Simp

Found this old BASS Master episode on youtube. One guys had a 30lb sack of smallies!!!

IMHO the Curado is a fair amount smoother in terms of retrieve. As I mentioned there is a drive shaft bearing you can buy to replace another part that should make it as smooth as the Curado for the most part. It would give the Citica 5 bearings and the only two extra the Curado has is in the handle. The bearing part is just like 10$ here. http://www.bocabearings.com/main1.aspx?p=product&id=2322&n=SMR95-ZZ_#5 Now in terms of casting I'd give the Curado a 10 and the citica a 8. I love the Curado spool and it casts a mile and light baits are no problem. The Citica is basically the same except it doesn't cast some ulta light small cranks as well. It certainly does the job well just not as well as the Curado. Personally I'm buying nothing but Curado's from now on. I'd say if your looking for a Curado in 6.3 your best bet might be to buy a Citica, install the bearing upgrade for 10$ and buy a Curado spool for the Citica from Shimano for 40$. Then you got yourself a silver curado that has 6.3 ratio and a Citica handle. Your not saving any money or anything but you would get what you want plus a spare spool in case you want to quickly change line. Also the only thing I don't like about the Citica is the "plastic" spool. My Citica 200E had one of the pinion gears or brakes brake off. I have no idea how it happened, but I opened up the citica to adjust the brakes and there the break pin was broken off. I've used it since with it broken with no perceivable difference. I finally contacted Shimano and there sending me a replacement spool free.

Maybe you should send me the E5 gears to use in my Citica that's on my deep cranking rod . I plan to add a bearing in the drive shaft to make it smoother. Then I was going to decide or not if I should upgrade it to a Curado. Right now I have a Citica 201E on my flipping rod. A Curado 200E on my 7ftMH that I use for anything that requires braid. Then I have a Citica 200E on my 7ft MH cranking rod. On the 6'6 M glass rod I just have a crappy silver max at the moment. I also have a spinning out fit that rounds out what I carry when I fish out of the boat. I'm thinking about putting a new Curado E7 on the 6'6 Medium rod. Plus another one on a new finesse casting rod that I'm looking at having dick build me in a month or two. Right now I'm hoping that the extra bearing in the drive shaft smooths things out in the citica 200e on the deep cranking rod. Otherwise I guess I'd buy a E5. Right now I find after a long session of deep cranking with the Citica is causing me to wear out some. Where when I've put on a deep crankbait on the rod with braid that has the E7. I end up having no fatigue at all. It got me thinking if the E7 is this smooth and strong why mess with the E5? the other thing that I think that helped was the rod the Curado uses is a much stiffer rod then my crankbait rod. So the crankbait rod put alot more stress on the reel I believe. I might have to put the E7 on my deep crankbait rod to test out how it fills to determine if a E5 might be necessary or not. I'm REALLY hoping the extra bearing helps the Citica in it's deep cranking.

Well I'm planing some purchases out and I keep thinking about the E7 or E5 Curado for a St croix Medium 6'6 glass rod I have. I use this rod for rattle traps,square billed cranks that go as deep as 7ft. I also use it for Chuggers and Jerkbaits. I'm leaning toward getting another E7 because I like being able to pick up line fast. I've also used my E7 on some deep cranks and it was still very easy to reel. What are some of the reasons why I should reconsider and go with the E5? Also to anybody who has both how much smoother is the E5 over a E7 on deep cranks like a DD22?

As you can tell Carrington us Shimano fan boys won't accept no for a answer!

Well just to give a update on the situation. Shimano gave me a good reason to never buy a reel from anybody else ever again. I called up and waited on hold for a few minutes but got a great Shimano rep. I explained the situation to him and he took down my name and address info and asked for date of purchase. That was it and he now has a new spool on it's way to me free of charge!! Way to go Shimano!! Great to know that the company who makes my favorite reels also stands behind them with fantastic customer service!

Pick up one of these Bass Pro Shops Extreme combo's on sale for 100$. A 6'6 MH is a good all around rod to use. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_103927_100003001_100000000_100003000_100-3-1

I agree if you can get a Citica 200e get one. Otherwise many on here have generaly good things to say about the BPS Extreme. I've seen them on sale from time to time for 50$.

Wow thanks I'll definitely give this a try. I agree that it's the most reasonable solution.

We are throwing ours away because it is a pre lite tree and some of the lights went out. Sounds like a great night fishing brushpile. Just install some solar panels! ;D

I've got a Citica 200E that had one of the brake pins break off and it's under warranty. I'd like to get it fixed but I've also got a tourney on Feb 7th. I didn't know if anybody had any experience with there repair turn around. Also do they do any yearly lubing at a reasonable rate?

This summer you definitely need to put on a spro frog and tear that grass with the wood up!

Weights with a clip that uses the hook to help "peg" the weight.

You sure it's not one of those AT jigs I sent ya.

Thanks for all the encouraging words guys. I hope it all works out. As far as the roadtrip is concerned. I'm about 100% sure that it will work out to. They have a policy at the hospital of ETO or earned time off. I've been talking to friends and family members who work there and they think I should be able to rack up enough time by then. Plus as long as I make plans for it in advance with the manager I should be good. By then if things work out the job will be 4 days on and 3 days off. So hopefully I won't have to ask for to many days off. What should work out well is usually you work on one weekend a month in that department. My friend who works in it sometimes has to change weekends with somebody because it conflicts with his club bass tourneys. So if I get the job we should be able to shift with each other because our bass clubs don't fish the same weekends due to several members being in each club.

