MN Bassin' nOOb

Let me know. If he's still got it for sale, I'll pull the trigger on that for $65 shipped.

Great point! I remember seeing a Citica for sale a few days ago...did someone take that down? I think it was $65 TYD, and I'd be willing to look at that? I think the seller was looking to throw it on eBay if he didn't get any bites, but I'd be interested in that if someone still has it?

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses; they've been really helpful. I guess I'll keep the E7 for soft plastics and topwater baits. I'm sure I'll be using my BPS PQ 6:1 for all of my lipless cranks and spinnerbaits. I think I'll just keep those 2 for now (I also have a Chronarch 100a that I can use), and if I really need it, may look at a 5:1. My problem is I just love the feel of the Curado, and knowing that I fish lipless cranks and spinners 90% of the time, want to make sure I really like my go-to reel. Since I bought the BPS PQ this week (6:1), and it's being delivered on Friday, I hope that I enjoy that reel as much as the Curado (especially with how light the Curado is; does anyone know the difference between the Curado weight and the BPS PQ weight?). If I just don't love the BPS PQ, I may have to get a Curado E5. However, one of the members on here that lives nearby is willing to unload his Revo S, so I may look at that for my primary 6:1 if I don't like the BPS PQ. Can anyone compare the 200E7 to the Revo S? I'd assume the Curado is a lot nicer, but if the Revo S is serviceable as my 6:1 (or if it's better than the BPS PQ), I may just use that as my main reel. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks for the advice. How do you find the 7:1 more versatile? I did pick up a Chronarch 100a off Craigslist, but am only lukewarm on it. I really love the feel of the Curado, so I guess that's why I'm looking at the 5:1. When you say you use the 7:1 and 6:3:1 for everything but cranks and spinners, I assume you're sayin you use the 5:1 for both of those? Reason-being, I probably fish cranks and spinner 90% of the time.

Part of my problem is with like the 5 series Strike King Sexy Shad crankbait...it really takes some work to get that thing cranking down with my 7:1? For anyone with a 7:1 reel, what are you primarily using it for? What *can* you use it for?

As I mentioned in another thread, finally got back into fishing this summer. First reel I bought was the Curado 200E7. After reading these forums extensively, and fishing 5-6 times over the past few weeks, I think I may have made a mistake. Most say use the 7:1 for topwater buzzbaits, or with plastics in heavy stuff (to rip them out quickly after they've hit). However, is there really any other application? I primarily am a spinnerbait and lipless crank guy lately, and don't fish a ton of plastics (if I do, it's pretty much a wacky-rigged Senko). I just purchased a 6:1 BPS Pro Qualifier from BPS w/a 7' M Vendetta, but am wondering if I should unload my 7:1 and buy the 200E5. I know most say, "well you can always slow it down, you can't speed up a 5:1." Do you guys think I'm better off selling my barely used 200E7 and swapping for a 200E5? I'm just trying to think about what I'd actually use the 7:1 for. If you want, someone convince me to keep them both! Also, knowing what I typically fish, what rod would you recommend for the 200E5 if I'm using it for mostly 1/2 oz Red Eye lipless cranks and spinnerbaits? Any advice is really appreciated! P.S. Does anyone know the weight difference between the Curado and the BPS Pro Qualifier? What I've really liked about the Curado is how LIGHT it is! I can fish it all day with no problem.

I know some swear by the Veritas, but I've seen about 5 guys fish in-person with them in my life, and 3 of them broke it doing something where it shouldn't have broken. That limited experience made me go with the Vendetta instead. It seems most on the forums prefer the Veritas to the Mojo if those are the 2 you're looking at.

Tell you what, I tried jigs 'til my arms were sore today (not a single fish), but here in MN on Lake Minnetonka, they were just slamming the KVD Sexy Shad Red Eye lipless crank bait. As in, hitting it 2 secs after it landed, and practically swallowing the thing (hooks were caught literally lower than any lure I've seen; almost swallowed down their mouth). I stayed with that the rest of the day, and caught a solid 10-15 bass on it, 3-4 of them pretty good size. My problem when fishing is that when the fish start hitting something so hard, it's hard for me to switch it up.

