🤔 SHIMANO CURADO BFS worth it???

Hey guys!
In this video I’ll be unboxing and sharing my impressions of the Shimano Curado BFS reel. I’ll also point out upgrades you can perform on the reel and share some interesting findings and opinions of the reel. Please keep in mind that this video won’t be a spec dump but more of what I think and find about this reel. This video won’t show any on the water impressions as well as there are tons of good videos of people using the reel out there in KZbin land.
If you’d like to purchase the reel you can find non-affiliate or affiliate links below. PS If you decide on using the non affiliate links please make sure you are selecting the right configuration of the reel you want.
Cheers and thank you, as always, for watching!
Non-affiliate link:
SHIMANO Curado BFS 8.2:1 Low Profile Baitcast 7BB +1BB
a.co/d/dDdZFt0
www.tackleware...
www.digitaka.c...
Shimano SLX BFS 2021 Left a.co/d/i9gODsZ
Affiliate links are below. If you use them I will receive a small commission with your purchase and am extremely grateful to you if you do.
SHIMANO CURADO BFS
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SHIMANO SLX BFS
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#shimano #fishing #curadobfs #slxbfs #scorpionbfs #bfsfishing #baitfinessesystem #kastking #soloking #tsurinoya #bassfishing #troutfishing #bass #trout #fishinggear

[@Prime_Nexus]

For the brake dial, I removed the magnetic brake assembly (3 screws behind the ftb assembly), and backed out the screw slightly (and added a hint of blue loctite to keep it from loosening up later). Just like adjusting the pivot on a folding knife. I got the roro spool and hedgehog bearings for it, and it casts 1/32 oz jigs with 1" grub trailers really nicely for panfishing, and the higher weight just helps balance it on the fiberglass rod I built for it. The bearings were mainly just for noise, if you flush grease/oil out of the stock bearings you get similar performance, just they are LOUD.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Right on! Seems like a simple enough solution to the extremely tight brake dial. First time experiencing something like that for me. Also glad to hear that the roro spool and some additional bearings really helped the reel shine for UL BFS. Good to know that the reel can be versatile. Cheers Henrique!

[@Koszarek1911]

With the sheer number of reels on the market now, what do you think about this at 135$ price point? (current AliExpress price) I love the value proposition of some of the CDM offerings, but serviceability and parts availability a few years down the road is important too, and at 135 i'm damn tempted.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey koszarek! So sorry for the late response! I think at $135 the Curado bfs is a much better value but I think you should look at what you need rather than looking for long term parts availability. The reason why I say this is that reel tech and quality has been making leaps and bounds and really you can get a very affordable CDM reel that will cast much lower weights than any current jdm bfs reel for a fraction of the price. At that point, does it make sense to buy a more expensive Japanese reel that won’t do what you want it to at the cost of potentially having parts available later? Also consider that the Curado bfs frame is actually very old now with it first making its appearance in the scorpion and then the slx bfs before coming to the US and Europe as the Curado bfs. So really instead of long term parts availability I encourage you to look at what tool you need. What lure weights do you plan on casting? Find a reel that matches that first and then go from there. Just my thoughts. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

[@Koszarek1911]

@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thanks so much for your reply! These are all good points to consider, and for many of them, it is precisely why a curado BFS would never be on my radar at its US MSRP. Personally, I have a Genius Elf and an Acura, and they serve my light finesse presentations well. I was hoping to fill the gap of a bombproof metal framed workhorse baitcaster primarily targeting the 3 to 15g lure range. Something with a brake system that would accel in bomb casting 7g spoons. Arise elite was the prime contender until i saw the curado bfs a little bit cheaper. The Cormorant looks dope, but im trying to keep this one under 150$.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@Koszarek1911 hey koszarek! Hm 3-15g range… tbh I do think the arise elite would be a more capable reel than the Curado bfs but you could also take a look at the purelure silver feather elite but there is also news that Purelure will have a new silver feather reel coming out in June. Is there any particular reason you need a metal framed reel ooc? Cheers my friend!

[@Koszarek1911]

@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Cheers! As far as metal bodies go, it's mostly vibes. I think they are neat. I've enjoyed them on my larger baitcasters, and I guess I like the assumed durability bonus aswell. Something else to add to the pile of "wanting to have it all at once" 😅.

