💨 EVEN LIGHTER???😶‍🌫️THORNSLINE SEMBO AIR 117!!!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

UPDATE(1/4/24): I would not currently recommend this reel. It has too many small issues and does not cast consistently. I have heard that Thornsline will be releasing a revised version.

[@patrickhartman6818]

I'm waiting for sembo 2.0 lol

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@patrickhartman6818 hey Patrick! I keep bugging them but I dunno they don’t give me any information so I’m not holding my breath… They really dropped the ball on the reel. Could’ve been a lot more but at least they stopped selling them… Cheers my friend!

[@abelabner]

Seems like a good ultra budget find, but we won't know unless you use it a couple times, which I would enjoy seeing or even just a narrative. I have accumulated quite a collection of varying degrees of quality with my cheapest being less than this one but has to be way more of a piece of garbage, plus I would need to grab another rod to match it....hahaha. But hey if it was decent I would consider it for a specialty type combo, i.e. perhaps a ultralight top-water rig with an AceHawk CU Double? If the reel is actually decent at casting, and those tinkerers among us could get some of that slop out as well as improve the drag system and such as a little project. I am curious to at least hear how it casts before I would grab one though, thanks for showing it off I hadn't seen this one myself prior to your video. Cheers!!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Abel! Haha I hear you! I have an ever growing list of casting videos I need to edit and publish. I am just getting over being sick for the past 5 weeks though so my energy levels are still recovering a bit. Anywho, that being said I did spool the reel up and did a quick and dirty 15 minute casting session in the backyard. I only tried a 0.5g jighead and a 1g practice lure so it’s not thorough by any means. The results I got were… good and bad. Good because it gets competitive distances. I can’t tell you exactly what the distances were and I really hate guesstimating but it seems on par with the Acura pro. The bad is because it was hard to setup, ie spool tension and brakes, it was fairly inconsistent and a bit inaccurate, and the bearings were noisy… zzzzzzzzzzzzz. I definitely think the reel needs some shimming, some bearing flushing and re-lubing, and some finagling with the spool tension. I think once those things are done this reel will sing for you. I’ll try to get a teardown/maybe upgrade video in soonish but no promises as my list is ever growing. Hope that quick assessment helps! Sorry it’s not super definitive… come join the budget bfs finesse fishing group if you want to hear others’ experience with the reel! Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts, requests and insights my friend! Cheers!

[@abelabner]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL yes thanks you very much!!! I thought that light spool could do well and I appreciate even that limited testing information. I will have to wait a bit unfortunately as AliExpress was out of RH versions, get better and keep well!!!!

[@fridel999]

I 'fix' the tension knob issue by removing the small metal clicker and added double rubber o ring..its a bit tight fit but u can now fine tune the tension knob better and hopefully cast more consistent

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey fridel! Nice work!!! I was able to do something similar with the PTFE tape but I think my solution is less of a permanent fix. I don’t quite have the right sized orings on hand and also there seems to be no groove to allow an oring to seat in the threads sadly… Just a very poor design and oversight by the manufacturer in this case. In any case, glad you were able to get yours situated! Cheers my friend!

[@DWPFishing]

Appreciate your review as always. Your saving people time, money and headaches.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey drink! My pleasure! That’s one of the goals of the channel no doubt. Glad I was able to help identify this problem… I’ll likely make a video showing how to temporarily fix this issue when I get a moment. Thanks as always for commenting and cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

Just gave you another view. Went out today testing casting between hicc50 pro and Aurora. Very close!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Sorry for the late response! Yea the differences in casting difference between the two aren’t very big. They’re there but it’s not a huge difference. Cheers my friend’

[@sergeigoow511]

I wish you a speedy recovery and we are waiting for information from the backyard)

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Sergei! I really appreciate that! I think the antibiotics I’m taking are finally starting to kick in and help me recover from this sinusitis… I feel like I’ve had every seasonal illness so far lol 🥲🥲🥲. Ah well at least my immune system has had a good shake down lol. Will try to get some casts in today! Cheers my friend!

[@fsanfo]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I always had bad sinusitis crises and what make the most difference in my life was the sinus rinse. That salty water tossed with plastic bottle is top-notch treatment

[@house530]

Another great video

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey house! Appreciate the kind words my friend! Cheers!

