Tatula 200 or Curado k for topwater and swimbaits under 2oz?

[KJB42]

I'm in the market for new reel and am wondering between these two what would best fit my needs. I already have the rod it will go with in a Denali Attax 7ft heavy. I will probably use 30lb or 40lb braid. While I have not held the tatula 200 I have a feeling the curado will feel better in the hands. Weight isn't a huge concern as it will be a fairly stout setup. I will get the highest gear ratio of either. I also wont be fishing saltwater so a tranx or lexa might be a bit overkill. 

[Hammer 4]

No experience with current Shimano reels, but I do have a bunch of Diawa reels, including the Tatula 200 and 300, the latter which I use for heavier baits 3 oz and up. 

So, I suggest taking a Good look at the 200 Tatula, it works very well with the baits you want, I throw 6" Hudds on it al day long with no issues.

[Tatulatard]

Tatula 200 has nearly double the capacity of the 200k.  The tatula 150 is more similar in capacity to the 200k.  Both are great choices.

[softwateronly]

I'm mostly a shimano person, but think the Tatula 200 might be the better choice. Very solid reel, nice powerful handle, handles 6-7" weedless swimbaits and burritos very well for me.  In the end, both are very good reels and there is no wrong choice.

 

scott

[Revival]

I use the Tatula 200 for S Waiver 168’s and love it.  I  have 17lb Sufix Elite on it

[VolFan]

I think the Tatula is your better choice, but (unsolicited advice), I would use something like 15 lb CX or Yozuri Hybrid instead of the braid. Any catch or backlash with the braid the larger lures are goooooone.

[KJB42]

On 1/2/2023 at 9:41 PM, VolFan said:

I think the Tatula is your better choice, but (unsolicited advice), I would use something like 15 lb CX or Yozuri Hybrid instead of the braid. Any catch or backlash with the braid the larger lures are goooooone.

The reason I am planning braid is for frogs. Braid is preferred to mono or flouro for topwater. 

[Tatulatard]

12 minutes ago, KJB42 said:

The reason I am planning braid is for frogs. Braid is preferred to mono or flouro for topwater. 

I would get the tatula 150 at most.  The 200 has a deeper spool that is not going to cast a frog as well as the 150.  The 200 is the better big bait reel of the two though.  I personally prefer the elite as a frog reel and you can get a faster gear ratio.  They run $180 on an overseas site.  

[VolFan]

29 minutes ago, KJB42 said:

The reason I am planning braid is for frogs. Braid is preferred to mono or flouro for topwater. 

Got it - I was thinking topwater swim baits like a Slammer or big walker. If you’re using it for frogs too then by all means use braid, but I would still go heavier. He’s also right about the 150 above. Ymmv

[Hammer 4]

Re: the Tatula 150, for smaller baits it would work fine, heck I throw frogs on my Fuego. But for the 2 oz baits, the 200 will work better imho. Anything over 2.5 oz then the 300 is the best choice.

[Tatulatard]

1 hour ago, Hammer 4 said:

Re: the Tatula 150, for smaller baits it would work fine, heck I throw frogs on my Fuego. But for the 2 oz baits, the 200 will work better imho. Anything over 2.5 oz then the 300 is the best choice.

Correct but op is looking for a reel to use with a frog rod.  Looking forward to adding a tatula 300 this year.?

[Hammer 4]

23 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

Correct but op is looking for a reel to use with a frog rod.  Looking forward to adding a tatula 300 this year.?

True, he would be better off getting 2 reels, a smaller one for frogs, and the 200 for the heavier baits. You will like the 300.

[ska4fun]

Tatula 200. Way better build.

 

The list of issues on the K series is absurd: low-quality springs in the spool disengaging system, low-quality thumb bar...

[Jrob78]

Based on rod ratings this isn't a rod you're going to want to throw bigger swimbaits on very much. With the combination of using light braid, the Tatula 200 is overkill and the 150 is more reel than you need, the Tat 100 would be great. You can use the Curado K, Tatula 100 or any other bass reel for these techniques and light braid.

 

If you plan to throw swimbaits in the 1-2oz range often you may want a different rod but any reel should still work. The key here is light 30-40lb braid, you don't need a reel with a huge line capacity.

[KJB42]

On 1/4/2023 at 7:47 PM, Hammer 4 said:

True, he would be better off getting 2 reels, a smaller one for frogs, and the 200 for the heavier baits. You will like the 300.

What about a 100 with the denali and a 200 with a tatula heavy rod??

[Big Hands]

Having recently gone through a similar, if not pretty much the same, search for a swimbait reel(s), I am sharing a spreadsheet I put together to make it easier than jumping around back and forth between web pages.

