3crows

I used for decades and still do use a 1973 Abu Garcia 5500C which I have owned from new to this day. Thought it is hotrodded with various upgrades.

Or be happy and buy a new reel, either the Caenan, $74 at Academy or the Casitas for $89 at Academy and it comes in the left hand 7 speed. I have both of these and love them. Whenever I buy something used I usually spend more fixing it to bring it back up to par than had I just bought a new one, whatever it may be. Unless I am not particular, never me, or know where it is coming from and have seen detailed photos, I would prefer a new one, in a green box.

Use guys, not with a spinning rig whatever they may have used. Never cared much either what they used in those olden times because I do not crappie fish. Crappie reels, cane poles, Zebcos, dynamite, meh. Nevertheless this concept that a baitcaster is somehow difficult to use and mysterious in proper execustion is a myth.

There are a lot of people, especially from down south who have never held or even but casually seen a spinning rig. I find them terribly awkward feeling whereas a casting reel is easy and natural. Now that I have bought my first spinning rig, wow, weird feeling. This idea that baitcasters are difficult is a mindset, even urban legend. A baitcaster is really easy to use and ultimately, more capable and universal.

But you asked about high end baitcasters. Most folks do not own high end $250 plus reels. But, in the high end, I tend to agree with the NASA fellow, Shimano is it. I also think in the lower end Shimano is it. The new Casitas and Caenan for example are fine little reels, got one of each on sale for $84 and $74 each. Love them, great value. But in the hotly contested mid tier reels there is no winner except for the folks buying them because they are all solid reels be they Shimano or Diawa. As long as you pick a Shimano or Diawa reel in the gear ratio and frame size that fits your needs, I think you are good to go. And I say Shimano and Diawa only because you limited the thread to them in your OP. You also said non JDM which eliminates the DC Shimano reels. I touched one of those once, golden light emanated from it's innards and it floated above my palm hardly resting upon it as if anti-gravity was a new Shimano feature, yeah, they are the best, too bad we do not get them here.

Speak for yourself, I bleed Shimano . What is this Deewaa you speak of ? I was pounding out 25 miles today on the bike to the Y to get my mile swim in for the day. Stepped of the bike to get a drink and wait on traffic and darned if the chainring did not gash my shin. Good old Shimano 105, so not only do I bleed Shimano, I bleed because of Shimano. Deewaa, hmmph, meh.

I did not think of the Curado 200/Curado 70 as high end. I more think of them as durable, capable, go to fishing rigs but mid level, not high end. And I have several Curado I and 70. High end to me would mean something $250 and up, which I do not have any of. I kinda like the Castias and Caenan, lower end and excellent little reels..

I have two Lew's original Speed Sticks but while those pistol grips were cool in the day when I bought them, circa 73, my hands and wrists cannot deal with the pistol format now. The dropped seats work great, the pistol design, not so much. But yes, they do have dropped seats which sets the ABU round reels correctly for thumbing.

All of my current rods, collected over the last ten years or so, are of the type that have the exposed blank at the grip and are all Fuji brand I think. This is fine for modern low profile reels but I have several hotrodded Abu reels and they sit annoyingly high on these rods. It seems to me that before the exposed blank and extra long grips that rods had a seat area that dipped below the centerline of the rod blank and handle so that round reels (and those funky spincast jobs) could nestle down lower to that axis for easier thumbing (and button pushing for spincasts ). So, I guess my question, does anybody make a modern, quality rod with a lowered seat for a round reel?

The tension knob is set after closing the side cover, or if need be readjusted. The tight tolerances of the Curado I and similar Shimano reels, the side cover will resist being closed if the spool knob is turned in very far. In fact, without backing the spool knob off, you may not be able to close the cover. It is normal for several of my Shimano reels, not just the I.

I have an old 1973 5500C which I bought new in the day, it was expensive at the time, $54.00. Over the years it has seen modifications of various sorts. It can and will, pretty dang sure, with the right lures, embarrass my Curado Is and just about anything else. But it is not a stock reel. It was not bad new. And, unlike many of todays reels used for bass fishing, it could/can and has stopped a bull shark run and landed an alligator gar longer than a boat. In fact one time, I did have an alligator, without the gar, on the end. Sometimes I think bass reels have become a little sissified. For a newbie to bait casting, I would set the tension knob so the lure just barely drops and stops with no overrun. That is the primary adjustment for each lure. Latter you can back it off, almost entirely as these fellow are saying just so there is barely just a skosh of sideplay but your thumb will need to be quick and sure.

