I am looking for a new conventional reel.

The reel's only purpose will be fishing live eels and fishing chunks of mackeral, herring, squid, the occasional clam bellie or crab, and live herring.

The Abu Garcia Ambassueder 6500C has been reccomended to me, but I will not have enough money, I need something in the $50-$70 range.

So I have heard in Frank Daignalts "Striper Surf" that the Penn Squidder has dominated conventional reels for the past 50 years.
Is this true? I know that there are much better reels, but it's only $60.00. Should I go for it?? :confused: :eek: :confused: :cool:

The Squidders darg is superior to the factory ABU drag it also holds more line. I know many guys still using the 140 squidder reel after 20 years of use.

It's a great reel that can take a beating but it's a little heavy duty for all but the fiercest fishing... You can get into the 6500 reels for almost the same money and it's easier to start out on... Levelwind is huge when starting...

What's the Mag 10 going for these days?

You might want to save your money till you can afford an ABU 6500, you won't be sorry. If you get a squidder this year you'll probably end up "upgrading" later in the end you end up saving
$-60.00...........:smash:

Squidders are great reels and last forever. The drawbacks are no levelwind and very slow retreive. They are great for chunking and bottom fishing but you would have a hard time throwing eels. They cast a mile and when you get the hang of it going to any casting reel will be easy. These were my first reels I used in the Ditch 25 years ago and yes the reels are still useable but now I use Abu's.

I've had three squidders for many years, they are indestructable.

I've used them with mono, lead-core, braided and even wire.
Remember you can't use wire on a levelwind.....

Although I use them when i troll or bottom (cod) fish only.
If you want to cast you may have trouble.

I cannot cast a conventional :smash:

But some "good" fisherman can....;)

what does levelwind mean!!! ive never used conventional do they cast further than spinners when you get the hang of it!!! dont want to be untangling birds nest all day ive learned so far the lighter the line the further it cast but i caught a little sea robbin down the canal i thought i had a 20lb fish on there with that current i was afraid of breaking my 12 lb test but that little rod cast the furthest so i was useing it but if i ever hooked something big it would have broke i have a penn senator 113h for my boat rod it says casting and trolling can you cast that reel!!! i can see hours of untangling if i were to try casting that!!lol,lol :laughs:

Levelwinds have that little guide that moves back and forth to
put the line on the spool evenly. They are great if you have
kids or inexperienced people fishing with you.
They are not a casting reel at all.
The conventional reels like your senator can cast too. BUT
not when I try it. I end up with bird nest from H#@L.
I just cannot get it right, so I own spinners for casting ;)

I use PENN levelwinds for my lead-core tube and worm rigs, its strictly trolling and when I take kids out with me there is no trouble with tangles etc....

Hope this helps, and everyone fishes differently.
So you will have to weed through the info you get and
find what works best for you.
Good Luck.
V

your going for 50lber striper in the rocks what kind of line would you use on your spinner rod and reel i want to set my senator up for trolling with lead line its either that or i got to get small trolling motor i cant get my boat slow enough to troll it runs at idle 1000rpm so im researching casting rod set ups now that im in to shore fishing want something that can cast with out putting 8oz on it!!!!

abu 6500 would probally be the best choice as i said before. the price is just about the same as a squidder. i learned how to cast conventional on my abu. the abu 7000 holds alot more line than the 6500. but its 100 dollars. get the 6500 and load it up with some 15lb test.the 6500 is my favorite reel. once i get enough mulla ill upgrade to the 7000. i started conventional around my twefth birthday and have been using them ever since.

i like the fact it can hold 20lb test now what kind of rod would i put that on for surf fishing and to use on boat im making out my xmas list what do you think is the best line for casting as a begginer im no pro at fighting fish in a current i want to be prepared in spring to pull them in!!!!

Thanx everyone,
I saw the Abu 7000C at www.eangler.com with 17 pound test for a reasonably low price..... If I purchase that, how many pound test of braided line like fireline could I put on there so it would operate well?? 20#? 25#?
Also, does anyone know a site that sells the 6500??
Iv'e seen sites that have the Ambassueder anti-backlash, ambassuder long cast or something, Ambassuder C3 and C4 series, ambassueder big game or something, I don't know which one to get, none of them have the "6500" or "7000" in model, so please tell me of any sites that sell the "6500". What pound test does the 6500 hold??:confused: :cool:

Mrmacey:

If the boat won't go slow enough drag a drift anchor.
I have the same problem and it works great.

