Roadblock

I have a question about your recommendation. So I ended up getting a 6'6" Berkley Lightening Shock in medium as a starting point. They also had a medium~heavy in the same length. I noticed that they list right on them what pound line you should use and up to what weight baits. For baits the medium said 1/4 ~ 3/4 but the medium~heavy said 1/4 baits. I would have thought the heavier rod would have been for heavier baits or heavier line but apparently I don't understand how poles work..? Comments?

I just went and checked a couple local shops and there older Crucial's are still normal prices. I actually asked one of the guys about clearancing them and he commented to the fact the new ones are NOT here yet so there is no need. Anyway I picked up a Berkley Lightening Rod Shock. Mostly because I liked the feel of the Shock better than the standard Lightening Rod. Hope this was an OK choice. Tell you what though, it's LIGHT compared to the Ugly Stick GX2 also the craftsmanship is way better. The GX2, the guides were not straight but this Shock is DEAD on.

So is the Crucial line discontinued or is there just "older" rods? Maybe I was looking at newer rods? I was actually looking at those before evening starting this thread.

I simply listed the Curado I as semi-decent because of the price range. Some of the guys I know have $300~600.00 dollar reels. The thing got rave reviews for the price. Sounds like you get more than $180 dollars worth of reel. I actually paid $130'ish for this one with some coupons I had! Yeah I saw the Shinano Crucal rods, sort of a green color at a couple local shops yesterday for about $140.00, I just looked online and it looks like the MSRP is roughly $130 depending model? The places around here never clearance anything! Anyway I'll do some research on the poles you guys listed. Thanks!

I just picked up my first baitcaster and I'm new to these. Oddly enough I have a Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 6'6" casting rod I've never used. I kept meaning to pick up a cheap baitcaster to use with it but just hadn't then I ended up going with a semi-decent Curado I. For a real like this, should I have a better rod? I keep hearing the rod is almost the most important part of the setup. I was about to drop $100 bucks on a carbon fiber crank and cork knobs but then I got to thinking maybe the money could be better spent on a semi-decent rod. Then, what kinda rod should I look for? Honestly, I've ran Ugly Sticks for years without issue on my spinning reels but I have a hard time telling when I have hits so maybe the rod is the issue? Well not issue, but you know what I mean. If I could stay around $100~125+- I would be happy, probably prefer to buy locally rather than to have a rod shipped. Maybe I'm way off base here and I should just stick with the GX2 until I learn baitcasters a little better?

I don't litter, we always keep our empties but I thought beer was a prerequisite to operating a power boat and fishing? In all seriousness, I've never been drunk on a boat but I don't mind if other people tie a little bit of one on. I normally have 1 or 2 drinks max because someone has to drive the boat and trailer it at the end of the trip. Side note, this would be a cool boat flag.

I have to admit I'm a bit shocked to hear all of you say you do not like the rear drag models. I can't see any reason why you wouldn't want a rear drag. I've been using this TX-110Q since I was like 8 years old. My father bought one when they first came out and I like it so much he bought me one too. I actually still have both of them. I'm currently fishing with my fathers on a regular basis. I fish almost every weekend and it's not failed on me yet. It's never been serviced or cleaned internally and it works GREAT. The Quick-Fire II has never broken and I love how it has the two drag settings, the main one and the quick flip thingy. If it ever goes down, I have mine as a backup. Unfortunately I went threw a bit of a Star Trek phase when I was a kid so I took the crank off mine and pretended it was a ray gun and have since LOST the crank. Also I lost 3 of the 4 spools. Both reels came with two spools each and somehow I've only got ONE spool left, the one on my fathers reel. Kinda wish I could pickup a couple spare R1 spools and a spare crank. ANYWAY!!! I personally can not stand the front drag system. You have to crank the tick out of it to tight it up if it's too loose. So much easier to just flip the rear drag lever. I almost thought about just getting my wife the Spirex RG as it has both the Quick-Fire II and the rear drag but the dual crank handles are TOO bulky for this type of reel. Also they are not spaced out very well at all. I'm curious to ask this... Why do you prefer the front drags on this type of reel though? I can maybe understand the Quick-Fire II on newer reels because I just looked at my TX-110Q and the Quick-Fire II lever seems to be made from some type of carbon based material. It's very heavy duty stuff. On the Spirex RG I looked at today, well, it seems to be more plastic like. Maybe that is the difference now days? They cheapened them?

