How do you all set your brakes for a Metanium 13 and New Curado K?

[Riazuli]

Hey everyone, I've purchased a few reels and rods this winter to start using once I get my kayak out as the weather continues to warm.  I've been using older setups for the winter, but am ready to start prepping my new gear for the upcoming season.  For those of you who have either of these reels, can you please offer some suggestions for the following lures as to how many internal (red or white for the metanium 13) and external brakes you are using?

 

1/2 oz lipless

1/2 oz chatterbait or spinnerbait (although I feel like a spinnerbait requires different braking than a chatterbait because it's wider)

1/4 oz shad rap

3/8 oz squarebill

weightless senko

whopper plopper

spook

frog

1/2 oz jig

 

I realize some of these might use the same setting and that I should just tinker with it to see what works best for me, but I figured if you guys have some go to settings, I could start there rather than from scratch.  I'm also thinking of starting heavier on the brakes and then just moving down until I backlash.  I realize rod length/action/power comes into play here too.  Any ideas?

 

[puddlepuncher]

I have Curado I's, Chronarch and Met MGL's.  All of them start at 2 internal and 3-4 external and adjust according to weight, aerodynamics of lure and wind conditions.  I can turn the internal brakes down to 1, external to 4 and cast a texas rigged senko no problem all day.  Wacky rig that same senko and I'm turning the internal brakes up to 2.  A bulkier presentation is nearly the same as casting into the wind.  Only time I've turned it up to 3 internal brakes is heavy wind or under well 1/4 oz bait.

 

Sounds like you have the right idea to brake heavy and turn down as you feel comfortable.

[bigturtle]

For anything under 1oz i have my metanium on 1 red internal brake on and 3-4 on the dial.

[lmbfisherman]

I have my Brakes set at 1 or 2 internal and then fiddle with the external to whatever I need it at.

[OnthePotomac]

Every Shimano I have has two internals on and those with the outside dial are either 2 or 3.  I find that I am fiddling more with the cast control cap as I change baits on the recent Shimano models. The old Curado 100B's never change anything except a slight tweak on the cast control cap for a significant bait weight change.     My K did require a bit of figuring out how to dial it in.

[Riazuli]

How about the white brakes instead of red brakes on the metanium 13, do any of you all have any experience with or ideas on those? 

[lmbfisherman]

I always just used the default brakes that come in the reels.  I never thought of using the red?  I guess I'm saying I never over think it.  

[Riazuli]

4 hours ago, lmbfisherman said:

I always just used the default brakes that come in the reels.  I never thought of using the red?  I guess I'm saying I never over think it.  

For the MET100 '13, there are red brakes stock and then whites that come as an accessory.  They apply lighter braking, and I was curious to see if anyone has any specific applications they've used them for.  

 

What reel do you have?  Does it come with alternate brakes? 

[SeeNoSun]

If the reel unspools a lot in the beginning of the cast then it needs more of the internal weights moved to the out position.  If the reel overruns after hitting the water you need to adjust with the casting control knob.

 

I have six internal weights on my Chronarchs.  I typically have three pushed in and three pulled to the out position (specifically, I pull every other weight to the out position). All other adjustments are made with the casting control knob and vary based on the lures weight.  I hold the tip of the rod shoulder high and tighten the casting control knob until you can press the clutch bar and the lure does not drop. With the clutch bar engaged, loosen the casting control knob until the lure starts to slowly drop.  If the lure hits the floor and the reel does not overrun it is ready to go. If not, repeat the process.  You want it to drop as fast as possible without overrun when it hits the ground.

 

I get really good distance with this set up and rarely have a bird's nest.  I think I had two for the entire season last year.

[Riazuli]

2 hours ago, SeeNoSun said:

If the reel unspools a lot in the beginning of the cast then it needs more of the internal weights moved to the out position.  If the reel overruns after hitting the water you need to adjust with the casting control knob.

