New Cranking Rig... Scorpion DC?

[AmmoGuy]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Omnia has all three gear-ratios in right hand and the 6.2:1 lefty in stock...same price as BPS and free shipping.

https://www.omniafishing.com/p/shimano-curado-mgl-150/

 

I have gift cards and a great code for BP, so not the same price (in this instance) ha. 

It's sad that BPs inventory is so limited. 

 

I also need a 6:2 right hand. 

[AmmoGuy]

Ended up ordering a Curado DC. It arrived yesterday. 

 

I have to say, I'm not overly impressed with the "smoothness" out of the box. I can feel/hear a hint of gear noise. Not what I was hoping for. 

[torm]

Im not sure why but a lot of curado dcs feel weird out of the box. Once you break it in though it does feel better, also under load feels better too. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

8 hours ago, AmmoGuy said:

Ended up ordering a Curado DC. It arrived yesterday. 

 

I have to say, I'm not overly impressed with the "smoothness" out of the box. I can feel/hear a hint of gear noise. Not what I was hoping for. 

I tried to tell you lol. Any of the Scorpions even the 17 without the MM gears are smoother than the Curado DC. 

The Curado DC having the SVS dial where it does makes it uncomfortable to hold too. 

[CrashVector]

On 2/28/2022 at 11:51 AM, AmmoGuy said:

 

I've tried them quite a bit. That's why I'm considering adding one to my arsenal. 

Does it seem like magic? Nah. But it does seem to work quite well. 

 

I'm more concerned with which DC reel would be the "best buy".  

 

They're nice, but heavy.

 

I have a Curadi DC reel.  It has its uses for sure, but they're heavy reels by necessity.

 

Most of my Abu Garcia Revo reels out-perform it.

[clemsondds]

Picked up a 21 Scorpion from amazon...couldn't open the side plate. Whatever setting it was on was pretty nice.  It sits pretty much exactly in between slx dc and metanium...I would save up and get metanium mgl.  

[AmmoGuy]

1 hour ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

I tried to tell you lol. Any of the Scorpions even the 17 without the MM gears are smoother than the Curado DC. 

The Curado DC having the SVS dial where it does makes it uncomfortable to hold too. 

I swear, I feel like getting a smooth reel is a roll of the dice these days. I’m over the Tatula lottery.

 

The brake dial on this Curado is almost impossible to turn. That normal for these?

[DINK WHISPERER]

21 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

I swear, I feel like getting a smooth reel is a roll of the dice these days. I’m over the Tatula lottery.

 

The brake dial on this Curado is almost impossible to turn. That normal for these?

Every Diawa I ever had was geary and had a buzzing sound right out of the box. And all the Curados have that issue with the dial. You have to loosen the screw that holds the dial retainer a little bit. That usually fixes the issue. 

Like I told you in our messages, the 21 Scorpion DC is the smoothest of any reel I've ever used. It literally feels like the handle isn't attached. 

[AmmoGuy]

16 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Every Diawa I ever had was geary and had a buzzing sound right out of the box. And all the Curados have that issue with the dial. You have to loosen the screw that holds the dial retainer a little bit. That usually fixes the issue. 

Like I told you in our messages, the 21 Scorpion DC is the smoothest of any reel I've ever used. It literally feels like the handle isn't attached. 

Yea. I’d just like to know why. 
What makes a Scorpion smoother? Mechanically speaking, they should be the same. 
 

I have a bunch of Daiwas. Some of them are noisy and geary, some of them are smooths. It’s a lottery.
This Curado has a light buzzing sound too, and in my experience it only gets worse when they start that way. Being picky is frustrating. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

4 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

Yea. I’d just like to know why. 
What makes a Scorpion smoother? Mechanically speaking, they should be the same. 
 

I have a bunch of Daiwas. Some of them are noisy and geary, some of them are smooths. It’s a lottery.
This Curado has a light buzzing sound too, and in my experience it only gets worse when they start that way. Being picky is frustrating. 

I suspect it has something to do with the bearings used in the Scorpions. They are said to be of higher quality than the US counterparts.

The reel test points this out in the video of the Scorpion MGL I believe. That's another reel that's ridiculously smooth! But still, I'd take my modified 17s any day. They just palm and cast better. 
 

[Dumbbassanglr]

If your casting crankbaits under a 1/2 oz in windy conditions then yes a dc reel is sweet. If not then the zillion sv tw is a far better reel overall.

[CrashVector]

1 hour ago, AmmoGuy said:

I swear, I feel like getting a smooth reel is a roll of the dice these days. I’m over the Tatula lottery.

 

The brake dial on this Curado is almost impossible to turn. That normal for these?

 

For the same price as the Curado dc right now, bps has the Abu Garcia Revo MGX on sale, which is an amazing reel.  It's normally $350.

 

Don't get me wrong,on very windy days fishing from the kayak, the first reel I reach for is the Curado.  Any other time...the MGX, Revo SX, or Revo S will perform better and more smoothly.

[AmmoGuy]

9 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

 

For the same price as the Curado dc right now, bps has the Abu Garcia Revo MGX on sale, which is an amazing reel.  It's normally $350.

 

Don't get me wrong,on very windy days fishing from the kayak, the first reel I reach for is the Curado.  Any other time...the MGX, Revo SX, or Revo S will perform better and more smoothly.

