A Real Bass Tournament Reel
Written: Jan 25 '01 (Updated Jan 25 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's very smooth and state of the art.
Cons: It's small, 8.5 ounces, which makes it hard to balance on some rods.
The Bottom Line: This reel is very smooth, very durable, and very nice. I recommend it for the serious bass fisherman.
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| smallmouth's Full Review: Shimano Curado CU-200B |
Picture yourself in the back of a bass boat. You are fishing a pro-am tournament and you are the am (amateur). The pro gets first chance at all the good spots as you move up the shoreline, he’s in the front of the boat and he controls where it goes. About three casts away you see a stump in the water with a couple branches sticking out. You know there is a lunker sitting in the shade under that stump waiting for anything to swim by so it can nail it.
The pro makes a cast, “#*%%&*!*&” he says as his baitcaster backlashes leaving him with a handful of line. The stump comes into range and you easily send a lure within inches of it. The water boils under neath it and the fight is on. As you land a nice lunker largemouth, the pro says “#*%%&*!*&”, somewhat directed at you but mostly directed at his baitcaster.
I have had this happen before, I am not trying to sell this reel but I can give you a testimonial about it. One of the most important things about fishing is having good and reliable gear. Gear that fits you and you are comfortable with.
The Curado 200 models, left hand, 200B,201B, 205, are all excellent reels. They look good as well. I can get around 170 yards of 10-pond test mono on my 200B and it will cast just as smooth as anything. Mostly I use 12-pound test and I get somewhere around 150 yards, far more than enough.
To be honest I have gotten a few backlashes myself with this reel but on a windy day or with a light lure, I have been known to get a backlash with just about every reel. This reel won’t be the perfect reel, it will get backlashes, you’ll have to oil it after the season, but it is an excellent reel. I use mine mostly for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, rapala’s and other light lures.
The 6-2-1 gear ratio makes this reel most impressive. For those of you who don’t understand the gear ratio it has to do with the rotations of your hand and the rotations of the spool. The speed of your retrieve is vital to a high gear ratio. Common baitcaster reels have a 4 or 5 to 1 ratio which is alright and good but if you are throwing a buzzbait or spinnerbait or rattle trap or anything that requires a lot of cranking on the reel, the 6-2-1 gear ratio is excellent.
I compare this reel to the original Sprint model from Abu Garcia’s ambassador series. That reel was designed for fast lures and less cranking for the fisherman. This reel, the Shimano Curado 200B has taken that idea and improved upon it.
The drag system is easy to operate, it is just inside of the actual handle. It is called a star drag because of its shape. It is easy to get to while fighting a fish. That is very important to me. I don’t like to take my hand off the reel to make any adjustments when I have a fish on the line.
To sum it up this is a solid reel, very dependable, very smooth with 4 ball bearings inside and I recommend it to any serious bass fisherman. The only thing I warn about it is its weight and size is slightly smaller than most so fit it to a 6 foot or smaller rod, medium to heavy action.
Recommended:
Yes
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