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Posts: 7038
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | RockinSV had a good idea. Whats your favorite reel? Add your own options, these were the first I could think of. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I have two of the 5600C Pro series reels with hundreds and hundreds of hours on them. Bought them for $30 apiece in a closeout booth at the Walleye Expo 3 years ago. Should have bought a dozen, darn it. |
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| What? No true right handed reels?????????????????????? |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | .
Edited by C_Nelson 6/7/2008 2:10 PM
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| Picking a favorite would be impossible for me since I only own three on the list. Over the last 20 years tho I would say my Shimano reels have outlasted everything else. Okuma spinning reels have been good too, ABU baitcasts have been plagued with problems.
jed |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | I have three Shimano Curado CU-200's. I really like these, they are small, easy to palm and when properly setup they are pretty backlash proof. They have very smooth drags. However, the downside is that the drag seems to be temp sensitive when you have it cranked down for hook sets. I noticed when the temp's get down to under ~35 degrees F the drags slip after a while. Then I have to clamp the ole thumb down and clamp the line with with the other hand. It's a pain in the as$, and cost me a few fish the last week of November here in Wisconsin.
Oh yeah- another "small problem", I lost the cast control knob's on two of them (This puts friction on the reel spool to prevent backlashes at the end of the cast). It's got me stumped how they came off by themselves, they are located under the crank handle so I know I'm not accidentally hitting them with my hand or fingers.
Anyone else have the same problems with these? Of course the "educated thumb" solves both problems. Time to get them in for cleaning & repairs.........
Maybe it's time for a Calcutta 400 or a 400TE.
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 12/30/2004 8:19 AM
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | Spidercast SCP900 has been my reel of choice for a number of years.
An engineer from Johnson Worldwide came to our Milwaukee Chapter of Muskies Inc. meeting to talk. At the time he was developing a high end ($$$$) saltwater reel series for Johnson Worldwide to compete with the $2000 reels some competitors were making. He accepted the assignment but wanted to develop a quality muskie reel at the same time. He brought a couple of prototypes with him that looked and felt great. When they finally came out I bought two, retailed at $130, on sale for $99. They performed far better than I had hoped. They outperformed the reels that I was using that retailed for double the cost of the Spidercast reels.
I took two retired ex-employees of Johnson Worldwide out fishing who said that the company store would sell them as many as they wanted for $30/ea! I ordered 12, for friends and myself! Being that they were retired, by the time they got around to going to the store a month later, Berkley had come in and bought a huge portion of Johnson Worldwide, including the Spidercast reel line. The day that the guys got to the company employee store was the day after it was emptied!! I called Berkley, who said that they had intended to market that reel with their fishing line for the next Christmas season. They didn't. I was able to find two other reels in that model. I don't know what I will use when these wear out.
Edited by Steve Van Lieshout 12/30/2004 11:19 AM
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Posts: 425
Location: Elkhart, IN | ESOX, I have two of the Curado 100's I've used for bass fishing quite heavily and have not had that happen. |
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| I have used 6500 C4's and never had a problem with them exept for drag washers, and that was from trolling at high speed with big lures and a lot of weight. I use Penn 310's and 320's for trolling now, and they are like a rock. I am using the 6500's for bucktails and small cranks and 5600 C5 Mag-x's for large cranks. The lower ratio on the 5600C5 makes a big difference. I can't say they are better than other brands, but they work for me. |
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Posts: 96
| If you like the Curados,you should check out the Calais. The low profile makes casting 10-12 hours a breeze.
I know it's big bucks, but for casting bucktails and medium baits it's the best.
With the 7'7" Loomis muskie medium you can cast it mile and it has had no problems with multiple 40" to 48" fish.
60 to65# Powerpro or Spiderwire seems to be the best size line.
