Conventional Setup Advise
 

I'm looking to get my first conventional setup this winter and I'm looking for some advise. I've never fished conventional before. I'm looking for a set up for fishing 1.5 - 3 oz lures and eels since that's what I mainly fish so I'll get the most oppurtunities to get used to it. If I end up really liking conventionals, I'll get a heavier setup later. I'm thinking about a 1202L (I really want a two piece because this is a rod that will end up being left in my truck and only fished on shorter walks until I really get the hang of it) and an abu reel. The reel is what I'm looking for the most advice on. I'm looking to spend around $150 or so and based on the little that I know I was thinking about a 6500 size. The model is the real question. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The ones made in Sweden are the best ones right? Thanks for any input.

look on ebay for a used 6500 cs mag or mag elite. they are hard to find, but they are out there. I absolutly love mine. you can throw one ounce stuf up to giant pikies with this reel.
yes, made in sweeden is the best.

the sports mag is another option, but ive never used one so i cant comment.

if your starting out, make sure you get a level wind.(in abu speak, thats CS )

You can trust Nebe, he's a die hard conventional guy from way back :hihi:

:hidin:

There was a guy selling blem Chrome Rockets on EBY for a great price a while back. Not a mag but just as good.

-spence

i've gotten away from convench' for the most part but would never part with my 6500cs mag elite- great reel!

just remember spence, i have taken more 20 lb bass in one night than in your entire bass fishing carrer :D how many other members are you going to insult today?

Abu just reinstated the original Big Game 6500 CL(leveleind) and CS(non-levelwing)Black Body. Best 6500 ever made for the salt. Also reinstated the Mag Elite and a few new issues, Custom Chrome Rocket georgeous reel and more models. We will have them in the shop in the next month or so.

Don M
King Cove Outfitters
www.kingcoveoutfitters.com

Don, the CL is non-level wind and the CS is level wind. Thats good to hear, maybe i will come down and pick up a big game from you :D

I don't think so Eben. A CL is the levelwind where as a CT is the open frame :usd:

aHHH YOU ARE CORRECT! :read:

I have to second the 6500 ambassadeurs that were recommended to you. I taught myself conventional on that reel and even for a beginnger its a joy to toss. My only complaint as a lefty is I wish they offered a greter selection for southpaws. As for ebay and the chrome rockets, think the guy to look for is Magnus from Sweden, tho I havent seen him offer anything recently.

I think I owed you one :devil2:

-spence

the 6500 is a good reel, but the drags are a little sticky.

spend a little extra and try out a Daiwa Millionaire CV-X msrp is 170 or the CV-Z is around 200

I have the cv-x 300 and it is awesome.

check ebay often.

here's a pic of the cv-z 300a:

Thanks for the replies guys. I got a pm that made me do some more research and now I'm leaning towards paying alittle more for the calcutta 400. Your thoughts? It seamed to get the nod over the abu in all the older posts that I searched.

I've had problems with the calcuttas, thats why i switched to daiwa.

the drags in the calcuttas are dartanium and very fragile. After a few big fish they will most likely give you problems. You can upgrade the drags however. The calcutta TE's are another story, I'm not sure what drags are in them, but i hear good things, but expensive!

Changing the drag washers in a 6500 is no big deal to any good tackle shop. I have Penn HT100's in mine. I believe they are from a 965. For less than $150 you can get a Swedish 6500CS Rocket from that guy in Australia. This is arguably the best levelwind ever from Abu. 6500's are so easy that you really don't need the magged versions unless you are casting non-levelwinds in distance tournaments. The levelwind hardware adds just enough resistance to the cast to control most backlashes.

I wouldnt trade my 525 mag for anything; but you have to be able to thumb the line in the dark w/o looking
the 6500 mag elite is an expensive starter reel, but good to learn on, crank the mags up a hair to limit backlashes at first; back them off a bit and the distance will come...

Changing the drag washers in a 6500 is no big deal to any good tackle shop. I have Penn HT100's in mine. I believe they are from a 965. For less than $150 you can get a Swedish 6500CS Rocket from that guy in Australia. This is arguably the best levelwind ever from Abu. 6500's are so easy that you really don't need the magged versions unless you are casting non-levelwinds in distance tournaments. The levelwind hardware adds just enough resistance to the cast to control most backlashes.

Magged Avet. :bl:

always switch the drag out on the abu 6500s. ive got extreme smoothies in all mine. awsome drag. i dont think the washers are more than like, $10. it takes no time to put them in.

abu 6500s rock.

Seems like level wind would be the way to go for a beginner. I've thought about buying a conventional outfit for fishing the ditch where the extra casting distance would really help. How much distance would the level wind take off vs non-level wind? A level wind will still cast much farther than a spinner, right?

You might want to look at the larger abu too. When I was checking them out this spring, I learned that the the 7000 size has a bigger and better drag system than the 6500. If you are fishing braid, you might get away with the narrow spooled version of the 7000, which will hold around 300+-yards of 50# braid. I think JHABS has the narrow spooled one with the conversion kit and mentioned that it casts extremely well. The 400 TE calcuttas are real nice, and I will be purchasing another one for next year. We fished the 400 TE for the last five years during rhody commercial season, and they hold up extremely well.

I believe tha "much farther" is usually an overstatement.. One reason is that in many places you don't have the room to get a nice long drop and full back swing. I find it is easier to punch it out there with a spinner in those situations and it is often hard to put more than 75 or 80% power into it with a conventional. 95% with a spinner definately outshoots 75 or 80% with convench. That said, I still stick to my abu 7000's at the canal. Any way, many of the guns there really bang it out w/ con. even in tight spots. When I push it, I inevitably send a jig across the canal sans an attached line :hs: If room to cast isn't an issue, I figure the convench in the hands of someone who can use it will go farther than a spinner in them same hands

IMO , there's no contest. the black BG reels were the best ABU made. Glad to see the 6500's coming back. Now how about bringing back the Black BG7000's too.!

I've posted a million times that the BG 7000CL is my canal reel. For beaches , I have both a BG6500cl and a Clacutta 400. For areas where I don't need big distance and for eels I like the Calcutta for the drag. Anywhere I need distance and am fishing lures , I like the BG6500 better. On very bad wind in your face days with eels , I like the 6500CS Mag.

Oh , BTW , on ABU's both CS and CL are levelwinds. CT is non levelwind.

calcutta 400

yup, best there is

The only thing to note on the calcutta is that the mono line capacity is a little on the low side if you are fishing 25# test or larger. Figure a good cast and a decent fish on the end and you can be looking at the bottom of your spool pretty quickly. Braid is no problem. I think a couple guys here use 20# ande and that is what I would also recommend if you use mono on this reel. From the boat you can get away with 25# because you can chase, but even that gets hairy once in a while.

The line capacity is what I was worried about with both the calcutta and the abu 6500 when I started doing more research. I won't be using more than 20# mono test (and I'll most likely switch to braid when I figure out what I'm doing) but even with that the capacity seems alittle low to me, but I know that most of you guys have more experience with this than me.

When you guys talk about the calcuttas, what model are you refering to. Looking around on line I've seen CT, B, and TE (the TE is out of my range).

Thanks again for all the responses.

The line capacity on the Calcutta 400 and Abu 6500 is virtually the same.

Figure you'll get about 160-170 yards of 20# mono (using Big Game as my benchmark).

That's enough under most circumstances. Unless you're throwing to another zip code and hit a fish at the end of your cast ;)

I have never had a line capacity problem with the calcutta 400 and have fished them for 10 years, I have landed fish of all sizes and in all conditions up to 50lbs. Mike is correct, unless your casting to alaska, its not a problem at all.......