I do not think there is a consensus best or there would not be so many different products, not just including line. I use Power Pro. Why not? Like all of these lines, the base fiber is white. So, after a little while you have green, yellow, red or whatever the original color was in the box, kinda faded looking remembrance of it's former self, like old, worn blue jeans. I think bass have the IQ of a flatworm, if that, and I am pretty sure they do not go, "hey, like dude bass, look, the thing has a green piece of string on it" like that.

I am pretty sure spincast reels suffer from line twist mightily. I saw one in Cabalas, it is a nice looking chunk of metal. It is also rather heavy and bulky, but serious looking. I got my wife an Omega, the black one, a couple of years ago since when kayak fishing she has her hands full as it is. And she is not a serious bass lady. She mostly just paddles around and flings the lures into tree brnaches, usually beyond my capability to retireve them. The reel has worked fine though it is painfully slow. But she does not know the difference and she has fun. The new Bullet corrects the slow reel speed to at least a moderate pace but it added some weight. Maybe if it had a composite body, stuff like Shimano and Diawa use, not plastic, the weight could come down a tad. My grandfather finished his fishing career with spincast reels due to severe, crippling arthritis. That said, he loathed the the things but they were better than nothing and by that time he just enjoyed being out.

I am glad it is working out. I still do not understand this reels purpose. Casting out from shore is one thing but for fishing from a boat/kayak and casting back toward shoreline and under docks and onto and around other obstacles, how do you control the flight of the lure and stop it at just the right moment?

I own a 70XG. I have several Curado Is of various flavor. I have seen and handled the K, lol. To me, the 70 is a little (70 size) reel with big reel gearing and power. The new 200 K is a 200 size reel with 150 size feel. We may be splitting hairs but I do not see them occupying the same niche. I am not an expert on reels or anything else fishing.

You would probably be better off with 50 pound braided line, maybe 40 pound. The line is probably digging in on itself and then when the spool hits these snags, pop goes your line and away goes your lure.

There have been several threads like this recently. Shimano, because I like them and I had great success and still do with their excellent bicycle components. I would have no bad feeling purchasing Diawa products. I have several vintage (70s) Abu Garcia reels I still use. I am a Shimano fanboy and do not apologize for it. I see no reason to change. I do have two Diawa reels and enjoy them. They are all metal mid 80s reels with magnetic braking which I bought new in the day. Pretty cool units. Spincast?

I was kidding, I know you did not change the tags, of course not. The item was on sale and you got an excellent deal and a great new rod.

Throw some salt over your shoulder, it might be okay.

Often year end closeouts and it being Labor Day, most likely both were correct prices. You need not feel guilty unless you changed the tags, lol. Some of the prices vary by model, I bought a Mojo recently, they indeed had the incorrect price on it. I did point it out, I got it at the lesser price. I do not feel guilty, especially since I showed them it was wrong.

Shimano Caenan on a Falcon BuCoo SR (imported). I think the Caenan runs $79 but I got one for 10% off, the Falcon SR runs $69ish. You might squeak under or at the $150 mark.

You are kidding right? . No way, that would cause backlashes to the moon. Nope, cannot do that. That is just wrong!

Maybe so but this is a bass forum and that is what my grandpa called them and he had several, long before they were common, or even uncommon, in the deep south where I am from. In fact, aside from him, the only spinning rods I saw were a couple of kids who moved down on our lake (we lived on a lake) from way up in Maine. This being back in the 60s. I worked in a sporting goods store during my first college years, a fairly large and well stocked one, there was not a single spinning outfit in our inventory, none. This was back when the Lew's Speed Sticks hit the market hard and the Abu 5000 series reels were what bassmen used with Buzz Gears and Power Handles. Maybe if one's fishing memory only goes back to the 90s that person might not understand the humor but the fact is, back then, way down on the bayou, I never saw a spinning rods. I am sure there were some around maybe a bunch, just never, ever saw any. So, it is a new adventure for me and I hope I like the little thing. I actually do have a couple more, I got them at Bass Pro in Destin, to troll behind my kayak. I figured if I rolled the thing is the surf, going or coming they would be no great loss. I fished the wreck of the Tug Mary Louise I think it is. They were combo rigs, about 5000 size, cost about $40 each. This new rig is for bass only, it will never see salt, I have other junk for tearing up in salt water.

No preference but the EVA/foam stays looking better longer than cork and is overall more attractive (to me). I guess the grip material is not a huge factor. More concerned with the purpose, action, overall quality and point of manufacture.

I think most bass guys use a 2500. I just bought a Stradic CI4+ 2500. JUst saying, not that I am right, or wrong for that matter.