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Low
Profile Design, Round Reel Muscle, the Shimano Curado 300DSV
| Date: |
1/29/07 |
| Tackle type: |
Reels |
| Manufacturer: |
Shimano |
| Reviewer: |
Zander |
Total Score: 9.08 +
EDITORS CHOICE!
Introduction:
The Curado family just got
bigger, and when we say bigger we really mean it. The new 300DSV is the biggest,
most powerful Curado ever built, and is designed to take on not only the biggest
freshwater fish, but also serious saltwater species as well. Throw your
preconceived notions about low profile baitcasters off the boat, the Curado
300DSV has traditional round reels locked in the sight. We take a look at the
Curado 300DSV and see if it really has what it takes to take on saltwater round
reels like the popular Calcutta 300TE.
|
Shimano
Curado 300DSV
Specifications |
| Line
Capacity (lb/yds) |
12/240,
14/190, 20/120 |
| Gear
Ratio |
6.2:1 |
| Line
retrieve per crank |
28
in. |
|
Weight |
10.5
oz. |
|
Bearings |
5+1RB |
|
Additional Features |
Magnumlite spool, Super
Free, HEG, VBS, Super Stopper, 1/4 Turn Easy Access Sideplate, Septon PV
power grips, Dartainium drag, clicking drag |
|
Origin |
Made
in Japan |
| MSRP |
$249.99 |
Impressions:
No other series of reels
in the Shimano lineup has received so much consideration as the redesigned
Curado reels. Many anglers were troubled when Shimano increased the price of
this once mainstream reel, but this antagonism soon subsided as anglers began to
recognize that the fresh Curado reels were so much more than the previous reel
in design and construction.
Introducing the bigger Curado
300DSV
The space once occupied by
the Curado had been filled with the redesigned Citica. Since then the smaller
Citica 100DSV has been introduced to satisfy anglers demanding a lighter even
more palmable baitcaster. Like the Curado 100D the Citica 100DSV weighs in at
only 7.4oz.
Finally a low profile baitcaster with round
reel capacity
At the same
time the Citica 100 was introduced Shimano broke new territory yet again with
the introduction of the larger 300 size Curado. When most anglers heard this
they simply couldn’t understand exactly what target audience the 300 was
supposed to appeal to.
The Curado 300DSV mounted on a Shimano
Trevala rod
The 200 size was already a
powerful high capacity reel. The problem was that anglers were still envisioning
the Curado as a freshwater baitcaster. When we met with Shimano’s Reel Product
Manager, Jeremy Sweet, we asked him if the Curado 300DSV could pull duty as a
light saltwater reel. He responded with a resounding…”yes, not only can it
perform as a saltwater reel, it was designed to be one.”
Funny the Curado doesn't feel that
much bigger than the 200
In fact the Curado 300DSV was
designed to completely blow away the way anglers look at low profile baitcasting
reels as a whole. The goal was to build a reel that offered the power and
reliability of a much larger traditional round reel in a sleek comfortable easy
to cast design.
All metal components here
I still remember seeing
the Curado 300DSV for the first time at ICAST last year. At first I had to do a
double take, as the reel didn’t look all that much bigger than the 200 size we
had just finished testing. The Curado 300DSV doesn’t even weigh that much more
and at 10.5oz it is less than 1oz heavier than the 200 sizes. It has the same
number of bearings (5+1) as the 200 reels, and has a retrieve ratio of 6.2:1,
versus the 5.0:1 of the standard 200 and 7.0:1 of the DHSV high speed models.
Zander bears down for the cast tests
Next Section:
Let the test begin...
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