pk

I have the 6'6 and 7'0 as well and I've never used them for dropshotting. Mostly Senkos, finesse worms and really small spinnerbaits. Which is what *** says the Casting Crucial is better for. That said the split grip is really nice when throwing spinnerbaits over and over.

thank you!

I've got a 6'6 M Shimano Crucial Casting Dropshot rod with fast action. Aside from the split handle how is it any different from the Crucial Casting 6'6 M? The Crucial Casting rod appears to have the full cork handle but its a fast action rod just like the dropshot.

I shipped a rod yesterday from Chicago to LA and it was 29 bucks UPS ground.

LOL. More people probably own the STX seeing that it's already a couple of years older than the E7.

The original poster wasn't even considering an SX but seeing that you brought it up I thought I'd chime in. I had a premier and 3 STXs last year and then I tried a SX. The SX on the retrieve was just as smooth as the STXs and smoother than the Premier. I sold my STXs and got all SXs. It was a point in the season when I was doing a lot of jig fishing and they worked great for pitching. Aside for that problem I mentioned earlier when not resetting the brake magnet after pitching to doing a full out cast. This year is when the SX's ugly problem reared it's head for me. It's utterly worthless casting finesse baits into the wind. I'm not Bill Dance but with 15 years of baitcasting experience those reels in certain weather conditions made me look like a beginner. I've been gushing over the Curado E lately on the board. I've had one for 5 days now and it's twice the reel my SX was. That said the STX is not a bad reel I think it's got too much bling factor but at that 120 dollar price I think the original poster should look at one and a Curado E as well. Buy em both and post the other one ebay or the classifieds here. You'll probably loose 10-15 bucks.

Another vote for the Crucial. I've got two a 6'6 and a 7'0. Both are great senko rods and they double great with spinnerbaits with the fast action tips. If I'm taking one rod to a lake for a few hours of shore fishing this is my all round choice.

Yeah, because everyone needs 24 lbs. of drag. : I live in Chicago and I'm lucky if I catch a bass at 5lbs once a season. I've always thought the 24lbs of drag was a weak selling point for someone like me. Someone also mentioned the ball bearing count being higher on the STX. How many of those are in the handle or unneeded and just put on that reel for bling factor?

my mistake. It was the touchy magnets on the SX that would backlash if you casted after flipping. My vote still goes for the Curado!

I owned 4 STXs at one point. They are all gone. I downgraded to the SX which blindfolded most people couldn't tell the difference between the two. I've unloaded all my SXs and I'm slowly rebuilding my collection this time with Curados. The Curado is just as smooth in retrieve as the SX, it weighs less, and the new E7 have no back play in the handels. Plus it's a newer model. On top of all that you can pick em up on ebay for 150ish. Here's why I wouldn't use the STX for flipping and pitching. You turn the magnets way low to pitch a jig. Then you pitch all morning and decide to take a cast with that jig to a stump a little out of reach of a pitch but you forgot to turn your magnets up... To late. You're in backlash city. There should be one less vote for the STX and one more for the Curado. I clicked STX by mistake.

I took my new Curado out again this morning this time paired up with a 6'6 M action Crucial. I was casting light weight worms, spinnerbaits and small light crankbaits into the win with much more ease than my Revo SXs. Every time I use this reel I like it even more. The 7:1 worked great with the cranks and spinnerbaits

You hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. The fish don't know if you're using a Revo or a Curado.

Any decent games for the ps2?

I agree and I think the 7:1 is actually ok for cranks. I've used mine for deep diving cranks from the shoreline in 10ft deepish water. I guess if I was on a boat and in really deep water the 5:1 would be better but I agree with RW the 7:1 is a really well rounded ratio.

Couldn't tell you. But externally there are minor differences. For example the Curado has those nice over sized handles.

Interesting. I guess I forgot to add that another plus for me with the Curado 200e over the Revos is they fit my hand better. I've got big hands so the 100d would probably be a nice fit. Maybe I'll get one of those too now!

