Shimano Curado decision

[birdley123]

Hey guys,

I'm a newbie here and I need your advice.  I'm finally gonna break down and spend more than I normally would on a baitcaster.  Here the question;

A friend of mine has 2 Curados.  A 5 and a 7.  I'll be using it for primarily plastics/spinnerbait fishing.  

I'd like to hear your thoughts on which one I should get.  5:1 or 7:1???

thanks in advance,  birdley123

[KYntucky Warmouth]

Welcome to the forum.

The Curado is a good reel and which one really depends on how you like to fish.  The E7 is good for plastics with a faster retrieve, the E5 is a great cranking reel with slower retrieve.  I would say E7 but I like to throw spinnerbaits on a 6.x:1 which isn't a ratio of the Curado series but is the ratio of the Citica

[birdley123]

Thanks.

So, what would you do if a Citica got thrown in the mix?

Isn't a Curado a better reel than the Citica?

From my perspective my $$$ doesn't grow on trees or from sponsors, so I'm just trying to get the BEST overall reel for my $100....

[roadwarrior]

The Citica is a fine reel and "Best Value" at its pricing point.

However, if you have the wallet, step up to the Curado 200E7,

you will not be disappointed! It compares favorably to other,

higher priced Shimanos I own.

8-)

[KYntucky Warmouth]

The Citica is a fine reel and "Best Value" at its pricing point.

However, if you have the wallet, step up to the Curado 200E7,

you will not be disappointed! It compares favorably to other,

higher priced Shimanos I own.

8-)

I have two Curado, an E5 and E7, I don't have a citica but if money is tight it's the way to go.  RW knows his Shimano's and if you have it to spend, you won't be disappointed by the Curado

[birdley123]

So, if you're headed out one AM and you can only grab ONE, WHICH one would you grab?  The 5, or the 7?

[roadwarrior]

CU200E7

8-)

[.RM.]

So, if you're headed out one AM and you can only grab ONE, WHICH one would you grab?  The 5, or the 7?

I would grab the 7 if fishing the blade's you can always slow down a taste...

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

[Craiger12]

I agree 100% with the above. I love my Curado E7 and I don't find it to be too fast for fishing spinners at all. And as Reel Mechanic stated, you can always slow down a bit if need be without trouble.

[skunked_again]

if there was a Curado in a 6'sh:1 it would really stick a fork on Revo sales.

[fathom]

depends on what you're trying to do.

the e5 is perfect for slowrolling heavy blades deep...for 1/2 oz. and under, i would lean toward the e7.

[Lurking]

e7

If you are fishing plastics for any extended time periods you'll appreciate the ability to take up slack in a hurry without working too hard.

You can always slow it down if need be...just figure a cadence and pay attention to stick to it.

Hard to beat that speedy line retrieve when fishing plastics though. Makes fishing plastics with slower reels undesirable...spoils a man that way.

[adclem]

The E7 hands down and I have a Curado E7 converted to a 6.3:1 and it is wonderful!

Later,

[KYntucky Warmouth]

The E7 hands down and I have a Curado E7 converted to a 6.3:1 and it is wonderful!

Later,

I don't get the swapping of the gears in the E7, if I wanted a 6.x:1 Curado, I would get a Scorpion, it seems like that would be a little cheaper that either buying a citica to strip or purchasing a new gear set from Shimano, granted I don't know how much the gears are to purchase.

[plnoldrick]

IMO forget the gear ratio, pay attention to how much line it picks up per crank. The E7 picks up 30" per turn at 7:1 while a daiwa hsta which is 6.3:1 picks up 28" and a core 50 at 7:1 picks up 28" while a core 100 picks up 26" at 6.2:1

Maybe it's just me but i do not even pay attention to gear ratios anymore, just line retrieved per crank. seems to me that gear ratios are to baitcasters what bearing count is to spinning reels, a selling point.

[Lurking]

IMO forget the gear ratio, pay attention to how much line it picks up per crank. The E7 picks up 30" per turn at 7:1 while a daiwa hsta which is 6.3:1 picks up 28" and a core 50 at 7:1 picks up 28" while a core 100 picks up 26" at 6.2:1

Maybe it's just me but i do not even pay attention to gear ratios anymore, just line retrieved per crank. seems to me that gear ratios are to baitcasters what bearing count is to spinning reels, a selling point.

You have a good point about gear ratios and I agree with you that gear ratios are primarily used to sell more reels (this has been the trend). Gotta have that high speed reel! (at least this is what the marketing folks want you to think)

When evaluating line retrieval rates of different models of reels, be sure to account for differences in listed line size and capacity.

In the case of the Curado E5 and E7 spool capacity is listed as 10 lb./155 yd for both models. And according to Shimano the E5 will pickup 21" per handle turn whereas the E7 will pickup 30" per handle turn.

So the E7 picks up roughly 30% more line per crank than the E5. Therefore the decision between the E5 and E7 should be based on the buyers intended usage of the reel in relation to line retrieval rates.

Did you have a specific purpose in mind for this reel? In a perfect world I'd have a specific rod/reel combo for each type of technique/presentation that I was using. For example an E5 for cranking and an E7 for Senkos...

If I had to choose just one of the two for all around use it would be the E7 for the reasons that I listed in my previous post. The fast line retrieval is great for fishing plastics and jigs. Also I can still use the reel for slower cranking (it's just a little tougher to maintain the slower reeling pace). Overall the E7 just has more versatility for my tastes...

Either way you'll have a fine reel that will serve you well and provide plenty of fishing enjoyment.