I have a couple Revo SX’s. One is relatively smooth, the other got so geary/noisy last summer that it got replaced under warranty. 
 

I’ll have to take a look at the MGX. 

[CrashVector]

2 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

I have a couple Revo SX’s. One is relatively smooth, the other got so geary/noisy last summer that it got replaced under warranty. 
 

I’ll have to take a look at the MGX. 

 

I'd wanted one for a long time.  Bps putting em on a big sale meant I couldn't resist.  The HS version is just 5oz.  Casts like a dream.

[AmmoGuy]

3 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

 

I'd wanted one for a long time.  Bps putting em on a big sale meant I couldn't resist.  The HS version is just 5oz.  Casts like a dream.

Hmm. Aluminum main gear. Not sure I’m a fan of that. 
 

I don’t know the Abus that well, what makes that reel so much better than the SX’s? Other than more bearings and what not. 

[CrashVector]

13 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

Hmm. Aluminum main gear. Not sure I’m a fan of that. 
 

I don’t know the Abus that well, what makes that reel so much better than the SX’s? Other than more bearings and what not. 

 Magnesium frame vs al alloy, better centrifugal brake that is externally adjustable, carbon fiber handle, micro-adjustable spool tension, etc.

 

Main gear in my reel is brass.  Perhaps it's bc I got the HS version.  The regular one is 4.75 oz.  Maybe that accounts for the very slightly higher weight of the HS...the brass gear.  I thought it was going to be aluminum until I took it apart to clean and service it, but it's clearly brass.

[lunkerboss923]

On 2/28/2022 at 11:52 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

I like JDM because you get a slightly better reel for the price and because the JDM vendors can ship a reel from Japan faster than I can get one from Tackle Warehouse.  

Sadly this is very true. I've had severe issues with Tackle Warehouse. Don't even get me started with USPS  

[AmmoGuy]

12 hours ago, CrashVector said:

 

 

Main gear in my reel is brass.  Perhaps it's bc I got the HS version.  The regular one is 4.75 oz.  Maybe that accounts for the very slightly higher weight of the HS...the brass gear.  I thought it was going to be aluminum until I took it apart to clean and service it, but it's clearly brass.

 

Weird. Most retailers have all the models listed at 5oz. 

If it has brass gears, I'd be more interested in it.... But getting that info is probably a good luck situation. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

6 hours ago, lunkerboss923 said:

Sadly this is very true. I've had severe issues with Tackle Warehouse. Don't even get me started with USPS  

Let's not even go there! I placed an order with TW last Wed and it hasn't even been invoiced yet!! Just a small order of hard baits and terminal tackle and everything was in stock. 

[QED]

18 hours ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Every Diawa I ever had was geary and had a buzzing sound right out of the box.  [stuff deleted]

 

The Pixy Type-R and Steez reels aren't "geary" at all so my experience with Daiwa has been entirely different from yours.

[AmmoGuy]

Just now, QED said:

 

The Pixy Type-R and Steez reels aren't "geary" at all so my experience with Daiwa has been entirely different from yours.

 

I think it is largely floating spool vs non. 

 

In my experience, and I've had quite a few, all of the "Tatula" style reels that have a traditional shaft-through-pinion design are a coin flip on whether or not they are geary. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

1 hour ago, QED said:

 

The Pixy Type-R and Steez reels aren't "geary" at all so my experience with Daiwa has been entirely different from yours.

Give it a while ?

[QED]

34 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Give it a while ?

Not intending to be argumentative but just haven't seen this.  I have Steez reels that I've used perhaps as long as eight years and also ones that are almost brand new.  The Steez CT SV TW 70 is my current favorite reel and it's been brilliant.  YMMV and apparently does, but I stand by my remarks.

[PhishLI]

10 hours ago, AmmoGuy said:

I think it is largely floating spool vs non. 

Correct. Reels with builds like the Tatulas (minus the Tat 300), standard SLXs, and previous gen Lew's are hit or miss. I have yet to use a free floating spool Daiwa that wasn't smooth. I can speak about the Zillion G because I own one, and its smoothness is on a different planet. My Zillion variant Catalina TW is very smooth, but the G feels like belt driven smooth. I'm pretty sure the guys from the other place would be crying loudly if it wasn't, but not a peep about geariness in a 58 page thread on this reel. FWIW, I spent last night throwing a 75mm Livingston Bullnose wake/crank on a 7'6" stick with 12lb copoly. Even got 2 small bass to play. Super easy to dial in to wind conditions, barely moved the dial, and I was very surprised with the distance I was getting. I was in a cove I'm very familiar with, and came within inches of clocking a swan on the opposite bank. I know for sure I've haven't thrown this particular crank that far before.

 

That said, if you see yourself bombing 1/2-5/8 oz flatsides into the wind a DC is hard to beat.

 

P.S. Pinion bearings can see alot of water during use, or just get dry. A washed out or dry pinion bearing that's a tad damaged can feel like poorly meshing gears. Typically their proportions are odd compared to standard bearings. They have a large-ish thin walled inner race with very small balls. This is something worth looking into if you have a geary reel.

 

 

[DINK WHISPERER]

14 hours ago, QED said:

Not intending to be argumentative but just haven't seen this.  I have Steez reels that I've used perhaps as long as eight years and also ones that are almost brand new.  The Steez CT SV TW 70 is my current favorite reel and it's been brilliant.  YMMV and apparently does, but I stand by my remarks.