Curado 300 or Lexa 300?
 

Anyone fish a Lexa yet?
Your thoughts?

I have the Lexa 200 and i like how smooth it cast. I haven't had a good fight yet to test the drag. The Lexa 300 has 21 lbs of drag. I have the 300 ej too and have no complaints with it. Shimano reels have always good for me with all the sea water that gets in them. They are still working great. The Lexa 300 is $200 which is nice price. Call Chart bait and they might even spool you up with braid to go with it. My opinion is that u can't wrong with ether one I like both.

I have a Lexa 300 and love it so far. Very smooth casting, drag not tested yet but feels good.

I'm leaning toward the Daiwa...it looks like I can get a brand new Lexa for $50-ish cheaper than a used Curado...Did you guys go with the 7.1:1 high speed retrieve on the Lexa?

Reel
 

Revo Toro or Revo Toro NaCL

The Lexa 300 blows the Curado 300 away IMO.

Oh no!
Don't confuse me further.

Reel
 

This is the one you want

Lexa 300 HSP
 

I just ordered Daiwa Lexa 300 7.1:1 last Saturday for $153.99 from Haddrells Point Warehouse. All three are sweet reels, but at that price point it was pretty hard to pass up the Lexa. It's about $120 less than what I could find a Revo NaCL for and $80 less than a Curado 300ej.

Thanks for the advice guys...now I just need to decide...power handle or paddle handle?
I'll be fishing for calico's with this setup most of the time.

For calicos in kelp or heavy structure I'd go with a power handle. For lighter inshore applications and bays I'd go with the paddle handle.

Sounds to me like you're saying I need to buy two reels?...haha

Two handles! I ordered my Lexa with the paddle handle, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up buying a power handle down the road. I was a little disappointed it didn't come with both. I think the Curado and Revos come with both the paddle and power handles so you can change them out as needed.

At $154 for a Lexa 300 I'm tempted to pick up another. If my Curado 200 takes a dump this year I will buy another Lexa. I love the way it cast.

Is that the place in South Carolina? They reliable?
Where do they ship from and how do they ship.

I've tried both reels and would take the Curado 300 over it for sure. Don't waste your time with Revo's, I had to rebuild my inshore 2x bc they are not very water proof and the gears can only handle so many fish. Don't get confused with the drag power on these reels either. Some claim to have 20lbs+, that's more than so e of my conventional reels. They don't have that much drag, trust me. I had big bass strip line from my Revo, Lexa 300, and Curado 300. If you really want to get a nice reel with real true drag power, then pick up the new Calcutta 400D. It's the nicest reel I have ever owned and has been put through the ringer. Now I'm not saying the Lexa is a bad reel, for the money you can't beat it. Just saying its not the best. I would buy another Curado 300 any day before I purchased another Lexa.

Like everyone else, it's just my $.02

Okuma has some really nice reels as well. They are light, low pro and have nice deep spools. I have a Cedros 273cj that is sick. I've caught numerous 8lb+ fish on it including a 15+ Muskie.

So you're saying the claimed max drag spec on the curado, revo and Lexa is B.S.? How do the manufactures get away with making those claims?
Can you be specific; what about the curado makes it better than the Lexa?

P.S.- I already have a luna 253 and a 300 conventional....love em both. I'm just becoming sort of a rod and reel wh@re like most of you...haha

Yes, they're in the Charleston area. I've never bought anything from them online before, but when I lived in North Carolina I visited their Mount Pleasant, SC tackle shop quite a few times and was always pleased with their selection and service. For this reel I opted for their 7-14 day free shipping.

Cool. Thanks.
JeffB has me a little concerned. Does anyone know if the 'claimed' 22lbs of drag is real or not?

Do you really need 22lbs of drag on a bait caster? Are you fishing for calicoes or tuna? I would assume you will usually be fishing around 10-15lbs max and it will easily do that. That's enough drag to bring in anything you will find locally, especially when paired with the lighter weight rods you use for these types of reels. The Lexa IMO is an awesome reel and you will be stoked with it.

Probably won't ever need the 22lbs but you never know when you might hook into a toad WSB or big yellow and it could come in handy to yank them out of kelp or structure. Plus, that drag plays a factor in me opting for it over the curado.

FWIW my Daiwa Saltiga SA20 is rated at 22lbs and it measures 22 lbs plus/minus about 2 lbs on my scale. I think any of these reels will have plenty of power -- otherwise the pros wouldn't be using them. My Citica 200 only has 11 lbs of drag and works fine on calicos.

Lexa 300 w/ the power handle. for the price it's like a limp dick, you can't beat it.

I'm thinking I'll order the power handle later. I hear the paddle handle it comes with is oversized? I really only intend on fishing bass with it. I want it to maintain that light tackle feel and I'm guessing with a power handle and all that drag it may lose that?
What's your thoughts?

