Battle of the baitcasters

R
radiation
I'm looking to purchase a decent, but not wallet killing, baitcasting reel. I'm kind of stuck between the Shimano Curado, Pflueger Patriarch, or Abu Garcia Revo. All three are around the same price range. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
1
1 nut in the water
I have several curado's and a revo S but my favorite is the Daiwa Tatula. Much cheaper also! $93 delivered on the flea bay.............
 
B
Berg03
radiation said:
I'm looking to purchase a decent, but not wallet killing, baitcasting reel. I'm kind of stuck between the Shimano Curado, Pflueger Patriarch, or Abu Garcia Revo. All three are around the same price range. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have 4 curado's i love them. Never had any problems with them.
 
T
TJR_84
1 nut in the water said:
I have several curado's and a revo S but my favorite is the Daiwa Tatula. Much cheaper also! $93 delivered on the flea bay.............

+ 1 for Tatula.
 
B
bagold53
I have been enjoying the Revo STX I got last year. Picked up a Curado 201HG about 3 months ago and I am still waiting on parts that I broke when I dropped it a couple days after purchased.
 
J
JeannaJigs
I have a Shimano Curado 301....It's somewhere on the bottom of Lake Creek below the Horn.

Loved that reel but I haven't repurchased it, because, well, I'm cheap LOL. I have a Daiwa Lexa that is my new best friend though. Easier on the wallet, about the same size, and a REALLY good high gear ratio, with a good drag system. Two thumbs up.
 
H
Hookset
I will put a vote in for the Curado. I have had one for a few years it is a great reel.
 
J
Jdangler xD
Have a curado 207G I think. 7:1 ration spooled with 10-12 mono. Never had a single issue with it.
 
S
SteelieRn
Another for the Curado, 7.2/1
 
B
Bouncinbottom
What type of fish will you target with that reel? And will you be pitching spinners with it, or?
 
R
Rain
I'm also shopping for a low profile baitcaster. I'm having a really difficult time deciding though. I think I've narrowed down my picks to these four:

Abu Garcia REVO SX
Abu Garcia REVO STX
Daiwa Lexa
Daiwa Tatula Type-R

Is there anybody that owns some of these reels that thinks one is definitely better than the other?

I'm not trying to thread hijack, but I thought maybe we could combine our efforts since our topics are basically the same. Thanks!
 
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1
1 nut in the water
Rain said:
I'm also shopping for a low profile baitcaster. I'm having a really difficult time deciding though. I think I've narrowed down my picks to these four:

Abu Garcia REVO SX
Abu Garcia REVO STX
Daiwa Lexa
Daiwa Tatula Type-R

Is there anybody that owns some of these reels that thinks one is definitely better than the other?

I'm not trying to thread hijack, but I thought maybe we could combine our efforts since our topics are basically the same. Thanks!

I have had all of them and the only I have kept are 3 of the tatulas and 1 Lexa.
The STX was smoothest reel I have ever owned but just did not cast well and the gearbox did not fit into rod holder when asked to do koke duty.
Cannot beat the Tatula for the $ and dont waste $ on the R.
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
I own a Curado and used to have a Revo SX-L (lefty retrieve) - my Curado is smoother than that Revo, but not by much. That Revo took a LOT of abuse - I switched it up between bass rods and steelhead rods, banged it around rocks, logs, dunked it repeatedly. The sideplates looked kind of rough when I sold it but the internals were like a Swiss watch.

I have a pair of cheapy Diawa Laguna reels - they're $50 reels - and have been mostly happy with them. One of them has given me zero troubles, the other has recently given me some issues with the brakes - I could dial the knobs into the exact same configuration as the 100% good reel, fished it on an identical rod, using similar baits, and kept getting spool over-runs (backlash) - so bad so that I had to completely cut the line and respool twice in one fishing trip with that reel. Almost pitched it into the lake... to be honest though, I didn't originally buy them for casting purposes, I got them to throw on some trolling / jigging rods to fish out of a boat with. But since my boat build has taken 2 years longer than anticipated (boats done, but need to get the trailer operable and get a motor - all of which is back burnered because we're buying a house) I've been using these on some bass rods and also abusing them. I don't think I'd recommend them to someone with the cash for a $!00+ reel but they'd work for someone on a budget who is looking for a baitcaster. For the same cash I'd probably rather get the Abu Garcia SilverMax reel (I have one of those too and it's been solid).