Fish on musky39 |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Al, I also love the Curados, though I was scolded a few times by brass at Shimano for using them for musky fishing. I kept bending the spool with the heavier lures. I still use them in the spring for twitchng though as they pick up line awfully quick with the 6.2:1. You should be able to get the little cap from Shimano. |
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Posts: 561
Location: Monee, Illinois | This is VERY HELP FULL!!!
PGA |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Jason, Thanks- all three are going in for service- I spoke with a repairman, his first comment was they couldn't handle big muskies, i.e., the anti-reverse mechanizim would fail. One is ~ 9 years old & the other two are newer. I'm really not throwing real heavy lures, up to ~ 1.5 oz. Besides, my 56 yr old arms & shoulders wouldn't be able to handle throwing the big stuff all day long. Slinging that big stuff is for the young whipper snappers. The way I see it it's the old bull's versus the young bull's. The old bull's fish smarter!
Have fun
Al |
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Posts: 7038
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | A good informational posts. |
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Posts: 724
Location: Southern W.Va. | Have to be my 6500C3TCM, bigger crank and seems to be easier on me to use.
Mauser |
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| picking a favorite would be very tough...all reels are tools and should be used for the right job...
Favorite for grinding and tossing spinnerbaits is the Penn 975...perfect gear ratio at 4.5 to 1
Favorite for slingin inline topwater...Quantum Cabo PTS 30...
Favorite for dawgs, joes etc, Abu 6500 CL Big Game or Abu 7000 CL Big game with Calcutta TE custom fitted
Favorite for crank baits and most bucktails, Morrum
Favorite for Jerkbaits and side to side topwaters...Morrum
I haven't given my Record enough water time yet but I would think it would be right there with the Morrums I have....
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Posts: 1270
| Overall my two favorites are the Morrum 6600CL and the Abu BG7000HSN. |
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Posts: 1168
| Didn't see a Zebco 33 classic up there. Kidding... How many times can I vote for the Record series? |
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| Luna! |
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Pro Shop 6500, caught my first pike with it, my first Atlantic salmon, casts like a dream and it was my first baitcastingreel.
Now a days I only use it for salmon.
Michael |
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Posts: 239
Location: Madison, WI | Calcutta 400 has been my go to reel for years. I have only had to send one back for service in 8+ years. I do clean and lube them frequently. Wish I could justify a TE, I can only imagine.
I also have a Morrum and last week added a Luna. In limited action the Luna has a thumbs up! Very smooth drag (3 fish under it’s belt already), comfortable handle and no plastic parts inside should make it durable & reliable. Both important!
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Posts: 34
Location: Iowa | The 400TE is nice. It helped my fish in the boat percentage with the drag system and hook setting power. |
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Posts: 381
| Shimano 400TE hands down!
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Posts: 20218
Location: oswego, il | My favorite is my calcutta 400 and 250. I will but another 250 when I get the chance. A close second is my garcia 6600 tournament, I have a 5600 tournament I just bought used and will be using that alot too.
For low profile reels, I have a garcia torno 3300, like it alot. My kids have yhe 3400's which are higher speed retrieve and cast even better. I also have a pflueger supreme which is very smooth too. |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | A lot of people will argue with me, but there are better reels and abus in my opinion. I had 3 go bad (1 my fault, now fixed) I have 2 Daiwa Millionaire CVX 253a's that I love. I got them for $60 and $80. But I can't find them anymore. I also have a pflueger trion 56 that I really like. Pflueger is making a lot of quality products right now. I have a couple of their 10 BB president low profile reels for bass and they are amazing.
Other reels I've used for muskies:
Cabela's Megaroyal plus: went bad in 1 day
Abu 6500c4: lasted a couple months, worm gears teeth missing
Abu 6500c3: lasted a couple years...not sure why its not working
Shimano Corsair 400a: lasted a few months then quit working, not sure why
Okuma Nitryx X400: ok...finish feels weird in hands and is very large and heavy....still in use though
Penn 9m, 109, 209m: all great (for trolling)
Abu 5000c (1BB): casts better than c3 or c4, feels smoother and is tougher....kinda weird but I like it other than no thumb bar.
