Shimano's new Citica 200E -
Completely Redefined (continued)
Casting
cont'd: We
compared this observation with many of the dealers that were also fishing Dream
Lake and they also noted they had observed the same thing. They also went on to
say that though this was the case the Citica E cast as good or better than the
previous Curado version. What we also noticed was that the new Citica E while
small in overall size did offer generous access to the spool, making it easier
than ever to thumb the spool for greater accuracy.
A look underneath the reel, notice
how compact the gearbox is on the new reel
Retrieve: The
Citica D exhibited a small to moderate amount of backplay in the handle shank,
and this has been greatly reduced in the Citica E. The reel feels much more
precise, and the gearing is noticeably more connected. During our trip to Dream
Lake when Cal and I were fishing one morning we got into an incredible topwater
bite, during which I caught more topwater fish on poppers in the thirty minutes
following sunrise than I have in the last two seasons combined.
The Curado E is noticeably better
at casting weightless rigged plastics but once there is any weight on the line
the Citica E is just as good
Fishing a TD Mouthwasher we
could see splashes in the water as shad were being chased into the shoreline.
Once in a while a bass would completely explode out of the water as shad would
scatter across the surface trying to flee. I would toss the popper just beyond
the blow up and time and time again the popper would either be sucked down or
just completely smashed by an aggressive bass the minute it landed.
The Citica features VBS cast
control which is accessed beneath the 1/8 turn sideplate
I barely had time to put
the reel back in gear and my hands on the knobs before the fish would take off
with the popper. The Citica E proved up for the challenge and dropping the reel
into gearing quickly I was able to pick up any slack line and immediately put
pressure on the hard hitting Alabama bass.
The new Citica 200E is smaller
than the Curado 100D, and yet it has the same capacity as the previous 200E
reels
When comparing the Citica E
with the Curado E the Curado is noticeably smoother on the retrieve thanks to
the increased bearing count. The knobs on the Curado E spin much more freely,
especially once they have been loosened up after a few days fishing. We could
not discern any frame torque when fishing big swimbaits or when a big fish was
in tow. The graphite sideplates do not feel hollow like many we have seen in the
past, and if you didn’t know they were graphite you would swear they were
aluminum.
A look at the back shows the
Citica's flattened profile
The reason the graphite works
in this reel is because it is such a small reel that the smaller plates do not
have the opportunity to flex as far, couple this with the fact that Shimano
spiders the graphite for increased rigidity and adds strategic connection points
to the aluminum frame to isolate any flex points. While we still prefer aluminum
if you have to use graphite to reduce weight or lower the cost this is the way
to do it.
Exceptional topwater and more
stuck fish thanks to the Citica's fast responsive gearing
Next Section: An upgraded drag
