Abu Garcia Ambassaduer 6500 Or 7000

[pk-fishn]

gday guys,

im looking for a new all round baitcaster to use from the surf , boat etc and came across these beaut reels. they look and the features sound great yet i wanted to ask if anyone has purchased them and how they go on kings, jewies and tougher species? also do they handle braided line well?? also is there a big difference in performance in the c3 and c4 range besides that extra ball bearing and cost??

cheers

[Red]

Go the 7000 mate. They are good casting reels and their drags usually end up woefull but that's an easy fix. Some people like the Red 7000 with the bushes instead of bearings but at 4.1:1 i find them painfully slow. Ended up upgrading to a 7500C3 with stainless side plates and ball bearings with a faster ratio of 5.3:1 Replaced the washers and loaded it up with 30lb braid. Nice reel, especially for doing what you want to do.

Cheers

Red

[jewnut]

Go the 7000 mate. They are good casting reels and their drags usually end up woefull but that's an easy fix. Some people like the Red 7000 with the bushes instead of bearings but at 4.1:1 i find them painfully slow. Ended up upgrading to a 7500C3 with stainless side plates and ball bearings with a faster ratio of 5.3:1 Replaced the washers and loaded it up with 30lb braid. Nice reel, especially for doing what you want to do.

Cheers

Red

hi Red,

funny you mention the drag on the 7000, ive got an old one (the blue model) that hasent seen use for years as the drag went on it. Im hopeless with DIY repairs, can you recommend somewhere i can get it fixed properly as it was my favourite reel to use. Do you fish for jews with yours?

cheers

[Red]

G'day Anthony, i cut my own washers out of Split Chrome leather and coat them with Jack Erskines teflon grease. This makes them super smooth but i believe Jack Erskine has better drag material that will give you more drag pressure. Has anyone upgraded their ABU 7000 with Jack's washers?

Anthony, my ABU does not get used for jews. I'm not that much of a sportsman

50-80lb braid is more my go when targetting good fish. We use 1kg and 2kg mono when fishing ANSA for points. Yes that is dumb but good fish can be taken as my buddy has proved. He nailed a 12kg Jew on 2kg mono

Cheers

Red

[Guest Jewel]

The old red 7000 with the bushes was a great casting reel, but as Red said painfully slow........ but lots of torque for an oldie.

I have a black 7000c that is a lovely surf reel (still a little slow, about 4.5:1 I think) Its factory drag (some sort of carbon washers) has been great and hasnt needed upgrading yet after quite a bit of use.

Although I dont believe that the new ABUs are close to the quality of the old pre Garcia stuff.

Got a few of the beasties but dont use them much anymore........ 2 5600ally and black, red 6500,black 7000c, black 9000c 2 speed and a couple of Cardinal 57s. All great in their day but not quite on the money for me anymore.

[Red]

All great in their day but not quite on the money for me anymore.

I can understand that, Jewel. These days there are much better and smoother reels around.

ABU is trying to survive off it's past reputation IMHO. It comes down to peoples budgets.

You sometimes see the ABU 7000 on sale for $139. That's a fair price.

Cheers

Red

[Guest Jewel]

Very true Red, you can definately do much worse for your $$$ than some of the ABUs.

[pk-fishn]

thanks for your input guys been very helpful!!

cheers pk

[djmac]

ive recently purchased an abu 7000 the red one.

straight out of the box i found the drag to be sticky.

i called jack at jack erskines tackle. and he sent me down some carbon washers.

whacked them in the other night and it improved 1000%

http://www.jackerskine.com

Edited April 27, 2006 by djmac