Look at the Shimano Crucial line. I've been on a rod buying spree and these are really nice. I've owned Loomis Mossybacks and Spinnerbait rods and I like the Crucial more. I've also owned Carrot Stixs and I like the Crucials more than those. I was thinking about getting some Avids but the Shimano return policy is really a sweet deal on top of an even sweeter rod for 150ish

I was throwing a weightless 7" power worm on the 7' Crucial with a fast tip. I'm guessing the rod makes a difference there also wasn't too much wind. That said I wouldn't even think about attempting that with my Revo SX. I'm sure a Pixy would throw these worms better but the Curado did do it. Even tho I've sold my Revos I still "love" them as you do I guess. It would be nice if I could afford to keep both. Even if I could I'd probably use the Curados everytime.

Wouldn't most people want a parabloic rod for cranks and something with a fast tip for spinnerbaits?

I've been baitcasting since I was about 10 years old. I'm 27 now and quit fishing when I was 19 after my father died. Last summer was my first full summer back into fishing and I got into Abu Garcia Revos. They were the newest thing everyone was talking about and I used to use those big Abu Garcia round reels back in the 90s so they seemed like the logical purchase. I had the Premier, the STX, and SX. I settled in on the SX and have been fishing those the most. This is not a slam on the Revos they are great reels but I had trouble casting lighter baits on those. It seemed like with the magnetic brake was super touchy and never really worked right. At least for me. The Curado D never really appealed to me when I was shopping for the Revos, they seemed clunky and had too much back play in the handles but after reading all the reviews on the new E series I had to try one. I got a 200e7 yesterday. Outta the box my first impression was this is not the clunky D, it weighs less, and the back play in the handle is gone. I was a little let down that I couldn't get this in my favorite Revo 6.4:1 gear ratio but after using it for the past two days I really don't think there is THAT much difference. I paired it on a Crucial 7'0 M dropshot rod and fished Senkos, Dingers, Worms, Spinnerbaits and even a Crankbait. The retrieve is smoother than that of my Revos and one thing I always had to do with the Revos was add lube to the gears out of the box. Not so with the Curado. The braking system on the Curado couldn't be easier. I had no problem throwing heavier baits all the way down to weightless worms and only had to adjust the spool tension. I wouldnt even ba able to think about a weightless power worm on my SX. I know it's not fair to compare the older Revo to the newer Curado, so Revo fans I'm not trying to knock your reel, but it's the only reel I've owned most of and longest to compare the Curado to. At $150ish on ebay these new Curado Es are a steal and I know there are better reels out there but those cost more and so far with the Curado E it feels like I go a high quality reel, not that the Revo didn't feel high quality but the casting of lighter baits seems like a non-issue now and unless these start falling apart prematurely I'll be a Shimano man for a long long time. I'm also sold on these Crucial rods as well but I guess that's another story.

Curado E for 150 is a KILLER deal

You use a stiff worm rod for cranks? Thats the total opposite of a crankbait rod. Yeah. It works fine. I just don't like the bendy parabolic feel of crankbait rods when reeling in a heavy deep diving crank. Too much pressure on the rod makes my hand tired plus I'd rather just muscle my cranks in on a stiff rod.

I get into different rods for different applications and then I don't. I really can't make up my mind. I know one thing and that is that I do not like cranking rods they are too flimsy feeling for me and I know that's what you're supposed to want for fishing cranks but I really like a strong back bone when fishing cranks. Probably because that's how I did it when I started. Rick Clunn says, "it's a fallacy that you have to have different rods and reels to be a bass fisherman." That said I would never use the heavy action rod Clunn uses in Chicago because I rarely catch monster bass here.

10 years ago I was Abu Garcia/Shimano guy. Last year I went all Revo reels and BPS Pro Qualifier rods. I'm dumping my Revos now and I'm thinking about going all Shimano after trying out a 2009 Curado.

I liked my 6'9 Parabolic Carrot I got last year so much that I ordered a 6'8 medium action Boyd Duckett spinning rod two weeks ago. I was really let down. The Medium was as thick as a BPS Heavy or MH. Also the spinning reel sat on the rod at such an angle and the first guide was so close to the reel that when I'd quickly reel up slack the line would bounce off the rod blank which was extremely annoying.