[@csmith0921]

I have two of these. Love them for BFS bass fishing but wanted to throw small crappie and trout lures with one. Rather than buying an Aldebaran, I upgraded the spool to the new Roro spool/bearing as well as the Roro side plate bearing, and it made a dramatic difference. Paired with an OLD 18 UL rod using 6-pound Verivas PE I can throw .75-gram lures with decent accuracy and a very acceptable distance.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Yea that totally makes sense. If you already had the reel then upgrading it to allow for lighter BFS lures definitely is a good option. Glad to hear that the roro spool really helped your reels shine!

[@kjbenkim]

Nicely done!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Thank you for your kind endorsement 🤗🤗🤗

[@repekolmonen7454]

My Curado was horrible out of the box. I had to open it up and clean it. Now it performs really smooth, but it has some gear noise. I have sinked it many times, dropped it on sand and rocks. It’s a tough case. Can’t wait to see the bearing upgrade video.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey there! Yea for whatever odd reason Shimano really seemed to have decided to grease grease and then grease this reel to the moon and back haha. Good for longevity i suppose but terrible for any sort of low resistance. I will agree that this reel does seem quite sturdy and the some and it is nice that there are companies making aftermarket spools to give the reel a bit more flexibility in the lure weight range spectrum. The teardown and bearing location video should be out next week barring any editing hiccups so 🤞. Thanks again for sharing your experience and cheers!

[@darthjar9117]

My first BFS reel was a KastKing Zephyr. I loved it so much that I thought a more expensive reel would be even better so I bought this Shimano. I actually like the KastKing better.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey darth! I actually agree with you on this to a degree. In my experience, my zephyr has been smoother and lighter(so more comfortable to hold) than the Curado bfs was. Also, my Curado came way overgreased which is kind of crazy… I’ve never seen a reel with so much grease inside from the factory. My philosophy for reels is to find the best bang for buck but also look at the best higher end reels as well. Anywho, thanks for sharing your experience and cheers my friend!

[@pescadordosertao4134]

Saw it bein used by a friend of mine. Very honest reel.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey! I’m a bit confused by this reel haha. A bit more than I was when I reviewed the kestrel actually… the reel is likely a solid performer but more geared towards power BFS. It’s also an older design that, when compared to contemporary budget options, seems to be getting a bit long in the tooth now… I think the right buy is the SLX BFS at around $150 US but even that is kind of a harder pill to swallow imho. I guess if you’re looking for a tank of a reel that will be a workhorse the reel will suit you well. A lot of the specs leave a bit to be desired though… cheers my friend!

[@pescadordosertao4134]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Power bfs is more of using the material in a more frenzied water covering. Is just fishing power fishing, but with bfs gear. It's what I'm doing here on Brazil.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@pescadordosertao4134 yea i feel this reel is def more geared towards the upper end of BFS lure weights and it’s ability to land larger fish. I don’t see it not being able to handle larger fish at all. One of the most study bfs reels I’ve come across.

[@pescadordosertao4134]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL the FTB brakes are customizable over the number of magnetic beans.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@pescadordosertao4134 yep! I did see that. Kind of cool to see that they allow for some adjustability with the magnet strength. I was a bit sad to see that they didn’t include the steel ring around the brake assembly though as I feel that that really allows the Aldebaran to have almost no magnetic braking at the minimum setting.

[@Baitfinessefishing]

Great video man, I had a slx bfs for a while. It was nice, ddnt cast as light as other reels. Prob about down to 2.5 grams. I put bearings in the knobs and spool bearings to and gave it to a friend!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

You are a very nice friend Tj! Yea the reels do need a bit of work but I do think they’ll shine after doing so. Hoping they do a refresh on this line of reels soon and bring that to the US market.

[@hookalounge]

I got the roro cb26 spool for mine and it behaves close to 90% the same as my Aldebaran. It really changed the reel into a lighter casting setup.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Very cool to hear that! Out of curiosity are you experiencing any geariness with your Curado? Mine has an ever so slight geariness that I’m not sure is a common thing for this reel. I’ve heard that it’s supposed to be super smooth but I’m just not experiencing that I guess… Also, on my teardown of the reel mine was heavily greased. I’ve never seen so much grease in a reel before… glad to hear the roro spool has given you a lot of flexibility with your Curado but I may just end up sending mine back sadly… cheers!

