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I got the STX and it feels like its on a diet compared to the Curado 200D's I use. It has worked flawlessly and its drag is extremely smooth not just strong. I still dont consider it as nearly as strong or nice as the 200D though. 10BB's but not as smooth and a bit vague in feel comparable more to a Daiwa. Im so anal about my reels, I keep them protected with a neoprene cover even when not in use on the boat. Yet the STX so easily gets rash on the sideplates, again just like a Daiwa. The textured frame is so cosmetically delicate the reel feet are burnished by the fuji's cushioned hoods on the reelseat. The infini-spool II design does rival Daiwa and it casts incredible.

Curado here, been trying the Revo but it doesnt compare to well to the Curados that make up the rest of my arsenal. Besides nobody else will vote Curado......its too heavy, too expensive, its a tank, i cant hold it up all day.....

Tin, I wish I did. It was in print about 3 years ago. Ive looked on their website to see if any archived articles were available, but nope. I dont recall his name either. It stayed on my maind because I was very much the finesse fisherman. But I have found more success power fishing the last 2 years or so. There is something to be said about camo when fishing from shore though, its worked for me while inshore flats fishing.

Field and Stream had an article about a young guy in Penn. who was an expert on smallies. He snorkeled while his partners fished with various lures and line. He concluded that smallies could detect and avoided all superlines. But he also said they avoided mono over 8lb test too. And he never fished unless he wore camo when on shore or some kind of blue white camo when on the boat. Im glad the bass and snook arent that sensitive where I live!

Anybody try the Big Game Inshore? Im not even sure they still make it. It was supposed to be limperand available in lighter lb. test.

Geeze...whats wrong with a plastic drag star, it was perfect on the 'beloved old' curado. Lord knows that reel and every part on it was absolutely perfect.

Ive caught Tarpon on a Curado 200DHSV with no problems. The dartanium drag is in the same class as the Revo STX's. The Revo does shine in its casting ability though, as long as you get one with the infinispool.

I think the Infini spool and the spools better quality german ball bearings make the STX a better casting machine than the lower end REVO's.

I dont want any reel speed slower than a 7.1 to 1 ratio anymore. The next cast might be a pitch or a cast, either way I want to get through the unproductive water and back to the boat fast. No other ratio makes buzzbaitng easier either. The water I fish hold just as many snook and tarpon as it does bass, and there isnt any Daiwa that feels it can handle them like the Curado does. Tons of power. Everybody hates the boat anchor the Curado is, one whole ounce bigger than whats already in there hands anyway! Our Dads are shaking their heads cause we wine about a whole heavy ounce. Now their going to make a lighter one, probably made off shore of Japan cheaper and be less of a reel.

Not meaning to derail the topic to a point but has anybody looked at the Patriarch and compared it to the Revo? There are an awful lot of structural similarities. Same thumbscrew and take down screw locations, same phillips head scres in the inner portion of the thumb bar. Same shape of the sideplates with the same raised gearbox. For the first time in my life Im trying to look beyond Shimano, but everything looks like its made by one maker. Hey Muddy, have you had to get a Pflueger repaired or looked for parts? Have you had any difficulty?

No the Curado along with all but the cheapest Shimano reels, has a centrifugal brake system. Ive never found it a hassle to open while fishing though, theres an easy access latch to open the reels sideplate. I dont think I even bother to change it anyway and keep it on 2 or 3 brake pins 'on'. Any fine tuning can be done by adjusting the cast control knob.

Is Pure Fishing also part of that company or just ABU ?

Made by the same company? Are you saying that ABU is now owned by the conglomerate that owns and makes Ryobi, Shakesphere, Phelueger, Pinnacle, Silstar, Penn and on and on. Or that they now own ABU? I thought it was only Shakespheres fishing line that had been sold, per federal court order......

Yeah the Premier is a proprietary aluminum that seems to rival magnesium in lightness.

I can see the cosmetic differences and understand there's a weight difference. Are there any performance differences?

I agree Muddy it looks like Daiwa from now on :'(

Gee I wonder how Abu and Quantum feel following the rebate train just to find out that Shimano did it to unload whats going to be outdated stock. Cant believe I fell for the car salesmen trick of a rebate to get rid of last years model. The 300 has only been out a year! Shimano's really letting down the inshore market. They have plenty of bass specific models but not much for us. Cant use the mag. models even if it does have a thin protective skin, seen too many disolve. Cant use the Calais, you cant do your own maintenance.

There are a few sites that list the model configurations for all Abu's ever made. I dont have the address's anymore but one place you could start with is the floridasurffishing.com site. There are alot of Abu experts there. The C was replaced by the C3 and C4. The number designates the number of bearings. To tell you the truth, I miss my 4600C3's. So simple, there isnt any repair or replacement you cant do yourself. I have caught Channel Cats up to 13lbs with no trouble on a 4600C3 and a 4500C. I would stick to that size if 90% of your fishing will be for bass.

Yeah thats the clincher. You buy a model thats 2 years on the market. You expect it to be around awhile and not to have to worry about availability of replacement parts. Now they'll change it because everybody cries about 1.8oz of weight. Make it magnesium so it cant be used in brackish water(even if they say it can). Worse make it in Taiwan to make it $20 cheaper because $20 is almost as important to the crowds as 1oz of weight. They might as well be Daiwa.

The 200 size may be too heavy or big or whatever to bass fishermen but there is an entire world out there fishing for more than just bass. Its perfect for snook, baby tarpon, reds and such. A growing market that inshore is. Shimano has never marketed the Curado as a bass or freshwater reel such as Daiwa does with their magnesium reels. It has more of a drag than any Daiwa or Abu save the revo. But many such as myself will never buy a reel made in Sri-lanka, Bangledesh, Taiwan or Korea. As much as all of you have missed the old Curado, I will miss the new one and I felt it worth the $200 just because it is made in Japan. I dont think Shimano ever tauted the newer Curado to be the replacement for the old, thats what the Citica was for.

Well Bantam gave a response on tackletour, but I cant really tell what he is saying...

Yes they were 1st and the others followed. But it would be safer to assume they did it for the same reason, to spur sales in an economy where there is less disposable income being spent on recreational items.

If that rumor is true, then Abu and Quantum are dumping their reels too since they followed Shimano in offering rebates. Why would they down grade the current Curado into what the Citica already is minus everybodies crying about the weight? To offer HEG and the other current features, it would undoubtedly have to me made off shore from Japan. Its amazing how a physical object could become such a cult object and cause such hatred for a company when they change it.

That price makes me wonder if the rumors on tackletour.com, that the Curado line is being discontinued, might be true! This makes me nervous, like when my bank changes its name.

Senkos, creature baits and super flukes. Always in black or natural colors.