1 more thing. I see no need for wide (6500 size) reels for muskie fishing anymore. If you use 80 lb braid a 5600 size reel is fine. I dont' understand why people would use a heavier reel. I really wish there were more low profile reels availible with a 5.3:1 gear ratio. There are many now that could probobly take the abuse of muskie fishing...just not with a 6.3:1 or 7:1 gear ratio. |
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Posts: 1270
| You must be hard on your reels beyond believe!
I use all 6 and 7 size reels and have tried 5 size and hated it. Yes they hold enough super line especially when you consider that muskys really don't pull drag but even with super line atthe end of the cast the spool is just to small of diameter. You have to crank like a mad man just to bring your bait in. |
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| Shimano Calcutta Conquest TE 400 hands down!
Spendy but worth every penny. Its the souped up version of the regular TE. 8 bearings instead of 4 and different drag system and parts are drilled for lightening. I would buy another one in a minute if i didnt already have 7 rigs right now. Can get them through a guy on Ebay that gets them direct from Japan.
Also like my ABUs they are workhorses but just dont compare for smoothness.
Dan |
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Posts: 6
| My brother and I have Shimano Cardiff 400A reels that are awesome and the price is right. However the models from this year we have had some problems with the bearings on two of the three reels purchased. Reeds is good about replacing them, but the drive to Walker gets expensive. Any body else having problems with this years batch of reels or is it just our luck? |
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Posts: 723
| hands down I love my calcutta Te, I fish comfortably and can pound hooks home with it and not have the drag fail me ever! But I would say my favorite reel was the first one I bought, a garcia 6500 six star! yeah, this reel has held up over 10 years with only putting a new pawl\wormgear in it, caught a lot of big fish with it, and it never failed. Still use it today for a topwater reel, 5.2:1 I believe, cant remember.
If I had a $1000 Id buy 3 TE's and be done with it. |
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Posts: 55
Location: Nekoosa, WI | Abu 7000 series. The finest muskie reel ever made. Not pretty with all the bells and whistles like some reels, but they are built like a tank and made to last. Jason Bovee |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i absolutely pound the calcutta 400's daily and have never had any issues .... quality product and worth the money for me. |
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Posts: 734
| Has anyone used the Calcutta Conquest that MuskyDanno is talking about. I would like to hear the differences between the regular TE's and them. As for my favorite reels, I love TE's and I like the Abu 7000's for bigger stuff. |
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Posts: 4266
| When it comes down to it, I'd rather spend my money on the rod than the reel.
I can't see paying some of the prices out there, when a $60 reel will serve me for years. And after I sat and watch the demo at the Rhinelander outing, I know more about my reels and how to take better care of them.
We are throwing 6 ounce lures around, you sure as hell don't need finese.
What you need is a winch that can handle trowing big lures and reeel them back in. During a battle, you need a good drag. That is more important than magnets on the freespool.
I can see the difference when I'm flipping or pitching or skipping lures when I bass fish. Then a sensitive freespool setting is a must. For muskie fishing, I don't think so.
Whem I'm glider fishing, I am basically reeling in nothing but slack line anyway.
I used to be a Daiwa Rep back in the 70's and 80's, and I am still using the original SS reels that came out back then. Solid brass inside those babies, and they've lasted 30 years. Same goes with some bass-sized baitcasting reels. All brass on the inside and they still work like the day that I took them out of the box.
I'm not a guide. I seem to muskie fish less and less every year, whether it's time constraints or family stuff. But I have 5500C3's that are 3 years old, and now that I learned to clean the right areas and degrease the drag washers, they will last me for many more years.
Give me $300 and I'll go buy 2 St Croixs and put any of my stock of Abus on them instead of dumping that much money on a reel.
Beav |
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Favorite Reel