[eelman]

Hey john, Im not picking a fight here and I dont how to use those "smiley" thingamajigs here.

I think your assesmant of the 7000C is wrong and off base,Those reels cast just as far as the bearing 7000C3. The other advantage of the bushing reels are that they can handle more abuse form saltwater getting in them,The bearing reels were extremely tempermental.We (joe and I) Changed the bearings to bushings in our 7000 reels for better reliability.I have used 7000 reels for many years and I know how much of a headache they can be,the drags would constantly fail when even the slightest water got in and, if your fishing right you are bound to take a wave or two.Thats why I stayed away from them for the past 6 years.Im sure they still use the same crappy drag they alwayes did and, have done nothing to seal it up better.Using the bushings was one less thing to worry about when there were a host of other problems with the abu reel's.

They may have changed,I dont know.From what I have seen they look the same.Shimano did a fantastic job with the calcutta,as did penn with the 965 and 955,They gave fisherman what they realy want for a change versus how "pretty a reel looks" or buying into the "cast to the moon craze" The worst has to be the 500 ball bearing deal!! all you need is two at the most at each end of the spool. All the newbies and techies,buy into that stuff,its the wrong thing to do.Fishing equipment should be "reliable" first and formost and, i'm sorry to say, abu-garcia is seriously lacking in that department.The second thing tackle should be is easy to maintain,ripping a reel down everyweek to change drags is not my idea of easy to maintain.My penn's and shimanos have NEVER had to be taken down for drag maintainence and, that says alot.

Shimano and penn kept it simple,made it stronger and more durable and have the best drags on the market bar none!!

I said it before,and I'll say it again. more fish are cast over,than cast too.....Look for a reel that can handle the test of time!!