Duckbutter100 Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 1st time poster here. I've been lurking here for a while to figure out what kind of BC reel to buy as a starter rig. I have been fishing about 35 years but never used anything other then a spinning reel(that I can remember) I mainly fish rivers for SM and some lakes/ponds for LM(weekend warrior). So I been doing a lot of reading and trying out BC's at local stores and had my mind made up on anything from a BPS PQ, Lexa, Lews, Shimano's offerings in my price range all the way up to a Tatula(price wise)--I am by far no fan of a specific brand. Anyway I went into my local Dicks(in Hagerstown MD) tonight where having a sale on Citica reels for about $70. Which I thought was a good deal but I went in to purchase it the actual price rang up as $52 but it was unadvertised price(not a mistake per Dicks manager). They also had the Curado's for $99 but the sale sign had $120 or something like that listed. So if you have a Dicks by you and need a new BC you may want to give them a call or go into the store to check prices. DO NOT just look at the sale signs, make sure you ask counter person to actually check the price. One newby question I do have is...if you had around $100 would you have bought the Curado or 2 of the Citica's? I went with 2 Citica's hoping I would like using BC reels and start off with a 2nd reel for the boat. Im still debating if I made the correct choice or not with my purchase. I have read nothing but good things about both reels and know I could either take one of them back or sell it for what I have into it. Gander Mountain has their MH 6-6 Vortex casting rods on sale for $20(usually $60) so I purchased one of them the other day. So in total I will have about $75 in what I think should be a half decent starter set.---opinions welcome.... I figure I need to find some 12lbs mono and I'll be ready Spring. Thanks for reading and good luck bargain hunting at Dicks.--btw I bought the last 2 lefty's they had but they have at least one lefty Curado for that price. 2 Quote
dam0007 Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Citicas are solid bro! Curados are good but for just starting out citicas are more than enough! Congrats on the great deal! Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 Since it's your first post here, let me say welcome to the forums! Good deal on the Citica, but I'd grab the Curado for $99 if it was available. Quote
Super User tomustang Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 You did fine with the two citica's, heck of a deal Don't listen to anyone saying they are 'hype' or 'junk' either. They are good reels that perform at a quality level, super easy to learn how to use a baitcaster and easy to setup. Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 Wow. Three posts while I was composing. I either have to type faster, or get my head together quicker. First let me welcome you to the forum. Glad you decide to do more than read. I'll have to let the Shimano Posse answer that question. I'd have to say you went the right way. You could use those reels for a year and then sell them for more than you paid for them if you decided to upgrade or go with another brand. From what I read the Citicas are great reels in their normal price range. You just stole two. Congratulations. I like my Shimanos, but not any better than some of my other reels. I've no idea on the Vortex rod....good or bad. Another low price rod that is a very good value is the Berkley Lightning or Lightning Shock. My least expensive outfit is a 6' MH Lightning and Daiwa Procaster 100HN...$48.02 with tax. I use it to throw spinnerbaits. Try some 12# Sufix Elite. You won't be sorry. Tom ought to know about Shimanos. That's all he uses. That is okay. That leaves me to pick up all the good deals on other makes cuz he already has bought all the Shimanos by the time I find out Dick's is having a sale on them. Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 Yep ! for somebody just wanting to learn a BC that's a smart buy , 2 reels @that price good choice ....enjoy those reels you did very well!! Quote
Crankinstein Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Definitely did good on the Citicas. I have one in my line up and it gets just as much attention as my expensive reels, I actually fished my best day last year exclusively with it. I also caught a 17 lb channel cat that grabbed my crank bait with it as well. Great reel!! Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 Welcome to BR ~ Way to contribute right off the bat . . . . A-Jay Quote
jmorisaki Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 My first BC was a citica 201e and it was great to learn on. I ended up picking up two more about this time 2 years ago for about 60. I never really used them much though. I ended falling in love with the Lews tourney pro and now have several of those. As a previous poster mentioned though, I got 55 each trading them into an online site a few months ago. Quote
zachb34 Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 I own 4 citicas and 3 curados the citica is an absolute tank. I think you made the right move Quote
Got1Fishing Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Like many others have said... welcome to the forums! I have gotten some great advice from the guys here. Quote