Just saying the claim to have all this drag power. I can pull the drag out of my Revo inshore with the upgraded drag disc with my hand. I can't even come close to pulling the drag out of my conventional reels at about 80%.

On the Curado, its smoother and more durable. The gears are a lot stronger, hence why it cost a little more. The Lexa is nice a smooth as well. But the gears are not going to last you as long. You never know what you may hook, that's the perks of saltwater fishing. I snagged an 80lb batray with my Curado 300 and spooled me a couple times but got it in. Snag an 80lb batray or something else and you will be rebuilding your reel. I snagged about a 30lb stingray on my Revo inshore and stripped the gears.

Not trying to confuse you. You won't go wrong with almost any reel now a days. Just some wont last as long as others. Just remember you never know what you may hook in saltwater. If all your doing is guaranteeing that you will only catch bass, then any reel is a good choice. But I would like to meet the person who could guarantee that. Not trying to confuse you. I own/ or have owned all of the reels. Just prefer my Curado 300 over the my Lexa 300.

No problem Jeff...I hear what you're saying.
One more thing peeps...you guys all seem to be going for the 'high speed' 7.1:1 model...wouldn't the lower geared model be better for those times you hook something big?
I'm probably over-thinking it now.

I use higher ratio reels for my crankbait rods and and spinner baits. I got to a lower ratio when I am jigging for sand bass or calico in the kelp or rocks. Same with my conventionals. I use a high speed for my surface irons and a lower gear for my dropper loop rigs. If you go with a 6:2:1 you fall right in the middle and perfect for anything. With bass reels just gear for the lure you will be using the most. I hope that helps out a little. I speak for myself on this, not everyone else.

If your burning rattle traps, wax wings, or something of that sort, then I use a 7:3:1. When I swim jigs, umbrella rigs, or swim baits I use a 6:2:1. For crawling bait on the bottom and jigging, or if I just want to slow roll a bait I use a 5:0:1.

Get the 2nd generation revo premiers with the eva knob handle. Those things have titanium to steel gears and if i remember right the gear sleeve was titanium too. Ti coated line guide, 22lbs of drag, infinispool 2, same price if not cheaper than a lexa 300. Upgrade to a paddle handle if you want for 20$.

Been there done that....

I've owned shimanos all my life and recently sold my 300e and ej's. I respect the others that have posted above, but for anyone to say that the shimano is better than either one (the lexa or the revo toro 50) must not have enough experience with them. I have and here is what I have found...

Lexas and the revo toro 50 free spool measurably better than the currado allowing a longer cast. Longer cast = covering more water. The new lexa paddle handles are giant... Diawa nailed it with that handle, theres no need for a power handle. As far as maintenance goes, I've owned the revo toro for a full year now and hasn't had to be serviced. Now consider this, I fish from a boat now, and Im not on the water. But seems that my currados needed service every couple of months even in the boat. I've bought 2 lexa's about 3 months ago, so the verdict is still out on the lexa. As far as line capacity goes, don't worry about it, at all. Fill the reel you buy with 65# power pro and call it done. 180-200 yards is more than enough to bass fish with.

I don't really worry about ratios. You're not going to notice a difference. We're not pulling on tuna here folks. We're talking about bass (for the most part). If anything, I want the higher ratios. I can always turn the handle slower.

Whatever you buy, don't buy the shimano.

I hope this helps.
Nic

Hows the lexa 300 holding up guys? Any problems? Thinking about buying one soon :reel:

The new 400 should be coming out very soon.

AWESOME REEL!
Seems to be water tight...I've fished mine pretty hard...I have it mounted on a 8 foot 15-40 Teramar; its my preferred combo for throwing heavy swimbaits and it's killer on small to medium size yellows. I'd bet it would even put the brakes on 30# yellows.
I like it so much I bought a Lexa 100 for my 12-25 Teramar...Fun setup for calicos.

Does the 400 have a clicker? It would make a sweet live bait reel.

Not sure on the clicker. But it still looks like it's gonna be a sweet reel. I'm gonna get one, eventually.

X2
Best saltwater lowprofile reel going.

Ken

Yup man knows his sh1T....

I love my revo toro

Just got a thresher with no problem on my cardiff 400

I just bought a Daiwa Lexa 300 7.1:1 from ebay last night for $133+free shipping, BNIB. It shipped this morning. That's the best deal I've seen. You have to click the "buy it now" button to see the price...I'll let you know if I get a box of rocks!

Revo toro NaCl 50. Great reel. Casts well, smooth drag, and awesome Eva handles (2 in box) but definitely not 22 pounds of drag.
Have thrown a lexa for a half day. Casts really well even with smaller the smaller baits. Spool speed all the way out, still no backlashes.
No experience with the curado.
I really like my Luna 300. Does really well on yellows up to 30lbs. Haven't hooked a tuna on any of these smaller reels yet.
I would like one more low pro reel, may pick up the new lexa 400, and will review that when I get to fish it.