Heavy line on small overheads

[Toby]

Im starting to do alot of fishing for barra in the locally stocked wier. Most barra are 80cm+fish and some over 1m long. What im finding is my current overhead baitcasters just cant stand up to what i want them to do.

Having fished for mangrove jack etc up north qld i find your average $150-200 bait caster blows up pretty quick.Same with the local barra.. eg I have gone through 2x 6500C3 abu with 30lb line(30lb is just heavy enough) and they blow up after a few months of use.The level wind especially just cant handle it.

I hear of alot of blokes fish awoonga damn etc with 50lb braid on their bait casters to pull in the huge barra.yet the reel/rod need to be light enough to cast all day. Aside spending $1000 on a reel. Have any of you used a decently priced bait caster you can spool with 30-50lb line and not have it blow up inside 12months?

[hooknose]

Hey Toby,
I dont know whether you have just been having a bad run with the ABU's you have been buying but I have been using my two for over 10 years and have taken some ball tearing Barra on them. I fish 6 kg on my 6500-C3 on an Angler"Daintree River" and 4 kg on my 5600C on an Ugly Stick 4-6 kg.

I only fished for salty's mainly with live bait and in some pretty hairy spots, lost a few. I appreciate that luring in heavy timbers around the dams etc you might need a bit more skull dragging power on hook-up but this heavy handling and line etc might be whats trashing your ABU's.

When the going was tough I used my trusty old " Seascape" on an equally old " Super Barra" rod( still going strong) with 10 kg pretest and still got stitched up when the fish headed straight into the timber on hook-up. Attached is a photo of one that didn't get away( until I released it, 1500 long and maybe 30 kg), Cheers!!
8-)

[jim_farrell]

I use a calcutta 400 with 50 braid. I don't fish that enviroment enough to blow it to pieces. I agree with hooknose on the abu' ;Ds. I fish 30 braid on a 6500, again not as often as you obviously do, but have never had a problem.

I would like to be able to say one of my reels imploded through too many big barra. ;D

Jim

[Toby]

Yeah it might be bad luck on the abu front. I could have got 2 duds.

Fishing up north qld for mangrove jack/barra/salmon etc tends to wear the level winds out really really fast on the abu's. and the gear teeth on my C3 have all but worn flat. with barely 12months use.

I do realise i fish them with too heavy line(30lb is too heavy for the 6500/7000abu). But often a jack session up north you will catch 20+ fish inside 2-3 hours. and alot of bust ups on 30lb line. multiply this by 3 weeks of fishing and thats alot of mangrove jack/barra etc.

What im after is a small light bait caster i can load 40-50lb on and not wear it out so fast. Maybe i just need to spend the big bucks and buy an expensive reel that'll last 5+ years.

[finding_time]

Toby

diawa millionaire , yes its a little more expensive but it will stand up ;) you also could get it erskinized which will help the drag.

Ian

[Reef_fisher]

Mate 30lb is tooooo heavy for your reels, I am surprised they are lasting as long as they are with the amount of use you seem to be giving them.

I have a mate/deckie that has been given 6 of those reels over the last year because the owners are disgusted with their performance. The gear teeth seem to be the common problem here, can't say what line they were using. My mate just repairs them if he has the spares and only uses them for light duty stuff and seems happy with them.

By the way , you do not need to spend big bucks to get good gear. I have had ,and still have, cheap reels that I can't kill!!

If you want to stay with ABU then get something a little more heavy duty and put up with the extra weight.

[cammac]

Maybe try living without a level wind ::) a 7000 should handle these fish - are u maintaining your gear sounds like u mite be getting grit in the workings!! Do you pump and wind the fish in ??!! that will help :o

Cam

[TinarooTriumph]

Mate I've got a 6500C3 and I run 30lb Bionic on it, and it's an absolute dream! I don't go anywhere near Timber in Impoundments, as 30lb is too light for that kind of fishing, but I reckon the reel would stand up to it. I've got a mate who only uses Abu, and swears by em', especially the 5600C4. I have fished with Shakespeare Baitcasters, Shimano Low Profile Baitcasters, Penn's and this 6500C3 of mine is the pick of the bunch!

[Bad_Bubby]

I'm a pretty big fan of what Abu have done with their reels. There are a few reasons and I'll name three that come to mind.

1. Casting. In my opinion the synchronised level wind system is better than the disengaged spool system that shimano uses on their reels. It leads to better repeated casting accuracy, longer braid lifespan and better control over a hooked fish when braid is whizzing through your guides.
2. Construction. In the quality Abu reels there is an absence of plastic parts in crucial friction points such as the levelwind. The mulitple ball bearing Abu's have a simple yet strongly built internal system that is simpler to service and easy to source parts. They are a functional reel that have never let me down.
3. Value. There is no reel that is even close to Abu in the $100-$150 price range. A $150 Abu will happily catch you the same fish as a $400 reel made by a different brand. $300 can buy alot of fuel.

Just my opinion...Cheers.

[vertico]

get a saltiga z40 or a daiwa black sheep

[saurian]

Toby , used to run 6500c3 exclusivly.
I would buy one a year as they would be stuffed .
( i used to live in broome for years)
Then i bought a 300 z millionaire when they first came out and i still use it.
I've had it rebuilt once & jack erskine drag washers are in it.
I have now bought another , because they stopped making 300z and
brought out new one of sorts.
Seems like false economy to put up with crap when quality will outlast
and make fishing so much more fun.
My rebuilt one cost $ 110 to rebuild and if it didn't have so many battle scars, the action is as smooth as the new one.
I fish with 50pnd braid and up it in the snags.
Also handles some reefies as well .
The boys seem to get good runs out of calcutta 400 as well.
Anyway best of luck , go the gold.
Ta.