 

I have six internal weights on my Chronarchs.  I typically have three pushed in and three pulled to the out position (specifically, I pull every other weight to the out position). All other adjustments are made with the casting control knob and vary based on the lures weight.  I hold the tip of the rod shoulder high and tighten the casting control knob until you can press the clutch bar and the lure does not drop. With the clutch bar engaged, loosen the casting control knob until the lure starts to slowly drop.  If the lure hits the floor and the reel does not overrun it is ready to go. If not, repeat the process.  You want it to drop as fast as possible without overrun when it hits the ground.

 

I get really good distance with this set up and rarely have a bird's nest.  I think I had two for the entire season last year.

Great post, thanks for that, especially the first part about when to pay attention to what.  I've been pretty good about setting my brakes with mag brakes and cast control tuning, just new to the svs braking system.  I've heard a lot of people saying a standard 2 internal and varying external, but I really want to push the limit in terms of what these reels can do, which I know takes some extra attention on my part toward thumb braking, line consistency on the spool, and general casting awareness.  The lowest I've seen is one red internal on metanium 13s, but I haven't seen anyone mention anything about 1 white brake.  Guess I'll have to find out for myself I imagine it will likely come in to play with very light lures. 

[lmbfisherman]

5 hours ago, Riazuli said:

For the MET100 '13, there are red brakes stock and then whites that come as an accessory.  They apply lighter braking, and I was curious to see if anyone has any specific applications they've used them for.  

 

What reel do you have?  Does it come with alternate brakes? 

I have 2 Met 13s and Met MGL and I never used the other brake set, I know it’s supposed to make it less brakes...but never thought of using them as the default brakes work just fine for me.

[Riazuli]

28 minutes ago, lmbfisherman said:

I have 2 Met 13s and Met MGL and I never used the other brake set, I know it’s supposed to make it less brakes...but never thought of using them as the default brakes work just fine for me.

That makes sense - I just wonder if you can get more distance without backlashing by using the white brakes.  I've already got both met100s with alternating white and red brakes (3 each).  Like I mentioned in my response to @SeeNoSun, I really want to push the limits of the reels, and wonder if it (white brakes) will really shine with very light lures.  Will report back with my findings after thoroughly testing.  I'm also wondering if there is a resistance value to associate to white vs red brakes.  Like does a white brake have .5 drag vs 1 drag on a red brake (what is the ratio between the white and red?).  A lot of poeple may consider that overthinking it, but that's exactly how I like to look at this comparison.  

[craww]

I love the newer shimanos but these brakes arent my favorite- I like to push a reel to limits and enjoy a more "free" reel while keeping a ready thumb. These brakes can vary more and require more tweaking to meet my preferences... even going between semi similar baits. More adjustements, external controls, etc are nice...but Imo they fixed a problem that didnt need fixing. To answer the question and stop rambling- 1-2 internal brakes and external dial as needed. If I feel I can go down from two to one, I bring the external dial to max at the same time and work down from there. Some baits are more forgiving and little trouble, but something like an air-grabbing spinnerbait can be a mild hassle.

 

 

[Riazuli]

3 hours ago, craww said:

I love the newer shimanos but these brakes arent my favorite- I like to push a reel to limits and enjoy a more "free" reel while keeping a ready thumb. These brakes can vary more and require more tweaking to meet my preferences... even going between semi similar baits. More adjustements, external controls, etc are nice...but Imo they fixed a problem that didnt need fixing. To answer the question and stop rambling- 1-2 internal brakes and external dial as needed. If I feel I can go down from two to one, I bring the external dial to max at the same time and work down from there. Some baits are more forgiving and little trouble, but something like an air-grabbing spinnerbait can be a mild hassle.

 

 

That's exactly how I plan to move forward.  For the met 13s I plan to take it to a single white brake if I can - starting with external on max is a great idea. 

[Gorris317]

On 3/2/2018 at 3:06 PM, SeeNoSun said:

If the reel unspools a lot in the beginning of the cast then it needs more of the internal weights moved to the out position.  If the reel overruns after hitting the water you need to adjust with the casting control knob.

 

^ This right here will clear up most of your setup problems. I worked on doing this by getting those practice plugs in different weights and casting them in the back yard. I would switch weights and leave then settings long then see how the reel reacted with those settings. Just be aware you will get some birdsnests. This also helped me smooth out my cast instead of trying to "whip it" for more distance.