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A Baitcasters Breaking System


ShoreGuy1984

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I just bought a Curado 201E7 a couple weeks ago. I am a noobie with baitcasters, which I am quite embarassed lol. Ive always just used spinning reels. So the only thing that is kinda confusing is the braking system. The manual does a poor job explaining it. So if you guys could explain it to me, it would be awesome. Thanks !

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Glad to help... I am on the shimano staff, so if you have more questions, please feel free to ask..

The curado really has 2 separate breaking systems.. the clutch will be a silver dial under the drag. That will apply pressure on the spool to adjust for lure weight and such. on the right side of your reel(being that its a left hand reel) there will be a lift plate.. If you pull up on the place and rotate it it will open and you will see a 6 pin centrifugal break. This helps in the backlash area. If you are a newbie, I would turn these all on for now. To turn them on, take a thumb nail and pull all the small red bushings towards the outside edge of the reel. You should feel a click. When they are on the outside or sticking out, they are "on".. as you get better, take a few and push them back in towards the inside of the reel, thus turning them "off".

please let me know if I need to take picts to make this more clear..

Thanks.

Deitz

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Sweet, thank you so much !!!!! I pulled them all outwards like you said ! Yeah I got the clutch figured out already. What does the braking system actually do, and how does it work ?

I am really right handed, but read some where that new baitcaster users should get a left handed reel to learn. All my spinning reels are also left handed because my right hand is my main hand, which I use to handle the rod. Using my right hand to manuver the rod, I can move the a lure in more of a realistic manner.

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I reel spinning reels with my left hand but cold never get used to doing it with a baitcaster. Don't know why just feels weird. Funny thing is I can't turn a spinning reel with my right hand, weird huh?'

Once you get used to that Curado you'll have the brakes off and spool tension turned down and casting like a pro. I think the Curado or Revos are the easiest casting baitcasters made.

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Oh yeah I forgot, I had another question......

The reel came with a tiny bottle of oil. Should I oil the reel before the first time that I use it, or is it already oiled and ready to go ?

Let her rip! I bought the same reel this winter and played around with it on the river this week and love it!

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i'm like many, I reel spinning with my left hand and baitcasters with my right.. I spent about $600 a few years back trying to teach myself to reel a baitcaster with my other hand and it just didnt work.. I lost a ton o fish, I lost a ton of confidence. And lost a few years of learning.. I have gone back to right hand retrieve and have sold all my LH baitcasters on [YouNeedAuthorization]...

it didnt work for me.. it may work for you. I have said many times over on FM.. what works for me may or may not work for you... Please do not do what I do, but figure ot what works for you.

As for your second question.. the reel at this point should be good to go.. only add oil if you fish in the rain. the reel has sealed bearings and even in a regular rain should be fine.. once maybe twice a year oil it.. and your god to go.

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What does the braking system actually do, and how does it work ?

Most are a combination of magnets and a few other things. The idea is to gradually slow the spool similar to the speed a bait slows down mid-air. Otherwise the spool spins faster than the bait is taking it off the spool and you end up with a backlash. I don't know the details of how they work, as rotational physics is somewhat complicated. I have no idea how the weight block in my bowling ball causes it to spin up either, I just know that's what it does.

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There are no magnets in a Curado. When pushing the little brakes back in be sure to do it in a balanced, symetrical fashion, ie. don't leave 3 brakes out on one side and 3 brakes off on the other. Do every other brake so things are even.

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Many companies use magnets for their anti backlash.. The problem with magnets, you can never really turn them off.. they are always on to some extent. Shimano uses a system as you now know that has small nylon bushings. When the spool spins fast those nylon bushings rub on a rail causing friction. So when you need more cast control when the spool is spinning the fastest it rubs the hardest because of the force.

It sounds cheap, I'll admit it. But its what shimano has found works best. Its the same exact system in the citica and all the way up to the calais.

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Thought I'd add a few comments as well..

Brakes - One other thing I do is rotate my brakes every year. So id I'm running 3 out, at the beginning of the next year I'll pop those 3 in and pop the other 3 out. Those brakes are rubbing around the spool, so over time they wear down. Replacements are pretty cheap, but this just prevents them from wearing out faster.

Lefty / Righty - I've posted this before, but like Dietz I once tried to switch over to left hand reels. I mean it makes sense. I'm right handed, so wouldn't it make sense to set the hook with your dominant arm / hand? And why switch from hand to hand after each cast? Well my first attempt was with cheaper reels. That last about 2 trips. 3 or 4 years ago I tried it again and had a couple nice lefty reels. Chronarch SFs. The part of crankying the reel with my other hand was something I could get used to. Not a big deal. But just like Deitz, I was losing fish left and right. I set the hook like a SISSY with my right hand. As Larry the Cable Guy would say, "It's like wiping before you [PoorWordUsage], it's just don't make sense". When I set the hook with the rod in my left hand, I also turn to my right. When I set the hook with the rod in my right hand, it's ALL rod, no turn, because my body doesn't know how to do it I guess. So I wan moving a lot less line and not getting the hook in the fish. After losing fish, and buddies making fun of my sissy hook set, I'm back to righty's. So I've learned to pitch and cast left handed, and that's how I've solved my "problem".

