Saw Elite Series Pro Using Old Bantam Curado To Win 2025
The Rooster reply :
I flipped on the TV today and caught the last few minutes of the Pride of Georgia tournament where Steve Kennedy was using a B series Curado Bantam reel to win it. That reel is fairly old. I thought all those guys would be sponsored by some reel company and would be using a currently offered reel to fish with.
endless reply :
I guess it's fish with what you trust in. I bet it was a nice site too see as well.
Hooligan reply :
That wasn't a B series, Rooster, sorry. Kennedy fishes swimbaits on a Curado 300DSV. I know the show in question and the particular clip, I thought it was initially, too. Alas, I was wrong.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I could have sworn it was an old green "B" he was tossing. Even if it wasn't I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a few of them running around on the pro tour. They were and still are a solid reel that is easy to modify and work on.
Marty reply :
I don't keep close track of these things, but I know that some well-known names at one time or another lacked a sponsor in some tackle category such as rods, reels, line, crankbait or what have you. Perhaps with companies cutting back expenses in this economy, maybe even more pros lack some sponsorships.
The Rooster reply :
I wonder how long any reel would truly last a pro fishing the Elite series anyway?? I'd bet they see a significant amount more wear than any of ours do and don't get serviced nearly as much due to time constraints.
The Rooster reply :
On 9/24/2011 at 10:51 AM, Hooligan said:That wasn't a B series, Rooster, sorry. Kennedy fishes swimbaits on a Curado 300DSV. I know the show in question and the particular clip, I thought it was initially, too. Alas, I was wrong.
Isn't the 300DSV a gray color?? This was definitely green. Also, check out these links, and notice where it says what reel, it's listed as Shimano Curado ("old style"). Of course the words "old style" don't rule out a DSV but I'd say based on this and it's green color, it's far less likely. The second link is a photo of the reel in question. When I click it and it loads, the mouse cursor allows me to left click one time to magnify it. It's easy to tell it's a B series reel.
http://www.bassmaster.com/gear/2011-pride-georgia-best-baits-and-techniques
http://files.worldfishingnetwork.com/Images/news/tournament/kennedy_bass_2011_large.jpg
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 9/25/2011 at 10:17 AM, The Rooster said:Isn't the 300DSV a gray color?? This was definitely green. Also, check out these links, and notice where it says what reel, it's listed as Shimano Curado ("old style"). Of course the words "old style" don't rule out a DSV but I'd say based on this and it's green color, it's far less likely. The second link is a photo of the reel in question. When I click it and it loads, the mouse cursor allows me to left click one time to magnify it. It's easy to tell it's a B series reel.
http://www.bassmaster.com/gear/2011-pride-georgia-best-baits-and-techniques
http://files.worldfishingnetwork.com/Images/news/tournament/kennedy_bass_2011_large.jpg
The article says he used an "old style" curado for the Kinami Flash. It just says Shimano Curado for the "undisclosed discontinued Bass Pro swimbait." 
You're right though, the DSV was greyish-silver and the reel I remember seeing was dark green and not one of the new Curados. Maybe he had it custom painted to confuse everyone 
tbird reply :
I saw a fishing show a while back with Greg Hackney fishing in a backwater cypress swamp, he was using an old Curado B with some of the paint missing on it.He was flipping a jig to cypress trees.
T
Hooligan reply :
On 9/25/2011 at 1:54 PM, Bluebasser86 said:The article says he used an "old style" curado for the Kinami Flash. It just says Shimano Curado for the "undisclosed discontinued Bass Pro swimbait."
You're right though, the DSV was greyish-silver and the reel I remember seeing was dark green and not one of the new Curados. Maybe he had it custom painted to confuse everyone
The only reels I've seen him use for swimbaits are either the Calcutta or Curado 300, that's why I said it. The D series reels look green in the right light, too. It's that goofy Silver green, though.
Sam reply :
The pros want us to believe they are using the products of their sponsors but in reality each has their own favorites.
My old friend who was sponsored by a specific company had to put on their shirt and hold up a bass with that company's rod and reel in the photos I took when he caught the bass on another company's equipment.
I don't think you guys are supposed to be able to figure this out and the pros try to protect their sponsors as best the can when the camera is rolling. 
J Francho reply :
It depends on the contract. I know someone with two rod sponsorship deals right now.
Glenn reply :
Steve does not have a reel sponsor this year. So he's free to chose any reel he wants to use. Plain and simple.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
If you're not in a position to purchase or have a new reel provided for you the Curado B's are a bullet proof great casting reel. Still, the reel of choice regardless of model is only one piece of a puzzle that needs to be put together to win an event like that.
Hooligan reply :
On 9/28/2011 at 6:25 PM, Sam said:The pros want us to believe they are using the products of their sponsors but in reality each has their own favorites.
My old friend who was sponsored by a specific company had to put on their shirt and hold up a bass with that company's rod and reel in the photos I took when he caught the bass on another company's equipment.
I don't think you guys are supposed to be able to figure this out and the pros try to protect their sponsors as best the can when the camera is rolling.
