What advantage is there with this line of reels? Besides holding more line do they have heavier drags than the other abu's?

Brass side plates = more rigid frame

how do thet cast?

They cast great. The reels are heavier than the regular 7000s. Not sure by how much. But I do recall being able to tell the difference after a night of casting.

I have a big game 7000cl and it casts well but I am not that great with conventional but my mag elite casts much better, but that is not really a fair comparison.

7000CL is at an unfair advantage -v- a Mag Elite 6500 (never saw bigger than 6500 size) but a 6500CL is 98% the caster of the Mag Elite.. At least tha of my rundown Mag E's

'Course right now my main 6500 has the Big Game drive side on one side of the spool and the magged greenie on the other :bl:

The 7000CL Casts great for a 7000 and is solid with the brass plates. How does it compare to a CS Rocket? No clue...

Big Game Brass Frame and SS gears instead of Al frame an dbrass gears..

The big game also sports a 5.3-1 retrieve vs the 4.1-1 found on non big games.

7000CL is at an unfair advantage -v- a Mag Elite 6500 (never saw bigger than 6500 size) but a 6500CL is 98% the caster of the Mag Elite.. At least tha of my rundown Mag E's

'Course right now my main 6500 has the Big Game drive side on one side of the spool and the magged greenie on the other :bl:

The 7000CL Casts great for a 7000 and is solid with the brass plates. How does it compare to a CS Rocket? No clue...

any pics? sounds like a bute.

I just picked up one for the Canal, I think the speed will really help out. I have not cast it yet so I cant give any reviews but it seems sturdy.

I have a brand new 9000 bg and I dont know if I want to keep it or sell it. I also have a abu 6500 that I can use for medium use. I could save it for the boat but I plan/will to do more fishing in the surf this year.

BG reels haven't been made with brass plates since production moved from Sweden. The newer gold colored BG Abus have aluminum plates. And there seems to be some dispute over whether the last runs of black Swedish Big Games were a) made in Sweden to begin with and b) actually had aluminum plates. There's a guy on SOL who says the signature clues that are dead giveaways that a "Swedish" BG was actually assembled in Taiwan are pointed ends to the star drag and red grease under the handle nut.

No BG reels ever came thru with stainless gears as standard equipment. There were aftermarket stainless gears available from Hatteras Outfitters. I have them in my 6500 CL. You could boost the retrieve of any 6500 size Abu to 6.3:1 with one version of them.

BG reels have the same line capacity as every other 6500 and 7000.

The frames on the old black BGs do appear to be more rigid and are probably chromed brass.

BG reels haven't been made with brass plates since production moved from Sweden. The newer gold colored BG Abus have aluminum plates.

To me the Big Game was, is, and always will be the Black Beauty - not the Gold reels, regardless if they've improved or not. I have 2 classic Black 7000CLs and they're going nowhere. Abu can keep the gold ones...

I have seen this yr's model.There black again.the weight is there but not sure of the construction.They are made in China.The edges are eased on the sideplates so they look different.They also have a new handle with the large soft rubber shimano type paddle.
They have a spool engage lever instead of the push button..
Other than being made ine china this is the biggest difference.I like only having to turn the handle to engage the clutch.Now u have to flip the lever like a newell or squidder..
I have 3 of the old black ones an bought a gold one when they came out.I put that reel thru the paces an it held up fine.Not talking bout regular surf fishing either.I used it on a bridge set up where locked drags,5 knt. currents, an crankin 10 lb fish up 25 ft is the norm.

Original Black BG reels were the best. I have enough 7000CL's stocked up so I doubt I'll ever fish with any other reel in that size range. I even prefer the bg6500cl to my mag elites . that's only cause of the mag slider control but wthe black ones are my favorite. I have a callcutta or 3 and they have better drags but all around , I like the Black Big games.

Also the thought comes to me that we have seen the last of the truly good low priced reels. From now on I think we'll be paying through the nose for anything better.

http://tackledirect.com/abu-garcia-ambassadeur-big-game-i-series-reels.html

Oh yea looking at the picture.There where a few other things thats are different.The collar that holds the New cabontex drag system is longer which makes the handle further away from the body..

I just recived one that I ordered from Cabelas, It seems like a very heavy duty solidly built reel, let you know when I fish it.

Hey Bill,
Did u go 7000 or 7000 HSN which is a perfect size for the surf.
Do u plan on using it in the surf or boat..

NIB,
the clutch lever still engages with the turn of the handle. You dont need to manually flip the clutch. I prefer it to the push button.

Hey Bill,
Did u go 7000 or 7000 HSN which is a perfect size for the surf.
Do u plan on using it in the surf or boat..

I baught the HSN Model and plan to use it for livelining out of the boat there wont be much "casting" , For years I used the standard size 7000 for surf casting , if I were to have the choice I think the HSN may be a better surf choice a tad smaller...When I toss eels from the boat at night I use the Calcutta 400B Just like in the surf acually I use the 400 for everything but livelining or chunking heavy stuff..I have 6 of them! They are almost bullet proof.The Abu's are inexpensive and I dont mind beating them up livelining or chunking etc...

