Paulasaurus

I have the 7'2" mh/xfast jig rod and fished it for the first time over the weekend. i bought the ZX to replace my 7'1" MH *** Black. I loved the *** but it broke and it was replaced with a 7'1" H so I needed a new jig/plastics rod. I got the ZX around Christmas for $69 and felt it was a steal for how it felt in store. Blank felt very similar to the previous *** actually. The only thing that worried me was the lure weight rating. The *** went to an ounce while the ZX is only rated to 5/8 ounce. After this past weekend I can't see a reason not to add more of these rods to my arsenal. It has a slightly faster tip than my *** did and a touch less backbone but I'd say the sensitivity is equal. I had no problem getting fish up off the bottom and back to the boat. The grip felt very comfortable and felt great for the 5 hours I spent using it. I have it paired with a Curado 201i hg. At $69 I'd choose it over the ***. At full price I'd have to lean toward the ***.

All good points above. And I agree that it sounds as if something just isn't seated properly. Take a look at the schematics eddieg posted above and be sure everything is where it should be. Might not hurt to take the Citica apart to have an assembled visual that you can compare it too before installing a new part or swapping parts. Good Luck, and if you need a hand let me know.

Can't wait for Friday!

I bought 3 Curado I's from seller "Deepangler" located in Florida and didn't have any issues.

Yeah that's most definitely a typo and backwards like you thought. Here's the Cabelas product listing for the Curado I http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shimanoreg-Curadoreg-I-Casting-Reel/1808686.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3FrecordsPerPage%3D18%26No%3D0%26N%3D0%26nl%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3DCurado%26search%3DSearch&No=0&Ntt=Curado

I've had a 6'6" M 2 piece tourney trail spinning rod for around 6 years now. Its worked flawlessly over those years. Even pulled my personal best in from the reeds two seasons ago with it. Bought my father the same rod last season and he's been liking it as well. It's not the lightest and does feel a bit sluggish in its action but I'd have no problem building another sub $100 combo with one again. It's just plain reliable.

I've been using Spiderwire Stealh for a few years and have had great success with it. Never once had the line break on me and have always used 20lb or 30lb. going to give 50lb a try this season. Plus it's reasonably priced compared to some other brands. Gotta admit though, always tempted to give Powerpro a try.

I would recommend an *** as well. I've really liked the ones I've used and they certainly fish above their price point. I recently got a Cabelas ZX Bass Rod that is the Jig and Worm 7'2" model and am contemplating swapping it out for another *** being that the max lure weight is only 5/8 oz. but other than that it's a great feeling Rod and when they're on sale certainly worth a look.

I currently have a Curado E7 and Chronarch E5 and like everyone above said you can't really go wrong with any of them. But I'm itching to get a Curado I and get some time on the water with it because I think it'll be a better fit for me and my small man sized hands. From my multiple trips to Cabelas fondling Curado I's and Chronarch E's back to back the I's just fit better in my hand. So for me size/palmability plays a huge part in my decision and hope to eventually have all I's vs E's. Or thats what I hope will happen as sometimes the E's just feel a touch large(again I have small man sized hands). And yes eventually I hope to have a few 51e's in my arsenal as well.

I have a medium Tourney Trail spinning rod in 6'6" and while it's no where near as sensitive as my *** black its solid and predictable and has pulled in tons of bass over the years I've had it. For the price it's a decent rod. I also have a Fenwick Silverhawk casting rod that I'd rate better than the Tourney Trail. Cabelas usually has those on sale and are well worth the look in that price range. Good luck!

I'll echo what the others are saying. T-rigs(Havoc Pit Boss's worked great last season) with worms or creatures, cranks, frogs, spinnerbaits, spooks, and jigs all bring me great results. As was already said, our lakes here in MN are very diverse and the fish like a variety of lures thrown at them. I stopped by Northstar Custom Baits the other day and picked up some swim and black jigs. Great shop and jig builder if you're ever near Princeton, MN be sure to check out his shop.

I recently picked up an *** Black from the Gander in Blaine for $80. They also had the Veritas for $79.99 in their last flyer. Give them a call and see what prices they currently have. I agree, we need a BPS in MN. But I can't complain living as close as I do to Cabelas. Good Luck in the hunt!

I have a Curado E7(metal drag star) and a Chronarch E5(plastic drag star). Both reels perform great and I don't think the plastic drag star on the Chronarch takes away from its performance or reliability one bit.

Thanks for posting up the photos and for all the info. Does the Curado I feel smaller in the palm them the E series reels? Sure looks similar to the 50 series from looking at the photos.

Any chance you have a 200e to compare how the 200i palms in comparison?

Happy Birthday Mike!

I recommend giving it a go yourself, as long as you have the tools and keep track of the parts order it really isn't that difficult. I recently cracked open both my Curado 201e7 and Chronoarch 201e5 for a light cleaning/lube and it wasn't that bad at all. Not sure where you're located but i'd be more than happy to take a look at it. Looks like Jeff has some experience with your specific reel though. I watched this video a few times before opening up mine- Good luck Lewi

1/32nd!

You mentioned trying numerous screw driver sizes but you didn't mention if you've tried both phillips and flat head screw drivers. If you haven't yet try a flat head screw driver, the screw head should accept both phillips and flat head drivers. Worst comes to worst you could drill out the screw and get a replacement from Shimano. Good luck!

I just starting fishing a baitcaster for the first time this past season. And if I would have watched the above video above I would have known it was going to be a completely different experience than casting a spinning reel. I started with brakes on, tension knob too tight and whipped it like a spinning reel. Which obviously didn't work. Once I started to get the hang of it I started to notice that the brakes and spool tension knob were holding back my casting distance so I started to back them off little by little and started to thumb the spool. By the end of the season I had only a couple brakes set and the spool tension backed way off. So don't rely on the brakes and tension knob to control the spool, use your thumb and you'll get better distances on your casts as a result.

I'll echo the same as the posters above. Morning and evening for top water but i've had top water strikes all day long on rare occasions. I've had great luck with Heddon Zara Spooks, great walk the dog lures.

Wow these got to my door fast and boy do they look awesome. So glad I held off buying jigs until I found these. Now to get out on the frozen lakes, drill a couple holes and practice pitching them from 20' away. Cannot wait for the thaw! Only thing I regret is that I should have ordered more! Thanks Mike!

As for color, check out his Stocking Stuffer pack. 5 of his best selling colors. Comes in either football or brush heads. http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/index.php/stocking-stuffer-pack

I'm right handed and I've fished my spinning reels right handed since I was a kid. Cast right handed then move the rod to the left hand for the retrieve. Last season I switched my spinning reels to my left hand to see how it felt since I was considering buying a casting reel. After a full season of left handed on the spinning reel I found that the rod felt much better in my right hand on the cast and retrieve. I felt more confident and noticed I actually had a slightly better hook up ratio along with what felt like a better feel with my lure. My left hand on the crank felt a bit clumsy at first but after a season I felt comfortable enough to buy my first casting reel. I found a Curado 201e7 locally and jumped on it. After fishing it for a couple months it felt great and have since added a second left handed casting reel to my collection. As well as keeping my spinning setups left handed. Right or Left is always in the back of my mind and feel I could learn to fish well with either but for now keeping the rod in my right hand just feels right.

I had this happen to me the first time I spooled my first baitcaster. I held the line just above the reel to keep tension on the line going on the spool which resulted in a very uneven spool. To fix it I went outside, hooked a lure to a tree and let all the line out and cranked the line back on keeping tension on the line as I walked back. Line spooled up perfectly. So as said above holding the line further up from the reel might do as well.