast it at higher weight ranges. Other things to keep in mind are the vastly different price points with this coming in around $165usd and the cormorant varying between $200-240usd. That said, if I could only pick one reel between these two I would go with the cormorant. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL That is very helpful. Thank you for the considerate response. I appreciate it. Legend!

Hey Rod! I can assure you that the reel is not overbraked like the first version. I’ve been casting a 0.56g weightless plastic worm on it without any issues. As far as I understand, the spool weight has been reduced from the first version. They may have also reduced the magnet strength but there’s not really any good way to test or verify that. Yes, I have had some backlashes with this reel and when I cast my 1g weightless plastics the brake dial is typically right in the middle setting. Imho, this reel is able to cast what they are claiming. Regarding 5g lures I never tested that but I believe they rate the reel for up to 10g lures so I would assume it is capable of casting 5g without much issue. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thx a lot for the detailed answer.I will order one.

@@RodReel-hh9vp hey Rod! Let me know if you’ve got any further questions and cheers my friend!