I've been rocking a Shimano TX-110Q for YEARS. Was my fathers reel back in the 80's. He passed when I was 13 and now at 37 years old, it's the only reel I've ever used in my life for more than just a couple casts to try out a friends. I just upgraded! Picked up a Shimano Curado I Series yesterday. I've only had it out once but so far I like it! Got me to thinking though. I wouldn't mind picking up a new Spinning Reel too. My wife has an old Quantum with the front drag and we were out last week fishing and she got a 14 incher that she had to fight. Unfortunately because the drag was set too loose. I kept trying to explain how to tighten the drag and she was turning the knob but not knowing how much to turn, it wasn't helping much! While I was shopping for my Curado, I saw the Symetre with the rear drag like my old TX-110Q and I thought it would make a good upgrade for the wife! We have a spare 6 foot 6 inch pole just sitting so we could just add another pole to the boat. Plus, it's green which is one of her favorite colors! I found one locally for $89.00 dollars. The one feature I wish it had but it doesn't it Shimano's Quick-Fire II thingy. My old TX has that but this one does not. Although my wife's Quantum does not have anything like that either so she will be used to the style of the Symetre's bail right from the go. Plus it's for her, not me so yeah I guess it doesn't need Quick-Fire II. Anyway thoughts? What is the opinion of this reel? I was OK with spending a little more BUT the one main feature I wanted was the quick rear drag settings. This was the highest end reel they have that I found that offers it.

I just went threw this myself. I was trying to decide between a Lews Speed Reel, the one that is $99.99 with a $20.00 dollar rebate ($79.99) or a Curado I series. After hemming and hawing for a few days I decided on the Shimano Curado 200I as my first bait caster and the thing is QUALITY. I just picked it up last night and I've already had it out. Took it out for a couple hours after work and I literally got casting down in 15 minutes or so. Still learning but the not getting backlash curve wasn't bad at all. I tried my friends Lews recently and no matter what I did, I just couldn't keep it from getting backlash about 1 out of 3 casts. I wasn't looking for a $180.00 dollar reel when I started out. In fact I had already bought my Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 for $30.00 at Wal-Mart and expected I would spend no more than $80~100.00 on a reel. Now I've got this beautiful Curado I series and I'm looking for a better rod to go with it! Oh and have you seen all the knobs? I really want to replace a few of the items like a carbon fiber crank, aluminum spool, drag etc with some red anodized billet parts. Oh and some cork knobs! I love the look of cork knobs!

I'm actually going to buy her a new rod and reel tomorrow. She doesn't need it but her reel is a little bit old and I think a Shimano with a rear drag would better suit her. She was trying to reel in a large mouth last weekend and the drag was too loose and she was trying to tighten it, but it was one of those spinning reels where the drag is on the face of the spool and she was having a hard time turning it while the bass was on the line. My old TX-110Q has the rear quick drag and it works VERY well. I think that would work better for her so I thought I would get that Symetre for her. Plus green is like her favorite color. Just going to pick up a Shimano Symetre.

Guess what I have! Yep I just got my Shimano Curado 200I!!! Went with the 6.3:1 ratio, I figured it would be a good overall starting point for most baits based on what I've been reading. I ended up getting it locally from Cabela's because well, I had a $10.00 dollars off my next purchase card and Cabela's Club point's that got me down to around $130.00 or so on the reel. Normal tag price was $179.99, guess I can't complain there. I was going to get the lefty model but after talking to a couple buddies who use right handed spinning reels AND right handed bait casters and to as why you would want one over the other, the right handed model makes sense. Plus I had only ever tried left handed models. My friend who is right handed uses right handed spinning reels but left baitcasters. I actually got to try a right handed one last night and I can see why I would want my dominate hand on the crank with something like this. So here is the plan. I'm going to try the right handed model for the rest of the season. If I decide I don't like the right hand cranking, I can return it within 90 day under the "satisfaction guarantee " and buy the lefty. That or if I decide baitcasters are not my style, I can pickup a really nice Shimano spinning real. Actually, I have a spare pole to I may just pick up another spinning reel this Friday when I get paid anyway. Now I just need to figure out what line to buy! I've always just used 8 pound Trilene clear mono on my 1985 Shimano TX-110Q! Keeping it old school! Wish me luck guys and gals! So yeah $180.00 dollar reel on a $30 dollar Ugly Stick GX2 I picked up at Wal-Mart! If I get used to this setup, I may have to think about a rod next.

Yeah I think I'm going to go with the 2014 Curado I. Now I just need to decide if I wanna go with a right hand or left hand model...! Thanks for the input everyone!

