FT Impression-7 [Fishman BC4 5.10LH] (Updated 8/8)
https://www.fish-man.com/bc4.html
Hello, welcome to my fishing gear introduction. This time, it's about a rod, the Fishman BC4 5.10LH. It has a spell-like product name, "BC4 5.10LH"; BC likely stands for Bait Cast, 4 for 4-piece, 5.10 for 5ft 10in, and LH for Light Heavy, probably—though I could be wrong.
The company that runs Fishman is based in Hokkaido. It is led by Mr. Akatsuka, who is shown catching a giant fish in the top thumbnail. While they seem to focus mainly on sea bass, the rod I am introducing this time seems to be designed with an eye toward strange catches like giant groupers (relatives of the prized longtooth grouper), odd sharks, and giant fish living in tropical regions.
With this rod, I have caught edible fish so far, including sea bass, horse mackerel, grouper, rockfish, and sardines. It is an easy-to-use rod that can cast reasonably heavy lures, makes light lures easy to cast, and is comfortable even when you don't need to achieve long casting distances. It feels like it has a soft tip, a moderate belly, and a rigid butt (though this sensation may vary from person to person).
Specs on the website
[LH] Weight: 136g Lure weight: 7-40g Line: PE 1-5
In particular, pitching-style casts with lures around 10g are exhilarating.
Pitching
https://youtu.be/qSU2YupxeBQ
It handles even somewhat large fish without a problem (though I haven't caught anything that big yet...), yet it is still easy to fish with for smaller catches like horse mackerel and mackerel. It is a mysterious rod that really gives you a great "feeling of catching" fish.
100kg is no problem
https://www.fimosw.com/u/fishman/d52ucu77sadcbv
It's like, "Are you serious?" regarding that shark.
Because of its short length, it is easy to handle, making it valuable for boat fishing. The only downside I can think of is the maneuverability when a fish dives under the boat. If you are going to a place you've never been to and catching fish you've never caught before, I think this is essential.
If there is any flaw to speak of with Fishman rods, it might be that the cork density is a bit lower compared to products from major manufacturers. I'm starting to want the 5.10MXH, which I feel will have a very similar character to the MX6+ that I plan to introduce in future posts, so it must be a good rod.
It has been a little over a year since I bought it, and I have finally exceeded 100 catches. The breakdown is 54 blacktip groupers, 22 sea bass, 20 mackerel, 10 scorpionfish, 4 sardines, and 1 each of horse mackerel, rockfish, and emperor snapper. It feels a bit too strong for just sea bass. I'll try to challenge something stronger.