The New Shimano Curado I

One of the coolest things about going to the Classic is seeing the new products that are debuted there. Of course you’ve heard of the Shimano Curado if you’ve been around bass fishing for any time at all.

I remember when the first incarnation of this reel came out under the moniker, “Bantam Curado”. While this reel didn’t set the bass fishing world on fire, it did provide a solid base for what was to come.

Remember the “Lean, green machine”

That was of course the Curado E. The lean, green machine. This turned out to be one of the widest distributed reels of its time. Shimano meant for this reel to be a workhorse tool that was affordable for the masses and they hit this one out of the park.

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The trouble is that in this industry, like almost all others, you can’t rest on your laurels for too long. Someone will come along with a new product that may trump a proven performer. So companies are perpetually looking to improve on their successes.

Unfortunately, the next upgrade was in fact, not and upgrade at all. For several reasons which aren’t important for this article, the Curado G couldn’t match its predecessor in the publics eyes. It simply wasn’t as good as the E series reel.

For 2014, the engineers have gone back in time to rediscover what made the Curado the reel of choice for so many anglers. A smooth performing, versatile, well made reel that earned its reputation by giving its owners a ton of long lasting performance, refinement and casting ability with a reasonable price.

The new version, dubbed the Curado I is reworked from the ground, or in this case the reel foot up, to incorporate several new technologies while aiming to regain the reputation that the Curado E enjoyed.

Before we get into the p’s and q’s of all the new features you need to remember that when the Curado E was originally introduced, it came in with a retail price of $179.00. The next “improvement”, the G was priced lower at $159.00. This new I series goes back to the original pricing of $179.00.

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Oh yeah, BIG changes

Shimano decided that with the radical departure in technology from the G series, the color will no longer be the green that we’ve become accustomed to. Instead it is replaced with a gray that is both understated and elegant.

The Curado I weighs in at 7.4 ounces, has 6 bearings, will come out in both right and left hand retrieve, has a line capacity of 10/155, 14/110 which is consistent no matter the gear ratio you choose.

For those anglers who prefer right hand retrieve, you will have three choices. A 5.5:1, a 6.3:1 and a 7.2:1. For us lefties, we only get the 6.3:1 and 7.2:1. No designated cranking model for us at the moment.

Shimano used several new technologies in the new Curado I beginning with the X-Ship which improves the gear durability by more precisely aligning the pinion and main gear. This results in more power and gear efficiency as well as reducing friction between the spool shaft and main gear. This also helps in casting performance with lighter lures.

All new braking

The new SVS Infinity Brake System is another new feature for the Curado. When we opened the reel up, we found four internal centrifugal braking elements that can be turned on or off. To complement that, there is a dial on the bottom of the non-handle side plate that features six settings so that the angler can fine tune the braking externally.

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This provides a greater range of possible settings for varying conditions or making adjustments on the fly as needed when changing lures. As an aside, the non-handle sideplate no longer comes completely off the reel. It is attached so dropping it in the water is a non-issue with the Curado I.

Shimano has also developed a new process for manufacturing the spool which they call S3D Stable Spool Design. While we won’t get into the details of what this means, suffice it to say that using this process reduces spool vibration by having the spool cut with tighter tolerances which further aides in the casting capabilities of the new Curado.

With the new technologies employed by Shimano on the Curado I along with the new design, this reel has the promise to be the best Curado yet, bar none.

See ya’ on the water …