baitcaster reels

[rgoi812]

I have been using abu garcia baitcast reels for along time but have the urge to change brands if there is something better out there and i am sure alot of fisherman will think so.I primarily throw heavy spinnerbaits etc. and troll the same weight lures with mine but lately have been getting tired of problems with them.I don't believe its lack of maintenance as I always keep them up and lubed.The little chrome cover for freespooling adjustments are forever disapearing and if I am not paying attention the old backlash tangles get me everytime,annoying at best when your cleaning weeds every cast as it is this time of year.Any suggestions out there ?? How does the cabelas baitcasters hold up?

[Whopper Stopper]

This should be interesting. I have 4 abu garcia baitcast reels, and everyone has had to be sent in to have work done on them. I know I will never buy another one and I will be very interested in finding out which brand the board pro's choose.

WS

[Fishin4Life]

I am no board pro but the two that I have liked extremely well are the Pflueger and the Shimano. I have a Curado that works great and had a Pflueger....something that i really liked also. They are both very smooth and nice to cast. Just my 2 cents. My dad has an old Abu that he won't give up for the world, even for a brand new one.

[Shawnny B]

I second that, I have a Shimano, Diawa, and Pflugger, I have to say I baught the pflugger at Cabellas for around 100 bucks and I love it, I also like my Diawa and Shimano, but they were the mid priced ones about 60-80, and I can tell the difference. A co-fisherperson spends a heck of a lot of money and gets the "supper tuned" reels and he swears by them. Ive also heard that the Gander series is pretty good, but I went Pflugger with my spincast and i dont think Ill go back. I would have to say I got what I payed for. and BTW dont think im a pro, by no means am I. Just wait for Matt and Dietz and the boys to respond, but then again, they have a TON of rods n reels

Shawnny B

[picksbigwagon]

I have a couple bait casters, Abu, Browning yes browning, and a cabgela's black label 2. The Abu is for my muskie set up, the browning is an awesome reel, whished I would have bought three of them at the time, and the cabelas one is used solely for trolling.

My problem is I need a left handed retrieve, not because I am left handed, but I for the life of me, don't feel comfortable cranking a reel with my right hand. Too many years spent with a spinning reel I guess. I would really like a left handed low profile reel for smallmouth fishing small streams. Something that will through 1/8 ounce lures an adequate distance on 8 pound line.

[MuskyBug85]

shimanos for me. i love the new curado almost as much as the old one. I also had the chance to fish with cronarch for a day, WOW, the most amazing reel i have ever handled. i also use calcuttas for muskies and pike. had the other not real impressed. diawa is nice but to get the proformance i want i dont want to spend the money they ask for them. Just my two Cents Jonah

[Quackaddict9]

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i also use calcuttas for muskies and pike. had the other not real impressed. diawa is nice but to get the proformance i want i dont want to spend the money they ask for them.

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well the Diawa Luna is cheaper than the Calcutta isnt it. And why is the performance not that good compared to the Calcuttas?

I personally fish with Abu Garcia and I cant say if I am happy with them because I have not tried any other brand out there except for the shimano corsair I bought 5 years ago, never use it. Basically I dont have the money to spend on the good stuff -talkin' about Lunas/Calcuttas-

[riverrat56]

I really like my Abu, and not being that skilled with a baitcaster with some adjusting I can get it to cast very very nicely with distance and no backlashes.

What kind of problems have people had with them?

[zepman]

I own 2 Abu C4's and love em. I have other baitcating reels as well but none of them lets me flat out bomb away like these reels do. Just bought a 5600 WS from Abu as well and I seem to get the same performance out of this reel as well. For some reason I prefer the round reels over the low profile ones. I've never had one problem with any of them and they're truly like a winch when you need it.

[Whopper Stopper]

I have a 6600C5, and two 5600 SSc3's, I don't remember off hand what the other one was. The two 5600 are on my Musky rods and my wife also has one on hers. What my problem has been is that when you cast them out the reel will not engage. Not a big deal throwing top water but very frustrating throwing big buck tails. I have had each in twice for this problem and now this weekend my Wife's reel started to show signs of the problem. Also my 5600 has another problem which is the small knob on the side will not tighten down enough for throwing heavier baits. All of these reels are under a year and a half old. I think the most it cost be was $30 to get the one fixed and cleaned. Otherwise it is pretty much standard when the shop sends them in.......$5 for postage, Three week wait, $10-$15 on the return. Also we find that the reels squeal like a wounded pig for the first 15-20 throws each outing. Now I was told that Abu was bought by another company not to long ago and that's when a lot of the problems started. Anyone else hear this? I have an older Abu on my bass rod and it has worked great, but it is about 5 years old. Anyway this is my experience, not saying they are all bad but with my batting average I have had enough. I plan to use a couple on my trolling rods just because I have them, and then buy something better for my casting and jerk rod.

WS

[Deitz Dittrich]

Well, to be honest, all the reel manufacures make a decent product. And the old addage, you get what you pay for does hold true when it comes to reels.. yet no matter how much you pay, all will backlash if you are not paying attention!

my suggestion, check out Shimano, Diawa and Quantum.. I think those 3 seem to give you the best bang for the buck.

All of my baitcasters are shimano...

[Wayne Ek]

Deitz and I agree, that alone should go down in FM history Quantum, Shimano & Diawa. All 3 are good reels. Try to stay in the top-end of each line if your budget allows. Backlash "professional over-run" usually happens when: 1. you are not paying attention 2. the reel is not set for the weight lure you are tossing 3. you toss a lite lure into the wind. 4. you get greedy and try for extra distance with to lite of a lure.

[Fishin4Life]

I remember from Jon's seminar at Gander the other day (ok maybe a month ago). He said he ripped out all the brakes in his reels and didn't use them. Now if I did this, haha well, I wouldn't be fishing much (at least not using the reel). How many guys out there do this? If you do, how do you learn to control the spool so well? Do you use constant pressure with your thumb? Or do you use a "stop-go" method? Just curious. For me, breaks are the greatest thing since canned meat.

[big musk411]

Many higher buck reels have casting control, be it magnets or "breaks" in addition to the spool drag. For exaple my Shimano Curado has six breaks the you push in or out to slow down/speed up the spool. My Cabelas prodegy has a magnet dial I think. My Abus do not have this feature. The spool drag is the small knob on the side of all baitcasters, the one you adust to your lure weight every time you put on a new bait. It would make fishing very difficult if you removed your spool drag.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The Abus have a centrifugal brake like the little pins on the Curado, but they are not adjustable. If you pull them apart, the little weights are there. The older ones have only two weights, but the newer ones have six, I believe.

I love my Shimanos. I've got a few Abus, but they are nothing compared to the Shimanos. Haven't owned any of the others, and might not.

[ScottND]

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I have a couple bait casters, Abu, Browning yes browning, and a cabgela's black label 2. The Abu is for my muskie set up, the browning is an awesome reel, whished I would have bought three of them at the time, and the cabelas one is used solely for trolling.

My problem is I need a left handed retrieve, not because I am left handed, but I for the life of me, don't feel comfortable cranking a reel with my right hand. Too many years spent with a spinning reel I guess.

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picksbigwagon...Are you my lost twin?

Ditto on evrything! I wish I would have bought more of the Brownings too...I love mine!