[cammac]

I still dont get it # u guys using 50 pound braid #on a reel that was made to fish #about 20 lb absoulute max no wonder ur f......n ur reels !!!!!!!!

Buy a friging game reel if you want it to last forever #fishing for 50lb+ fish on 50lb braid !!!!!!!!

You have to remember the 6500c has been around in basically the same form for about 35 years #well before braid was around!.

Use the right gear for the line weight !!!
Dont get me wrong the 6500c and most ABUs are good reels - but dont think theyll handle skull draging big fish on heavy line for too long ! #and as aprevious reader said #they dont cost an arm and a leg - and lets face it you basically get what u pay for in this world.
Good reel at a good price.!!!! And if used not beyond their limits and looKed after shud last a long time !!! :)

PS. Even the big ABUs like the 10000 werent built for 50lb braid let alone 50lb mono good reel for big jew and prob big barra etc but 6500c Hmmmmm!!

[spinner]

A bit unfair to compare Millionaires and Calcuttas to a 6500c3, but you can get ABU`s that are in the same class. For some reason we just don`t see them here in Aust` very often.
I`m talking about the Morrum. Very similar to the high end Daiwas and Shimanos.
Have to agree though the ABU6500C3 family are hard to beat for value.
The new low profile Revo is interesting, supposed to pull 23lbs of drag. Best drag Abu ever put in a reel, finally gone to carbon.
Reggy

[BenatCoffs]

Mate, you need one of these -

http://www.worldseafishing.com/news/155/ARTICLE/1693/2006-07-31.html

Stainless pinion for your 6500, adding something tougher justs passes the pain along the chain though....

[Toby]

I still dont get it u guys using 50 pound braid on a reel that was made to fish about 20 lb absoulute max no wonder ur f......n ur reels !!!!!!!!

Buy a friging game reel if you want it to last forever fishing for 50lb+ fish on 50lb braid !!!!!!!!

You have to remember the 6500c has been around in basically the same form for about 35 years well before braid was around!.

Use the right gear for the line weight !!!
Dont get me wrong the 6500c and most ABUs are good reels - but dont think theyll handle skull draging big fish on heavy line for too long ! and as aprevious reader said they dont cost an arm and a leg - and lets face it you basically get what u pay for in this world.
Good reel at a good price.!!!! And if used not beyond their limits and looKed after shud last a long time !!! :)

PS. Even the big ABUs like the 10000 werent built for 50lb braid let alone 50lb mono good reel for big jew and prob big barra etc but 6500c Hmmmmm!!



Thats the question I'm asking.. what small baitcaster can handle 40-50lb line(not neccessarily braid).

Mate, if you wanna go up north QLD and pull a mangrove jack wieghing anymore than 3kg outa a snag I'd like to see that done with 20lb line on a regular basis. You'd come come with 1 fish in the boat minus 50meters of line and 2 packs of hooks from the bust ups.

I see guys who fish for really big barra in impoundments use 40-50lb line on small baitcasters. You cant use a big heavy "game real" to bait cast all day.

Looks like i simply need to upgrade on quality a bit i think. thanks all

[cammac]

Thats rite Toby you genenerally only get what you pay for - spend the big bucks or buy a bigger heavier duty reel . Im not so shure that those small calcuttas or quality low profile reels are going handle the treatment day in day out ,sounds like its pretty brutal stuff!! remember you probly have the drag wound rite up on these size reels therefore your using them at 10 10nths all the time whereas a bigger reel you may only need it at 7 or 8 10nths - much kinder on the reel. Dont forget to pump and wind - puts a lot less load on yr reel and keep it clean and lubed !!!

[Garn]

Toby
Jack battles are fierce in the first few seconds, especially with livies. Instinct is to immediately retrieve line and without good rod work all the pressure is on the reel. That poor little line guide isn't going to last forever.
50lb line on baitcaster - it's not always the pulling power. Plenty guys use heavier braid just for abrasion resistance. I use 30lb on CT250's with Erskine Drags. Have pulled barra to 95cm from heavy timber. Have also had barra pulled from along side me on $200 spinning combo. It went 110cm. Go figure!!

[spinner]

Toby
I can`t imagine how you have been able to cast 40 or 50lb mono off a 6500.abu
If you dont like braid, then the only reel I can think of that will cast 40-50 lb mono
is an Alvey.
Reggy

[Boomi_Boy]

Spot on Reggy!!

#Toby, if u want a baitcaster reel that will handle the job, the Diawa Blacksheep 300 is designed for use with up to 60lb braid. Its only slightly heavier than the abu(a good reel in its class), casts like a dream, if you can blow one of these up, diawa would replace it, but I don,t think it can be done in a qld impoundment.

# #cheers

[saurian]

Toby ,abu is classic.
I just can't (yet) blow the daiwa up.
I don't use full graphite rods always part composite as I'm not sure they could handle the locked drags, but I fish heavy drag , I would rather bend trebles than lose the lot.
Might be a bit unsporting for some of you guys I know .
But I enjoy it.
Ta.

[phatty]

whats this about impoundment barra on game reels?

the whole thing about 50lb braid on low profiles has been discussed before.
like TT sed its for abression purposes.

[cammac]

Merry Christmas