Good Lord, that thing could eat my well-fed cat. Great fish.

Depends on what part of the metro you're in. Obviously Lake Minnetonka is a must for any bass guy in MN. Many lakes in Carver county are really strong bass lakes, like Eagle, Pierson, or Steiger (7 of the Top 10 Bass Fishing Lakes in MN are in Carver County, including the lake where the record was caught in '05). Look at Prior Lake, Waconia, or WBL (White Bear Lake is like a mini-Lake Minnetonka, and it's a very solid bass lake). Calhoun & Isles actually have some big bass as well (6-7 lbers). Chisago Lake has the quantity (you can catch 50-60 bass in a day no problem)

Just curious if you'd be willing to share what you paid? I'm looking at similar models...and am looking at what range I should be expecting to offer up that's realistic? The NADA values on the Rangers are always WAY lower than what some folks expect for them around these parts of MN.

Hi all - Like the topic reads, I've been lurking here on BassResource.com for about 3 months or so, and finally made the decision to start posting around here. Love the site! Great members, really great insight; it's a site I find myself visiting more and more every week. About me: grew up in MN, still reside in the Twin Cities. Grew up fishing with my best friend from about 10 years old through through high school, and basically never got serious enough to truly start loving it. I would troll on weekends for pike with my dad at the cabin, head out during the summers with my buddy looking for whatever we could find (usually largemouth), but was never too serious, probably because we never caught anything of note because we didn't know what we were doing... Fast forward 15 years through college, law school, life, etc.: For some unknown reason (honestly), I found myself holding an old Mitchell baitcaster out on the dock of my family's cabin near Brainerd, MN about 4 months ago. I had an old chartreuse spinner (dual Colorado blades) that had seen better days on the end of it (didn't even have my license for the year, as I hadn't fished in 15 years or so, I was just messing around off the dock)... Well, low and behold, there was a patch of pads about 30 ft out that I cast to on a rope on the first cast (even though the brake weights were brutal, squealing the whole time), and BAM! I felt the hit the second the blades helicoptered down next to the pads, set the hook, and saw the largemouth jump out of the water trying to throw it. Kept it taut and brought him in. Nice little guy, about 3.5 lbs on the scale. Everything I remembered about why I loved fishing growing up all came back inside the 7-8 seconds it took me to reel that guy in. I was back, and I was hooked. Within a few weekends, I'd taken a few trips to Cabela's; and came away with more gear than I initially planned (doesn't it always work like that?!): - Curado 200E7 with a 7' MH Prodigy rod, a 7' Daiwa that I tossed a Sedona on (not a huge spin caster, but know I want one for soft plastics), and a used Chronarch that I bought off Craigslist for $40 (good deal I think) with a 6'6'' H Berkley Lighting rod - Solid $150 worth of plastics (lot of watermelon/cream and 222 Senkos), $200 worth of cranks, spinners, etc. - Whole new box, fishing license (obviously), net, scales, etc. And for the next 4 consecutive weekends, I took out an old junked up Lund with a 25hp motor around our lake at our cabin, hitting pads, weeds, and whatever I could find (no trolling motor, no finders, no nothing; literally a 30 year old Johnson and an oar that served as a trolling motor). In that time, probably landed 10-20 "decent" fish (2+ lbs), and I've fallen almost as hard as I did for my wife. So here I am, joining this site, looking at bass rigs on Craigslist, convincing myself that I need to at least get used entry-level bass boat with a platform, trolling motor, and a decent motor, telling my wife that I now need to spend $5-10k on a "bass boat" to take out in the Cities around Lake Minnetonka, as well as bring up to the cabin. Her comment, "a BOAT!?! For what? I didn't even know you knew how to take a fish off the hook!" So, I'm excited to get back into the world of bass fishing (best freshwater fishing there is in my mind), and shoot the breeze with all of you rockstars. Like my name implies, I'm definitely a noob (or newbie if you prefer) compared to everyone on this site, but I just thought I'd introduce myself!