Rod for a curado 300ej

[t.n.hughes]

Hi all:

Wanted to get an opinion on a rod choice for a Curado 300ej?

Quick info: Got this reel a couple years ago when they went on sale on amazon. Think I paid around $70. It's unused. Nursing School and a Parent with cancer got in the way of a new hobby.

Now I'm starting the nursing career and can't wait to fish. Not making a bunch of money yet so cost is an issue. I was thinking something like the Ugly Stick Tiger Lite Casting Rod (medium heavy or heavy).

Thoughts?

Thanks

Todd

[alanw]

Shimano has that reel matched with the Terez waxwing rod. There's a used one for sale in another thread (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ighlight=terez) but it's 7' if that works for you. I have my EJ on the 8' model. Or, I'd give you what you paid for the reel

[t.n.hughes]

Really? Exactly what I paid for it? I'll seriously think about that... I was looking to spend $50-$70. Still gotta get the rod loaded and buy tackle. Thanks for the the idea though.

Also, my kinda mother-in-law has offered to give me at least 4 rod and reel combos from her deceased husband's gear. He always bought the best. What are the must have's that I should look for? He fished off a decent sized boat so the rods are probably shorter than you would use on a kayak but the reels will be worth it for sure. Any ideas you can offer would be much appreciated.

Todd

[taggermike]

That 300EJ is really made for cast n retrieve lure fishing. A longer rod will help you cast further. Those reels are made to match the terez waxwing rods. But I'd say any 7.5-9' trigger stick would work well. If you plan on fishing straight braid you might want to go with softer or slower action. I have used several of the Seeker blue lighting inshore rods for spotted bass to quality yellow tail. They're well worth looking at. Graphtec has a reasonably priced inshore rod series. I have 2 and like them. Mike

[2-Stix]

I have the 300e with a Graftech 15-25# rod. Bitchen set up with 50# braid.
You got one heck of a deal on that reel...I think I paid $250 for mine.

[RedSledTeam]

Teramar 7' 11" Casting Rod, MH, Extra Fast, 15-30lb Mono, 30-65lb. Yd/Tst, 3/4oz. Lure, Fuji Alum Ox Guide, Tip + 9 Guides

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/shiman...od--P014119804

[monstahfish]

Can't believe nobody has said this yet but...
The rod will help throw the lure, feel the bites, set the hook and turn the fishes head it's far more important to get that right as most reels will work for a variety of things. Match the rod to the type of fishing you're going to do. If you plan on fishing calicos with a certain weight range of lures, get a rod for that. If it's yellows throwing irons, that's a totally different rod as well. This will also dictate what type of line you want to spool up with as well. If it's mostly spotties get a medium light rig and spool up light braid with some flouro or mono leader. The most important thing is that you have a goal in mind. Never buy a rod to match a reel, buy a rod to match your preffered fishing method then buy a reel to fit that as you may want different gear ratios capacities etc... The curado is fairly flexible and should work on most casting rods just fine.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

FWIW, I have a Lamiglas 7' MH "Inshore Classic" (Line 12-25)
and a Lamiglas 9' Ex-Hvy G1344-T "Kenai Series" (Line 15-40)

I consider these my mid-weight bay rods.

I wanted a reel that might work on both interchangeably, and also bought the Curado 300EJ two days ago at Squidco, loaded with 65# PowerPro braid.

I took the 7' out for a test drive this morning from J-St in South San Diego Bay. I was very pleased to see how far and how easy it was to cast. It felt great. (Caught a nice Orange Mouth Corvina for lunch - Buddha said they are relatively rare around here.)

Now I'm curious to try the 9' rod from a favorite shore location to see how far I can cast.

For my kayak, I like 7' rods because they are long enough and I can easily reach the tip without knocking things around.

[t.n.hughes]

I'm looking for my most versatile and value minded rod choice as it is the first saltwater rod I'll be buying. I'm a guy that likes versatility and value. I want the least amount of gear that will do the most stuff for the least amount of money. I know the old adage "buy once, cry once" but I just don't have $100+ to throw at a rod. That's why I was looking at ugly stick.

