TrippyJai

I too sold off all my other reels and now only own the Curado E series. They are great reels after upgrading the drag washers and bearings. They get the job done at a fair price. I'll admit there are other reels I want to buy, but I think what's keeping me away is the fact that I can break these reels down thoroughly when cleaning. A Core would be nice, but 2 Curados to me is even better.

Chrome/Blue as well, but I've done well with the Aruku Perch

Wow the golf grip looks cool. Thanks for the replies. I'm going to pick up the new Crucial flipping for sure. It was such a light stick, but the foam grips held me back.

How is the durability of foam grips? Do they start to smell after while from fish, sweat, plastics, etc?

It's really getting hard to buy a new rod these days because I prefer the full grip with cork and it seems like every company is moving towards the foam split grips. I had one for a while and didn't care much for it. It might looks better and might be lighter, but as long as the combo is balance, that is what is important to me.

The Senko will wobble while it is sinking. If you want a worm shaped bait, try the Zoom Finesse Worm. It also wobbles sinking, a 20 pack for about $4 and it has great action.

My first baitcasting reel I've ever bought was Quantum Energy PT and the finish was awful. After a couple of weeks from leisure fishing, it started to flake. I was not impressed to say the least. After that, I purchased my first Curado D and was extremely happy with the reel that I hopped on the Shimano bandwagon. Shimano isn't perfect either because I've had many problems with my Curados and Citicas, but they are usually minor. I love the value and performance of these reels. I feel that they will last me forever as long as I clean them and don't abuse them. All I can say is I feel comfortable with a Shimano in my hand. I had a chance to play with the Smoke and it looks like a great reel. Quantum has really stepped up recently. On the other hand, I was really disappointed in the new G series launched by Shimano.

Great post... it was a very interesting read. I'm a line watcher so most of my strikes comes from something I detect different in the line. I have low and high end rods, but the most important thing for me is balance. When a rod feels balance, it just feels more sensitive. If I put a heavy reel on a light rod, it would take away from the sensitivity. To be honest, I can't really tell you how 1 rod is more sensitive than another. Rarely does a rod transmit the bite to my fingers, it would have to move the line before it gets to the rod. It won't matter how sensitivity a rod is when a fish hits on slack line, I bet I won't feel it even on the GLX.

Wow, I've been hearing a lot of stories about people stealing or trying to scam others in the last month or so. It was a good thing that you paid with PayPal. Glad you got your money back. Here's some information that buyers should know: -If you sent money via PayPal GIFT and have a problem, PayPal will NOT cover you. -If you sent money via PayPal, you have 45 days of the purchase to file a claim. PayPal will reimburse you with the funds and go after the seller to recover the money. -If you received an item not describe, PayPal will try to resolve the issue, but you are not covered 100%. Usually if you've made a purchase outside of eBay, PayPal only verifies that the item been delivered. You'll have to convince them that the item was not described so it's a good idea to save pictures, emails, IMs, etc.

"4. Clutch Bearing Insert." Is this the roller clutch inner tube? I wanted to do this swap for a while as well.

Done

I've never tried the Super Hawgs, what colour did you use?

The reel seats are something I am concerned with. I held many different rods at the store and some seats where looser than others. On a few of them, I can just flick my finger and the seat would move easily. I didn't mount any of the rods onto a reel, but I am wondering is the reel seat secure after putting a reel on it? Do they lock into place?

Make sure your BNT3208 - Star Drag Click Plate is placed correctly in between the Star Drag and Handle. If it's making no clicking, but you put the reel back together correctly, just flip it around so it's facing the other way.

Another vote for the Spro Aruku Shad. I love this bait.

Hope everything works out

I had the same issue on my Citica and managed to fix this problem. The Curado and Citica are very similar, but they do have minor differences. The size of the Roller Clutch Inner Tube and Star Drag Nut are not the same size. For the Citica, the Roller Clutch Inner Tube is smaller than the Curado and the Star Drag Nut is bigger. Why the difference? I no idea. I tried to install the Curado parts into the Citica, but it didn't fix the problem. While in the process of swapping the gears, I decided to put the larger Roller Clutch Inner Tube to see if it would work and it did. I am guessing it adds more pressure there, but I don't know how to explain it. Call Shimano and order the part BNT3909. They'll probably send it to you free of charge. Let me know how it works out.

I have the previous model GT70MH. This rod has good sensitivity compared to my Crucials, but I use it mostly for spinnerbaits. I caught a musky on it last year and it has a lot of power/backbone and handled the fish just fine. The only thing I like about the new models is the TAC material they use for the grips, but I don't like the big front grip and ACS reel seats. If you find a old model on sale, buy it because you won't be disappointed, but I would not pay more than $120 for the rod. I believe they use the same Carbon Veil blanks. Also the action is listed on the Fenwick website and it's either a Fast or Moderate Fast action. You can easily tell which is which.

Maybe you can try another bait if they are giving you that issue. First bait that comes to my mind is a Fat Ika.

I used Mister Twister Grubs when I was a kid and caught a lot of bass and pike on them. Put it on a ball jig head, cast it out and retrieve.

I'm going to have to go with this. I rarely ever see any deformed Zoom baits and they are my favourite company because of the cheap price. I've seen more GYCB baits deformed than Zoom. Mainly senkos with dents and not being straight (5" ones). Doesn't bother me if they still catch fish. Hardbaits, now that's a different story. I expect every Lucky Craft to be perfect.

I'm glad to hear it won't survive the winter. Maybe that's the reason why they aren't banned here in Ontario. Next one won't be put back and that goes for all others as well.

I've stopped buying fishing stuff a year ago. I woke up one day and realized that I would never use most of these baits. 80% of my stuff see little/no water. My theory was it was always better to have then not have when I need it. I'm sure I have covered every area. There is still room for upgrade, but I am content with what I have.

Thanks, it was a tiger oscar and they seem to be an invasive species. I knew I should left it to die, but I hope it's not too bad if anyone can give more information about this. The pond is not that big. My thoughts were if it ain't suppose to be in there then it shouldn't be, but my gf told me to put it back so I did.

Yesterday at a local pond, I caught a fish that I've never seen before. It was probably a house pet that was released into the pond. It had a black head, red body, dark round eyes that popped out, shape of a bluegill, size of my hand and it didn't have a tail, the top fins extend from the back all the way to the tail end. I was able to lip it and release it back into the water, but I had thoughts on letting it die in case it was invasive or whatever. Any ideas? Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it.