Last comment, I used my E7 last Saturday for the first time. KUDOS SHIMANO! Absolutely and AWESOME reel. BETTER than the old Greenies in my opinion. And just as good as my Chronarch SF's (Which I LOVE, so that is saying a Lot). I hated the D series Curado's, as did many, and it says a lot of Shimano to listen to their buyers and make the needed changes. GREAT JOB!

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Will hopefully I did not make a mistake by buying a $179.00 almost $200.00 after tax baitcaster. But who knows though, maybe since I have never used a right handed baitcaster, I will abe no problems. I just hope that I do not have te problems that you guys have had with left handed baitcasters.

Yeah I didnt think I had to oil the reel right away, but I wanted to make sure ! Thank you for awswering that !

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I have always used magnetic breaks on almost all of my baitcasters. I got a E5 a few months ago and I guess I never read the instructions about the breaks.

For the breaks to be "on" you have to have them all the way out, or until it just clicks one time? All of my breaks are all the way in except for 2 I just pulled until it went past the first notch.

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Shoreguy - I know you were just asking about brakes, but since your new to baitcasters, a few key tips for ya that I found very helpful when I first started:

(1) You'll likely get a frequent backlashes when you first start out. Be patient and keep working at it - may take a while, but once you figure it out you'll love baitcasters.

(2) Search youtube for videos on how to take out backlashes - help you learn to get them out quicker without having to cut our your line.

(3) Make sure you spool it up with very limp line (not florocarbon starting out) - helps reduce backlashes a lot. I've had good luck with 12-14# Gama Copoly, it is fairly cheap so it isn't so costly if you have to cut out a backlash. Don't worry about line kinks from any backlashes - you can respool after you get the hang of it. Later if you want to go with a superline/braid - you'll want a round line, 30# test (don't recommend you start out with this cause it is expensive if you have to cut out a bad backlash)

(4) Do not start practiceing with lures that will get hung up in the wind (e.g. light crankbaits, spiner baits, etc). Start with someting that is 3/8-1/2 oz range. Bass jigs or larger lipless cranks work great for learning.

(5) Adjust the clutch/spool tension break so that the lure just just slowly drops under its own weigh. If changing lures, you should recheck this.

(6) Casting when starting out - make sure you are NOT casting into the wind. Also, make shorter easy casts until you get the hang of thumbing the spool at the end of your cast. Trying to gun it hard right away will likely mean a nightmare backlash and lost lure on the breakoff.

(7) One last tip before your start casting, you can minimize how deep backlashes go into your spool by pulling out more than a casts worth of line, then putting tape around the spool at that point. By doing this, it should prevent your backlash from going past the tape.

Good Luck!

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Wow these are some very helpful tips NClaker ! I will use them for sure ! I was think of putting FireLine Crystal the reel. I put FireLine on almost all of my spinning rods and love it. But Fireline is quite spendy, and like you said ill probaly get lots of backlashes at first, so I wont use it any more. I love the type idea and will fr sure use it ! Youtube is a great idea also ! Thanks for all the help everybody, I have learned a lot just from this !

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If I can teach my mom how to use a baitcaster in under 30 minutes, you should have no problem getting the hang of it. Go out in the back yard and practice pitching the jig out a bit and stop the spool with your thumb. Start short and make them progressively longer. Then get a soft side arm cast out there a short distance. Get a little longer on each cast. Go with the overhand cast last. Overhand is the easiest to screw up, hence going with it last. You put more force on your weight using overhand casts than the others, therefore more risk involved.

I did exactly that with my mom on the boat one day after her old spincast reel twisted the line so bad that it locked the reel up. She was ticked and wanted to quit. The best part of the night was watching my mom catch about a 3 lb bass on my favorite Red Eye Shad on her third long overhand cast. She was giddy the rest of the night.

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I was think of putting FireLine Crystal the reel. I put FireLine on almost all of my spinning rods and love it. But Fireline is quite spendy, and like you said ill probaly get lots of backlashes at first, so I wont use it any more.

If you do want to use Fireline on it, I would suggest the new braid that they have now. Last year was my first year using a baitcaster, and I had crystal on it. It is so thin it digs in on itself on the spool and gets caught up easily. I switched to the braid this year and so far so good as far as I can tell.

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