I would be torn if I was in the market for new gear and was going to buy a "good" reel - the Revos and Curados are both really good, as are the higher end Diawas. We're spoiled because 15 years ago there were not nearly the number of GOOD baitcasters to be had, especially decent baitcasters for the entry level market.
 
D
DirectDrive
I'm a Curado fan....still can't wear out my old "B" models.
Never liked the D but am in want of an E model.

I believe that the G and H models are not really Curados....they are Citicas and made in Malayasia, not Japan.
Shimano did this to keep their price points down.

If you want made in Japan Curado quality in the current line, you have to go Chronarch.




The indestructible Model B
 
  • IMG_0900-I.jpg
R
Rain
I see a lot of people like their Curado. I'm a Shimano fan myself. I think the above poster is right about the new lower end Curado models being of inferior quality. I've heard this from another source as well. It seems one needs to spend $200 or more for a good Shimano reel in this case. Which I could accept if there wasn't these other $100 - $150 reels that appear to be very capable (Abu Garcia Revo STX, Daiwa Lexa, Daiwa Tatula). They are at least better than the current "Curado" (I think) that sells for $140

I'm really liking Tatula so far based upon what i've read. That T-Wing is apparently pretty good. But something about it just seems cheap or gimmicky to me. But I can't really find substantial bad reviews about the Tatula. And with the low price, its ever so tempting. Somebody tell me I'm wrong!
 
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Shaun Solomon
Shaun Solomon
Team Shimano all the way here. 100% Shimano, 100% of the time. I sold tackle retail for more than ten years, and saw what gave people problems and what lasted longest.

All that being said, there is a fingernails worth of difference in quality between Shimano and Daiwa. If I did not use Shimano, I would absolutely use Daiwa.

If neither was an option, I would build my own reels. There is nothing else I would use.
 
2
2northforkoutfitters
I have 20 201s and 10 301s curatos fish them 250+ days a year without a hiccup this is a great case of you get what you pay for some off these reels have 100s of fish on them and preform flawless a light rinse at the end of the day is it. Hope this helps not saying the others won't serve you well there just not up to the curados durability and fishability good luck in your search
 
D
DonF
With the reels you mentioned I only have experience with Shmano. That was many years ago and it was a low profile reel. That was a great reel! I do have three or four ABU's but mine are all round and probably my favorite brand. I have a Daiwa Millionaire I got from Joe's in Bend when they went out of business. Paid about $30 for it and now wish I had bought every one they had. Have a very inexpensive Shakespere 2000, nothing to brag about but it's grown on me, this is not one I would recommend! Have an Okuma round depthfinder but have never used it, I've had great luck with Okuma rod and spining reels though! I have one round Kastking Rover 40 and two Kastking low profiles. I got the Rover 40 because I could not believe any reel could be as bad as a guy was claiming. Looked it up and for $40 at that time decided to find out for mysellf. Well today I will recommend a Kastking to anyone. They are likely no better than several other brands including my favored ABU's. Here's the thing, buy a well known respected brand. I know nothing about ABU Black max but it's an ABU and I recommend trying it for no other reason. The Daiwa low pro reels I've used worked pretty darn well, you might look at them. Saying Shimano or ABU speaks for itself but, they are really pretty proud of their reels. But if I could aflord one I woiuld probably get another, they simply have a great name! With the luck I've had with Okuma rods and spinning reels I would chance a low profile from them. Companys get reputations for a reason and no matter how good or bad their product may be there are those that whorship them and those that will bash them. Those two people's opinions don't count for squat with me!
 

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