Delaware Valley Tackle

The curado 300 is a fine reel. If the deal is good don't be afraid to go that route.

If you and your draw partner have a good idea where and how you'll fish that day a couple setups may be all you need. Many days I fished with just one rod.

On paper the citicas a little better built but in actual use either will do the job and be durable enough

No ferrule, it can be spliced and fished. I can't see your pics. Is it a clean break or is it splintered?

I'm palming the reel or holding the seat or trigger. In any case little contact is actually sustained with the grip material. The shape, fit and aesthetics are where it's at for me.

There's nothing to fix. It's not a defect just the design.

Yup that'll do it. Unfortunately there is no uniformity in reel feet therefore seats

Good bearings in a few key spots is far more meaningful than bearing count. The Core is a good example and one of the smoothest, best casting reels I've handled.

I get $7.50 to rewrap a single foot guide. Parts are extra if needed. For comparison sake. Shipping two ways might be prohibitive.

If you disassembled the drag you should have seen 2 spring washers with a slight cup shape. Be sure they are oriented like this: () and if you're in the habit of storing it locked down consider replacing them.

How hard did you crank on it?

"Micro" is used to describe guides <size 6 (6mm ID of ring not insert). A 4 or 4.5 will pass most any leader knots on a bass rig.

The direction to tighten the drag is to push the top of the star away from you as you hold the facing forward. This is clockwise on a right hand reel or opposite/ counter clockwise on a lefty. Call me if you'd like.

The gold piece is the bottom of the pinion I mentioned. Does the thumbar appear to work properly? I understand your displeasure with the seller. They may or may not be to blame directly. It should be an easy fix though. If you'd like me to help let me know.

My guess is somewhere along the line the reel has been disassembled and not reassembled properly. Either something is missing from the drag stack or the pinion is not engaging the spool. Pull the spool and see if the bottom of the pinion turns. Verify the spool pin is in place. Check that the clutch engages positively when the handle is turned. If that checks out drag is all that's left.

What's the attraction to any particular line? The appropriate blend of manageability, strength, abrasion resistance, visibility and bait presentation for current conditions. All in the eyes of the user of course.

I have a setup for every conceivable presentation in bass fishing. I never take them all with me on an outing, rather I anticipate conditions, season, location etc and take the two I'll fish that day. If I'm unsure I have one or two extra in the vehicle so I can swap out.

Dry, dirty, centrifugal brakes are often misdiagnosed as bearing noise and are in fact much more common.

Good cork is hard to come by nowadays. It's a natural material and will always have some pits. Elmers golden oak wood filler is what you want. It sands easily 250-400 grit.

First step is to flush and lightly oil the stock bearings. If you need more consider super Tuning and then ABEC5 ceramic hybrids run dry. Bocas are $9.95.

The tatula casting advantage comes from being a Daiwa not from the T wing. If you're a diy maintenance type the t wing is more complicated.

Do yourself a favor: don't disassemble the bail of any spinner unless you're experienced of wish to become. They're a headache. The AR is a close second. That's why you don't see them done in ameteur videos. If you get in a bind contact me and try to help you thru it.

If it broke right at the tip just get a new tip top glued on. If it broke further down it needs replacement to keep the action unchanged.

Braid doesn't actually float its neutral buoyancy. For the most part I don't find bass to be line shy. Leader material choice depends on your reason for a leader at all. Heavy leader material works well if zebra mussels Or toothy critters are likely to be encountered. Outside of that spool scraps like RW suggested should be fine.

Neither is "better " reel it just comes down to features and what you like.