# ABU .... Get the fever...



## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

OK so I am easily addicted to things... Tackle - new tackle - old tackle - just plain tackle --... 
I now want to talk about ABU ...
I have a 6500c3 that has nothing done to it ... One 6500c3 that has the line leveler out of it...
one word S W E E T ...
I am casting 20lb. with 40lb shocker and 3oz weight 120 yards with a controlled cast. Not hard just trying to time the cast right. I will soon cast harder and harder with the same disciplined cast.
I am using a ($35) Pinnacle rod 11ft and a ($54) eliminator casting 11ft. Yep both cheapish off the shelf..
These reels throw a mile and a slight thumb tap and stop it when it hit the water and that is all...
120 yards plus... 
yep 120 yards.... What a great feeling. I know the fish are not always out that far but what a small light reel that I can fish with. I will land anything that I have landed before surf fishing besides some shark... But with the light weight and ease of casting what more can you ask for. 
I would like to personally thank Barty b and RailRoader for my new obsession.. This could be the start of a expensive relationship.. One problem is that the weather has not let me surf fish yet...
Also ... problem.... Not enough cash to have some more fun... 
Get these reels and give them a try.. it will be worth it... 

Oh yeah something else... I was in the hospital last night till this morning so no sleep...because my wife and I are expecting our fourth child...   My wifes labor stopped so no new child yet... Looking forward to another fisherman in the household... Till then I will be casting ABU!!!


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## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

Congrats on the soon to be new addition to your family. Remember, teh more fishers in your family the bigger you bag limit.
Wish i had time to work on my heaver tossing. I have 2 smaller Abu myself but I'm terrible and focus mostly on my spinning reels.


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## barty b (Dec 31, 2004)

*Forth Child!!*

Dang Vic, you ain't figured out what causes that yet?? No, seriously congrats  
Yeah that new found casting thing can open up a whole new world (and bank acct ) You've only just begun!


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## DORIGHT (Dec 1, 2006)

let me guess........your naming it ABU?????

GOOD LUCK


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## BentHook (Dec 22, 2002)

Since this will be your childs only birthday,the rest are just celebrations, I think you ought to get (him-her) a new rod and reel.You mine as well pick up a few extra jigs while your at it.


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

Yeah I am screwed....
I think I have 10 very nice trout fishing (fresh water) sets..... from orvis to sage.
4 quality large mouth bass rigs...
One salt water very nice orvis mach 5 plus custom rod to match....
six inshore sets with 3 being very nice
and 3 spinner pier and surf.. well 4 spinner

and two ABU....
and I am thinking of changing all over to ABU
I am Screwed...

As far as the Fourth.... I still do not know HOW THAT HAPPENS???
Can not wait... I love my kids and it keeps me young... they have all loved to fish and take care of their dad so this is great...!!!


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

BentHook said:


> Since this will be your childs only birthday,the rest are just celebrations, I think you ought to get (him-her) a new rod and reel.You mine as well pick up a few extra jigs while your at it.


Can Dad use if for a few years till he starts with it??


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

VICIII said:


> Can Dad use if for a few years till he starts with it??



NO!!! If you want to do it right, mount a rod holder on the crib and place the rig in the holder. He/she will figure it out, just like they do those mobiles they hang over the cribs.


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## DORIGHT (Dec 1, 2006)

As far as the Fourth.... I still do not know HOW THAT HAPPENS???


PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

Oh no, not the dark side, not Abu. Stick with Shimano, I'm warnin' ya.


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

emanuel said:


> Oh no, not the dark side, not Abu. Stick with Shimano, I'm warnin' ya.


_The force is strong in that one..._

I do use penn and Simano on the pier for now...... but not for long....


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## ASK4Fish (May 4, 2005)

VICIII said:


> _The force is strong in that one..._
> 
> I do use penn and Simano on the pier for now...... but not for long....


the force will be strong in that Abu...until you have to put some real heat on a nice fish...then when your drag locks up you'll wish you had a Shimano...if all you're doing is casting the thing..then fine i'd say Abus are nice...but to make it a GOOD fishing reel, you might as well have bought a calcutta 400s or even a 700s...because thats easily what you'll spend for drag, new frame, handle,etc...not to mention magging which will bring up the bill more...take to mind i say this owning two Abus that are all converted and i use often...I just like Shimanos better as far as stock reels go...


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

ASK4Fish said:


> the force will be strong in that Abu...until you have to put some real heat on a nice fish...then when your drag locks up you'll wish you had a Shimano...if all you're doing is casting the thing..then fine i'd say Abus are nice...but to make it a GOOD fishing reel, you might as well have bought a calcutta 400s or even a 700s...because thats easily what you'll spend for drag, new frame, handle,etc...not to mention magging which will bring up the bill more...take to mind i say this owning two Abus that are all converted and i use often...I just like Shimanos better as far as stock reels go...


I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with all of that except "Abus are nice"...

I've been using them for 25 years, and have put a BUNCH of heat on some heavy fish with nary an indication of "drag lockdown". Big Redfish, Stripers, Sharks, Rays, Jacks, Bonito, etc. IF you see the need to replace a drag stack, it costs 5 bucks...At almost any decent tackle shop. 

Never seen the need to buy a new frame unless I just wanted one....and there sure are some nice ones out there.

Stock handles work just fine...But there ARE a bunch of aftermarket options. Just about anything you want. Singles, Doubles, Power, Speed, even a Quad grip... 

Magging is completely unnecessary, period.

So is changing gears, but with an Abu you can take your pick from 3.8:1 all the way to 7:1. 

With an Abu, you can use it bone stock, or go COMPLETELY overboard with aftermarket hop ups. The choice is yours...