[@TheAccidentalDweeb]

Shame about the poorer build quality because it’s a pretty nice looking reel. Informative and unbiased as always 👌🏼

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Kelv! Yea… I was hoping for a better quality but from what I’ve been hearing the reel casts nicely. Even though I don’t have a lot of time I may spool it up and then just give it a couple practice casts in the backyard to get a feel. I do really like the spool size and the weight is good so all signs do point to a capable reel! I think this one will really need to get some time on the water but I am so so behind on videos currently haha. Cheers my friend!

[@fridel999]

I ordered one too but haven't arrived yet

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey fridel! That’s awesome! I hope it arrives soon for you. Would love to hear what you think when you get yours. Cheers my friend!

[@matyasabkarovits]

That spool weight is insane... 4.8... The reel itself looks like a "gh100-ish" category... Is there any noticable gap between the frame and sideplates or between the spool and frame? Waiting for the casting impression video 🙌

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey matya! To be honest, since this was a quick and dirty unboxing and under 6 minutes(I failed the 5 minute mark haha 😅) I wasn’t able to check. I can def check today though. I don’t believe it’ll be an issue if you use 0.6goh PE but it might be as all budget reels generally have issues with line tolerance. Sadly the casting impression video might take a bit of time as I have a long list of casting impression videos I need to edit 😅😅😅. I was a bit out of commission for something like 5 weeks so I’m really behind haha. Thanks for commenting and cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

Thanks for pushing out this video

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! My pleasure! This one was easy as I kept the talking to a minimum and kept it under 6 minutes, failed the 5 min mark haha… Thanks for commenting and cheers my friend!

[@RicardoReview]

If the reel as a exclusion diagram is halfway tell tale that is at least serviceable. Mine is on the mail.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Ricardo! It’s definitely a nice touch for a low priced reel. I know of a few others that have not included anything but the reel itself in the box. A bit unfortunate… That being said, a schematic isn’t always necessary for a reel to be serviced but a very welcome addition. For example, I incorrectly assumed that the drag clicker was a leaf spring and flute ring combination style but it actually turns out that it is a cam and flute ring style similar to what daiwa uses. I am curious to try and see if I can make this reel feel much more premium through proper shimming and maybe some tuning of the drag clicker. That being said, I was able to spend maybe 15 minutes or so casting in the backyard and I was both pleased and a little disappointed in the performance; pleased with the distances but then disappointed with the consistency and difficulty in being able to setup the reel to my liking… I’ll have to show or explain at another time as I am extremely busy and backed up with videos that need to be published though so it may be a bit before I can get to that… anywho, thanks for stopping by as always and cheers my friend!

[@needmoreboost6369]

Does sound cheap but that noisy drag clicker could probably simply refined with a little chamfering with a file or rotary tool. Anyway How does it compare in quality with reel’s like tsurinoya dwu and seasir mansory?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey boost! Thanks for the suggestion! I was also considering maybe trying to weaken the cam spring or maybe also shortening the cam a bit for the clicker mechanism? As far as the quality is concerned, I can’t speak to the Mansory as my Mansory was quite bad…, I would say that the DWU is a level above this. That being said, this reel has the right spool dimensions and weight to really perform well. However, I think the tolerances with the spool tension knob might be hurting the performance a bit. I had a chance to use it for 15 minutes in the backyard today and distances looked good but it was oddly inconsistent. I think I need to tear into it to really understand what might be going on… thanks so much for the suggestion and cheers my friend!

[@needmoreboost6369]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks for the reply, I’d imagine that the weaker spring might be worth a look and based on what you’ve said it’s probably a good reel to mess with if so inclined, but I’ll probably give it a miss mainly for that Flexi body and as the project list is already starting to pile up again.

[@needmoreboost6369]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL btw I swapped the ceramic bearings for stainless out of the mansory and it’s a tiny bit more forgiving! and I aggressively broke in the spool tension and new bearings by adding excessive tightness on the tension knob then used a drill to de spool it quickly multiple times and now presets are more consistent than prior but the rest is well..what it is lol

[@rheinhafenangler4698]

Hey Dude the Bearing Size pls?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Rhein! The sembo uses 2x 834 bearings for the spool and side plate. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

Giving you another watch on a video

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Haha much appreciated my friend! Cheers!

