It’s no secret that Ian Miller loves his bass fishing. It’s where his love of lure fishing was born over five decades ago. And it was back in the early days, back in a time when the only bass gear to use was baitcast tackle…
Small, light lures and baitcast reels were never a truly comfortable partnership in the beginning. The only reel capable of doing an acceptable job – and this was after some custom tuning – was the original ABU Ambassador 1500C.
And rods to suit, well, they simply just weren’t available at all!
This set Ian on a pursuit for his perfect bass rod. It was a journey that spanned more than a decade, with incremental improvements made to his next custom creation once new blanks and technology periodically became available.
Eventually, Ian settled on a lightweight blank of a certain length that allowed light lures to be cast accurately to a fishable distance, which he was able to combine with a reasonable amount of fish-fighting ability. This ‘SweetWater’ baitcast rod first became available as a custom build some 20-odd years ago.
Then along came improved spin tackle and what were known as ‘ultra-light baitcast rods’ took a backseat until the relatively recent development of ‘Baitcast Finesse Tackle’. New, vastly improved reels made casting tiny lures easy and ‘BFS’ (ultra-light) rods were back on the agenda. Ian knew exactly where to find his inspiration for this model!
The Millerods BFS Bass has its roots in decades of Aussie bass fishing, and the latest technologies in rod blanks and components bring this to the next level!
Exhibiting extreme lightness in the hand and incredible sensitivity and balance, the BFS Bass has the perfect rod length for accuracy of casting into tight areas, but also has some low-down power for bass extraction!
The blank action is smooth loading which is imperative when casting ultra-light lures. It opens the window a little wider for when the lure can be released to accurately reach the target.
Blank construction is the new ‘Armour 40-5’. This all-new blank technology is the ultimate in blank reinforcement – the optimal solution to create a more robust blank while maintaining the Millerods benchmarks of lightweight sensitivity!
The multi-guide train is a composition of Kigan ultra-light guide frames that are ideal for BFS. The generous quantity of 11 guides + tip-top guarantee line runs true and easy and further enhances the overall casting and retrieving smoothness of this rod performance.
The exclusive, custom Millerods anti-tangle hook keeper keeps the lure stowed at the ready in-between casts.
The Millerods ‘Drifter’ style handle incorporates a cork rear grip, carbon locking fore-grip and alloy seat fittings. The BFS Bass utilises a real timber barrel*, treated to be hard wearing but still smooth in the palm. This is all finished with the anti-skid Millerods butt cap.
This rod may be based on bass fishing but is equally suited to any BFS application where a rod of this length is suitable and some fish fighting authority is needed!
^Millerods recommends the use of the FG knot for connecting braided fishing lines to monofilament leaders. All Ian’s lure casting guide trains are selected with this connecting knot in mind.
*Natural timbers may vary slightly in colour from the image.