[@hookalounge]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Funny you say that, on the curado bfs I do but it’s not that bad. However, the second curado dc that I ordered I do hear it even with the micro module gears it comes with. But from my experience they all smooth out eventually, especially the non-jdm version because they tend to be over-greased for the US market. The JDM reels shimano releases always have significantly less grease in them, maybe because they believe the US market tends to abuse their reels for heavier styles of fishing, but who knows.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Ah that makes sense. The geariness going away seems to be in line with the gears polishing themselves as they are worn in. The Curado has a black colored anti corrosion coating though… my guess is that it is just anodization. It’s also kind of funny that USDM reels get more grease lol… I hope they stop doing that as we’re not all abusing our reels haha. In any case, appreciate the info and cheers!

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

Looking forward to the teardown socks about that water damage. Slowing stuff down!!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey man! Yea… stuff happens… that’s life I guess haha… can’t really do much but just keep on keepin’ on. Will do my best to keep up the pace but likely it will slow down at times. Well just have to see where and how things go with all of this craziness =\. Anyhow, cheers buddy! Next video should be out in a couple days!

[@leen8939]

They are not a bad reel for the money , I’ve used one for a while now and other than putting ceramic bearings in its stock . Not sure the ceramics make that much of a difference because shimano’s bearings are not too bad but they don’t hurt . I have got a roro spool on order so I’ll see if it gets close to my gekkabijin for ease of casting lighter lures

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi Lee! Depending on where you upgraded or installed those bearings you’ll likely not see any casting performance gains. The real change for that is in the spool and the associated supporting bearings. All the rest of the bearings are just there to lower resistance and also add support. I really don’t get why Shimano didn’t just throw in 2 extra handle knob bearings. They could claim the Curado is a 9+1 bb reel then… either way that is a very easy upgrade and I’ll show how to do that in my next video. I am a bit curious how the roro spool changes the reel and if I were keeping this I’d def go with that over the avail because it’s titanium and has the inserted bb in the shaft. Hopefully you get some good casting performance gains out of the spool but I’m keen on checking out the Gekkabijin as it gets so many rave reviews. Cheers Lee!

[@leen8939]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL i just changed the bearings under the tension knob and in the side plate and also ran it with 6 magnets instead of 8 . It doesn’t perform badly but I’d say it’s more comfortable at 2gm plus . It will go a bit lighter but it’s not as easy to do and doesn’t get the same distance as the gekkabijin either . The roro spool being almost half the weight should see a good improvement . I know what you mean with the handle bearings , it wouldn’t have hurt to have added them . I’m liking the daiwa , it really is a good reel and if you can get hold of one I would do . Normally I’m a shimano fanboy and would have got the alderbaran 22 if I could have found one in stock at the time . I looked at the gekkabijin , silver creek and calcutta conquest and came away with the gekkabijin and I’m not disappointed. I put some braid on and it cast 0.9 gram jig head with a 1inch grass minnow in strong wind effortlessly straight from the box . I still might get a silver creek just to see what that’s like as well though

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@leen8939 right on Lee! If the Curado responds to the worm gear bearing upgrade similarly to how my Aldebaran did I think that that is definitely an upgrade worth looking into. My next video will show how to do that or you can simply watch my Aldebaran upgrade video to get an idea. The process is very similar. As far as fanboying is concerned I actually don’t have a camp I prefer as both big jdm brands have a lot to offer. In my absolute humblest(is that a word?) opinion… consumers should go with whatever gives them the best for the money they can spend at the time. Brand loyalty, also imho, tends to breed complacency with brands. I value companies that continue to innovate, and work on improving products. Anyhow haha without getting preachy I’m excited that the bfs world is opening up so much and developing so fast!

[@leen8939]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL do you know what the worm gear bearing size is , it will be a cheap upgrade and can’t do any harm so I might as well do it . Looks like I’ve missed out by dismissing daiwa over the years but I definitely won’t be from now on

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

It should be the same size as the handle knob bushings. They are all 4mm x 7mm x 2.5mm. My video on how to do the install will come out soon, Friday or Saturday. Cheers Lee!

[@MichaelRomero]

I'll stick with my Daiwa BFS reels but good to see what else is out there.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Michael! What daiwa reel specifically out of curiosity? Thank you and cheers!

[@MichaelRomero]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Alphas Air TW and the Daiwa Gekkabijin

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@MichaelRomero I need to get my hands on a gekkabijin as everyone raves about those reels… I did recently pick up a millionaire ct sv 70 and wow am I impressed. If the gekka and alphas are like that then yea I can see what the daiwa love is about. Cheers!

[@MichaelRomero]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL that's awesome yeah I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed in getting your hands on one. I forgot to mention I just recently picked up the Daiwa Salamandura SV 70 and I love it.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@MichaelRomero right on! I hope it’s an improvement over the 2017 tatula as it seems like the salamanders and tatula are essentially the same reel. Cheers Michael!

