[Fish Hunter]

Here is the deal. Red sideplates show marks. BUT, this reel just came back from Jerry Foran at Hookless. It has been upgraded with carbontex drag washers, hybrid bearings, power handle and is an original flatbar CT, not a conversion bar, cleaned and is mechanically perfect. The bearings are in the sideplates, with a fixed spool.

 

[Nat's Dad]

I'm unfamilar with most of that. What's the retrieve ratio and what kind of fishing was a reel like that built for?

 

[Fish Hunter]

5.3.1 gear ratio. I used it for light surf fishing on 7-10' rods. I imagine, you could bass fish with it, but I do not fresh water fish at all. It holds around 150 yds of 12 mono. I put almost 250 yds of 15lb braid on it when I was fishing it. Gives a cushion, when hooking a larger than expect drum on the beach. Drag is butter smooth and it cast like a demon. Just way too much gear and I am thinning down

 

[mikeski]

Great for inshore, walking the dog, live bait, ...

Shore fish, bigger cats, bass.

I have a 6501 (left crank) and its planned usage is for live bait. Like small bream, perch, ... for bigger bass and cats. It will also come to the shore for surface fishing and live bait.

There are so many upgrades for this line of reels. Long casters love them.

Throw some braid on it and use a mono or floro leader.

mikeski

 

[Swampin']

CT and this many upgrades? Plus the power handle... definitely the best surf drum reel you'll ever own. Drunrunner fishes similar reels except 6500 size for big drum. This would be great for puppies too I'd imagine.. I use 5500's for a lot in the surf and love them. Great cat reels too.

 

[Drum Runner]

Big fan of the Blue Yonders.
You can't go wrong with ABU. There is tons of aftermarket parts as well as OEM parts from numerous sources.
Easy to tinker on and tune yourself.
If I had to I could probably sit down and find 25 different aftermarket cranking handles for these reels.
You have guys in basements with a mill making stuff for these reels and selling it.

 

[Nat's Dad]

I've got a new blue Swedish 6500 C4 for cats and musky ( hopefully) but I had no idea it was the size big drum chasers liked. I thought they were using the really big Abu's for that.

Sounds like a cool reel.

 

[Drum Runner]

Nope, 6500 is big enough. I use 6500's and 7000's. Over the years drum fishing I've landed several sharks in the 100-125 pound class on a 6500 with never more than 30 pound braid.
A good sensitive rod is key though.
You want to be able to feel every swish of the tail. That's how you know when to go after him or to just let him run.
That tail slows down you work on getting the head turned towards the beach. When she grabs another gear, you be patient and let her strip line. Caught a 6' nurse shark last summer on an 11 graphite surf rod. 6500 C3 with 30 pound braid. That fight might have lasted 20 minutes. I got a coupla good hard runs out of her. She slowed down I was pulling the head towards the beach.

 

[Nat's Dad]

Wait a minute.........those guys throwing 8 and bait are no way using a 6500

 

[Drum Runner]

Sure you can.
You got pretty much two camps among the serious.
ABUS and Diawa Millionaires. Both run em hot. Of course you have th AVETS and other real expensive reels but you can't do to those reels what you can an ABU or Diawa.

Really the biggest advantage to going to the larger sizes is the size of the spool. Line capacity. There aint enough difference between a 6500 and a 7000 beyond bearing diameter and spool capacity to even talk about. Same reel bigger spool. None of them are breaking any drag records. You might get 18 pounds of drag out of a 6500 with a dry stack. The 7000 aint going to be much if any different.
ABU's are bullet proof if you take care of your equipment.

8 and bait has more to do with the rod being capable rather than the reel. You need something you can run a shock leader on rod and reel wise.

 

[Nat's Dad]

I was kinda dissapointed I couldn't find a 6500 with the old school button I don't care for the new thumb bar.

What do you mean by running them hot?

 

[Drum Runner]

Tuned and running dry ceramic bearings.
I use both levelwind and non levelwind. Levelwind would be a rifle. The non levelwind is an artillery piece.

I hate thumb bars especially when chucking lead. It can be **** on a pinion gear.

 

[mikeski]

I just got a 6501 and it has the silver button on the side. The thumb bar is just that. It serves no other purpose. Also, you have to go to the 6500 to get the clicker.

mike

 

[Nat's Dad]

double post

 

[Nat's Dad]

Is there a website where all this pro level surf gear is discussed?

 

[Drum Runner]

I don't know of one.
As far as alot of the souped up stuff, it comes out of the world of distance casting.
This one is running dry ceramics. You can tell by the whine.
You can turn a reel upwards of 25,000 RPM on a cast with the right tuning and casting technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44UNaz-685U

 

[Drum Runner]

And a Diawa Millionaire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZYXY6JBE1g

 

[Nat's Dad]

I don't know of one.
As far as alot of the souped up stuff, it comes out of the world of distance casting.
This one is running dry ceramics. You can tell by the whine.
You can turn a reel upwards of 25,000 RPM on a cast with the right tuning and casting technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44UNaz-685U

What was that thing he was thumb screwing in as the weight was about to hit?

 

[Drum Runner]

Brake. You can see videos with hang times so long they'll go down on one knee and look down the rod like a rifle while working the brake knob. Get their face right up to the reel. 300 yard casting.
Before my back became such a wreck I would 250 in the hay field on a good day with fishing equipment not competition casting rods.

I rarely pendulum cast anymore for fear it'll put me down for a week.

 

[Nat's Dad]

Is there a similar underworld for spinning surf reels?