Sure it isn't the nicest but if I dump it in the drink I'm not as sad as I would be if I lost a more expensive rod.

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the suggestions but I'm on the budwieser budget.

You guys are the best.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Ugly Sticks are not bad at all if you have to buy them new and want value for money. I have a long one I use for surf casting that's probably more than 20 years old. The Ugly Sticks I've used have all been a little too whippy for the kind of baitcaster you are talking about.

Squidco carries a line of custom rods called Varmac that are probably better for your Curado for a lower price than Ugly Sticks. I'm pretty sure you can find a fresh, new Squidco Varmac for your reel in the $50-60 price range. I think Varmac is a long time local company.

Otherwise, I have found so many good things at yard sales for a few dollars it fills all available free space around me, LOL. If you are around Mission Valley/La Mesa, I might have a rod you can have for free. I would have to doublecheck to be sure I have one suitable for the reel you want to match.

I bought my Lamiglas 9' (still with the plastic wrapper on the cork handle) at a yard sale for $25. It's one of their lifetime warranty models. I think I paid around $250 for my 7' Lamiglas from Turner Outdoor.

I love yard sales

---

Rods tend to have more longevity than reels. Reel technology continues to improve, and there's nothing like a new reel out of the box that hasn't been screwed up yet. Saltwater takes it's toll pretty fast, as does personal habits of people who abuse and neglect their equipment. Personally, I'm not very interested in buying used reels. It depends.

It's nice to have nice things, but this stuff gets beat up and used up. It's easy to get overly involved and blow a lot of money fast (understatement).

[joefish808]

First off, $70 is a fantastic deal for an EJ Curado. I paid $150ish for mine's and thought that was a killer deal. Great, versatile reel that's smooth, has some good cranking power and looks great as well.

I don't know if this helps, but I pair my EJ with an older 2nd gen Teramar (the green on the rod even matches the EJ, which I wasn't trying for, but worked out that way). Teramars are more of your versatile rods, though, not a specialist type rod. I have 7' 4" version, MH, lure rating from 1 oz-3 oz, off the top of my head; forget the line rating off the top of my head.

I can bottom, power fish with this combo, troll with good tip feedback, and cast well (even Rapalas). It's one of my favorite set ups to fish with. If I had to do it again, I'd consider 7' 4" through about 8 feet. Considering I use this combo for different types of techniques, I'd still go for mid 7 foot, MH rod again, personally speaking.

[PQyakyak]

I echo others here, great find on the 300ej. I love my reel spooled with 30lb braid and matched it with a phenix SMX-82MH (15-35lb). The setup is light but strong enough to cast all day with lead head swim baits, smaller irons and spoons. Truly a versatile rig and fun too.

[t.n.hughes]

Mr. NiceGuy,
It's easy to see why that is your screen name. I live in north SD but am in the college/La Mesa area all the time and would totally take you up on your offer or even just an opportunity to pick your brain and get suggestions and ideas of gear to focus on would be appreciated.

The $79.99 curado was an amazon purchase that I was pointed to by a post on here. Someone was keeping a thread running of great internet deals. Wish it was still going. As I recall a bunch of guys bought them on the board for that price. I'm excited to learn how to use it effectively along with conventional gear as well because most of my experience is with spinning gear and fly fishing gear.

The rods/reels that my pseudo-mother-in-law is offering I think have been used very little. I generally know good brands but are there size of reels I should be looking for for kayak fishing. Meaning, do I want to have 1 rod/reel of this size and 1 of this size, etc.

JoeFish thanks for the response. I'll keep my eyes out for teramar on sale because it's still a little out of my price range.

PQyakyak I was thinking the same for my curado. 30lb braid. When I get my yak we should get together, seeing as we're practically neighbors, I'm 2 exits down from the Penasquitos (assuming that is the PQ your are referring to.)

Thanks again all.

This is why I love this forum and keep coming back.

Todd

[petergmil5_ab]

Great find on the 300ej!

[PQyakyak]

Hi Todd,
yes, you are correct on PQ. Good luck on getting a kayak. Let me know in advance if you'er going out and hopefully I'll be able to go.

Sam