Eating crow New Shimano Curado MGLK

I admit it. I have had some Shimanos not many mostly lower priced ones. Had a customer service experience that left a carp taste in my mouth. Have not bought any since. Went fishing on the river and use bait casters for channel cats. Got there and alas the one I had was not working good. Got this one spendy at $250 not what I would normally buy not many places carry left hand. All I can say is maybe more money is worth it? Never had a bait caster cast so smooth. The first cast went easily 25 feet more than my usual reels. My bride who is not much of a bait cast fan stole it from me. I might get it back. Have owned many brands mostly Daiwa Tatulas very good as well but not even close to this one. Except for my first Ice fishing locator nothing has ever come this close to really impressing me. Just thought I would eat crow and share.

You get what you pay for.

At one time I was the Biggest Shimano Curado fan. I still say the older original shimano curado’s where one of, if not best BC reels sold. I am now down to my final 2 original ones still left. That said I’ve probably owned 3 or 4 of the various newer models of them and for the most part have been really unhappy with them. They have came out with several new versions since my last one purchased. Hopefully/maybe they have got back on track. Keep us posted on how it continues to go. The smoothness was never my problems with them, it was how well they held up over time. By the way, most all BC reels are now available in LH models. But you are correct that they are often harder to find. I still can not figure out why people who are right handed would cast with their RH and then switch the rod to the left hand and then reel with their RH. Back when most baitcasters were only available in RH I understood, but don’t understand it anymore. To each their own.

fishthumper wrote:

I am now down to my final 2 original ones still left.

I’ve got 2 of those left too, and still use them. I had them refurbished last winter.

Fishthumper what have you been using now? I’m left handed but cast right I don’t get it either. Hopefully it holds up we will see.

mrpike1973 wrote:

Fishthumper what have you been using now? I’m left handed but cast right I don’t get it either. Hopefully it holds up we will see.

I have not purchased a BC for a rather long time now. Since moving to the Saint cloud area I tend to fish mostly spinning rods these days. Like I said I still fish my OLD curado’s ( Probably both over 20 years old. ) The last time I did purchase a few Baitcasters they were Abu Garcia Revo’s. Overall I was fairly happy with them and still fish a few of them. They are really smooth also but they did not seems to hold up well in the long run. Probably 1/2 of them are now shot ( Probably less than 5 years old ) Going forward I was probably going to go with the Daiwa Tatulas like you have. Like you I once had some bad issues with Daiwa’s customer service and have never been a fan of them since. Not really sure what direction I will go on a new one. Possible give Shimano another chance.

gimruis wrote:

I’ve got 2 of those left too, and still use them. I had them refurbished last winter.

Where did you have that done? How much did it cost? I was possibly thinking of having that done on a few of them I still have around. The few remaining ones I have got a lot of use throwing them for larger pike in Canada the last few years. That have put a lot of wear on the internal parts.

fishthumper wrote:

Where did you have that done? How much did it cost? I was possibly thinking of having that done on a few of them I still have around.

Wayzata Bait & Tackle in Minnetonka. I take my reels in about every other year for a full disassembly, cleaning, and lubrication. It costs $15 for a spinning reel and $25 for a BC. Figured its better than replacing the reels themselves.

I am not sure how long they are going to remain open though. I heard that they are bulldozing the building they are in and will be turning it into another auto dealership.

gimruis wrote:

I am not sure how long they are going to remain open though. I heard that they are bulldozing the building they are in and will be turning it into another auto dealership.

It was bound to happen if you look at what is around them. PIA to get in and out of also. Cool little shop, not great on the scoop of minnows though.

John Rasmussen wrote:

It was bound to happen if you look at what is around them. PIA to get in and out of also. Cool little shop, not great on the scoop of minnows though.

Lol no they were never generous on the minnows. I read an article in the Star Tribune that their lease expired in 2022. They are in fact still open right now though.

I agree Fishthumper I used BC 80% and 20% spinning now it’s the opposite as well. I used Revos but found only 2-3 years even with maintenance. Abu for me has had the best customer service however to have them redo a reel I was better off buying new any warranty work though was great with them. I have 4 BC and 4 Spinning rods. I know many have more but can’t fit many in my boat you get to many you just break them. I’m guessing like you we fish a lot some reels may last for some for years but when you average 150 summer trips plus use some for ice they really get used. Fishing is my passion and it’s better for me to have a few real good combos than a bunch of junk and lighter means happier hands, elbows and shoulders. Bearcat got me on Sixgill rods have 2 BC rods really like them. I used Quantum Smoke reels for a while to very good customer service but after 3 of them self destructed hard to buy them again. I put reel covers on them all the time and rinse them clean them every 2 weeks and oil when needed.

I think the reel quality these days are not what they once were. They add more bearings to make them feel smoother but use poor quality bearings. Back in the day a fair amount of Shimano reels were made in Japan. These days only their top of the line models are. I think that is where some of their quality issues started suffering. Like a lot of products they outsourced manufacturing to cheaper labor. Other than higher profits for the company noting good ever comes out of doing that. You are correct in that a reel being used a few times a year by someone is far different from someone who spends 3-4 long days a week on the water. Often it pays to pay for better quality equipment.

Agreed

Lol, glad I’m not the only guy still throwing some greenie Curados! I still have 2 or 3!

Played around with a Curado DC for 2 seasons but always found myself using my Tatulas instead. Finally decided to sell it and bought another Tatty SV.

I’ll miss that DC sound, but that’s about it.

Curado DC sound?