I have an extra 7’ medium casting rod without a reel and now need another bait caster. The other matching rod has an Abu S 5500 on it and is a near perfect match. Yes, the cheapest Ambassadeur made but I really like it so far. I’m trying to narrow down my choices.
1. I stumbled on a cheap used Abu. It’s a Vantage VXL 5000c and is green in color. Google searches turn up next to nothing. I think it’s an older Sweedish made one. Anybody have any information about this particular model Abu that they care to share? May be worth buying regardless at $20. Must have been decent because it’s gone already.
Any thoughts on these choices? Budget possibly lends itself to a used Calcutta, but definitely not a new Calcutta. Say $100 budget. I’m expecting the Calcutta be the favorite suggestion, but I’m just frustrated with a couple other Shimano reels that have been disappointing. Best bang for the buck the better since I’m probably going to be buying another spinning reel to replace the two busted Shimano reels very soon as well.
Roger that. I’m more of a low profile guy myself but for a classic round, the Abu Garcia family of round reels are tough to beat for the money. Plus it’s usually pretty easy to find local repair/service shops for Abu.
Earn it everyday
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Check out your local flea markets. You can usually find the used round reels there with reasonable prices. A lot of largemouth guys have them laying around having changed to the lighter low profile reels. My biggest fish to date on a low profile Pflueger was a 25+ lbs. flathead. In my opinion the round reels will last forever and have a larger line capacity, but I like the lighter low profiles for all day largemouth fishing trips.
I have large hands and those little reels just don’t feel right. Not to mention they’re all ugly as sin, IMO of course Sounds dumb, but if it doesn’t feel as good in my hand, and on top of that hurts the eyes to look at, I know it’ll just sit in the rod holder and never get used. I like to minimize my amount of time spend fiddling around retying baits when I want to change, so I carry many options with me. Spinners in 2500, 3000 (x3), 4000 and baitcasters in Ocean Master 2000 on a little heavier rod and another Abu 5500 on the TFO I have an extra of for this reel purchase. I never spend all day throwing the same combo, so I’m not overly concerned with the comfort of throwing one combo (or style combo) for an entire day.
I’m leaning more and more towards another Abu. Just struggling to decipher all the models, C3, C4, C5, Record, D5, D6, EXT, EXT-PRO, STX, SX, S, BCX, Mag, Mag Elite, Pro Rocket…WTF, why is so complicated. Then that drives me back to looking at the Calcutta since there’s only a couple different models to worry about getting the right one… 200, 250, or 200B.
I’m scratching the Fin-nor. Cool reel for a collector, but there’s gotta be a reason this is the only one I’ve ever seen and it’ll most likely be a pain to get parts and service for.
I have an old Curado bantam 200b green that’s been used over 10 years in the salt. I’ve had it serviced every 3-4 years and it’s been great. I understand the Shimano lineup has flip flopped over the years but have managed to find a few more of these used bantams so should be good for life.
Sounds dumb, but if it doesn’t feel as good in my hand, and on top of that hurts the eyes to look at, I know it’ll just sit in the rod holder and never get used. I like to minimize my amount of time spend fiddling around retying baits when I want to change, so I carry many options with me. Spinners in 2500, 3000 (x3), 4000 and baitcasters in Ocean Master 2000 on a little heavier rod and another Abu 5500 on the TFO I have an extra of for this reel purchase. I never spend all day throwing the same combo, so I’m not overly concerned with the comfort of throwing one combo (or style combo) for an entire day.