Abu Garcia Trolling Reels?

[King of Fishing]

I am in the business for some round baitcasting trolling reels and would like to stick to Abu Garcia, does anyone agree with this choice?

Abu Garcia® Ambassadeur® STX Round Reel | Abu Garcia®

(It would be in the 5600 size). If not, please post some other suggestions.

Thank You.

[Orion_70]

I havent' used that one, I really like the C4 6600

[Crestliner08]

Got my first 5000C back in the '60's. Since then, I've give two of my older ones to my grandkids and still have 4 in service. I've had 5000's 5500's & 6500's. Reliable, dependable, and versatile.

I've been in a boat with a lot of great fishermen over many decades. Some have had some really expensive rods & reels. None could do anything that I couldn't do with my 5500C. And I can't tell you how many bass, catfish, northern pike and carp that these reels have helped me land.

There are more expensive round reels, but trust me, nothing will top these in the performance column. And you can pass them down to the generations up & coming. They'll get a lifetime of use out of them as well. I call them "bullet proof".

I have no experience with the particular model you cite. However, if they are anything like the regular models...."they'll do to ride the river".....as the old Tx Ranger once said.

[King of Fishing]

Thanks for the info, and to clarify, these reels would be for crappie trolling.

[CrappiePappy]

Thanks for the info, and to clarify, these reels would be for crappie trolling.

Which particular "trolling technique" are you referring to ??

[skeetbum]

I bought my first 5001C in the mid 70's and it was stolen back in Florida. Have had several since and still have a 6501 in the grudge. Don't use it much but can't get rid of it. If they have been taken care of at all, a cleaning and a set of bearings and they will cast as a new one. Fresh and salt, never found anything it couldn't handle if I could handle it. For trolling cranks and jigs, I prefer the smaller body of some of the newer reels. Can't beat no line twist when the drag gets to workin, something all my spinners can't say.

[King of Fishing]

Which particular "trolling technique" are you referring to ??

I honestly don't know of the different techniques, being fairly new to crappie fishing.

[King of Fishing]

Does size matter in a crappie trolling reel? I have seen many on the market that seemed very small, (and very cheap), but being severely impressed with Abu Garcia reels, I decided to look on there first.

[skeetbum]

A very good question. The best suggestion I can make is to not load up on anything until you put a couple on rods and use them for a while. Then get a couple of smaller ones, I use the Shakespeare Axiom in the 20 to $25 range, and see how the difference appeals to you. Casting jigs with an Ambassador will be very tough with the lighter heads, and a little better with 1/8 and up. Cranks will be a breeze and the drag on most any BC reel is super smooth unless it has been stored tight and compressed the drag washer. Then it will be stiff and jerky and break lines. That really goes with any reel, store them with the drag pretty loose and they will last a long time. If you buy one used, pull the line and check for this and noisy bearings.

[Dutch552]

I own more than a dozen ABU reels that I got hooked on as a youngster bass fishing and surf casting. The legacy ABU reels were the most customizable reels on the planet and I've done about every mod possible on them to increase casting distance. The issue with the new STX reels is that they're a spinoff of the Kalex line of value reels that never took a foothold here in the US when ABU introduced them. They would chew through pawls because the non-Swedish made Kalex pale was some pot metal garbage. While I haven't laid eyes on the inside of one of these, I have looked at the schematics online and I'd look elsewhere for that price.

For crappie, the 5600 is overkill in my opinion. If you're dead-set on ABU, shop eBay and look for a good used Made in Sweden legacy 5500c3 or 5600c4 with the thumb bar. Very good condition reels can still be forums for around fifty bucks and will last many times as long as the newer reels with plastic like guides and pawl covers.