So Mike's bringing the boxed whine and Kraft singles right? ;D

Well things are looking good right now for a new job. It's not a done deal but it's getting close. I'm applying for a job at a local hospital that my mother and sisters boyfriend work at. I know several people who work in the department and that's good because the next step is peer interviews. I'm not going to take anything for granted but the department manager told me "the job is basically yours except there is one applicant with experience". He went on to explain though the other applicant already works in another department and makes a fair amount more then what this job can pay. So he doesn't think they will take the pay cut. Apparently the other person is a little burnt out from the pressure at the other job. The jobs not glamorous but one a fisherman should be able to handle. The main part of the job is cleaning the surgical tools after use and preparing them for use again. The hourly wage isn't great and it's not bad either, but the main reason to take it is the benefits. Full time employment comes with FREE INSURANCE!! There are options you can add that cost more but it's still at a great rate. They also offer tuition reimbursement to a fairly high rate. Which is important to me since my current degree isn't doing me crap and I plan to go back. I was informed the hours as of right now are 32 hours a week, but for the first few months during the training period it's 40. I'm looking for full time but I'm sure it will develop into full time quickly. My friend who works in the department just finished school and will be looking for employment else where after the coming summer. So I'm excited because I'll soon have more money to spend on fishing gear again!! Lets see hear 1) Bigger Boat 2)More Curado's 3)New Finesse rod, New frog rod 4)A Side imaging unit 5)Entry fee to BASS Elite Series. UPDATE 1/6/10 Well I just got back from my 2nd interview. This one was a peer interview of fellow co workers and apparently they will do the selecting. There was three individuals who worked in the department that made up the panel. We all got along great and I feel I came off well. I had the standards questions about what I would do if a co worker broke a rule ect. They took tons of notes and seemed pleased with the interview. I was informed by "somebody" that one of the three applicants had a bad interview. So it's really coming down to me and the other person who is already a full time employee in another department. So unless the peer panel REALLY liked me. The job is probably going to go down to whether the other applicant wants to take less money and be moved to part time and loose a fair amount of benefits. So hopefully I hear something in the next few days. UPDATE 1 hour later Well less then two hours after the interview and I just got the call. I thought it was my friend calling to see how I did but it was the supervisor. She informed me the panel chose me and I got the job!!! It looks like I start Monday!

Luhr Jensen Hot Lips for sure!!

Most will recommend the Avid over the Premiere for good reason. Their generally lighter and more sensitive. The mojo's are built off premiere blanks it's been said, and are mostly made in Mexico. While premiers are made in the USA. Although it's also been mentioned Mojo demand has been so high they have had to use some of their US factories to make them as well. So basically get a avid is what you will mostly hear. My one exception to that is the 6'6 fiberglass cranking rod they make in the premiere line. I have one and LOVE IT! I've literally yet to have a fish throw a crank with it.

Well the darn thing shows up today. A day late and a dollar short I guess. Well at least he likes it.

Just to define some things. When I'm talking about finesse I'm going to be using it for drop shot, shaky head, senkos, fat ika, and light tubes. I see know reason why one of my Curados wouldn't be able to handle casting any of these things. I've used it already to throw cranks lightener then a senko. I use it with 10# diameter all the time and it casts great. I'm sure it will handle 8lb fluro with ease. I keep one spinning set up with me on the boat for finesse. I find because I don't like spinning tackle I don't finesse as much as I should. For some of you I bet your the bomb with it. I can certainly make do with it like I have been, but I'm looking at spending anywhere from 100$ to 250$ on a finesse rod. Why drop that kind of dough on something you generally don't like to use. When instead you could drop it on a finesse casting set up you would be much happier with. I could certainly see why spinning is better the most baitcasting reels for light weights, but now with the core and curado why bother with them? I can see how it would be easier to skip but otherwise for somebody who is more comfortable with a baitcasting set up why switch?

Well for some time I've been needing a good finesse set up. I have a decent spinning reel but man I HATE spinning tackle. I have several problems with spinning tackle, line twists, line jumping off the spool, ect. While I HATE those things to me it seems like the deal breaker is the amount of time I'm out of contact with the lure right after the cast. After getting the bail flipped and reeling in the slack several seconds have usually passed. So considering all these things I don't like. Why not just get a 7 ft casting finesse rod and put a new Curado on it? IMHO while others reels might now be able to handle the light weight. I think the new Curado is fantastic with very low weight situations. I also see no reason why it can't handle 8lb test line as well. So while I'm sure you can eliminate many of the negatives of spinning by using braid. I just can't get over the amount of time I'm out of contact with the lure. So considering these things why not go with a Curado and a finesse casting rod??

Not BPS, BASS as in Bass Master magazine.

I ordered the Fishing log/ Day planer in Mid November for my dad as a X mas. Now here it is Xmas eve and it's still not freaking here. It's just plain pitiful that they are this slow. I didn't even get a email saying hey despite us advertising it as a Xmas gift we're sorry for not getting it to you before Xmas! >

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