10 Reels That Will Make You Forget About the Kastking Kestrel Elite

[@crankbaiter_fishing]

You doing a great work for us novice BFS anglers

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Thanks. Just sharing my experiences and opinions. Appreciate the comment.

[@justgregnow]

I’ve had the Kestrel elite for ever a year now and love it! I’m still blown away on how well and far it cast the lightest of baits. From where I’m sitting it’s hard to judge a reel you’ve never fished 🤷🏻‍♂️ but Kestrel could be a little less braked I’ll agree to that!

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Agreed, but not hard to judge a company that's done you wrong multiple times over... never buy KK again. But, I also know a lot of guys in the BFS world and the answer is pretty consistent on the braking too.

[@justgregnow]

@@AaronHuntFishing there’s a new version on the kestrel, they seemly corrected the over breaking. It’s weird how things with these fishing companies go. I’ve had issues and bad experiences with companies that my friends haven’t. Kastking has been good to me.

[@KevinLee-mf2xe]

Kastking is rebranded name of Chinese reel company called Tsurinoya. Tsurinoya in not a typical Chinese word, but imitating Japanese sounding name. It is cheap value, but not for quality.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

@@KevinLee-mf2xe Not sure your info is correct. kastking is owned by Eposeidon, who also makes Mad Bite fishing tackle. it's technically a US-based company. Tsurinoya seems to be wholly owned by Weihai Fishing Tackle. Based in (no surprise) Weihai China. Plus, I've owned a handful of both the Kastking and Tsurinoya reels and they have pretty much nothing in common. Lastly, every Tsurinoya product I've used has been good if not very good. In general they offer great value.

[@williamjee7234]

I fish feisty peacockbass and hv great time with it! It maybe over-braked for many. It work fine for my kinda bfs fishing. By the way, my rod is about 69g xul.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Happy it works well for you.

[@alex111683]

Hands down the Soloking Acura dual spool is THE best value out of any of these. If you want a higher end reel that's even cheaper than the Kestrel then get the Curado BFS.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Very accurate and valid points in my opinion. Appreciate your comment!

[@noobpyrotech9991]

Thanks for putting this vid together. I first started out with a Zephyr and updated the bearings but I am still having trouble with it. I was looking at getting the Dark Wolf but then the Genius came out. I am leaning more toward the Genius now. I mainly want to cast the lightest lures I can as far as I can. I mainly fish for small panfish from the bank of a pond.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Genius, maybe the Soloking / Doviello accura (you can get it on Amazon too! amzn.to/3Z1tIae), and upgrade the bearings. should be able to get down around 1 gram.

[@brythegeek]

I'm really enjoying your channel! I'm brand new to BFS fishing, but I have been fishing for a few decades with finesse to micro finesse fishing on spinning setups.The BFS world is pretty overwhelming and I wish I had found your channel before I purchased 2 BFS reels to try out. One of them being the KastKing Valiant Eagle 2 and the other DOVIELLO HICC50. After watching this and other videos I'm really glad I didn't get the Kestrel Elite. The HICC50 seems superior to the Valiant Eagle 2 though, but then again I'm brand new to this.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

The Doviello / Acura is reegarded as perhaps the best budget reel out there. Nice color scheme, but the 2 spools is a great bonus. It's essentially the same reel as the Dark Wolf Ultra and Micro monster, which I own, otherwise I'd buy one! And like you, I spent 45 years or so fishing spinning gear, nothing more than Medium weight for rivers and 5 foot ULs for creeks. And BFS has completely reignited my passion for exploring new water and catching new species.

[@williamjee7234]

I have bought two K elite about 2years ago. They are amazing. I use point 2 pe And point 6 F leader. It send a 1g micro lure upto 40yds.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Awesome. Glad they've held up for you.

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

The slx for $120 alone then upgraded can keep up with the Aldebaran 22!! Nice video the Aldebaran bfs my favorite reel!!

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Same here. I’m sure an SLX (or two) will join the collection eventually. CQ BFS is up next though!

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

@@AaronHuntFishing waiting to 👀 but I'm getting the right hand

[@kevythyrrakalastus1296]

Clever thinking! Still I'm somehow interested in how good or bad Kestrel Elite actually is. But I'm not actually wanting to have that reel because it is too expensive😄 Shimano SLX BFS seems great reel for that money!

[@AaronHuntFishing]

I get it. It's why I buy so many reels. But the SLX is a steal comparatively speaking.

[@JohnSorlie]

Awesome info there Aaron, I have the DWU,VE2, Spirit Fox 50S and the Sephyr, must say I love the DWU, my friend borrow my Daiwa, like you I did not connect with it last year. I want the Silver Creek, so lets see what happend. Cheers Aaron

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Silver Creek is awesome for small stream, for sure. But it's typically a good bit more expensive than the Kestrel, so i didn;t put it in this video. Appreciate the comment.

