it's mostly just the shimano "sheep" that love the E (vast majority)
granted the E is not bad for bass, it just falls short IMO for salmon/steelhead.

most the bass guys ive talked to (that i feel are truly knowledgeable) prefer the B and D over the E.
the ones that i know that like the E are not using it straight out of the box, they have upgraded several components.

Obviously it's all personal perference, but all I can say is that I LOVE my Curado 200e7 series reels and they have been flawless and taken everything I have thrown at them, from Steelies to 40+ lb 'nooks.

This whole thread is a shock to me, I thought the Curado has a stellar reputation. O have a 300 E that is a couple of years old, I plan to use it on ocean salmon this year, I'll let you all know if she blows a gasket.

"Why the hell does anybody willfully dunk their reels?"

Eyefish, I guess you haven't reached that magical old age when you begin dropping things.

I have several Curados and love them for rivers but they never get used in the the salt. IMO their VBS and other parts are way too susceptible to problems from salt corrosion no matter how well you clean them.

Phil Maraude, what parts do those guys upgrade in the E7?

spools, bearings, and drag are the most common. some change gears mostly pinion drive gear to reduce chance of stripping it.

shimano japan i believe gives you most of those upgrades already within the same reel. north america shimano cheapens these up for cost effectiveness.

Very interesting,if I have problems with the E7 I have I'll look into the upgrades. Thanks for the info.

I fish trions, curados and many oldschool abus. I have never had a reel lock up on me. I never let a reel get submerged either.

here's the simple explanation to why steelheaders have reel problems.

these reels are meant to be fished by bass/walleye guys.

there seems to be NOT A REEL DESIGNED FOR STEELHEADERS! steelheaders are forced to use reels not designed for cold wet weather. steelheaders seem to be the ONLY group of fisherman to drop their reel/pole on purpose into the river for a pic.

new reels should not lock up or need any sort of upgrades period. over yearrrrrrrs of use and abuse yea things will wear and need some parts replaced.

I had a reel maintenance contact back east. he told me that he did hundreds of reels for the region bass/walleye guys every winter. he said it was customary to replace the wear tear parts. once the lakes back east freeze over those guys nolonger use the reels so they would just have them serviced. he was shocked to hear about our big heavy rivers out here.

out here guys fish their reels hard all year long on very big fish in very harsh conditions. so reels out here get put through the ringer.

as for why the problems in new reels are occurring, my guess is mass production in hokey foreign countries where the QA may be very poor.

just MHO.

gotta love Neil's red Tama drums!

Shimanos are made in the mass production zone!

That's why i went to an old Bantam 100 for my steelhead fishing.. if it gets crusted over with borax all I have to do is dunk it in the river and start fishing. besides i got it for 10 bucks at a garage sale.. any reel you cannot get wet has no place on a steelhead river in my opinion.. maybe that's why all my newer shimanos are in the condition they are in...

Keta -

Don't sweat the upgrades on an e7. They are a great reel right out of the box and really need no upgrade. If the Dartsnium drag eventually wears out, I would replace with the same stock drag, but you could also go with carbontex. Bearing upgrade is really not necessary and there is much debate as to whether or not it even improves performance. Spool upgrades? Never heard of anyone upgrading the spool on an e7. Bottom line, the e7 is a high performance reel without any mods. The only guys doing so are what are called "tuners," they're the guys that tweak their reels for fun just to see how far they can push the envelope of performance. Nothing they do is really necessary - it's just a hobby for them.

I agree with this. ^^^

The G model Curado is really a Citica.
To get the old Curado E features you have to step up to Chronarch.
It's about price point and profit...Shimano may regret this decision.

The Dartanium drag washers are part of the typical Shimano wet drag system.
If allowed to dry out you could have problems.
Use bona fide drag grease and preferably Shimano Star Drag Grease on the Dartanium washers.

Carbontex can be run wet or dry with many users preferring wet.

brewer - lexa 300 sized is made for musky, salmon, and steelhead. guys were using it for swim baits on albacore charter boats and it owned albies no sweat, thats WAY more stress any steelhead and 99% of salmon will do to it.


some people really like their e7 but when i used a buddies new out of the box i was glad at the time i went with an STX instead. 5 pinion shaft gears, 2 bearings, and a whole new button and springs/mechanism later and i trashed the f^cker

i clean, grease, and oil all my reels religiously - after every season (minimum 3 times a year)

my longest lasting lp reel has been a old curado that is now just a king reel for float and eggs. its due for a whole new drag overhaul, but other then that still going strong. aside from that all my diawa's are still going strong, just havent owned them as long.

Ya, I'm not going to mess with it unless it breaks. I've had this E7 for a couple of years and it has been worked hard with zero problems.

What is the difference between Dartanium and carbontex?

I've been a bit skeptical of bearing upgrades in these reels. I don't see the point of "better" bearings when you end up tightening the end play and adjusting the VBS to slow them down for over run control. Maybe I'm missing something here. One thing that I see with the spool that I don't really like is the holes that can potentially let water seep into the internal mechanism. I guess that's a trade off for a lighter spool with better casting ability.

One more question, where do you buy the "upgrade" parts like the carbotex drag washers?

Get Carbontex (and drag grease) from SmooothDrag online.

Here is a pretty good idea of what they did to the reel and didn't do. The e series still exists just as an Chronarch now. Little strange why they did what did. Anyway kind of a long tech detail read:
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=444623
For what it's worth I have a G and have no issues.

Phil:

Would you please post when the stores put the G's on sale for $100?

Thanks,

ClearCreek