Musky reels?

[Marc Thorpe]

I tend go with Lew an Graham on this

For longevity and durability,Calcuta CTE 400 is the summit of all reels.

 

As for speed Curado 300 is quick and so far has stood up to the rigors.

 

The PME 300 from BPS are quality priced reels with good durability also

 

I have used most brands in exception of a few,some have good pricing for the cost of the quality ,others have quality in durability for the cost.

Like most product,Question you must ask yourself is it quality pricing or quality durability you seek?

[anglerspro]

To answer your question on how I burned out 13 abu 6500 in one season and why I kept using them is simple. As a musky guide I usually have 4 or 5 right hand reels on my boat and 4 or 5 lefty's at at all times. 10 Abu's cost me under $800.00 but 10 Calcutta's would cost me over $3000.00. Thats why I kept using them. Unfortunetly Abu 6500 and records have problems with the thumb release and the anti-reverse gear. Acording to an Abu rep if the gear is not pressed down fully or the reels is jerked while casting the thumb bar can engage part way through a cast stopping the bait instantly. It's like driving down the road at 60km and then putting your car in reverse, it strips gears, and the anti backlash gear strips or breaks in the same way. When you do it enough times it eventualy doesn't work anymore. I also noticed the anti-reverse gear giving out on hook sets which causes very sore knuckles and lost fish.. The abu's also don't stand up to double cowgirls and the gears get worn down and stripped for me in less then a season. I've had old Abu's last 5 years so when I asked Abu if there was a problem with the new reels they simply said "no, and that they are just not made for muskies and musky lures". the good thing is the fixed them all under the 1 year warranty.

 

I also broke 3 Abu records the same season...

 

Buy the way I still have some Abu 6500 lefty's (fully referbished) for sale if anyone wants some....lol...

 

Seriously, spend a little extra money and get a reel that will last.

[mattyk]

I have the calcutta 400b, and the TE and and curado and have used for several seasons with no problems. I used my C3 6500 for smaller baits, and when i tried casting a hell hound, the anti-reverse gear went out. So i sent it back and had abu fix it for me. I wont be using the abu any more, and im probably going to sell it and only buy shimano from now on.

[fishingisliving]

I used a curado 300 most of the season last year. It saw it's share of double bladed inline spinners (although it was painfull at times) the reel is still in top shape.. checked out all the gears and they look as good as they did when it was out of the box.

 

I have an abu 6600EXT, I used for a month back in 2008, it's seen all types and sizes of lures, but in a month I fish maybe 4 times so I would think I am not using the reel that much. The reel already started making a grinding noise out and by the 5th outting.. the gear connecting the main spool to the levelwind was completely shaved of all it's teeth, not a big deal to fix, but annoying. I use it to hold up fishing books in my workshop now.

 

Going for Calcuttas this year with power handles for comfort. I hope I can catch a fish this year!

[LucG]

I know you asked about reels, but I recently saw this ad on Kijiji. Thought maybe someone here might be interested.

 

New Never Used

Penn Slammer Conventional Rod SL3060C70

7 Foot

30-60 Lbs

7 Guides

1 Piece Rod

 

http://northbay.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-sports-bikes-Penn-Slammer-Musky-Deep-Sea-Fishing-Rod-SL3060C70-NEW-W0QQAdIdZ195796010

[Guest gbfisher]

Buy a Calcutta. It'll save you the time and money in the long run when you're taking other reels in for repairs. Also knowing the a reel will hold when it has to is enough to spend more. What ever you do, do not buy a Shimmano Takota.

[houski]

I used a Revo Toro on my bucktail rod last year. Saw lots of double 10 and double 13 blades over the course of the season. I didn't do any maintenance to it whatsoever during the year, and it worked like a top. Took it apart and cleaned and lubiricated it over the winter, and she's ready for another year of work.

 

Now with that being said, you can never go wrong with a Calcutta, those things are built to put in work.

[MuskyGreenHorn]

Weeds brought up the Diawa Saltist during the winter. I haven't used it but some guides in the states love it. fast gear ratio for sure. Liek peopel have mentioned, bigger spools and power hangles make up the difference for gear ratio. a higher gear ratio means you will give up some torque. Soem guys are tossing big inline bucktaisl using shimano saltwater reels with no levelwind. Some models bring line in around 40 inches per full crank, talk about super speed. Get ready for a second morgage though.

 

I use a 400 TE, a couple of abu 7000i HSN's and a Shimano Tekota. My Musky Fishing partbner loves his penns, 965 and 975. I used his 975 quite a bit last year. Great Reel. These all pulled lien plenty quick. He also had record, died pretty quick throwing double 10's. End of story.

 

The nice thing about abu's is you can easily get parts for them and it won't cost an arm and a leg. Check out Mikes Reel Repiar from out west online. I recommend anyone using abu 7000's to get your hands on the ceramic line pawl the he sells. This guy sells a lot of stuff to "pimp" reels out. lol