Red Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) G’day Raiders, Here’s a bit of info on how to tune a Shimano Curado 100B. My Curado has had a new lease of life, thanks to some simple yet effective modifications. If you are lucky enough to have a Curado 100B, you’d be almost mad not to upgrade it…lol The reel’s appearance is now far more impressive than the standard model and it casts light lures as good as the expensive Chronarch 50 Mg. As a bonus, the reel has now shed at least 25 grams, thanks to the ultra light spool and drilled out handle. If you have one of these reels and are thinking of doing the upgrade, DO NOT buy the components from Japan Tackle, unless you are feeling rich, because their prices are severely over-inflated. I was somewhat surprised to find Shimano Australia (Dunphy’s) sells the componentry for much less and this made the upgrade justifyable. Initially I just changed the spool and this is all you really need for the improvement in casting ability…….. but I couldn’t stand the “cheap looking” black plastic star drag and the crappy plastic cast control knob, so these were also borrowed off the Chronarch 50 Mg, as was the handle which i think sets the reel off ! I now love this reel. Two of my mates have seen it and they want me to do one up for them. This smart looking Curado performs like its expensive cousin yet won’t have the potential corrosion issues of the 50 Mg in salt water because to my knowledge, the parts I have changed are not made of Magnesium. The next and final upgrade will be a set of ABEC 5 or 7 bearings and that’s if I get the reel back off Chris, who is doing a field test with it at the weekend….lol So there you have it guys. If you want the performance of a Chronarch 50 Mg but can’t afford one, why not buy a used Curado 100B and do the upgrade. You’ll be surprised just how cheap a high performance reel can be. Sorry about the order of the photos. The original curado should have been at the top. Cheers Red Edited July 28, 2006 by Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BBM Rick Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Top work mate, reel (pun intended) well done! I remember seeing a Stella 2500 with a Chronarch handle, looked way cool! Could this be done to a TwinPower do you think? Rick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 very impressive upgrade they mate, looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 VERY impressive-looking reel. I also hope you get it back from the field-test, Red!!! Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) Nice Job looks great should evenbe better with the ABEC,s in it cheers Edited July 29, 2006 by johnno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 (edited) Cheers guys, I'm absolutely delighted with the Curado's new ability. As a bonus, i now have a spool for ANSA line class fishing (2kg) and a spool for casting light plastics/hardbodies. Changing spools on the Curado is a 30 second job as there are no tools required for the task. Rick, i haven't attempted a Chronarch handle on a Twinpower, however if it can be done on the Stella, there's probabably every chance it will fit your reel. Might be worth giving Dunphy's a call on that one as it would be a sweet little upgrade For those Curado owners who are interested in the upgrade, i will call Shimano on monday for the individual prices on the parts i changed. You are welcome to drop me a PM after monday for these prices if you wish. BTW, I'm after a few more of these reels if anyone wants to sell theirs? Waiting patiently for the results of this weekend's field test. It's in capable hands so i'm confident there will be a glowing report. Regards Red Edited July 29, 2006 by Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Mate, love what you've done with the reel. Curious to see how it goes against my Pixy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 Curious to see how it goes against my Pixy Now there's a sweet little reel I'd have one of those if they were more affordable. You are welcome to borrow mine and do your comparison. I'm curious as well. Cheers Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Now there's a sweet little reel I'd have one of those if they were more affordable. You are welcome to borrow mine and do your comparison. I'm curious as well. Cheers Red Might need to take you up on that one of these days! Will have the pixy at the blackfish social if you're going to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 Little Flattie, unfortunately i won't be making it to the social day as i'll be drooling over the new boats at the Boat Show. Had a good look at a Pixy a few days ago and talk about impressive Does the level wind operate when you cast or does it dis-engage? I'd love to cast one. Cheers Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Little Flattie, unfortunately i won't be making it to the social day as i'll be drooling over the new boats at the Boat Show. Had a good look at a Pixy a few days ago and talk about impressive Does the level wind operate when you cast or does it dis-engage? I'd love to cast one. Cheers Red Ah I spose there could be worse things to do on a weekend! Yeah the level wind disengates on the cast. Think it's the only way you can really cast ultralight lures on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Okay, Red still doesnt have his reel back (or rod) and chances are he wont ! I'm in love with it. Got to to put it through its paces on saturday on a stack of rat kings. Its performed faultlessly. I was fishing pretty harsh terrain and was fishing the drag pretty much locked up. I cant comment on how the drag would perform under normal circumstances where you can acctually let a fish run, but under the heavy drag I managed to keep all kings away from the reef on all but one occasion ! I was pegging 3/8 of ounce jigheads with 6 inch rubber's 30-40 metres straight into a 20knot westerly so you can imagine after 4 dozen casts I forgot to thumb the spool and the reel got retired for the day. Glad I got to play with this little outfit, sure proved itself on the weekend, and the Battler flanker rod is just an awesome stick, going to get this very outfit for myself as soon as the bank balance gets back into the green. