ambassador 7000i?

[bgreen82]

found a place to get a combo with this reel and either a 7 or 8 ft.(prolly looking more at the 8) medium heavy rod for $100. dont know much about big cat reels and such as i only have a 7ft. king kat pro spinning combo right now. been looking around for a baitcaster(nothing will beat the sound of the line alarm). this is right around my price range. guess the abu garcia name is really what caught my attention the most. any help on whether or not this is a decent setup or what else might be for around the same price would be appreciated.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I've looked at the 7000i and it looks to be a solid reel. I think I will be picking one up this spring. I do know of one guy who bought one of the combos you're referring to (Catfish Connection, I would imagine). He said the rod will work, but it's not a great rod--the tip is pretty heavy. All in all, not a bad deal, though.

[bgreen82]

that is the deal i was referring to. the reel alone is like $86 alone in there catalog. can you get a better rod than the one they offer with it for about $20. i dont know much about cattin rods yet.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Maybe not $20, but for not too much more. I'd take a look at the Berkley Glowsticks and Quantum Big Cats. Both can be had for about $40 and are good options. I love my Big Cat and I have plenty of friends that are happy with their Glowsticks.

Not to dissuade you from getting the combo, but that is my opinion.

[Catfishunter]

what reel out of catfish connection would be good for my flathead needs? looking for a baitcaster around $80 and prefer a abu garcia. I have a 8' mh glow stick to pair it up with. I only come down 4 or 5 times a year but love going after them big flats.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'd get the 7000i if I were you. The 6500C3 is also a good reel, but if you want it just for flatheads, I'd say 7000i. It's $86 in CC and there is a $10 rebate, so that is about the price you're looking to spend.

[bgreen82]

would you say the 6500c3 is a better all around catfish reel. catfish connection has an 8ft. glowstick/6500c3 combo for $95. if i were interested in targeting more channels with some flattys would this be a good option?

[PierBridge]

Great option!

Many a big Flathead have been caught on a 6500......my ABU 6000 has landed a few Flats and Sturgeons with no problems.... so far!

[buzbunni]

I think combo's are generally a pretty good option price wise, it just seems that they alway's skimp a bit on(in my opinion)the stick.

I've got some cheaper rods that work pretty decent for most applications, and quite frankly, for your second set-up, I think that's a pretty good deal. The more you get into any specific type of angling, the more you can narrow down your personal equipment applications. Heck, on CC the reel goes for $86.00 alone, and if you want to add another rod later, you have that option.

I'm with PierBridge as far as my reel choices go. With the reintroduction of the Big Game 6500 series, I don't really see the need for a 7000 series reel for flatcatfishing. I want to reiterate I am referring to the Big Game series 6500; not other 6500 series reels. I prefer the Big Game 6500 because(among other things) it comes standard with the power handle(as does the 7000). The main reason I prefer it to the 7000 is series because it weighs several ounces less than any similar 6500 series reel. With today's superline options, combined with the fact that you don't need to go into the backing while fishing cats, I think the 6500's are a better option. Yeah, cat guys aren't casting all day like Musky junkies are, but I still prefer a lighter reel in any application if I can get away with it.

I know many flatcat fisherman (more successful than me ) that prefer the 7000 series for the lower gear ratio they offer, but(and I may be in the minority here), I don't think lower gear ratio is all that important while fishing cats. In fact I prefer a higher gear ratio.

Why? Think of how you fight a catfish (or most fish for that matter). Rarely are you reeling while you are pumping the rod. Most of the time you pump the rod to bring the fish in, and then you use the reel to pick-up the slack; therefore I feel a larger gear ratio to be superior in this case. Of course the bigger drag area could be of benefit, but I find the drag in the 6500's to be more than adequate.

There, I'm done.

Now, bring on the melt!

[Ralph Wiggum]

I've got a 6500C3 w/ the carbon matrix drag and a power handle and I think it is a great all around cat reel.

The benefits I like in the 7000 series reels is a bigger drag and a better clicker. When fishing moderate to heavy current, the clicker on a 6500 is just too wimpy--the current and bait combine to pull line out. Of course you can crank the spool tensioner down, but that's a pain in the butt because you have to constantly adjust to cast and then readjust to fish. The 7000 series Abus and the Tekotas from Shimano have a much stouter clicker so this is not an issue.

By all means, though, the 6500 series Abus will handle flatheads without a problem.

[hanson]

The thing with cat rods is $40 will get you one heck of a good rod. $20 gets you a piece of ****.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I don't like pieces of ****

[hanson]

I thought that was better than...

"pieces of (Contact Us Regarding This Word)"

[buzbunni]

Yup. I don't like [PoorWordUsage]y rods either.

How's that ?

[rushing]

I just picked up a Abu 7001i from CC prolly gonna get a carbon matrix drag for it but besides that it seems to be a fine reel. I had a 65001C3 with a power handle and carbon matrix drag and it was a great reel but it just looked too small on my rod.

[Canuck]

I use 7s and 65s for channels and find both work fine. The 6500 has a faster retreive and I actually like it better for sturgeon and fishing kitties myself but then I put the power handle on it. I really like the 7000 if somebody else who is a novice at kitty fishing is using it as most novices get too excited and try and reel when they are pumping or the kitty is running. The gears really do not like that. The 85 bucks sounds cheap for what we have to pay up here.

Personally I think alittle too much is put into the reel and NOT enough into the rod. The rods fights the fish as much as the reel. Anybody who has fished with me know how I am always looking for better rods and each different type of cat fishing requires a different rod, with circle hooks, corking, long lining or for that matter different rates of river flow. Maybe I have too many rods but so be it.

[Farmboy1]

I picked up the combo deals from CC on the 7000. I needed one as did my Dad so I got the 7' and the 8' combos. By getting the combos, your cost is above the $99 mark, which gets you a rebate from Abu Garcia for a few bucks. All in all, you end up getting the rod from free if you get the combo, you have to pay shipping on it.

The reels seem real nice, but they have not seen the water as of yet. The rods are similar to an oak tree, with not much "forgiveness" in them. For the price though, I will hold on to them in case I break another rod.

FB

[stam34]

i don't know how far you live from spirit lake ia but you can pic up c3 7000 for 40.00 dollars they are refurbished but i can't tell the difference from the new ones but the price is great. they will clean that reel every year for know charge also . you can get on the internet and punch up FFo.com and that should take you to there outlet store and they have good deals on there also . they had about a week ago big game 10000 for 90.00 dollars. hope this will help Stam34