Bigger and better, the Shimano Citica D edges into previous
generation Curado territory (continued)
Casting
cont'd:
Overall I would rate the
Citica as good when it comes to distance and excellent when it comes to
accuracy. One of the advantages of the new longer body is an extremely wide
opening allowing exceptional access to the spool. From just about any angle you
hold your rig, whether palming or gripping the cork of your rod you will be able
to address the spool with no difficulty.
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Yes, even
the cast control knob is now metal, and notice the aluminum handle is ported
for weight reduction....very nice touches |
Retrieve: Want more
power? In this category the Citica D is a world better than the previous model.
Anglers may have sacrificed some ergonomics with the increased reel dimensions
but as a tradeoff they receive massive new gears. It’s hard to believe the
previous generation Citica was only a 2 bearing reel. The new D reel features 5
bearing design, and the refinement in retrieve is noticeable. To further add to
the smoother retrieve the frame of this reel is all aluminum, and helps keep the
oversized gearing in check even when ripping hard.
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The
Curado D is made in Japan while the Citica is made in Malaysia, as
illustrated on the reel's recessed foot |
The tolerances are tight for
a reel of this price. The “HEG” is more than just oversized gearing, but also
features an advanced setplate to deal with the increased torque. What does this
mean for anglers? This essentially means a silkier more controlled retrieve
making it easier to muscle in big fish, and expands the application range of the
Citica to handle bigger inshore species and even hard fighting reds. Bass after
bass the Citica didn’t break a sweat when it came time to hauling bucketmouths
up from below. The fish that were over the 4lb class could be muscled in as
well, but we let the drag do the work to prevent potential break offs.
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For a big
reel the Citica D sits exceptionally low |
Drag:
Speaking of the drag…as expected the Citica makes use of Shimano’s newer soft
Dartanium drag washers. This material offers the same stopping power of the
original hard Dartanium drags but builds up lest dust, allowing the drag to
perform optimally for a much longer period of time. Adjusting the drag is also
made easy with the all aluminum drag star that features a clicking mechanism for
more accurate adjustment and less chance of the drag backing out of your
predetermined setting on accident. In the lab the drag tested out at 10.3lbs of
counter pressure at full lock which is .3 lbs more than the actual published
spec
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The low
profile actually helps make this reel more palmable than we expected |
Ergonomics: I have to
admit the first time I saw the CI200D I was a bit taken aback by the reel’s
stretched out profile. Sure, for anglers with large hands this is a boon but for
others the extended profile means trickier palming right? Wrong. The minute I
put the reel on the Kistler rod I noticed how extremely low the reel sat on the
seat. While the length of the reel may seem large it sits further down inside
your palm, still feeling reasonably natural.
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Turn the key
1/4 rotation and you have access to the VBS |
Another major enhancement in
terms of ergonomics is the comfortable septon grips, and the 200DPV actually
features oversized power paddles to aid in serious cranking. Finally Shimano
tops it off in a feature we didn’t see in the Curado 100D, and that is the ¼
turn easy access sideplate. No more complete rotations to access the VBS, just
rotate the key 25% and it flips out and down instantly allowing for even quicker
adjustments in the field.
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Like most
Shimano's the sideplate remains connected making it easier to make on the
fly adjustments without having to worry about dropping your sideplate into
the water |
Next Section: Durability, Price,
and the breakdown...