The only problem I had using them surf fishing was just a bit of water and the drags sucked I wasnt the only one, everyone had that problem...Almost daily taking it apart and cleaning the drags etc...And I had every model they made...they were all equally bad in the surf as far as water inrtusion, the canal etc...is different your not dealing with waves etc...

In the boat I have had no problems with my standard 7000 but it really doesnt get wet..thats why I baught this one.

For surf fishing conventional the calcutta 400B is the best reel out there. I would just go with that and be done with it.


As far as the clutch lever, I like it , it has a much beefier feel and if you know how to fish conventional it wont be a big adjustment from the pushbutton

The only problem I had using them surf fishing was just a bit of water and the drags sucked I wasnt the only one, everyone had that problem...Almost daily taking it apart and cleaning the drags etc...And I had every model they made...they were all equally bad in the surf as far as water inrtusion, the canal etc...is different your not dealing with waves etc...

was this the HSN model?
Im looking for my first convench to fish from the surf and was looking at the 7000 HSN

was this the HSN model?
Im looking for my first convench to fish from the surf and was looking at the 7000 HSN

Doesnt make a difference which model they all got wet Abu never came out with a waterproof drag like shimano did with the Dartanium drag..you can pour water on it and it still stays smooth as silk..Abu's suck in the surf, my advice would be to stay away from abu products for serious surf fishing they are fine in a boat. where there are seas involved like the surf and the reel will get wet...Go with a calcutta 400b for surf. I even had problems with mine from rain while fishing, just to much upkeep. If your only fishing a couple nights a week you may be ok or if you by into the "rocket" crap and super bearings or if you cast in a cornfield. Otherwise there are far superiour reels out there today. Like I said I baught mine basically as live lining reels with no casting per say being done with them and they are cheap.

These reels on dry land performed best in a football field for distance casting and even then, they cant hold a candle to the smooth castability of a calcutta

NIB,
the clutch lever still engages with the turn of the handle. You dont need to manually flip the clutch. I prefer it to the push button.

Yup. mike cc's had both the red 7000i and the black BG "i" versions since last summer. It's a two way lever--flip it by hand or crank the handle. And you don't have to make a 3/4 turn for it to engage ;)

#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&- thats good advice

The abus have a habit of s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g when wet. That being said, why is it that a lot of guys still fish with them: because, ironically, they are dependable reels in the surf. They're also great casting reels, and very easy to work on. The guys who don't use them figure that the one thing they don't want to compromise is the drag. Makes sense. If you fish with abus you will develop a love/hate relationship with them. You will also get very fast at breaking them down. Better buy two. Some guys love these reels, others use them for bank sinkers; it really all depends on who your talking to.

<----
Bank sinkers for me!

<----
Bank sinkers for me!

That about sums it up, they suck for surf fishing, I used them for alot of years before I smartened up...I would not call failing drags when the reel is wet a dependable reel???? I dont know anyone who enjoys disasembling a reel daily just so it can be ready for the next night?? many a nice fish has been lost due there terrible drags..The aniti reverse is another part they never quite got right fails all the time, the levelwind also gets stuck more aften then not, it only takes one speck of sand, they just cant stand up to surf fishing.

No shimano's here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab12-o0QAiQ

The Abu drags have been bad for yrs.There's ways around everything.My friend changed out the drags on some of my abu's..Using penn an shimano parts.
They supposedly have fixed the drag problems with the new reels.

No shimano's here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab12-o0QAiQ

The Abu drags have been bad for yrs.There's ways around everything.My friend changed out the drags on some of my abu's..Using penn an shimano parts.
They supposedly have fixed the drag problems with the new reels.

shimano parts:hihi: why not just go with a shimano??

No shimano's here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab12-o0QAiQ

The Abu drags have been bad for yrs.There's ways around everything.My friend changed out the drags on some of my abu's..Using penn an shimano parts.
They supposedly have fixed the drag problems with the new reels.


someone is going to poke their eye out in that foray .

shimano parts:hihi: why not just go with a shimano??

I already owned a fleet of ABU's.No need for a new reel when a 1 dollar part gives me the best bang for my buck.I personally have not had the problems u have.I have fished em in conditions that would certainly effected the drag like u have said an have not had the troubles.I have one calcutta a 700 it's too big for the surf but it's a fine reel.To each their own.

my 7000 let me down wet drag . the smoothie washers are worse than the stock ones when there wet.:yak: calcutta 400:kewl:

Im glad I buy what has worked for me and youse guys do the same . now stop being girlies

I already owned a fleet of ABU's.No need for a new reel when a 1 dollar part gives me the best bang for my buck.I personally have not had the problems u have.I have fished em in conditions that would certainly effected the drag like u have said an have not had the troubles.I have one calcutta a 700 it's too big for the surf but it's a fine reel.To each their own.


Sounds like a resonable statement to me :cheers: