The curado uses little plastic weights on one side of the spool to brake it. To get at them, unscrew the side plate on the opposite side from the handle. You'll see six spokes on the side of the spool and each one has a tiny little chunk of plastic on the end. You can push these chunks in two different positions, in or out. The more you have on the out position (closer to the rim of the spool) the slower the spool will spin and it will be easier to cast. You might want to try it out first with all the pins pushed out. You can also slow down the spool by adjusting the knob underneath the star drag. The pins are more effective though.

A good lure to practice with is a 1/2 oz rattle trap. And it will catch fish now too. Another thing that reduces backlashes for me is to cast sidearm. Don't know why, but it seemed to help when I was learning.

Good luck,

Nico