TNBassin'

How deep are you going to fish them?

I like it when the surface has just a bit of a "wrinkle".

I've never free spooled a reel with centrifugal brakes. Always have 2 on. I used to use the magnets on my STX if I was throwing a spinner bait if it was windy, but in conjunction with the cent brakes. Most of the time though I never touched the mags.

^^Lew's is always a good option.

This. I was a die hard Abu guy til the gen 3 reels hit. Had the S, SX and STX and only the STX failed to give me issues. I'd say if you're looking at an SX, go look at a Tatula Type R as everyone seems to love them and the Magforce Z system is better than ABU's magtrax. Or there's always the new Curado I.

You haven't seen excessive lube until you've seen a Curado I.

I've had the reel under load with a 6XD and a fish on. Didn't feel any different than any other reel I've used. A Chronarch set up with the right weights, as there are red and green, and once gain IMO and experience with both reels, I don't NEED the fine tuning aspect of the Curado. It's nice to have I guess, but I definitely could've fished fine without it. Once again, my opinion.

I own 3 Chronarch E reels and 3 Curado Is. Based on a day on the water, I think that the Curado I offers the performance of the E series reels, though I'm in the minority that feels the Chronarchs braking system is better. I simply need 2 brake blocks set to the ON position with no fine adjustment needed. The VBS system simply works. I also don't think the X Ship makes really anything "feel" better or different either in comparison to the Chronarch. Both reels feel very very similar to me.

Gear Gorilla got me for 3 Curado Is and another Crucial. F that gorilla.

Get a Curado I and a Shimano Crucial worm/jig in a 7'2 MH-XF. TW has the crucial for 119 bucks.

Curado I or like others have suggested, a Tatula Type R.

I really like the Laser Eye spinnerbait. Good hooks, skirts, and nice ball bearing swivels. Great value as are Academy's spinnerbait.

I'm torn on this kind of myself. I own 3 Chronarchs and have for over a year, and just bought 3 Curado Is. IMO it seems that the Curado I packs the performance of the Chronarch for less money. I've got about 6 hours on my Curados and over a year on my Chronarchs, and there isn't a big difference if any between the two, though I like the Chronarchs braking system better.

I'll be happy with a lefty cranking version.

I use EWGs on my ribbon tails as well, with a 1/8oz or 3/16oz bullet weight. I really like them on a 1/4oz shakey head though. My ribbon tail of choice is the Yum F2 in black with red flake.

I like them. Coming from a Chronarch 201E the difference isn't night and day like it was when I switched from Gen 3 Revos to the Chronarchs, but for $20 less than a Chronarch you really can't go wrong. I was getting good distance with some 1/2oz swim jigs and red eyes, but not QUITE the distance my Chronarchs fling them. I'll chalk that up to the bearings being new and unflushed, though I never flushed my Chronarch bearings so definitely gotta get rid of that excess lube in the Curado bearings. One thing that kind of got a chuckle and a head shake from myself was the gobs of grease that seemed to work it's way out of the reel grips over the course of the night. Shimano really caked it on the bushings for whatever reason. The reels seemed to smooth out a ton in the 6 hours I fished, and felt great reeling in the lone 2lber I caught. I was worried, because out of the box they feel really "tight", especially compared to the Chronarch. The SVS system came in handy, as it was very windy today so I kept the standard 2 brake blocks on and turned the SVS dial to 4 and didn't have any issues at all with back lashing. What's funny is that I can keep 2 brakes on when using my Chronarchs and have no issues with back lashing, but have to keep 2 brakes on the Curado I AND use the SVS so I definitely think the VBS system is a little bit better centrifugal system. While I've only got 6 hours on these reels, it definitely doesn't seem like Shimano sacrificed any quality between the Curado I and the Chronarch. If anything, it seems like you're getting a reel that fishes a little above it's retail price. I wish I would've landed more fish to get a better feeling of these reels, but the holiday weekend pressure on the lake definitely seems to have taken it's toll on the bass here. All in all, it's definitely a tight little reel and Shimano has seemingly done it again. I've got over a year on my 3 Chronarchs and they haven't given me one issue, so hopefully these new Curados are tanks as well. They sure feel like it. I'm definitely gonna fish these for awhile before I decide whether or not to sell off my Chronarchs, especially since Shimano doesn't yet make a 5:5:1 Curado I in a lefty yet. Can I recommend you buy one of these? Not with only 6 hours of use, but it sure looks promising. Can I say that these perform as well as the $200 Chronarch? I can, though when it comes to JUST using the centrifugal system I feel the Chronarch has a better braking system. Is the Curado I's system worse? Not necessarily, just different than what I'm used to though the SVS did smooth out any issues I had though the Chronarch doesn't require this so take that FWIW. In closing, for $179 it doesn't look like you can go wrong, and it's a Shimano so....

Blacks or reds for me.

Good to know.

Yo Zuri is a good mix of sensitivity and manageability on a spinning reel. Plus it's MUCH stronger than it's rated. It's just another option.

Go with Yo Zuri hybrid for spinning reels.

For me it's lipless crank, tx rigged plastic, and a swim jig.

I get most of mine from Cabelas like the op does when they are on sale. They just aren't worth the price compared to a RES. You just can't beat the shimmy on the fall that the RES has.

Never tried those but their jigs are phenomenal, as are their jointed swim baits. I may have to goto Academy tomorrow lol.

I love Academy's lipless crank baits. Great quality, good hooks right out of the package, and like you said, tons of colors. I wish they had something comparable to a 6xd though.

Academy crank baits are very good for the money. Very good. Online most of their crank baits are on sale for $3 which is a steal.