 

 

I find it quite interesting to compare the (alleged) specifications between reels of the same brand as well as between brands.

 

Note that a 200 class Daiwa holds as much or maybe even slightly more line than a 300 class Shimano, but their specified drag ratings are more comparable between 200 vs 200 and 300 vs 300. As for price, and I know that the specs don't always tell the entire story, but IMHO, there are winners and losers here depending on what is important to you and exactly where your priorities lie.

[Derek1]

59 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

Having recently gone through a similar, if not pretty much the same, search for a swimbait reel(s), I am sharing a spreadsheet I put together to make it easier than jumping around back and forth between web pages.

 

 

 

I find it quite interesting to compare the (alleged) specifications between reels of the same brand as well as between brands.

 

Note that a 200 class Daiwa holds as much or maybe even slightly more line than a 300 class Shimano, but their specified drag ratings are more comparable between 200 vs 200 and 300 vs 300. As for price, and I know that the specs don't always tell the entire story, but IMHO, there are winners and losers here depending on what is important to you and exactly where your priorities lie.

The braid specs must be off on the tat 200. By a bunch I would think. 

[Big Hands]

There are definitely some inconsistencies in the capacity ratings. If you look closely, I know some of these are not accurate; they can't be accurate. Someone is spewing high grade bovine fecal matter ;~)  (in spite of the fact that these numbers are quoted directly from the manufacturer's websites).

[Revival]

This is straight from a Tat 200 box

 

 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, Big Hands said:

There are definitely some inconsistencies in the capacity ratings. If you look closely, I know some of these are not accurate; they can't be accurate.

That's for sure.

 

2 hours ago, Derek1 said:

The braid specs must be off on the tat 200. By a bunch I would think. 

It holds a lot of line with its 38mm T x 28mm w spool. Its arbor is very small in diameter.

 

Tat 200 on the left. 150 on the right.

 

[Big Hands]

3 hours ago, Revival said:

This is straight from a Tat 200 box

 

 

 

Daiwa has some 'splainin' to do. The box does specify "J-Braid" so that could be their out, but why all the mystery and inconsistency?

 

 

 

[Big Hands]

Maybe things are not well organized there or maybe they just don't care that much, or maybe there are just a few there left to do the work of many.

 

I recently bought a Daiwa Kage Swimbait rod (which is why I was going down the swimbait reel rabbit hole myself recently) that had relatively little information on it other the model (KAG861HRB "SWIMBAIT" rated for 20 to 50 lb). No lure weight parameters. I called Daiwa and was able to be put in touch with someone that was supposed to know about these things. He said there was nothing about it in any of their catalogs. IIRC, the store I bought it from had one other similar model that I haven't found listed or mentioned and I think it was a heavier power but just 8' long. He did find that they still had a couple of them in stock in their warehouse, but had no other information other than it looks to have been discontinued sometime in 2021. I have not seen anything about on any of their websites and only found one website for a tackle shop that had it listed as discontinued.

 

I know the background on the whole idea of why the Kage line is supposed to exist, and I get that most online retailers are not even supposed to have them or sell them online, but it should at least exist in one of their catalogs.

[Derek1]

7 hours ago, PhishLI said:

That's for sure.

 

It holds a lot of line with its 38mm T x 28mm w spool. Its arbor is very small in diameter.

 

Tat 200 on the left. 150 on the right.

 

No doubt, wasn’t arguing that with you. I was thinking if it holds 250 yards of 12 pound mono. It would be a mind blowing number of 30 pound braid. I don’t know anything about j braid though. I would imagine if you were buying that reel, it wouldn’t be to put 30 pound braid on it anyway. 

[LrgmouthShad]

I have the tatula 200 on my frog/punching rod. IMO it is a great choice. I run 65lb braid on this rod and the 200 lets me hold a good amount of that thick braid. Tons of capacity. The reel will cast a frog far and is very powerful. The large handle is very comfortable for me. The reel, however, is not my most comfortable. It is also heavy. For frogging and punching, I don’t care as much about comfort. I just wanted a dependable reel that casts far and holds a lot of 65lb braid. The tatula 200 filled that role for me and I like it very much. 
 

The Tatula 150, I’m told, has the same frame as the 200. Just a shallower spool. So you are not really gaining much comfort by going to the 150 as it will still be a large. If you have large hands, it may be more comfortable for you than me. 
 

Hope this helps

[Boomstick]

9 hours ago, Big Hands said:

 

Daiwa has some 'splainin' to do. The box does specify "J-Braid" so that could be their out, but why all the mystery and inconsistency?

 

 

 

J-Braid is very standard in diameters, at least by what they claim.