KastKing Zephyr Bait Finesse Baitcasting Fishing Reels with Drag Clicker

Let me just say this first I have never been a big bait caster typ of guy but this one I absolutely love! First off it is super light weight you can definitely tell it’s carbon fiber. As well as smooth with casting and once set up right no backlash occurrence. But the thing that sold me was I was fishing for bass in my local river and ended up hooking a big fish after about 6 minutes fighting this fish I finally landed a 10lb channel catfish and the reel performed flawlessly the drag didn’t stutter it was smooth and the reel stayed consistent the entire fight! I highly recommend this reel to anyone looking to get into some light weight fishing it performs when you need it to!!

I'm a crappie fisherman who got into bait casting last year and bought a couple higher end combo's. Wasn't very impressed with them but bumped into the idea of using a BFS caster for crappie. I have several ultra light setups but the idea of not having to flip a bail and smoothing out the process appealed to me. So the KastKing BFS immediately comes up with it's attractive price and reputation. I decided to take a chance for science. Right out of the box it feels lightweight, grips are /meh and it's obviously not high precision equipment. But the more I looked at it the happier I was with it. I paired it with a Carbonlite 2.0, 6 lbs mono just to keep it close to what I normally use for comparisons. Felt great in my hand. Threw on a casting plug and went to the yard. Very easy to dial in, I slowly started getting used to it and increasing distance. Within about 10 minutes I was matching some of my longer casts records across the yard. Decided to give it a really hard throw - it cleared my yard, the neighbors yard the cleared the top of the far tree (2 stories) for a new casting record. Yeah, it'll do. Spent all day at the lake with it, typical bait caster issues like don't cast into heavy wind or dang if I didn't hit a tree and caused some backlash. But they all cleared out easily and I'm pretty excited using it. I swapped out to some really light jigs and reached really good cast distances. Very happy with the setup. For science I decided to swap out default bearings with the bearing kit from eBay (ceramics). I've only did yard casts but it's an obvious upgrade in casting distance and has added a good chunk of yards to the throws. So my take after several hours of testing is that this reel earned its rep. Adding ceramic bearings will increase the cost of the reel by $25 or so (more if you don't have the tool) but it didn't need them for my purposes. I can't speak to the reels longevity, but I think it'll last as long as most and is less than half the cost. If you're interested in BFS this is a good entry point.

Great reel for the price point. I wanted to ditch my spinning reel and try my hand at BFS, but didn't want to shell out $500+ on a rod and reel that may not fit my fishing style. Enter the KastKing Zephyr. Entry level price point, with big boy performance. To be clear, I will be using this for bass fishing and this more than handles the baits I want to throw. I was able to throw small jigs and tiny crankless swim baits with ease. I had my sppol tension too high when I first was testing the rod and led me to think the drag was broken. It was entirely user error and I got it figured out quickly enough. If you are using this for trout fishing and want to throw tiny baits like a trout magnet, you may need a slight upgrade in the bearings department. The bearings won't necessarily increase you casting distance, but they will allow you to cast lighter lures. All in all, this will work perfectly for me using some 8lb test to throw lures I previously needed a spinning reel for. This was paired with a KastKing Perigee II ML action rod and performed beautifully. These were my first KastKing purchases, but surely won't be my last! UPDATE 2/24/23: The reel is still performing great and has easily becoming one of my favorites. I recently made the swap to braid on this setup. I was easily casting 1/8oz lures 10+ yards further than I was previously. I should have made the switch earlier but I'm lazy and hate tying leaders. For anyone struggling getting distance with those super light lures, ditch the fluorocarbon for braid and you will reach the promised land. One thing I will also note: I'm really tough on my gear, and do a lot of bank fishing. This reel may feel "cheap," but it has taken a considerable amount of abuse and still performs like new. I also recall reading reviews that mentioned their line getting wedged on the side of the spook. I'm not sure if this is an issue that was corrected by the manufacturer or if I've just been lucky enough to not experience it, but that has not been an issue for me. I can't recommend this reel enough if you're in the market for a BFS reel. Give yourself time to get past the learning curve of casting it and the "flick" motion needed. This should also be paired with a light/slow rod for best results.

I have mixed feelings about this reel. The quality is good but if you get frustrated easy or are impatient or new to BFS this reel is definitely not for you. Caught a nice 6lb bass on 10lb braid to 8lb flouro but this reel is difficult to dial in. I hate having to change my set up on this such as lure or weight because it can take a while to dial in. I strictly use Baitcasters and my main is a Kast King Crixus AmorX (love it). I probably wouldn't buy this reel again.

So far this has been a very good reel. There is a learning curve on how to cast it without a backlash. I’m still learning. Good value for the money. One thing I really like is how easy it is to take apart if you have really bad backlash.

A great entry level BFS reel, nice smooth drag and reeling, as long as you tune it correctly you shouldn’t get to many backlashes. Feels great on the rod and has a nice balance to it. Very good for the price.

I can’t say enough good things about this baitcasting reel. Right out of the box, you can feel the incredible build quality solid, smooth, and made to last. This isn’t just a reel, it’s a precision tool that screams durability. It’s taken a few hard knocks already and still performs like it’s fresh off the shelf. Casting? Unreal. This thing casts like an absolute dream so smooth and effortless that I barely even need to use weights anymore. I’m launching baits farther and with more control than ever before. The accuracy is next level I feel like a sniper on the water, placing my lure exactly where I want it every single time. Amazing value trust me, this reel pared with a fast action pole is all you need.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY! I got a return that doesn’t even work. There’s waterspouts all over it. There’s zero drag. On the tightest setting it just pulls line no matter what and it sounds terrible in the process. Amazon and Kastking basically told me to kick rocks. Not happy at all

Nice cheap bfs reel

muy bueno mi hermano quedo fascinado!!! llego a tiempo

Item is severely over-priced. You can do much better buying a $50 dollar reel than this one. Had issues with the adjustments such as the tensioner and the magnetic bearings.