Casting reel advice needed (Shimano)

[zalan]

I'm preparing for the upcoming season and I'm in trouble what to do with reels. I had lots of random tackle, rods did not match up with reels properly and many lures I never use, so I decided to do a house clearing. I put up all my casting gear for sale and it looks like I can start from scratch again.
Generally I fish from the bank, mostly from small piers. The local waters do not really have covers, only the piers I'm standing on and some vegetation along the shoreline. Fish also not too big, my biggest so far is 4-4.5lbs and I would say that anything over 4lbs is huge and over 5lbs is a trophy fish. Most of them are in the 1-3 lbs range. I normally take 1 or 2 setups with me as I do not like to carry more. My question is should I go with one spinning and one casting setup or should I go with 2 casting? I have a ML spinning setup which I like, I can use that if needed, but I'm not so sure about the casting part. I mainly fish soft plastics and jigs with some hardbaits here and there (topwater, jerkbait and lipless cranks only). I would need to cover these techniques.
I'm in a process of selling a Sol, a Curado 51E and a Pluton. For the money I get for these, I can get one top-end reel, basically anything, or I can get 2 decent ones, like 2 new Curados or something like that.What would you guys do in my place?
I consider myself a Shimano guy, at least their reel interest me the most. I could try the new Conquest for example, should I go that way, or just buy 2 Curados (70 & 200 size)? Or something in between? I will have an old Morrum left which can also be used if needed (or sold), but I would need to buy some upgrade parts for that to do that, this is also an option. Or should I just save money and a get a single Curado an move on?
What I realized during the years, I do not need to many combos, too many reels as I only use one at a time and carrying many is really not an option. I value quality over quantity.
Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance!

[fisherrw]

a metanium is a good reel i would check in to.

[IAY]

Metanium.

[phatbass]

Metanium.

x2

[aquaholik]

Keep the Sol and buy the SV spool for it.

[zalan]

The Sol is already gone. I will check out the Metanium. Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep them coming

[new2BC4bass]

You don't like the Curado 51E? Or just want a new reel? The 51E and a MF should work pretty good for you. If you want a new Shimano, I can't help you as mine are all older models.

Looks like you prefer a LH reel. If open to another brand, I can suggest the Okuma Helios Air. Freshwater only, tho. I was impressed from the very first cast. Enough so that I bought a second (both are lefties). If you don't mind using a RH reel, another reel I absolute love is the Pinnacle Primmus. Purchased 2 more of them. Both weigh less than 6 oz.

I took the Primmus, Helios Air and Curado 201E7 to Florida with me at the end of January. All 3 had been set up at home with me casting standing up in the open. In Florida I sat in the front of a 14' dinghy, and had to restrict my backstroke. The Helios and Curado both required more brakes and a slight increase in spool tension. The Primmus required no fine tuning. Did I mention that I love this reel?

[Markanthony404]

I vote for 1 spinning and 1 casting, you will be more versatile. Since you only want 2 reels buy the very best you can afford. The Conquest will blow you away, if I only could use one reel that would be it hands down! The Chronarch ci4 or Metanium will also work well. For spinning both of the Stadics are some of the best in the class. Daiwa also makes some great spinning reels, check out the Ballistic. If I wanted to save some money on 2 casting reels the Curado would be the way to go.

[zalan]

Thanks guys for the tips!

#new2BC4bass: I like the Curado, but it looks like I can sell it very close to the price of a new 201i, so I thought why not? I only fish left handed reels, so Pinnacle is out. Regarding Okuma, I do not remember which reels I handled in the past, but I did not like any of them and I'm not going to take a gamble on it and order blindly.

I spent last night reading reviews and older topics on this forum and it looks like both the Conquest and the Metanium would be a great pick. Noone posted bad things about any of them. I saw that there is a new version of Metanium coming out shortly, unfortunately the left handed version will start shipping at the end of May which is too late for me. So this probably made the decision for me. I mean I do not want to spend big money on a reel when there is a new version coming out at the same price and it will cast 20% further. I would not feel comfortable with it. So I'm going to order the Conquest 101HG later today when I receive the money for the Pluton. Together with the money I got for the Sol, I will have enough to buy the Conquest. And to be honest, I always wanted one since I saw the announcement. It was just too expensive too add to my arsenal when I had perfectly fine reels. Since I just trade in two of my older reels for this, I do not feel bad about it

[Bassmar]

Thanks guys for the tips!

#new2BC4bass: I like the Curado, but it looks like I can sell it very close to the price of a new 201i, so I thought why not? I only fish left handed reels, so Pinnacle is out. Regarding Okuma, I do not remember which reels I handled in the past, but I did not like any of them and I'm not going to take a gamble on it and order blindly.

I spent last night reading reviews and older topics on this forum and it looks like both the Conquest and the Metanium would be a great pick. Noone posted bad things about any of them. I saw that there is a new version of Metanium coming out shortly, unfortunately the left handed version will start shipping at the end of May which is too late for me. So this probably made the decision for me. I mean I do not want to spend big money on a reel when there is a new version coming out at the same price and it will cast 20% further. I would not feel comfortable with it. So I'm going to order the Conquest 101HG later today when I receive the money for the Pluton. Together with the money I got for the Sol, I will have enough to buy the Conquest. And to be honest, I always wanted one since I saw the announcement. It was just too expensive too add to my arsenal when I had perfectly fine reels. Since I just trade in two of my older reels for this, I do not feel bad about it

Good Idea. Get the best you can afford and you will never regret it. And the Conquest is the best.

[Bass1980]

I'm not the biggest round reel fanatic. I just like the feel of low pros more. With that said as of late the most fun of the reels I own is my Conquest 101HG. Pair that with my X7 Extreme Mission and it's one super versatile setup. Btw it's night and day with the smoothness and refinement of the conquest vs curado. Not even on the same level.

[zalan]

Thanks Guys! I ordered the Conquest, hopefully I will not regret it The only problem it could be a week or two before I get it as it is likely to go through customs.

[tonyex]

Good Idea. Get the best you can afford and you will never regret it. And the Conquest is the best.

X2. All my reels has been replaced to 2014/2015 Conquests. The best reel question is impossible to answer, but can not go wrong with a Conquest.

//T

[chreim20]

I would look into the metanium as well. It does so well at casting a wide range of lures, it's light, and it will hold it's value in case you wanted to sell it down the road. Probably go with the 7.4 to 1 gear ratio as well. If you want a budget choice, I'd look at an old curado or chronarch 200e7, they are great reels and can still be found floating around.

[egore1]

The Conquest 100HG is my favorite reel right now, and its stacked against some hefty competition. D7, Cl200DC, Metanuim XG, CL100, they all take a back seat for the little round reel. I love the smoothness of it compared to other reels. I put braid on my set up for increased line capacity because I threw to the arbor knot too often. Its a great reel, hope you enjoy it as much as I do.