[@zankyou101]

I do like the looks of the reel. Normally a new good value $35 reel would have me itching to buy but it sounds like this one has some build quality issues. For the money, I would stay with the proven Acura Pro which at times sell from $30-$35-$40.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey eric! Yea the tolerances don’t seem to be the best imho… others have reported similar findings. I did get like 15 minutes to practice cast in the backyard and it’s fairly capable but a bit on the inconsistent side if anything. The bearings are also very loud being ceramics. They make like a zzzzzzz sound haha. I’m going to try to deshield and flush them maybe to see if I can’t get them to run a bit smoother and oil them to make them a bit quieter. I think the distances should be fairly close to what the Acura pro gets maybe a bit further(?) but it just feels fairly inconsistent. Hope all is well and happy new year my friend! Cheers!!!

[@БогданРоганович]

I am waiting this reel from Aliexpress. Very interesting to try. Is it possible to fix some problems of this reel?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey there! I think you can definitely fix some of the “slop”/tolerance issues. As for the drag clicker I think it’s possible to make it a tad smoother but won’t know until I open it up and take a good look. When I do the teardown I might make it a “fix” video as well. Cheers my friend!

[@humbertocesar7971]

Vale apena ou é melhor comprar uma VE2 da kastking?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey humerto! I’m still trying to figure out whether this reel is amazing or not amazing haha… the short backyard tests have been very random and inconsistent. For now, I would recommend the Acura pro over the ve2. I would only recommend the ve2 if you don’t want to backlash and don’t care about sacrificing some distance. Hope that helps and thanks so much for the question! Cheers my friend!

[@quanloikid1]

Great as always--lost the las 6 weeks with Covid pneumonia and pericarditis. Are you going to do The Cormorant? Doc 1/5

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Joseph! Ah man… I am right there with you… I’ve been sick for the past 5 weeks… laryngitis to covid to rsv to sinusitis… I am finally just getting over everything… I hope you are recovering well my friend! I am currently so backed up with videos to edit that I am not sure. I do have a cormorant sent to me by nakoshop but I am waiting on their word that I can be brutally honest before considering opening the package. If they say no and I can mention negatives then it goes back to them. Otherwise, if they’re ok with me voicing my honest opinion then hopefully in a week or two I can consider opening the package. As it is cast test videos are taking a considerable amount of time for me to edit as it’s a new format for me and also I am still trying to standardize a test regimen. It’s a bit of a work in progress and very much like riding an old rusty bike with flat tires haha. Please bear with me on this and in the meantime please take care and get better! Cheers my friend and thank you for the request!

[@quanloikid1]

RSV-viral pneumonia-secondary bacterial pneumonia-Covid-pericarditis and sinusitus. The cormorant fels ok but the star drag and free spool are a little sqirrely--get better soon-Doc 1/5@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@quanloikid1 hey doc! Wow… sounds like you got put through the wringer… very glad to hear you are getting out of it! I appreciate your heads up on the cormorant findings and I will consider what I have time for or not… Stay healthy and cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

Just wondering you said stainless steel brgs. It shows ceramic?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Yep you’re absolutely right. The two spool bearings are actually ceramic and I corrected myself in the video with some overlayed text. What threw me off was the fact that these are metal shielded ceramic spool bearings. I have never actually seen any like this before. Kind of neat! Cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL i need to pay better attention lol

[@patrickhartman6818]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL just wondering did you ever try. seasir mansory reel, ceramic bearings also and not a bad reel.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Haha actually I think I need to pay better attention 😆. I should have caught that initially. I’ll chalk it up to being sick for 5 weeks 😆😆😆. As far as the Mansory is concerned… I did make a video on it but never published it. The reason being that my Mansory was pretty bad. The spool tension on it acts almost like an on/off switch and it makes casting terrible for some reason. Others reviewed the reel quite well so I didn’t want to put out a video about a potential one off reel. In order to really test accurately for reels I would need to purchase multiple copies to eliminate QC variances but the channel doesn’t have those kinds of funds. So… instead of putting out a review that would completely tarnish the reels reputation I just decided to not publish my video =\. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for asking about the Mansory and cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL i bought 1 at $45 then price dropped to $28 so i bought a second lol

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

Would you recommend this to a starter? Reel looks nice paper work box shame qc build issue.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey earl! Haha I’m not sure I haven’t even gotten a chance to try it out yet. That being said, people have been reporting that theirs cast fairly well. At $35 it’s cheap enough that if it doesn’t work then you can just move on to another reel I suppose. The reel does seem like it has some potential though with that spool being so small and light. Looking forward to tearing into it and trying it out! Cheers my friend!