[@willtraveltofish]

I never quite understood what the big deal is about reel handle bearings? Meaning what effect do they have on hook sets, fighting the fish and casting accuracy or distance? I just don’t see any tangible benefit.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey there! Yea… in terms of performance? Absolutely no gain imho. In terms of “comfort” and “feel” it’s also very subjective. I personally prefer freer spinning handles for whatever reason. Why? I don’t think I could tell you… however, at the end of the day all of these modifications are personal preference really and I am just here to show how to do them. Your point is totally valid though but the video isn’t solely about upgrades! I also show how to teardown the reel in case anyone wants to do some cleaning and maintenance or needs to make a repair, etc. Mainly, I am just trying to share knowledge to empower folks is all. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and hope you were able to find something good out of the video! Cheers my friend!

[@willtraveltofish]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Fair enough and my apologies for chiming on that on your channel. Kudos to you for a very appropriate and positive response to my comment, that right there is professionalism at its finest! 👊🏼🎣

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@willtraveltofish there is absolutely no reason to apologize! But… as my wife often reminds me I accept =). I am in no way trying to discourage or dissuade anyone on this channel/community. No one is the same and everyone has their own views they’re more than entitled to. I see it as my job just to share information and help out where/when I can. I really do appreciate everyone’s comments, positive or negative, as it helps me understand what people like/dislike and are interested in so my thanks is genuine! So, Mr Brown I thank you as well for being so gracious and understanding where I am coming from as well. I hope you do continue to be a part of this community and don’t hesitate to comment, no matter what you want to say! Cheers again my friend!

[@joe69trump69]

Just curious where you bought your reel? All Shimano bait casters I’ve bought always came with one bottle of batam oil and other KZbinrs unboxing videos show they come with Batam and bfs oil. Great review thanks!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Joe! I bought this one off of Amazon. It seems like Shimano is actually moving away from providing bfs/bantam/reel oil with their reels now… if you look at the newer unboxing videos you’ll see this. Also, after looking at the box contents again I did find a piece of paper stating that Shimano wasn’t going to be providing these oils any longer. Odd move imho… in any case, thanks so much for the kind words and cheers my friend!

[@zankyou101]

The Curado is a nice reel. Tweak and mod it all you want. But from the reviews I've read, the Daiwa millionaire ct sv 70 you just got is a reel you would want to keep and fish. Waiting for your impression video on the millionaire ct sv 70.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Eric! Yea the difference from handling alone is very apparent. You go from the millionaire ct sv being one of the, if not the, smoothest reel I’ve experienced stock to the Curado which has a slightly geary/stepped feeling on retrieve. Of course the two reels are in completely different classes and price ranges but strictly from a dollar to performance I think the Curado is a bit in the unclear territory for me. If I were spending $200 on a reel I’d be looking at other options whether that be spending a bit more money for an even nicer reel or spending far less for a CDM budget reel. That being said, plenty of people love this reel because of it’s Shimano build quality and there’s no questioning that the tolerances and components are great but price point wise, imho, they could stand to shift it a bit or maybe give us a refreshed version worth 200 doll hairs. Just my humble opinion. Cheers and hopefully I’ll be able to get that millionaire video out soon!

[@zankyou101]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Many definitely love their Curados. I have a few older Curodos myself. But, I have a fondness for round baitcasting reels like the Millionaire and the round Abus. Did you buy the Millionaire new or get a good price used? I wonder how the millionaire ct sv 70 compares to the Calcutta Conquest? My one reservation with round baitcasting reel is the top cross bar. Makes it harder for me to pick out line bird nest which for me happens often.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

It’s easy to understand why I think so many love the Curado line. It’s a step above the SLX has decent specs/features but I think there again are other reels in todays market that offer better specs. Specs might not be absolutely everything though. On paper the kestrel is leaps and bounds better than the Curado but it isn’t an absolute clear winner imho. That being said… I might actually prefer the kestrel to the Curado haha… it almost hurts to say that… I also love round reels and have come to love the joys of picking birds nests out of our ever shrinking reels both round and low profile haha. Primarily the reason why I prefer to use braid now… I don’t want to have to deal with mono or fluoro birds nests… as far as the millionaire goes I was able to pick this one up at a fair price used. A couple of the internal screws are stripped so I’ll be working on extracting those. Shouldn’t be too much of an issue but wish daiwa didn’t use such soft screws. I am quite impressed with that reel though. Quite a polished product imho.

