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[Steely]

I have fished the river alot lately and I am using a spinning setup and in my last trip a freind lent me his levelwind to use and I liked a whole lot better and it worked alot better to so now I am looking to by one but I have no clue what I should be looking for. It will mostly be used for salmon and steelhead on the lower mainland flows. So can you help me please Thanks.

[Fish Assassin]

What's your budget ?

[Steely]

250 bucks.

[BwiBwi]

You can get a 10'6" Shimano Convergence at Canadian Tire for about $100 and a Abu 6500C3 for $149.99

[cohokid]

I good reel to start with is a abu lin eup for sure. Tuff, and durable. For a rod id go with a trophy xl 10'6 casting rod.

[Steely]

Thanks guys I'm looking at the Abu Garcia's

[stinkytroutboy]

I have a reel , what would be a good rod in the about 125,99 range

[johnny]

if you fish any more than about 3 days a year then stay away from abu's... better bang for your buck(read:cheaper and more durable in my experience) is the quantum IR4.

[johnny]

if you fish any more than about 3 days a year then stay away from abu's... better bang for your buck(read:cheaper and more durable in my experience) is the quantum IR4.

Johnny, you have no idea what you a talking about.  I use an abu from '72 and several other recent models.

Truly, if you are going to post garbage information check out a sanitation site.

Now I see the reply in this thread you were refering to in the other... lol

Funny you should mention the older abu's! I was originally going to mention that the older ones were about bullet proof and how the quality had dropped over the years, but left it out for brevity. I have a few "newish" abu's around here that are junked from light use, as does my father in law, brother in law and a few friends. If you have a different experience with the ones built in the 90's-2000's then that's great but it certainly hasn't been mine OR a number of others who have sworn them off.

Someone asked for opinions and I proceeded to give mine. Because it differs from yours doesn't make me an idiot or jerk, just another individual with a differing point of view. Not sure what got you so worked up about my posts, but sheesh! Are you an abu rep by chance?? 

Anyways, despite your distain for my posts and opinions I sincerely hope you and yours have a very merry christmas!

 

[troutbreath]

I've got two Quantums and there Ok but not nice on the drag system sometimes for the big ones. And mine don't have lot's of line space.

[cohokid]

abus are decent. ive used myn for 4 socckeye bbing season, of 4 times a week of solid fishing. and a couple vedder seasons and its still purring smoooth. now if u have money, get a calcutaa of luna

[MERC]

You can also look at a Shimano Cardiff or Corvalus reels.  Nothing wrong with Abu C3's except they are more prone to failure in the wormgear than other reels.  And the C4's high ratio gear don't seem very strong (this coming from a few people who've told me the gears went on them).  Regardless of which you get, maintenance is still the biggest factor in ensuring the life of your reel.  For rods, Trophy XL, or Shimano Convergence.  Also, you can look at Berkeley or Fenwick (I believe that the Berkeley rods use the same blank as Fenwicks now but at a lower retail cost than the Fenwicks).   Best bet is to find a rod/reel combo for the price range you're looking at.  Most of the reels are in the 125-175 range and rods will be avereage $80+ bought separately but you should be able to find a combo in your budget range.  Don't expect a great rod for a combo deal though.  If you're looking to switch to this kind of equipment, my suggestion would be to up your budget by about $50 or so and buy the components separately.  You'll get better overall parts.

[searun17]

I have to agree with johnny on this one some of the more recent models of abu Garcia are not very strong ,i own two quantum 1R4 reels and they are a very durable reel for less money,if you maintain the IR4 on a regular basis you will have no problems.My Quantum's have landed me many salmon and steelhead and if i was strapped for cash thats what i would go with hands down.

[Griz]

Stick with an Abu 6500C3. As motioned in a eralier post the C3 & C4 did have problem's with the worm gear but it has been modified so that problem does not exist any more.. It is the same worm gear that is used in the new Record  reel they have.The best person to talk with is Mike from Mikes Reel Repairl. He does repairs on all makes and models. Give him a call at 604-855-1119

[Pat AV]

I fish with nothing but Abu's and I can tell you they do break down alot (if you fish 100+ days a year like I do). I still think they are good reels for the price since you can buy 2 or 3 for the cost of a good shimano. Maintaining your abu's is the key you should also always have an extra worm gear and paal in you vest. I have had too many good days ruined due to the death of a worm gear/paal to even want to talk about this anymore