I disagree heartily, Sam. They may have their favorites, but I know of not one pro on the Elite Series, or that is a FLW contender that will disregard their sponsorship in that manner. For that matter, as long as I've been around it (and as others will attest to) I have known only one BASS pro that eschewed his sponsors gear to fish with that of his preference. In very simple terms, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. You may see it from a local or even regional pro, and there's probably a reason they're local or regional regardless of how they could fish with "the big boys".
jj2 reply :
was at a fishing show this spring david fritts was speaking about crankbaits and the reel he was demostrating with and said it was his favorite crankbait setup was a old model lews speedspool
The Rooster reply :
Dave Fritts has been a Speed Spool advocate for a long time. Even his Bass Pro Shops branded reel that was offered under his name resembled an old Speed Spool until they finally quit offering it a few years ago. I wonder how he'll be on the new Speed Spool reels they have now??
The Rooster reply :
On 9/28/2011 at 2:04 PM, Hooligan said:The only reels I've seen him use for swimbaits are either the Calcutta or Curado 300, that's why I said it. The D series reels look green in the right light, too. It's that goofy Silver green, though.
Color aside, I saw other characteristics that made me think B series. The drag star was graphite, and also the shape of the reel's nose and how it looked across the front part of the frame just in front of the spool, being a straight line across instead of any curve, all that gave it away to me. It's listed as a Curado but it has the smaller grips, not like the newer ones. The handle shank also has no holes in it.
Al Wolbach reply :
I had recorded that show on my DVR. Pulled it up and watched. Sure looks like a "B" to me.........Al
J Francho reply :
The green B had plenty line cap. for swimbaits.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 9/30/2011 at 12:44 AM, J Francho said:The green B had plenty line cap. for swimbaits.
I actually use one of the 200B's for swimbaits 6" and smaller with 20lb P-line CXX. It does what I need it to do well.
stkbassn reply :
This response is a bit late but related....I didn't see the show that is highlighted here but I saw one of the top pros recently (can't remember his name off the top of my head and it was either Elite or FLW but anyway.....) He was using the All Star 7'10 Telescopic Crankbait rod, the red one, to crank in his limit.....I have the 7'2 of that series and it's a good rod but you can get either for around $70 bucks or less so it came as a surprise to me too! Hey, if you like it you like it...... All Star makes pretty decent rods for the money for sure.
HomersTomaco reply :
Ive always said that the best way to see what products are really good is to see what one of the pros uses when they dont have a sponsor.
The Rooster reply :
On 10/1/2011 at 9:10 PM, HomersTomaco said:Ive always said that the best way to see what products are really good is to see what one of the pros uses when they dont have a sponsor.
Or even more rare, what one uses when they think they are out of sight of a camera. Not likely to happen, but....
BassWhole! reply :
I used to make a good living modifying sporting equipment for proffessional atheletes (not fishing) to make them look like a sponsored brand's model. I'm sure it goes on in all sports. In my experience, manufacturers, agents, and teams were in most cases all aware of it.
The Rooster reply :
On 10/3/2011 at 12:14 AM, reason said:I used to make a good living modifying sporting equipment for proffessional atheletes (not fishing) to make them look like a sponsored brand's model. I'm sure it goes on in all sports. In my experience, manufacturers, agents, and teams were in most cases all aware of it.
Something like that would be wholly misleading to the public. They see the guy using branded equipment and then like how it seemed to work so they buy it and it's not even the same thing. If this goes on in fishing and it came to light, heaven help the guy who got caught. He'd never be trusted again.
basscrusher reply :
Does Shimano even sponsor touring pros? The only guys I've ever seen sponsored by Shimano were guys with TV shows (Dave Mercer, Bob Izumi, Jimmy Houston back in the day, etc). I know many pros use Shimano, but it seems like they just use them w/o the sponsorship.
Hooligan reply :
On 10/3/2011 at 8:06 AM, basscrusher said:Does Shimano even sponsor touring pros? The only guys I've ever seen sponsored by Shimano were guys with TV shows (Dave Mercer, Bob Izumi, Jimmy Houston back in the day, etc). I know many pros use Shimano, but it seems like they just use them w/o the sponsorship.
I don't believe that Shimano sponsors any of the Elite Series pros. I'm not certain, but I don't think they sponsor anyone of the FLW pros either. If they do, it could be simply through the Elite Purchase program like any other pro.
chris fenk reply :
Kennedy has always fished shimano reels. When he won Clearlake a few years back all he had was shimanos on his deck.
Martens fishes shimanos too.
Sam reply :
Hey Hooligan,
Maybe with a camerman in the boat the pros have to use their sponsors gear.
Makes sense to me.
I just related what I saw and how marketing works.
And lets face it. All the name brand rods and reels perform at a quality level. It is us guys who go bonkers when deciding to make a purchase as we do not have the luxury of receivng free or discounted gear.
I don't pay attention to the rods and reels the pros use. I focus on their technique and baits.
Jaheff reply :
I know Shimano sponsors atleast one guy on the SWBA (salt water bass Assoc.)This kid makes his rounds everytime shimano puts on seminars at local tackle shops.He is a great fisherman and a heck of a spokesman.I think Shimano gets the better end of the sponsorship.
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