# New Abu Blue Yonder 6500 size !



## bill bajaj (Sep 15, 2014)

Hello,Anyone tried,seen or got one of the new abu's,sure looks the biz ! Nice colour touch blue spool with blue handle and black frame with blue abu logo ! Its got a new handle and a complete revamp of gearing and heard its ratio is 6:3 but the mag is is the slider type on the frame(something i dont like ! it gets in the way so its gets accidentally knocked off !)otherwise it looks real nice.Is it available yet in the us ? Thanks in advance


----------



## scoutin4reds (Dec 19, 2014)

I own it out of curiosity it I suppose. It is basically the same old CT style mag elite with a faster retrieve. The spool is lighter, but comes with the same old bearings. The brake plate has a place for an ar-dog, but doesn't come with one. The blue yonder on the front feels like either sticker or a screened on paint decal, and should have been supplied with the one piece aluminum frame. Unless you love the color scheme and need to have it, it's not equal to the competition's reels (Akios shuttles) for the same price. And I really don't like the screws on the right side plate, just don't like the idea of not beaing able to access the brake blocks or service the reel easily.


----------



## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

bill bajaj said:


> Hello,Anyone tried,seen or got one of the new abu's,sure looks the biz ! Nice colour touch blue spool with blue handle and black frame with blue abu logo ! Its got a new handle and a complete revamp of gearing and heard its ratio is 6:3 but the mag is is the slider type on the frame(something i dont like ! it gets in the way so its gets accidentally knocked off !)otherwise it looks real nice.Is it available yet in the us ? Thanks in advance


I got one and love it! I'm new to Abu reels though so I don't have previous models to compare it to. I've been using penn squall 12 for past few years on long inshore rods for pier fishing and they served me very well but I wanted to move those to my surf rods and put something lighter on my inshore rod and the new BY feels great! They cast and retrieve ridiculously smooth. Haven't fought a fish on it yet, just did some practice casts and made some adjustments. At 12.2oz it's extremely light and didn't balance well on my 10 ft surf rod for me but it feels excellent on my 8 ft bay rod.


----------



## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Are those made with the original "Swedish" metal internals or the new Chinese "Plastic" internals ?


----------



## scoutin4reds (Dec 19, 2014)

I am not sure what the new Chinese plastic internals are, but there are a few plastic pieces inside still. Nothing that hasn't been plastic since whenever the Mag Elite came out which was maybe 2009 I guess.


----------



## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

Amazing..........People never cease......


----------



## bigfish572 (Oct 7, 2013)

I am still using the old Penn a Fierce reel


----------



## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

You know, i think i prefer the round bar frame instead of the flat one. But its still a fine reel... for me.


----------



## blakdog_tackle (Jan 31, 2010)

scoutin4reds said:


> I am not sure what the new Chinese plastic internals are, but there are a few plastic pieces inside still. Nothing that hasn't been plastic since whenever the Mag Elite came out which was maybe 2009 I guess.


I think you will find the Green Mag Elite has been available since about 2000 (the 09 00 serial on the cage puts it at 99 and I seem to remember getting my own one at about that time). The comments on Chinese placcy always make me laugh .... was Swedish plastic okay? The plastic design of the current 6500s was being phased in during the early 90s ... the much sought after Black CT Rocket brought out in 91 had the plastic yolk and pressure plate. The current plastic parts are more reliable than the early Swedish examples too .... the early ones used a separate spring which put pressure on the release arm at the wrong point and caused the end to wear .. the later version with built in return spring just don't seem to suffer the issue. 

Personally I think the new Blue Yonder will stand out for different reasons than any of those mentioned really. Up until recently, Akios was quite obviously a clone of the ABU .... that is that it followed ABU in design stakes. This model is quite obviously trying to pick up on the general design features that Akios have brought in .... they way they use colour and the raked back design of the drag adjuster and handle. Seems to me that rather than the Akios being a "copy" of the ABU things have changed now and ABU seem to be trying to follow Akios.


----------



## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

I find that the reel is just fine for most. Its just that fishermen are a nostalgic and patriotic lot. This evidenced by the comments on Chinese plastic internals, Chinese assembled reels and in general, the "they've gone downhill since <You fill in the blank>" sentiment all around. From my admittedly limited experience, this has borne out when Shimano went from the Calcutta TE reels to the D, the baitrunner B to the D, and when Abu went from the Blue Yonder of the past to the current one. Now my use for them is not distance cast in to the second bar so take this with a grain of salt. My attraction to them was a need for a ct baitcaster for my bay rods... simply because i prefer a non levelwind and i was attracted to the lightweight of the new BY for that application. I do however plan to downsize it to a 5000 and add a few custom tricks just cause i like to tinker with stuff. NOT THAT WHATS BEEN SAID HERE IS NOT ACCURATE! At the price theyre asking they could give us alot more! Soon after i acquired the BY I acquired an Akios 555ctm and its got the AR Dog, and feels more substantial but thats probably just due to the brass sideplates. But it was like $100 cheaper than the BY! So in conclusion, the new BY appears to be a really good reel at too high a price point.


----------



## Cutbait Bob (Mar 24, 2004)

Anyone fish with braid on a blue yonder? Ex. something like 30 lb braid - think it would cast okay compared to 14 lb mono?? I just got a new rod - a 13' CPS it's beauty! - What do you think?

Bob


----------



## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

One blowup and you've thrown away 40$ of braid


----------



## PandaBearJeff (Aug 19, 2013)

So are you guys saying that even though it says made in sweden engraved/imprinted on the side plate. These things are actually made in china? 

The new ones atleast?


----------



## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

Bob, i fish braid on mine all the time. And i probably have as many blowup as anyone else. The thing is, i find it easy, although time consuming, to pick them out. Ive fished braid on my baitcasters for years and only remember having to cut it out one time. And yes, i was out $40... and yes it sucked. But thats probably why i take the time to pick them out. Its really not that hard.


----------