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL got some work ahead of you

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@The_Multi-species_Angler hey earl! Haha tell me about it… being sick for 5 weeks just really put me in a funk lol… I’ve got a ton of videos to edit and a few I really want to make as well so at least the queue is full for a bit. Not necessarily a bad problem to have I think 😅😅😅. Cheers my friend!

[@jameswork855]

Would you compare Shimano’s Alderbaran vs the Calcutta Conquest BFS? Which should I buy?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey James! Unfortunately, I don’t actually have a conquest on hand but from what I’ve heard it seems like the CQ actually is a bit easier to cast than the Aldebaran. That being said, the jdm Aldebaran can be had for something like $260usd or so while the CQ still commands a higher price tag. So really the questions I would present to you are; what is comfortable to your budget, and do you absolutely need a round reel or would you like something more ergonomic? If you are set on one or the other then I don’t think you will be displeased with either. I will say though that the Aldebaran can be a little finnicky in casting and that if you do consider getting this reel that I suggest looking into picking up the KKR spool that is available. I have added this spool to my Aldebaran and it has really tamed the finnicky nature as well as allowed me to cast lower weights comfortably. Thanks so much for the question and cheers my friend!

[@jameswork855]

Thanks for the info. I’m not concerned about price, maybe I’ll try the conquest. It is newer and the latest tech.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@jameswork855 hey James! Right on! The conquest has something like 99% of the same internals as the Aldebaran. The changes that were made were to the spool shaft length, and a bit of brake tuning iirc. I think these small changes were enough to help make the cq a bit less finnicky than the Aldebaran. That being said, both should cast identical distances and cast very similarly. Cheers my friend!

[@christopherlee4613]

Hmmmm.... cool... its quite reasonable.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Chris! Did you see the side profile photo I posted in the fb group? Hahaha it’s a sembobaran 😆. Haha cheers my friend!

[@christopherlee4613]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL yep I did...😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@christopherlee4613 haha I love it 😆

[@yep.fishing]

You should have mentioned the price, or did I miss that? I'll be releasing a new reel, it's this one but it has no washers or spacers and is super sloppy.....but it will be the world's lightest!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey yep! Right at the beginning I mentioned the $35 price tag. I was trying to talk quick to cut down on the length of the video haha my apologies. What’s the new world’s lightest reel? 😅 I can’t keep up anymore… haha. Cheers my friend!

[@yep.fishing]

My bad, I missed that ​@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL

[@mauricezaoui9195]

Funny, I found it today and was surprised! Stop hacking my brain 0n0

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Maurice! Haha yea they keep coming out with “even lighter” reels now lol… give them another month and there’ll be a 116g reel lol. If this trend continues I’m not sure what the structural rigidity of those reels will be like 😆. This one flexes a bit as is and I don’t really want to see much more than this in a reel. Anywho, look to the fb group for some adhoc casting impressions. I will likely add my impressions after a very short backyard session with the reel. Cheers my friend!

[@mauricezaoui9195]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Well that's impressive for the price. It can have a positive effect on the others actors of CDM reels by promoting some competition! Cheers :!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@mauricezaoui9195 hey Maurice! Yep! I’m always interested in competition! Good for everyone imho. Cheers my friend!

[@sorenk9962]

take the clicker part out of the tension knob and the problem with the spool tension is solved. You no longer have a clicker in the tension knob, but who needs a clicker in the tension knob anyway 🤷‍♂️

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Soren! While I agree with you that spool tension clickers aren’t really necessary and actually make the spool tension setting hard to use the clicker isn’t the actual issue. The issue is that the thread of the spool tension cap is cut much larger than the thread of the male portion of the reel frame that it is supposed to screw onto. In addition to this, the company did not include a groove to seat and o-ring and did not include one. This allows the spool tension cap to have a large amount of slop. When you cast, the spool tension knob will move and sometimes compress the spool tension shaft against the spool causing an abrupt slowing of the spool and thus erratic casts. In order to fix this issue, I added some PTFE tape to the male threads of the reel frame. This helped to keep the spool tension cap in place and made the reel cast more consistently. There is a new version of the sembo that was just released that I purchased and have used but the reel sold out at both stores selling it. I will likely make a video on this updated version sharing my thoughts soon. Cheers my friend!

