hi all-
i am in the process of having a conventional pole built for me. the rod is a 10 foot 1 piece seeker no. p5100. i need a compatible reel for the this particular set-up. i have narrowed down my search to a penn 975 or a ambasseduer 6500. i was wondering if any of you guys have had any expierence with either of these reels. thanks in advance...

brian

Hey Brian, welcome aboard...

Depends alot on what you are going to be doing what capacity you are going to need and price importance and so on. At the inexpensive side of the scale, the Abu 6500TSCT (Trophy Striper) has 3 bearings, and the power handle for less than 90 bucks. The 6500 Mag Elite is a little smoother for $140 but has the little padle handle and you would probably want the big handle. I have 2 MagEs with the big handles and a Big Game 6500CL and 7000CL and I'm very happy with them. These as well as the 6500 Big Game are all great reels at less $$. The 975 has 30% more capacity and I'm told is an excellent reel (I haven't used one myself, not yet anyways :P ) at a little more money which is retails around $210 but can be found in the high 180-190 range. I know #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& loves his 965, a little smaller than the 975 but he either fishies that or the Calcutta 400...

While looking at these reels, you also need to consider the Calcutta 400. I've got a couple of these too and they're great. Very smooth with a great drag it also has a lower gear ratio which is good when eeling. This reel is usualy a tick under $200 (Shimano doesn't let the dealers discount them).

A couple places to check out are http://www.capecodtackle.com which has them listed online and http://www.weekapaug.com and you can e-mail them for a price...

Reply with some more detail with what you are looking to use it for...
Hope this helps...

ty for the tips john cape cod taclke has the reel for 187 the cheapest i have seen around. i am really a novice at bait casting so i am trying to gain as much info as possible. i appreciate the help.

thank you brian

Glad to help Brian. Capecodtackle does have excellent prices and good service too. I'm not familiar with that model blank, how heavy is it and what will you toss on it?

Thanks,

John

buy the garcia 6500 series, i have two 10ft set-ups. had them for 5yrs and i don't regret buying them. garcia has excellent parts service.

buy the garcia 6500 series, i have two 10ft set-ups. had them for 5yrs and i don't regret buying them. garcia has excellent parts service.

hey john-
seeker bought out saber. it is a composite glass blank that is pretty stiff. i am going to throw either 3 to 4 oz. plugs with it or sling eels with it for those nights on the jetty. it is a pretty expensive blank. the whole set-up ran me about $230. i got into some pretty big fish last season over my way in connecticut and ended up having 4 big ones break me off, which to this day still upsets me. i wanted a combo that will help me combat these mobys lol.
thanks again
brian

Really, I had not heard that Seeker got Sabre. That might be a good thing too as Sabre has been bouncing around for a while now... The Penn probably has a much better drag then the stock Abus (I picked up some Smoothies to upgrade my 6500s) and the Calcutta has a very sweet drag... It's a real tough feeling when your gear can't put the brakes on a nice fish though...

Good luck

Originally, Sabre was started by the guys who now run Seeker and Calstar--another very underrated rod that you hardly ever hear of, like All-Star. Sabre's most recent owner was Pacific Bay, the crappy guide people :( Who actiually made the blanks was never very clear, Cascade Graphite was a company that was often mentioned.

In any event, I would choose the 975 for that application, big plugs and eels. Bigger, beefier gears, and a better drag. Brian sounds like he's going hunting for the cows :), and I'd go with the bigger gun of those two reels. Especially if you're going to use mono.

Mike, you admit that PacBay builds the best butt caps, right ;P even if the rest of their product line is weak or at most, second best when compared to the likes of Fuji... I've head that Cascade has been a clearing house of sorts for blank manufacturers. Some small company comes out with their own line of blanks and all they are is rebadged cascade/sabre/whatever you name it...