Thoughts About Abu Garcia 7000 Ambassadeur?

[Little Hooker]

Hey lads,

This reel (stated above) has been sittin on my book self for quite some time now, right now ive turned in to a obsess tackle junkie and with a decent name is worth adding to my collection.

Ive picked up this reel at my gf uncle garage clean up as he moved over seas so dont know much history about it but looks reasonable clean. Havent pulled the drag system apart yet so im hopping its still in good nick .

Does anyone have this reel in there artillery and do maintaince on them?? how hard are they to service??? ive pulled apart a saltist o/h b4 and a few eggbeaters but wouldnt be confidences on this baby since i dont have any schematics.

It says Hi speed but its only a 4.1 / 1 ratio

Do anyone here think its worth me matchin a rod with this reel??? I only fish off the boat. I have 2 tekota 500 and 2 saltist O/H in my collection and my boat does get kinda full with all these rods i bring along

[luderick59]

had one for 30yrs good for beach and rock boat spinning a great all round reel take the brake blocks out to get great distance when casting [over 100mts with 3oz lead]

peter

[Evets]

Excellent reels. I wish had more of em.

They are good bottom bouncing reels. I give it to my less experienced fishing mates or the kids to use because it is so simple to use.

With Bit of practice you will be able to a mile with it so Id match it up with a 7-8 foot rod and use is as a backup rod or have it there to cast lures to any passing schools of fish that happen to come by.

They are really easy to service as they are quite simple inside.

Ive had mine now for almost 20 years and despite having much newer (and expensive) reels I always seem to be reaching for the good ol trusty Abu 7000.

Evets

[Daniel Frost]

One of the best reels ever made, I would also think that there are more ABU 7000's in australia then any other reel , due to it's verstility and high build quailty . I use mine now off the beach for jew , i've caught some decent sharks up to 6 foot on it as well. Don't worry if the drag washers are buggered they are readily available and you can aslo get Erskine sets for them and you could turn it into a Beast. When you hear blokes mention having a reel for 20 years or more , they would be reguarly talking about the ABU 7000 it's the HILUX off the reel world .

KEEP IT , LOVE IT AND CATCH SOMETHING HUGE ON IT !!!!!

Bubba

[pjbink]

Hey lads,

Ive picked up this reel at my gf uncle garage clean up as he moved over seas so dont know much history about it but looks reasonable clean. Havent pulled the drag system apart yet so im hopping its still in good nick .

You don't need to pull the drag system apart to check it. Just test it by pulling line off the reel under drag. As others have said it is a good casting reel and suited to heavy beach fishing. With all the brake blocks in it is very hard to backlash. It's a good reel for bottom bashing. Just be careful with braid as there is quite a gap betwen the spool and frame (line less than 0.35mm can slip behind).

[Yabbiehunter]

You don't need to pull the drag system apart to check it. Just test it by pulling line off the reel under drag. As others have said it is a good casting reel and suited to heavy beach fishing. With all the brake blocks in it is very hard to backlash. It's a good reel for bottom bashing. Just be careful with braid as there is quite a gap betwen the spool and frame (line less than 0.35mm can slip behind).

Good reels,

BUT doesnt have the drag pressure <5kg

Saying this though i own both a ABU 7000 and also the ABU 10000BG, both great but i wish the ratios were higher

[slinkymalinky]

Not a sophisticated reel but one of the best engineered reels I've ever opened up. Very tough, very durable and looked after, will still be around when we are long gone. Since I serviced Jewhunter's I've been wishing I had one. It's not really the same sort of reel as a Saltist or Tekota but as a versatile reel for bottom fishing, light trolling, beach or similar work... you can't go wrong.

They're very easy to service... have a look at the 1000CL service tutorial here

The 7000 is very similar so this should give you a pretty good guide. Just make sure you have the schematics in front of you, which you can find at http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/

Upgrading the drag is worthwhile... a set of Carbontex washers can be bought from http://www.smoothdrag.com/

The 7000C has copper or brass spool bushings rather than bearings and if you wanted, you could replace them. But they're amazingly smooth and one of the reasons the reel is so reliable.

Cheers, Slinky

[Jewhunter]

Slinky is so impressed by them that he just HAD to go out & buy one for himself today!!!

Of course he blames me!

Now he has to work out what he wants to use it on!!!

It's well known that I love my ABU o/heads. I've got a 5600, 6500, 7000 & 10000.

If they can put up with the abuse that I give them then they must be tough.

Cheers,

Grant.

[slinkymalinky]

Yep... and thanks for dobbing me in too, JH

Jewhunter is the best advertisement for them you'll find... not so much because he loves them but because they continue to love him back even when he drops them in sand, leaves them underwater during floods, fills them with mud, and generally neglects them. I'm surprised his pet dog Bonnie is still with us actually

I'll be stripping down my new 7000 to give it the 'preventative maintenance' treatment so if I can get organised I'll take photos and post it.

Cheers, Slinky

[Little Hooker]

WOW great feed back guys!! looks like ill be adding this to my collection. In good timming too as the tackle shop near by has 20% percent off too... ive been there 2 days in a row now to buy new lures and jigs...i guess they be seeing me tomorro

I think im goin to slap 30lb braid and see how it goes.

Slinky those pics would be great so i dont stuff anything up.

[slinkymalinky]

Having just opened up my brand new one, you'll probably do better by following my 10000CL post.

The new model has a significantly different drag and freespool assembly. The 10000 is a closer match.

All you need to do is make sure you have a camera handy and take photos at each stage. If you get stuck, just look back at your pics and you should be fine. If you get stuck, pm me and I can get on the phone and probably talk you through any problems. But they're really simple to service... much easier than the average spin reel.

Cheers, Slinky

[Little Hooker]

Yeah after posting the last comment i had a quick look through the 10000cl and it should be a good reference. Thanks for the assitances mate.

[David Bentley]

Yeah after posting the last comment i had a quick look through the 10000cl and it should be a good reference. Thanks for the assitances mate.

Hi, Just joined and 1st post.

ABU 7000 is just about bullet proof. Been using the same one for nearly 20 years.

Careful, you may have already noticed but the 1000cl is a two speed, it has two main gears but all else is the same. Easy to strip and service and a good reliable reel.

Good luck

Dave

[Juggs]

if your wanting casting distance off the beach rocks etc a decent quality 20 pound mono works beautifully on that reel

i have a custom 9 and 10 foot rod for the ones i had and landed plenty of fish even a 12kg jew off the beach

if buying a cheap 30 pound braid which are generally stiff you'll get annoyed as hell with it

also if learning to cast the moo is more forgiving of tangles and cost when you hack out a 20m birdsnest