Have narrowed my baitcast search down to a Curado or a Daiwa Advantage HSTA.

Looking for opinions on the Daiwa, seems like the Curado has a loyal following. My only concern is it looks like Shimano is getting ready to dump the Curado (future parts availability, etc.)

Also, would like to know if anyone has dealt with Baitnhook. Any issues with customer service, delivery,ripoffs,etc.??

There are rumors that Shimano will introduce a new Curado, but parts and service will never be an issue. Shimano supports their products and will continue to provide parts for all of their service network.

8-)

It usually takes those companies 7-10 years to no longer have parts for a discontinued model.

I have heard from some people that if you bring/send in the reels to shimano and if they can't fix it, lets say they dont have parts for it, they will GIVE you a new reel that is similar to the one you have.

So I guess if you can't find parts for it down the line even from shimano, send it in to them to get it "fixed". I am sure they will take care of you. I've been to the service center and the way they help/serve me as a customer, I cant ask for more.

I have owned both reels and here is my opinion.

The Curado is a great reel, and I honestly can't say one bad thing about it.

The Advantage is also a super smooth reel. It is a bit wider than the Curado 100 but it is lower profile than a 200. I am not sure what Curado you are looking at. The 90mm swept handle on the Advantage is a big bonus. Also I prefer the way the brakes adjust on the Daiwa much better than the Shimano. The Advantage is a great casting reel.

If you are going to get a new reel, I would suggest the Daiwa. Actually I would step up to the Zillion, but if you don't have the extra money, I would stay with the Daiwa.

Curado gets my vote. Like RW said you won't have to worry about parts availiblity. I'm about to buy one here in a bit. Plus, with the Curado you get $50 back!!

Tight Lines 8-)

For 150 bucks after the rebate shimano should be a no brainer ;D

Between the two I would get the Curado but I think the Daiwa Zillion would be nice step up from the Curado if you want to spend a couple extra bucks.  The Zillion, IMHO, is best workhorse reel out there.

An expert I'm not, but I think the HSTA in the $120-135 range is a lot of reel for the money. I've fished with one for only a few months, but I really like the reel - very smooth, strong and rugged. Minor point, but I like the partially exposed brake adjustment knob - a simple click up or down with the thumb.

I'm probably gonna go with the Daiwa. I don't have a problem with Shimano, I own quite a few of their spinning reels that have a lot of miles on them with no problems at all. I've never owned a Daiwa, so I'll go with that this year to see how I like it. If I don't like it, I'm sure I'll have no problem selling it :

An expert I'm not, but I think the HSTA in the $120-135 range is a lot of reel for the money.

Where are you getting it so cheap?  I've not seen them for less than $159.99 anywhere around here.

An expert I'm not, but I think the HSTA in the $120-135 range is a lot of reel for the money.

Where are you getting it so cheap? I've not seen them for less than $159.99 anywhere around here.

ebay about $132-135 shipped

$145.00 and free shipping from Delo's (one of the site's sponsers)

$129.95 from Baitnhook, but on their site, they list the specs for a HSTL, which is an older version of the HSTA, but the picture is of the newer (11 bearing vs the older 8 bearing model) HSTA. Will have to call them to clear up that confusion. Will likely buy from Delo's so the site gets a cut of the action.

An expert I'm not, but I think the HSTA in the $120-135 range is a lot of reel for the money.

Where are you getting it so cheap? I've not seen them for less than $159.99 anywhere around here.

I picked up a new 153HSTA from an ebay store, BKS TACKLE OUTLET, delivered for $124. Being cheap with my $$, I did a lot of searching for the lowst price available at that time.