[@sorenk9962]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL after i remove it the white piece in the knob the reel is totaly fine like every other reel dont know🤷‍♂️🙈

[@sorenk9962]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL i buy my 2 weeks ago from ali zukibo shop

[@sorenk9962]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL zukibo shop?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@sorenk9962 hey Soren! Did you just purchase yours? If so, then you have an updated revised version and you should have the oring and groove. Removing the clicker from the newest version wouldn’t really do much. This video is on the first iteration of the reel and actually the clicking portion is a spring that is seated on the reel frame and not inside the spool tension cap. The older version has too much slop in the spool tension cap and needs an oring or ptfe tape to tighten the tolerances. Curious to know if you have a new version that has this issue already addressed. Cheers my friend!

[@leepao6302]

This reel is good for a quick challenge video and then give it away to your subscriber only 🤣

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Lee! Haha while I love that idea I don’t think I’d give this reel away in its current form… I amended the video description to show that I don’t recommend this reel as it is. The casting is extremely inconsistent and just not enjoyable sadly… Maybe when I have some time I can look into trying to improve it and then giving it away but until this reel is a decent casting reel I don’t think it’s a good idea to consider giving it away haha… 😅. Thanks so much for the idea and request and cheers my friend!

[@leepao6302]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL 😂 i was just joking...

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@leepao6302 hey Lee! Hahaha gotcha 😆. Yea giving this away would be a bad joke on the winner lol… 😅😅😅. Maybe I’ll actually try fixing it and then giving it away 🤔. Might be onto something there =). Let me know how your arise performs! Still would love to know what you think of it. Cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

It's me again lol

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Another storm is rolling in today… Hopefully it’ll clear out quick though! Cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL our storms start Thursday, takes a couple days from you to me.,

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! Yep this one is supposed to be a 1 day so hopefully it’ll come through and go quick and then we can get back to business as usual sooner rather than later. Cheers my friend!

[@patrickhartman6818]

Peter you have to at least try it, you never know how good it cast till you try. lol I pray God will bring you back to full health very soon, so you can get out in the cold wet to play lol

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Patrick! I actually did get a couple sessions in with the Mansory but I was disappointed every single time due to the odd spool tension performance. I can’t really say why it acts like an on/off switch but that’s how mine acts sadly… I appreciate your prayers and thoughts very much! Am really missing being out on the water haha. The only time I won’t go out is when it’s pouring for fear of becoming a human lightning rod 😅😅😅. Cheers my friend!

[@davidcloyd1296]

$35 and your casting light baits for small bass and panfish,, free market at work.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey David! Haha yea I’m hearing that the reel casts quite well so I might spool it up today and give it a couple test casts in the backyard. Would love to get it on the water but I am so behind on other reels and equipment that it might be a while unfortunately… Anywho thanks as always for commenting and cheers my friend!

[@shakkuxiii]

all these reel manufacturer trying to one up each other without taking rod technology into account; making unbalanced rod and reel combo.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey shak! Haha I actually agree with you on this. What’s crazy is that since the publishing of this video there is now an even lighter bfs reel! 115g made by a company called histar. That reel does look interesting as the brakes are a bit unique but I think I am going to relax a bit on the whole “worlds lightest bfs” reel race that the CDM seems to be so infatuated with… at least for the time being. I’d love to see some sort of weight balance system where you can “customize” the handle/reel weight so you have the handle side of the rod be slightly heavier than the tip side but it doesn’t seem like it’s that big of a deal to rod and reel manufacturers currently. Watch… the next rod manufacturer that makes this system will be the next big thing haha. Anywho, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and insights! Cheers my friend!

[@oxyuran5998]

🤔 A "how to tame the drag clicker + casting impressions" video would be nice. Basically, if you tinker with the drag clicker, tell us how and how it worked and let us know if it is any good at the water.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey oxy! That’s a great idea! I need to spool the reel up and get some really quick tests in… maybe today… as for on the water use it may be a bit of time. I’ve been sick for about 5 weeks now lol… if you can think of the seasonal bug then I’ve probably had it 😅. That has put me really behind on editing and I have more reels I need to share lol… Teardown I can do relatively quickly and what not but the actual on the water casting will be a bit. Thanks so much for the suggestion and cheers my friend!