Stasher1

Fixed it for you.

The Curado is available in a 5:1 and can be converted to 6.3:1 or 7:1 at a later date if you desire. I paid less than $155 shipped for my E7 on Ebay, brand new.

It's nice, but somebody put the handle on the wrong side.

I think everyone here started with that Zebco 202 Nope, I didn 't. Me neither. My first reel was a 33 Platinum. ;D

I think they're both good reels and with proper maintenance either one would last you a very long time. The real question is which style of brake do you prefer, magnetic or centrifugal? ETA: Apparently adclem types a little faster than I do. ;D

The OP asked about Ardent reels and also stated that he was thinking about Shimano and Abu Revos. The posters above either posted their opinions on Ardent reels, links to reviews for Ardent reels, or simply stated their brand preference out of the brands the OP listed. Where's the problem? :-?

Don't let the Curado E7's gear ratio scare you off. The line recovery is only 30" per crank, which only 2" per crank more than most 6.4:1 reels and 3" more than the 6.3:1 Citica 200E. It's right in line with most mid-sized spinning reels as well. It's funny how much weight we place on a baitcaster's gear ratio, but almost completely ignore the gear ratio and line recovery of our spinning reels.

One man's opinion? How about these other opinions... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_100409____SearchResults From the sound of it, they're hit-or-miss. You might get a good one, you might get crap. For that kind of money, I'd expect better odds than that.

TackeTour has reviews for the Supreme, President, and Patriarch in their archive. http://www.tackletour.com/menuarchive.html

You lost me here. :-/ Are you talking about JDM reels, or Japanese-made reels in general? Personally, I'd rather buy a reel made in Japan than one that was made in China...like the Quantum.

I've got a Curado 200E7 and a Citica 200E, and there's a noticeable difference in smoothness between the two, and I prefer the feel of the Curado's knobs when cranking. As far as casting difference, I see very little difference between the two with weights greater than 3/8 oz. If you plan on tossing anything lighter than that, the Curado does a better job than the Citica. FWIW, a 7" Power Worm, 3/0 EWG hook, and 1/8 oz. bullet weight actually weigh in at about 3/8 oz. according to my little digital shop scale. As long as you're not casting weightless Trick Worms or 1/4 oz cranks, you'll probably never notice the difference.

What do you consider "amazing casting", and what are you comparing it to? I've got a Curado E7 and a Patriarch 64WLP, and I see very little difference in performance between the two. The Curado is slightly easier to palm due to its lower profile and the Patriarch is noticeably smoother. As far as casting, I see no difference in distance between the two reels when using the same rod.

I bought that same jig kit over a year ago and wound up tossing most of the jigs and keeping the trailers. The weedguards are so stiff and stick up at such a strange angle, there's almost no way to actually get the hook to penetrate a fish's lip. Yours might be better than the ones in my kit, but I'd suggest buying a couple other brands before you give up on jigs entirely. If you have to buy BPS jigs, I'd suggest their Enticer jigs. Not the best I've found, but pretty good for the money.

I keep just about all of my tackle in 3600-series Plano boxes. I typically fish from a kayak, and space is at a premium so I use a tackle bag that holds four 3600's, a small box of jigs, and 6-8 bags of soft plastics. I just swap out boxes based on weather and lake conditions. As far as organizing crankbaits, I use an engraving pencil to mark the underside of the bill with the lure's diving depth along with brand/model if I think it's necessary.

I've got a Crucial and a couple JM Signature Series, and I'm much more likely to grab one of the JM's than the Crucial. They're strong, light, very sensitive, priced well right now, and come with better guides than any of the other rods mentioned. I've got the 6'10" MH/XF paired with a Curado E7, and it's just a fantastic combo.

I picked up several packs of these about a year ago for $.47 a pack and haven't found a use for them yet. :-/

It's extremely fast and much easier to tie than the Palomar because you don't have to pass your lure back thru a loop in the line to tie it. I don't feel it's quite as strong as a Palomar, so I only use it for spinnerbaits and the occasional large crankbait...when I'm not using Norman Speed Clips.

They work well for me rigged weightless on a 3/0 EWG hook, twitched slowly all the way back to the boat.

I use the same 3/0 EWG hook I use for almost all soft plastics.

x2

I'm not disputing the similarites between the Patriarch and the Revos. They're obviously very, very similar internally. The Patriarch, however, is still not built on the same frame as any Revo model.

No, it's built on a Revo-like frame. Quite possibly from the same assembly line, but not a "Revo" frame. :

If you watched any of the coverage of the '09 Bassmaster Classic you would've seen Edwin Evers using PQ rods and reels...and doing quite well with them, I might add. There were even a few closeups of his PQ combos sitting on the deck.

LowRider. The Mojo is just a tarted-up Premier (which never really impressed me) and the guides on the Carrot Stix remind me of the ones Berkley puts on their $20 Cherrywood rods.

The Johnny Morris Signature Series and Elite are essentially the same reel as the Pflueger Patriarch, which is lighter and can be found on Ebay for $140-$165. I have one and it's much smoother than my Curado E7 and casts just as well.