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.

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!

Looking To Buy My First Baitcaster. Shimano Curado I Series Or...?

July 31, 201411 yr

I'd grab a mid range rod to match the curado and maybe even a whole 'nother set up before buying a hawg tech. I'm not bashing hawg tech or anything, but I think that it would be best to have a few set ups that cover many techniques before you trick out a single reel.

Quote

July 31, 201411 yr

Author

I'd grab a mid range rod to match the curado and maybe even a whole 'nother set up before buying a hawg tech. I'm not bashing hawg tech or anything, but I think that it would be best to have a few set ups that cover many techniques before you trick out a single reel.

Funny you mention that. I returned the Berkley Lightening Rod and bought a St. Croix Mojo Bass tonight in medium-heavy, 7'0" length. I really wanted the nice blue St. Croix Tournament Bass rod but it was hard enough coughing up the money for the cost of the Curado. I don't mean hard to come up with it, but hard spending THAT much on a reel when my 1985 Shimano TX-110Q my father left me works fine!

The Mojo Bass is really nice though. Really the only reason I liked the Tournament Bass was due to the color. I love blue and that thing is sexy but the color wasn't worth another $140.00 dollars! Yes yes, I know it has other enhancements and features but hey the St. Croix Mojo Bass well be plenty of rod for me!

As far as the Hawgtech crank, that had nothing to do with tricking out the reel. That was purely because the rubber knobs SUCK that much. I was going to just order the Hawgtech cork knobs as the 2014 Curado has an off-set crank already but they specifically state that while the factory Shimano knobs WILL work on the Hawgtech crank, the Hawgtech cork knobs will not work on the factory Shimano crank.

I do like the look of carbon fiber though, that is dang sexy regardless!

Quote

Looking To Buy My First Baitcaster. Shimano Curado I Series Or...?

Featured Replies

Join the conversation

Recently Browsing 0

Important Information

Account

Navigation

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)

Chrome (Desktop)

Safari (iOS 16.4+)

Safari (macOS)

Edge (Android)

Edge (Desktop)

Firefox (Android)

Firefox (Desktop)