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The 3 star report is for last night. I got off work early so a friend and I hit green lake. Over the last couple of months I've been upgrading all my rods/ reels. I had no idea how badly I was limiting my fishing until now.

Last night on my 3rd cast I felt a major hit but it didn't get hooked. That got me running around like a crazy person casting to every imaginable spot. I went to a reliable area, first cast... I felt a soft hit about as far as my reel would allow. After I set the hook, the fish let me have it jumping and rolling!! It was my first fish on my Shimano Curado 201E7 (w/ a 7.0:1 gear ratio) matched w/ a Shimano Compre 7'6'' medium heavy fast rod.

It was a great fight but the fish was a breeze to reel in w/ the quick, smooth speed and perfect drag. She weighted in at 1.5. I had one more follow and then we had to go (the old ladies were waiting). For an hour spent fishing, It was a lot of fun.

We went back out today and we couldn't catch a cold if we tried. It was raining, cold and a little windy. We tried everything in the book and circled the entire lake. Both of us had a following fish but they were sluggish in comparison to last night.

I also spent a good 30 minutes compairing 3 great batecasters, all on a 7' medium heavy Abu Garcia Vendetta (that rod is excellent for the price!!). I spend some time super-tuning them, if you will, prior to fishing. I tested out the Abu Garcia Orra SX VS. the Daiwa Tierra 135H VS. The Shimano Curado 200E7. I'll spare the details and just give you my results:

Abu Garcia Orra SX: All 3 could cast the same lure a mile so it's difficult to say which was supiror. It required a tiny more effort to get the distance I was looking for but after setting the brakes correctly, I couldn't get that thing to backlash! I really like the low profile VS. the Tierra which is a bit more bulky.

Daiwa Tierra 135H: I feel like this was getting a little more distance than the Orra SX and was considerable smoother over all. A great reel!

Shimano Curado 200E7: This is my favorite by a long shot! It casts a mile w/ as little effort as I've ever felt. It as smooth as butter, very light and more compact in your hand than todays competitors. All 3 are in the 100-150$ range.

Hopefully that info will help anyone looking for new stuff on a budget. Tight lines.

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

1/6/2012 8:34:00 PM

good job man. feels nice having nicer gear right? :)

djw0414

1/6/2012 9:54:00 PM

Nice fish and good info on some great reels. Try the Abu Garcia Revo STX HS sometime and see how it compares to the Curado. Available online for around $150 and it runs circles around the Orra SX so it might give the Curado a run for its money.......

riprap101

1/6/2012 10:28:00 PM

Heck I'd take a Shimano Citica over any Abu reel. The Tierra is wide and heavy but smooth as silk. Hard to beat a Curado - Just my two cents. Good fishing and best of luck!

Lord Of The Fly

1/7/2012 12:09:00 AM

Nice fishing report and even better gear report! :) Maybe you could suggest that the webhosts add a "gear report" section in addition to fishing reports. I think it could be very useful for people looking at getting higher end stuff, but don't because they don't enough info on how well the product actually works. Glad to see brownies are still being caught in January!

afk

1/7/2012 8:35:00 AM

Great info. & report. Thanks

djw0414

1/7/2012 9:43:00 AM

I own a Citica and a couple Revo STXs. The Citica is a nice reel but the Revos are definitely smoother.....just my opinion. Good suggestion for a gear section on this site.

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