A little more classy than draggin 5 gal buckets.

The drift anchor comes in handy for other situations too.

But can you take a leak in a drift anchor?

SnS - the cheap 7000C is the bushing model, no bearing bottom of the line 7000 reel. It's the new Taiwan Spec model that can be bought at Wally World for around a hundred. You could put 27 THousand feet of 10 pound Fireline on it and if yer ch#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g bait you would snap off every cast. That reel can hold 270 yds of 20# mono or 400 yds of braid. How far can you cast? Work with me here. Do you think you need 1200 feet of 35# braid on the real? Plus, that braid is gonna get REALLY expensive filling up a 7000 as you backlash and backlash and backlash while you learn to cast conventional (or get a 7000 Big Game and I'll buy it cheap if you get frustrated).

You'll want to use a comfortable mono line when learning a conventional - no superlines need apply - trust me on this.

If you want the BEST learning experience for conventionals while fishing in the bay, use a 6500 (C3 or TCST), spooled with 15-20# Big Game Green (buy the 1# spool - you'll need it). This will be the most versatile - maybe even just versatile enough to handle all the different fishing you are talking about. But you will need 2 new rods, a chunking rod and a seperate eel/plug rod as you have 2 totally different styles involved.

So - this is what I recommend you do. Get an ABU 6500C3 from capecodtackle.com or weekapaug.com (our sponsors both closest to you). BUT save your money up for now because the last 3 years, ABU kicks off the end of winter with a $15 off coupon that should get the reel down around $60-70. A LOT of the "6500c3" reels in inventories at other shops and superstores are the older style - not the REAL GOOD old ones or the decent newer style from the last few years, but the cranky, high plastic content, unsmooth mid 90s model.

If you are really good, and save up $80-90, you can get the 6500TCST - Trophy Striper. This reel has the big handle which most of us prefer, a tick smoother than the C3, and a purty little picture of a Striper on the side.

Either reel should eventually be upgraded to the Smoothie Drag washers (4-8 bucks).

If you are going to get into conventional, expect to take at minimum a few months to get used to it so you should still bring your spinner with you. Some people take a while (took me a year to get adequate) and some people never do get comfortable on the switch.

Thanks John,
As I said in "Preparing for spring" I would be using my spinfisher for lures and let the conventional sit with bait.
Plus, I have had a year experience with a Quantum Energy freshwater baitcasting reel, and by now i have a very "educated thumb" with it. Will this do??????

If you really want a Squidder, here's what I would do. First thing, I'd flush the spool bearings (located in each side plate) and put STP or some other heavy viscosity lube in there, to slow it down where you don't backlash 3 out of 5 casts. Then I would buy a spare spool. I would load one spool with 30# mono, to use for bait fishing--the reason being, it's easier to pick backlashes out of thicker line, and also, the thicker line won't get damaged as easily on the backlashes. On the spare spool, for eels, I would put on either 50# Gudebrod braided Dacron, or 40# Cortland Micron Dacron. These are thicker than the new "superbraids" and are easier to control than mono. Plus, they're cheaper than the thin braids and won't knot as easily when you backlash. Then, I would practice. Go out on warm days this winter, and practice both controlling the spool on the cast, and leveling the line with your thumb. The weight of a sinker and bait can overcome some serious errors in evenly spooling, but throwing eels at night won't be as forgiving of unleveled line---but the dacron is more forgiving of casting errors than mono.

As far as the 6500 goes, it's impractical for anything heavier than 20# mono. It holds about 160 yards of 20, so anything heavier than that is going to put you in the "in danger of spooling range". Secondly, even with Smoothie washers in there, the drag won't hold that much pressure. It doesn't make sense to trade off capacity for strength if a drag won't let you apply the added strength.

thanks mike P, but I am gettin the baitrunner i think, please tell me what u think of my idea in "HOW BOUT SPINNIN'"
that would help alot, i want to finalize this idea.
thanks:cool: