Shimano Cardiff Baitcasters

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The Shimano Cardiff baitcasters, in particular their 4-piece B43UL-4 and B48UL-4, are very capable, very convenient rods ideally suited for the headwaters and other small streams. The N stands for Native (as in wild fish) and the X signifies that the rod blanks are constructed with Shimano's Spiral X winding. The Spiral X lay-up has three layers: diagonal, longitudinal and diagonal (in the other direction). The diagonal layers prevent the blank from twisting, improving casting accuracy.

Ever since I got my first baitcaster designed for trout fishing in streams, a wonderful 5'3" 2-piece Tenryu, I have wanted a shorter 4-piece model for narrow headwaters steams (similar to Tenryu's 4-piece spinning rod). I tried for years to convince Tenryu to make one. (And they finally did!)

Although I don't backpack into my fishing spots, I generally do fish with a backpack.  I almost always have more than one rod with me and it's convenient to strap the one I am not fishing with to the backpack. The backpack also makes it easy to carry a lunch, enough water to avoid dehydration and a light rain jacket for unexpected summer showers.

In the East, many stream-side trails are essentially deer trails with low branches and vines that you have to duck under. A two-piece rod strapped to a backpack catches on all those branches and vines. A three or four-piece rod doesn't.

I have gotten emails from customers who carry more than one rod at time, not because they do product descriptions or trip reports like I do, but so they can fish both flies and lures, often a tenkara rod for mountain streams and a spinning rod for the alpine lakes from which the streams flow. Carrying more than one rod at a time is much, much easier if they break down to a short length.

Up until a couple years ago, my short, multi-piece baitcaster was a Daiwa Wise Stream. In 2020, though, two new 3-piece Shimano Cardiff baitcasters were introduced in the Cardiff Native Special series. The Shimano rods were a bit more flexible than the Daiwa, which I was sure would make them better at casting lighter lures. I had seen them at the Osaka Fishing Show in January 2020 and couldn't wait to get one. Of course, then the pandemic hit and I had to wait months before actually fishing with one.

Since I viewed the short, ultra-portable 3-piece rod as one for small streams, on my first day with the rod (Trip Report 6/26/20) I brought 2-gram Smith AR-S single hook spinners, lures you might use in small headwaters streams.

The Shimano Cardiff NS B42UL-3 and Aldebaran BFS XG handled the 2g spinners very well. Surprisingly well, actually. For headwaters fishing, where I would want a short rod and would want to use light lures, the Shimano Cardiff NS B42UL-3 was the best baitcaster I'd found.

On my second trip with the rod I decided to try it with the Calcutta Conquest BFS HG. That combination also did just fine with the 2g spinners.

On the third time I fished with one of the Shimano Cardiff baitcasters, I realized I hadn't fished anything but light lures, primarily 2 gram spinners. Most Japanese lure fishermen who fish trout streams use heavy sinking minnows. I am sure that is what the designers had in mind for the rod.

The Shimano designers probably didn't have a Daiwa lure in mind, but the rod cast a Daiwa Silver Creek 50S sinking minnow so well I started to wonder why I'd spent the first couple days throwing light spinners. The thought actually crossed my mind that perhaps I should leave the light stuff for spinning rods and concentrate on the 4.5g minnow lures with my baitcasters.

At my skill level (not an expert by any stretch of the imagination), the difference between a 2 gram lure an a 4.5 gram lure is like night and day. The Shimano Cardiff Baitcasters will cast a 2g lure well, don't get me wrong, but with with a 4.5g sinking minnow the casting is just effortless.

No, on second thought, I'm still gonna cast the light stuff. Baitcasters are just way too much fun.

When I learned that Shimano had introduced a short 4-piece baitcaster I sold my 3-piece NS B42UL-3 in anticipation of getting a NX B43UL-4. Well, even worse than the pandemic delaying my first trip with the B42UL-3, the chip shortage and the horrendous inflation in the cost of rental cars has prevented me from even trying out the NX B43UL-4.

It used to cost me about $135 to rent a car for the day. Hey, this is New York, and both parking and insurance (which the rental car companies have to pay for a whole fleet of cars) are sky high. Plus, it was still cheaper than owning a car in NYC. This summer, though, before the rods came in, the company I rented from (the only one from which I could pick up a car early in the morning and return it late in the evening) basically doubled their fees. At $264 PER DAY, I just couldn't justify it. Thus, I have no on-stream review and no fishy photos.

Still, I like the Shimano Cardiff baitcasters and I think they would be excellent for small stream BFS aficionados. Look, they're short enough to cast in a NYC studio apartment - they'll do just fine on even a tiny stream.

When the weeks without fishing turned into months, I eventually just sold the rod, never having fished it.

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