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 Okay, Red still doesnt have his reel back (or rod) and chances are he wont ! I'm in love with it. I'm missing my baby badly Been totally obsessed with tackle for 20 years now and that Daiwa Battler "Flanker" would easily have to be the best rod i've ever owned. Its an absolute delight to use. Chris, i knew you'd love it and this made me somewhat reluctant to lend it to you because there was little doubt you'd go out and buy one. In the meantime you are always welcome to borrow it whenever you please. If only Daiwa sold these superb blanks and reel seats They'd sell truckloads! Thanks for testing the gear on tough opponents in such harsh terrain and i'm happy that it didn't let you down. It makes the small cost of the Curado upgrade all worthwhile Happy days! Regards Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakd Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Red, I pray that Daiwa don't ever release their high-end blanks or components cause it would send me bankrupt! A cutom rod built on a SVF Compile-X blank would be absolute killer. Mind you, the replacement for the Battlers, the Steez line has put my finger on the trigger, thank goodness it's so expensive to have rods freighted from Japan! Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap3 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Mate, dont mean to be picky but as far as low profile baitcasters go (& many other products as well) Daiwa is miles ahead of Shimano. If you were so worried about the cosmetics of the reel why would you buy the Curado in the first place, it isn't exactly the prettiest reel on the market. For roughly the same price as a Curado you could have picked up a TDA 153HST which is a far superior reel ( both technically & cosmetically) and if you include the money you spent on the upgrade you could have even had something like the Viento or Fuego. To top it off, if you really wanted to, you could have also picked up an Erskine drag upgrade for the Daiwa baitcaster which would have put it leagues ahead of what you have now. There's nothing wrong wth the Shimano's but purely from a 'bang for your bucks' perspective, this new generation of mid priced Daiwa baitcasters really are an exceptional piece of equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 Red, I pray that Daiwa don't ever release their high-end blanks or components cause it would send me bankrupt! A cutom rod built on a SVF Compile-X blank would be absolute killer. Ben. Ben, i'm hearing you. Boy don't those new Steez rods look special? Can't wait till they get superseeded in Japan, so the can dump them on our shores at near giveaway prices Regards Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Red, I pray that Daiwa don't ever release their high-end blanks or components cause it would send me bankrupt! A cutom rod built on a SVF Compile-X blank would be absolute killer. Mind you, the replacement for the Battlers, the Steez line has put my finger on the trigger, thank goodness it's so expensive to have rods freighted from Japan! Ben. Arent you already bankrupt Ben? Ben, i'm hearing you. Boy don't those new Steez rods look special? Can't wait till they get superseeded in Japan, so the can dump them on our shores at near giveaway prices Regards Red The Steez rods are damn nice alright, so much so I'd consider getting this(not the regular version, the Compile X version) over another Megabass As for it getting dumped at giveaway prices, we can only hope! But if the Devel 03 is any indication, probably not Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 Mate, dont mean to be picky but as far as low profile baitcasters go (& many other products as well) Daiwa is miles ahead of Shimano. If you were so worried about the cosmetics of the reel why would you buy the Curado in the first place, it isn't exactly the prettiest reel on the market. For roughly the same price as a Curado you could have picked up a TDA 153HST which is a far superior reel ( both technically & cosmetically) and if you include the money you spent on the upgrade you could have even had something like the Viento or Fuego. G'day Cap3, i bought the reel along with a high quality Strudwick TPS rod for only $150 which made the upgrade justifyable. The upgrade was also a lot cheaper than you may think. Anyhow, my thread was aimed at the Curado owner who was looking to get the most out of his/her reel. I did not encourage people to go out and buy a new reel at around $240 and then do an upgrade. That would be silly These reels can be bought for less than $100 used and are exceptional value at that price IMHO:thumbup: NT Barra guides love them for their dependable performance and durability. They may not be as good as an Alphas or Pixy but they are better than you may think when upgraded. Particularly when you take the price into account. The upgraded Curado cost one third of the price of an Alphas and i have a spare spool to boot You are welcome to have a play with it. Cheers Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap3 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Red, when you put it that way it makes more sense I thought you did the upgrade to one that you recently purchased brand new, like you said, that would be silly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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