Well if this tells you how serious I've gotten about fishing, I just picked up a used 1970 Mirrocraft Titan 15. Total transom rebuild using West System 2 part epoxy, total deck replacement. All new carpet, all new seats. The Mercury 500 50HP tested at 140psi across all 4 cylinders so I just rebuilt both carbs, fuel pump rebuild, replaced all the gas lines, prime bulb and added a factory Mercury fuel/water separator. When winter hits I'm pulling ALL the wood back out, ripping out all of the life saver foam, coating the hull with Gluv-It and re-pouring foam. Unfortunately this boat has no stringers so the foam IS hull support. I had planned to go without foam but unless I want to weld, foam will be MUCH easier. Decided to do the transom and deck repairs now and to the rest over the winter so I could use it now. I've been fishing EVERY weekend for the past couple months, normally both Saturday and Sunday. This past weekend I went out Friday night at 10:30pm, got home about 9:30am. I slept on the boat. Was actually my wife's idea to drop anchor and sleep right on the boat, she loves fishing MORE than I do. I actually bought the boat for her but I gotta admit it's been a LOT of fun rebuilding it. With winter comes the finish of the rebuild and prep for summer time painting! Going to restore it to look as though it did in 1970 (same paint colors etc) other than I'm removing the vinyl cover dash and going for the classic wood look. I've already cut the dash wood, I just need to figure out what RPM and Voltage gauge I'm going with and cut those holes, stain it and coat it with West System epoxy/resin and mount it. So yeah I've gotta pretty serious about fishing again I would say! Boat screams btw!

Well the price of the Curado I is not going to bust my budget too much, I was planning on $200.00 or so for a reel and my local shops have them in-stock for around $179.00... The only reason I thought the Lews might be an option was reviews on specifically the $99.00 dollar model, bang for the buck and all being a first time user. I thought maybe if I went that way I could afford some other odds and ends for the boat too but it's only money right? I can always start making meth to support my new habit I guess! This is Michigan after all! Kidding kidding! Seriously though based on what I'm reading I really can't see a reason not to buy the Curado I series. Doesn't sound like I'd loose my butt on it if I don't like it in the end. Resale value and all. Went out with a buddy a few weeks ago, tried some of his baitcasters and they seem fun so I figured why not give one a try. I do have one concern though. As a right handed person I hold my pole with my right hand and crank with my left using a spinning reel. To me a right handled baitcaster seems backwards. It really LOOKS left handed to me. The friend who took me out is right handed and he exclusively fishes with left handed baitcaster as he came over from spinning reels too. The left handled model seems more natural to me but I'm told its technically wrong as a right handed user.

I'm in my mid to late 30's, I've been fishing since I was a kid. My dad LOVED to fish and took my mother and myself (only child) all the time when I was growing up. We always had some type of boat most of the time that I could remember unless money was tight. I remember a few my dad sold them to pay bills. One of the nice things about my location (Michigan) is that we have PLENTY of lakes plus all of the Great Lakes! My father passed away from cancer when I was 13 years old. Fishing is one of the best memories I have of him. I actually still fish with his reel today. A Shimano TX-110Q bought brand new from D&R Bass Pro here in Michigan. I've had to replace the pole a couple times over the years. I remember my father had a Berkley on there when I was a kid but that has long since gotten broken. The reel is still holding strong and catching Bass today! I actually have two of them. My father had bought one for himself and I liked his SO much he bought one for me too. Unfortunately I've lost the Shimano R1 spools to mine, and also the crank and I only have one spool left for my dads but its still very usable and I caught a 14 inch Large Mouth on it last weekend. Funny side story, I lost my crank because I removed it to pretend the reel was a laser gun when I was a kid. Star Trek fan, what can I say?! Anyway I've just bought the first boat I've even stepped foot on since my dad was alive. I've got kids of my own now and I want to get back into fishing. I love my dads reel and I almost feel guilty buying something else but I would LOVE to try a baitcaster. I'm a bit of a Shimano fanboy as it's all I've ever known with the TX-110Q so I was looking at Shimano's. The model Vs. price that keeps sticking out is the Curado. I was all set to pickup a Curado G but then it sounds like most people think they are crap? Everything I'm reading says to go with the E model. I see they just released a new I series model though. From what I've read so far the I series sounds good. Sounds like it may have corrected some of the complaints with the G series? I was all set to pick up Curado 200I tonight but I'm seeing that maybe it's not the best FIRST baitcaster for the price. Everyone seems to speak highly of the Lews Speed Spool model that is $99.99 with the rebate of $20.00 right now. Everyone who has one that also owns Curado E and G's says its every bit as good and that they were shocked how much reel you get for under $100.00 dollars. Some of them have swithced to Lews. Granted the one thing no one knows is how long they will hold up as they are newer and like I said I've read some discussion from a while back but I thought I would ask again now that the new Curado I series is out and the Lews Speed Spools have been out a while. So... Should I get the new 2014 Curado I series, go for the E series or try the Lews Speed Spool as a first time baitcaster user? Side note, this is going on a cheaper Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 casting rod I already have. I've been using a Ugly Stick on the Shimano TX-110Q without issue for years now so I bought what I know. I relize there are better poles out there but Ugly Sticks work for me! Sorry the post got a little long and off track, I was having a moment there for a second. Some fond memories of a time long since past.