Duckbutter100 Posted January 14, 2014 Author Posted January 14, 2014 Thanks for the advice and opinions(and not just this thread). Like I said I've read tons of posts on here and tried to get a reel I could count on and try to learn from but since Im new to using BC's I really didn't think i would really notice a difference between the Curado and Citica but I couldn't pass up that savings. Actually have to give props to the manager at Dicks (Bubba cant beat that name for that job) he was extremely helpful and even told me about a charity tourney he does in Brunswick MD. So overall it was a good experience. Now its just up to me to learn how to use them. Quote
Koofy Smacker Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Being an employee at Dicks I can say that it is not a "mistake" but more of a sale and not having corporate make the signs. The signage for sales are automatically printed and when they sale "25% off clearance tackle" it SOMETIMES includes clearance rods and reels. It is a real finicky way on how they word it. It can never hurt to ask the guy at the desk to grab the price gun and check it. If he says he knows it is not on sale ask him to check it anyway, a lot of times even I am wrong because of the way they word it. This time of year is when they usually go on sale and I usually keep an eye on it. I noticed it this past week but wait and there will definitely be a 50% off sometime in the near future but as with any clearance sale once its gone its gone and there are no more. Quote
Loop_Dad Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 That's great deal. Starting out, I would have gone with two citica's as well. There is only one Dicks around here and it is an hour drive from here. I stopped by once on the way back home after fishing. They didn't seem to have lots of fishing stuff there. Don't remember seeing Curados. I wonder if I can call other store and get them shipped with sales prices... Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted January 14, 2014 Super User Posted January 14, 2014 I heard about dsg having curado on sale so I checked it out last week and saw they were 130. should have asked them if it was on sale but not marked Quote
Duckbutter100 Posted January 14, 2014 Author Posted January 14, 2014 I heard about dsg having curado on sale so I checked it out last week and saw they were 130. should have asked them if it was on sale but not marked Yes..the sign did not reflect the $99 price. To be honest I only checked out the Curado and Citica I didn't ask about the other reels(they were all rightys) that were on sale so its hard to tell. If I were you I would call them to find out maybe be worth the dime. EDIT. I told my cousin about the sale last night and he lives near Mo-town. He said the Mo-town store had no Citica's or Curado's left but the Clarksburg store had 1 Curado left in the place. He wanted a Citica so he didn't check the price of the Curado when he called. 304-848-0482 is the stores number. Good luck if you are going to go for it. I know my cousin was not going to get it. Quote
CYP Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I ran into the same thing at my Dicks. I went in and saw a Quantum PT Energy Burner marked down from 189 to 99. I bought it, brought it to the register and it rang up for 70 something, I dont remember but on top of that there was another 25% off. Got the reel in total with tax for 62.00 1 Quote
Chief 2 Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I went to the Dicks in Ocala Fla. yesterday and that place looked like they had a run of fishermen buying everything in sight. All the reasonably priced reels were gone and the lures were cleared out also. Still managed to pick up a few crank baits on clearance. Will be in Daytona Beach today, so I will see what is left there. I also hit Gander Mountain. Man they are expensive compared to BP. Got a couple of deals though on the clearance rack. Quote
Paul Peixoto Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 it says right above the reels 25% off clearence items ending in 97cents i bet you they ended in .97 Quote
Super User MCS Posted January 15, 2014 Super User Posted January 15, 2014 I ran into the same thing at my Dicks. I went in and saw a Quantum PT Energy Burner marked down from 189 to 99. I bought it, brought it to the register and it rang up for 70 something, I dont remember but on top of that there was another 25% off. Got the reel in total with tax for 62.00 WHAAAAAT! When did this happen? I just got one and would love to get a second. I am going to have to check out my dicks and see if there are any left. Quote
daiwaguy Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Looks like I will be headed to Dick's after work to get some new baits. 1 Quote
CYP Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 WHAAAAAT! When did this happen? I just got one and would love to get a second. I am going to have to check out my dicks and see if there are any left. I picked it up last week. Cant hurt to go check it out 1 Quote
Super User MCS Posted January 15, 2014 Super User Posted January 15, 2014 I picked it up last week. Cant hurt to go check it out Cool I was hoping it was recent. I picked my up for 99 from cabelas in June and due to the purchase agreement had to wait til Christmas to use it. It is a sweet reel. Thanks for the info Quote
Dramer77 Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 I picked it up last week. Cant hurt to go check it out i got the same deal during the summer last year on that reel.. Quote
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