[@upstreamer1661]

My favorite CDM baicaster reel is the Piscifun XCS......... It's my favorite because is the only one I own. 😊

[@AaronHuntFishing]

That's the great thing about having all those options: We can all find something that ticks the right boxes for us. I really enjoyed some of the Piscifun spinning reels before I got into BFS...

[@mwmeyer3851]

Really helpful video! What would you recommend for a rod to pair with the Dark Wolf BFS reel?

[@AaronHuntFishing]

So many good ones. Flick rod: Lemoren Windshadow. Trout rod: obsession trout sensation. Lightweight bass / trout combo: Ace Hawk Venom. Bass: Obesession Mojo Bass. A lot of folks like the Ace Hawk CU double as well. I haven’t tried it personally.

[@mwmeyer3851]

Awesome! Thanks for the recommendations!!

[@JohnJohnWang69]

If your interested check out Shimano calcutta conquest bfs reel . It's an older reel but its still one of the top bfs reels in the mix with the newer stuff.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

I'd love to. Kinda hard to find. I'm wondering if we'll see an update this year? I'm sorta holding off just in case. But I will have one eventually! Along with a Daiwa Steez....

[@JohnJohnWang69]

@@AaronHuntFishing yes theirs a rumor going around theirs going to be a 2023 version of the calcutta conquest BFS . I also have the 2020 daiwa steez air TW that was one of most expensive bait finesse reels daiwa put out of the time.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

@@JohnJohnWang69 Very nice. I'm still kinda new to BFS, so happy with the 10 or so I picked up last year! Lol. FIngers crossed for the new CQ.

[@JohnJohnWang69]

@@AaronHuntFishing they it's all good I'm still learning too always something new to learn in thr BFS world. Also if you end up not liking the kast king travel rod you got ill be happy to buy it off you.

[@draidt]

I got the Kestrel Elite on sale from KastKing USA for 179.00, I still feel I got ripped off. The Vaillant Eagle II is a better reel They shot themselves in the butt with this.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Agree - I think they gambled and it's gonna hurt them. Had they pulled off a competitor to the Aldebaran they could have really taken off!

[@timothythompson6549]

I don't know what kastking is smoking. Or any of the oem brands for that matter. Seems any of their non-plastic reels are going for Daiwa/Shimano money.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Agreed. In my year of trying / using Kastking products, having order issues, and dealing with customer service (who refused to do anything about a lost shipment), it's one of the few brands I will just flat out refuse to buy any longer. Espcially when i can get the Shimano SLX BFS for less!

[@letufamily]

You what me to be beaten by my wife?😅 I heave 3 shimano Reels, one daiwa, 2 Abu Garcia and 3 no name 😅I like your sincerity, good job 👍

[@AaronHuntFishing]

I don;t - i take the beatings for everyone who watches. :P I appreciate your loyal support.

[@kennethcolbert2921]

Sounds like you just don't like Kastking reels.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

That would be 100% accurate.

[@MrAntinsk8]

If you cast 3 gr+ you don't need new kastkings at all! BUT..under 3gr they beat all chines reels now for comfort. I have both kastking "birds". They are perfect to operate 1.8-2.5 gr minnows. But if i want to hunt a chub with 4+ gr crankbaits i will take my Acura.

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Appreciate your perspective. I still like the original DWU better. Upgrading the bearing in one of those soon for really light weights.

[@fieqakim]

I have really bad experience with kastking reel

[@AaronHuntFishing]

I guess it's possible with any brand, but KastKing continues to lose my support. Sorry to hear you had a bad expereince.

[@fieqakim]

@@AaronHuntFishing i know that mistake can happen but for me kastking is the best at making mistake..i bought kastking spartacus+ first problem is the thumbbar will close everytime i try to make longcast..second water will go inside my reel really easy like 5 or 6 cast and i have a reel full of water..and then i buy kastking royal megatron..during unboxing i notice some strange noise when reeling..after inspection i found out that my spool is bend and spool,side plate and tension knob bearing is broken..the best part is i ask the seller itself why the reel is not like advertise and many part are not there compared to advertisement and the answer i get very dissapoint me..they solutions also very funny, they offer me a refund amount 1 dollar only 😏because they say my reel is first model..in the photo and advertised is new model..and that 1dollar is also for damaged item that they send to me..sory for my bad english and thank you for sharing 😊

[@lsgt5132]

Just say kastking wouldn't give you free stuff bc you won't big enough 😅😅

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Lol. I've turned them down already. I don't need free stuff. 95% off all the stuff I use and cover on the channel up till now was paid for out of my own pocket. Over $10k and counting so far... Even my first Kistler and two others since I had my partnership with them I've bought, because they're that good. But, maybe shows where your mindset is about how KZbin or business works.