Outdoors

Fishing reels have become engineering marvels over the last couple of years.  They have space aged designs, super light construction, bearings and gears that would make a Nasa Rocket Scientist proud.  Shimano’s latest release, the 2009 Shimano Curado 200e7 might be the best reel ever made!It’s definitely the best fishing reel I’ve ever purchased.

Starting with the sleek lightweight design, it just fits my hand perfectly.It’s cool green metallic finish is also very stylish.  I love how the low profile allows me to palm the reel while winding.The extremely fast seven.1:1 retrieve ratio picks up so much line on each cast, you become so much more proficient.I particularily like this feature when fishing in clear water.On a recent adventure to a gin clear lake, the fish would only bite on super long casts and wouldn’t even think of hitting your lure close to the boat.  You know when your retrieve is out of the strike zone so you can just reel up fast and fire out another cast.This allowed me to cast more and catch twice as many fish as my back of the boat partner.

And speaking of super long casts, the Shimao Curado 200e7 has a Variable Brake System (VBS) that allows you to dial in just how much spool resistance you like.With seven ball bearings, this reel just spits out the line.It also has a huge spool which allows you to carry more line.  This reduces friction and allows your favorite lure to look like it was shot out of a cannon.

This is a perfect all around reel.  I use one for buzzbaits, flipping, braided line frog fishing, and of course throwing my favorite crankbaits.  The super large reel handle grips make it comfortable to fish all day.This reel is also light, which prevents your hands and arms from getting tired.

For my money, this is the best reel ever built and I’ve replaced all my with the Shimano Curado 200e7.  You can find this reel and other Shimano reels at http:www.fishingreels4less.com.