Buy a Shimano, you get what comes in the box, like it or not. In most cases that which comes in the Shimano box is a fine piece of equipment, but to the natural born tinkerer, they are pretty boring. Not much, if any, room for modification or improvement. 

Therein lies the beauty and allure of the Abus, the possibilities are literally endless. 

You can't buy that with Shimano, at any price. 

And Abus STILL cast better than anything out there....


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## Mullet Wrangler (Jul 4, 2003)

#4? Yup, you'll be on a strict budget in no time at this rate. That's a lot of schoolies to keep up with. Might as well stick with some good reels 'cause you'll need to catch a lot of filets to keep all those mouths full!

Congrats. Why didn't I think of that for Christmas??


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## kingfish (Feb 28, 2004)

Mine is abu, if it spools mine yours is spooled also. Mine got more ways to adjust and comes in colors, lighter, casts farther, costs less, a little more upkeep, I used to fish em and hang em up wet, but its more fun to take a little pride of ownership. If you hang any make up wet after fishing in the salt it had better not be long before you touch it again or it want be much to it, sooner than later.

On the other hand old penns will last longer and tote the mail.........but them reels were made in the time of wooden ships and iron men, not iron ships and wooden men.

In fairness, hell nothings fair...............


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

Congrats. Why didn't I think of that for Christmas?? :p[/QUOTE said:


> My fourth is due Christmas...
> Yeah I remember when I could want something and just buy it... Times are different now and have been for quite a few years...
> Got to get the MRS. back to work to afford my tackle ho tendencies..
> 
> ...


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## SLEEPLESS (Mar 31, 2003)

I have a collection of over 20 older ABUs, all made before Garcia joined the team. Every one of them still performs like new and I use several in saltwater exclusively. No problems with drags or anything else except I did have to replace a pawl on one. Not a bad record for so many reels over such a long lifetime. 

Bob


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

hope to have mine that long...
I also hope to have twenty some day..


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## ASK4Fish (May 4, 2005)

Railroader said:


> I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with all of that except "Abus are nice"...
> 
> I've been using them for 25 years, and have put a BUNCH of heat on some heavy fish with nary an indication of "drag lockdown". Big Redfish, Stripers, Sharks, Rays, Jacks, Bonito, etc. IF you see the need to replace a drag stack, it costs 5 bucks...At almost any decent tackle shop.
> 
> ...


i definately do not feel that abus cast better than anything else...if you want to tinker...then buy an abu...i've never messed with my calcutta 400BSV and it still casts better than the abu...


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## SLEEPLESS (Mar 31, 2003)

ASK4Fish said:


> i definately do not feel that abus cast better than anything else...if you want to tinker...then buy an abu...i've never messed with my calcutta 400BSV and it still casts better than the abu...


All of my ABU's are older than you, and they have withstood the test of time very well. I do have a few ABU Garcia's, maybe those newer models are what you are comparing your Calcutta to. Seems like the old ABU models have always been great performers and malfunctions are very rare. Mine are all from the 1960's and the 1970's. I am from the 1930's and the reels are holding up much better than I am.    

Bob


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

ABU (he has a new name now),
Congrats on expecting your fourth. I have three boys. There is nothing better than taking your 5 and 3 year old surf fishing and coming home with pictures of them catching fish. I have one picture of my three year struggling to hold a 7' spinning rod in one hand while proudly holding up a striped bass by the shockleader with his other hand.

I saw a long time ago where you were magging Penn reels. Does this mean you've stopped using the jigmasters and are using the ABUS?


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

HuskyMD said:


> I saw a long time ago where you were magging Penn reels. Does this mean you've stopped using the jigmasters and are using the ABUS?


I still use the jigmaster when I am fishing for something big.. shark anc such...
but the ABU is so light and the kids can reel it great . The jigmaster was so heavy that it would swing up side down them. I can cast he abu with almost no effort about 20 yards farther...
I like the jigmaster but it is heavy...


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

Hey Vic,

Sorry to weigh in so late but congrats on expecting your 4th!! 

As to the ABUs, go with the force... There is not much prettier eye candy out there than an ABU reel, especially the 6500 and 7500 series. Oh yeah, that Blue Yonder, she is sweet and casts a mile! LOVE 'EM!!!


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## Jigmaster (Apr 3, 2006)

*Abu*

If you can find one, the Abu 7700ct Right out of the Box is good as you can get! Neighbor has a 6500 Mag elite same as Rocket.7700ct will do an extra 30-40 YDS this may not matter unless your wanting to pass the Bar @ high Tide. I have caught fish while he was stuck in the Slew.


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## Lester Flatts (Nov 13, 2006)

Vic,

Hey, I'm brand new here but saw that you're about to have another young'n. Congrats! We just had our second son, he was due Christmas Eve but came last week on the 13th. Not much sleep in this one.....


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## derekxec (Apr 26, 2006)

emanuel said:


> Oh no, not the dark side, not Abu. Stick with Shimano, I'm warnin' ya.


agreed  i stopped buying abus because i fish just about everyday and they fail after 2-3 months...now i stick with shimano and i dont have to keep buying reels


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## Joe Dionne (Mar 4, 2005)

*Abu 7500 CT C3 A Casting Machine*

And Hard to find!!!!!!


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

Lester Flatts said:


> Vic,
> 
> Hey, I'm brand new here but saw that you're about to have another young'n. Congrats! We just had our second son, he was due Christmas Eve but came last week on the 13th. Not much sleep in this one.....


welcome to the club... Sleep is a mere suggestion.. 
check out my time I am up.... 
Well I just got back from fishing for about 5 hours though... I love my wife...


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