[@zankyou101]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Kestrel > Curado, Ouch!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hahaha you didn’t hear that from me… I have no idea what I’m talking about 😆

[@BK-ks2sf]

Slx/curado bfs vs alphas SV tw 800s?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey there! To be completely honest with you I am not super familiar with JDM Daiwa reels. That being said, after looking at the specs it does seem like these reels are fairly close in spec. I feel like the daiwa has the larger spool so I’m not sure it would be able to handle low weight lures as well as the Curado bfs but I think they both fill the “power bfs” niche. Oh does the alphas not come with a clicking drag??? 😱 not sure about you but imho a clicking drag is a must have… I bet aliexpress has some that you can pick up for cheap though or from what I hear sagisi customs has some nicely machined versions. Are you in the market for either of the two reels out of curiosity?

[@BK-ks2sf]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I have the alphas 800s and just got a rays spool which is about 4g lighter than the 12ish g shallow spool. I also just put in a AliExpress drag clicker and seems to work great. I like the real alot just wanted to see how the slx bfs which is $50 cheaper than the alphas performs because I mainly fish bass bfs, so like ned rig type weights 3.5g+. I like the alphas alot just whish it was a bit better at long distance casting since I fish from the bank. I also could use a longer rod but I stick with 6-6.6ft rods because of tree branches.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@BK-ks2sf if you’ve got that reel, a spool and a clicker I’d say just hold there for now. If you like the reel and it works well there’s not too much sense in buying another similarly specd reel for about the same price. I highly doubt the Curado bfs is gonna be a big difference for you, at least specs wise. Maybe instead save up for a higher end reel or rod down the line. Of course it all depends on what your wants/needs are. Hope that helps a bit! Cheers!

[@christopherlee4613]

Put a drop of oil on the mag control... or it gets easier the more you use... but you do need fingernails to move it... On my Scorpion is a little easier now to turn the wheel.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Definitely good advice but wowee is that dial super tight out of the box!!!

[@tmzzlo]

Talking about roro spool its is made of duraluminium just the Centre Shaft material: Titanium Alloy. Its a marketing mate ... :D

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Good catch! I just reread their item description and it does indeed seem like just the shaft is titanium. No mention to the material of the spool itself sadly… in any case it should still be lighter compared to the avail and might be the option I’d probably choose. Kinda sad that the spool itself isn’t titanium… good find though and cheers!

[@tmzzlo]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL yep they not mentioning the material of a spool for this reel, but they do say it on option for shimano aldebaran bfs and other reels.And i am sure they use same technology for all their spools. To make titanium one is very complicated as titanium is very hard alloy, hard to make very thin, but its easy to do a shaft one :D. I would go for the cheaper option as it wont make a big difference in my opinion. Roro spools are good quality like Avail...

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@tmzzlo hey there! Yea I think you are correct. Titanium shaft and some alum alloy for the spool material. Unfortunately, this spool doesn’t seem to have the SiC ball inserted into the tip of the spool shaft. In any case I do believe roro makes good quality products but I have noticed that their design is very similar to some other aliexpress spools. Cheers!

[@bubblebreeze1635]

I've heard other places commenting its like a work horse reel for BFS so would this work more in the power finesse range? I've been planning to get a light ML or M power crank bait rod to cast 1/4 ounce crank baits. I know I can get regular casting reels for 1/4 ounce but I was wanting something inbetween so I can use on a BFS rod one trip, then switch to the crank bait rod on a different reel.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Yea I think this reel will fit that for you nicely. It’s a bit on the higher price range imho but there’s also the slx bfs which is very similar to this that you can look at. That reel is only available from jdm retailers. What will really open up the versatility of this and the slx bfs reel are aftermarket spools from avail and roro. You can also further upgrade the reels by adding more bearings which should make them smoother and get rid of wear items like bushings. My next video will show the teardown of this reel and show where you can upgrade those bushings to bearings. Cheers!

[@bubblebreeze1635]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thanks for the response. That's what I was thinking when you mentioned the avail and roro spools. I could use line for the power finesse on the heavier stock spool, then bring an after marker spool with me to switch out for line.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@bubblebreeze1635 yep! There’s another KZbinr who has a slx, scorpion and Curado bfs and he’s upgraded all the bearings. My video showing where the bearings need to go in the Curado should come out this coming week but I believe he has something coming out soon as well. @itmustbethebait is his KZbin channel. Cheers! PS if you want to speak more directly come find me on Instagram. Much easier to chat there!