I've wanted to get my hands on this reel for a long time, and only recently had the chance to finally fish it. Even though it's not a new model, it's still a very interesting piece of gear.
I paired it with a Daiwa Silver Creek 62LB-3 (2–10 g) rod and spooled it with 0.205 mm nylon line. In my opinion, nylon works exceptionally well for trout fishing in rivers.
The Aldebaran BFS is incredibly lightweight — just 130 grams — and it balances perfectly with a light, delicate rod. From the very first casts, everything felt intuitive and easy to control.
With nylon line, I did notice some occasional line "blooming" or fluffing, especially at lower brake settings, so I mostly used brake settings 5–6. With PE braid, this isn't an issue at all, and you can comfortably back off the brakes. I didn't experience any serious backlashes.
The reel starts performing comfortably from around 4 grams. At 5–6 grams, casting becomes very consistent with excellent control.
The retrieve is smooth and light, and lure control during the presentation is precise. The drag works flawlessly on fish — very smooth, with no jerks or hesitation.
Overall, I really liked this reel. It's definitely going to see a lot more time on the water.
