Does anyone know if they will make a 5 ratio model of the Curado K? I'm still old school on my reel speeds, not into the high speed craze except on a few different baits.

I hear ya. I feel like I'm the odd man out when it comes to deep cranking. I use a 4.9.1 with 8# F/C.

My buddy's all use a 7.1.1 and 12# F/C. But I'm the only one digging mud at 25 feet lol and I can crank all day long without cramping up.

The bait monkey has been telling me it's time to stock up on low speed reels before they are history. 

18 hours ago, iceintheveins said:

Does anyone know if they will make a 5 ratio model of the Curado K? I'm still old school on my reel speeds, not into the high speed craze except on a few different baits.

Probably not... These days a 6.x is as seen as slow. The slowest the Chronarch MGL went was 6.2, so I wouldn't expect Shimano to change that. 

I want to see a citaca k that’s what I’m waiting for.

I've heard of a lot of people cranking with 7's, I'm not going to keep my hopes up that a 5 is going to come up out of nowhere. It's a lot cheaper for a company to tell you to slow down your retrieve than to release a new gear ratio 

The 6.2 is fairly close in IPT (26") to previous cranking models.  Smaller spools call for higher ratios to keep up.

The 2018 Bantam as a JDM model is available in a 5.5:1. Reel capacity is 145 yds of 10lb mono.  Pre order @ $284

JDM 15 Curado 200 PG is available in a 5.5:1 with 130yds of 12lb mono @ $159