I have four abu's and love them. I oil and grease them a couple of times a year and never have problems. If you keep your reels oiled good enough when you forget to rinse them off after you fish in salt it helps. but you should rinse them after fishing in saltwater.

Posted Fri May 01, 2009 5:34 pm

I fish in saltwater almost everyday in the summer... I dont like the abu garcia reels. For the money I'd rather buy a penn or a newell reel. They last a lot longer, the penns are easy to buy parts for and fix and the newells dont break, least not that i have encountered! Abu Garcia's wear out too quickly and gumm up with salt residue too easily for me to spend the money on, like I said, Penn and Newell reels are bulletproof.

Posted Fri May 01, 2009 8:44 pm

Man I am a Garcia....seriously...i do like there reels.... Laughing

Posted Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:00 am

Man I am a Garcia....seriously...i do like there reels.... Laughing

Posted Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:00 am

Definitly Abu Garcia's fan

Posted Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:01 am

I do like them for freshwater. When i was a kid abu garcia and mitchell was what everyone wanted till they sold out to diawa if i remember right and the quality went down hill. Used to order them out of the spiegel catalog.

Posted Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:47 am

i like abu garcia reels..i have had a few in the past but they got lost when i was moving. not saying i wouldnt get another one, but lately, for the money, okuma has offered more of what im looking for.I only really fish in fresh water.If i ever start fishing salt regularly again i think id favor Penn, just because they are built mostly for salt water.

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:05 pm

Go Fish ABU GARCIA-BUILT FOR LIFE
THATS WHAT I USE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE Go Fish

Posted Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:15 pm

I have a Black Max bait cast that sometimes malfunctions on me. Spool will spin backwards when setting hook, resulting in major snarl. Cleaned and lubricated several times and still can't correct this random problem. Sometimes when reeling in, I can turn handle in opposite direction and spool may or may not lock in position. Love casting with it, but this issue is a pain.
I have a couple of Quantum reels which I have never had issue with.
All used strictly in fresh water.

Posted Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:46 pm

Posted Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:47 pm

Thanks pramsey.
Haven't been able to see any worn parts or anything not engaging as it should.
Gonna take it apart again tonight and have another go at it.
My reel is the lower end of their low profile line, so if I can't find the problem, I may end up just buying an upgraded model.

Posted Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:43 am

could be just something a little dirty or gummy from old grease or a bit of grit not allowing something to engage properly. Good luck!

Posted Sat Aug 07, 2010 12:00 pm

I remembered this post from last summer. There was an article in Saltwater Magazine recently that wrote about fishing for fluke off the coast of New Jersey. At the end they recommended equipment. They recommended a couple of reels and one of them was the Abu Garcia 6500. I checked it out and it looked like it would be a good fit for what I want to do. I ended up getting it. It seems to work great and I am looking forward to trying it out, hopefully soon.

I do have some Penn reels that I like and a Shimano Symetre that has worked really well. But, the Abu Garcia 6500 seemed to be a perfect fit for flukin. Plus, it is nice to be able to get the hand retrieve on the left hand side.

Posted Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:17 pm

I know this is a bit late date wise, but hell yeah, ABU rocks for freshwater. I use a C5 Mag on a Cabela's Fish Eagle II 2 piece heavy action baitcaster for pike in the CT river and I have no complaints. Gonna start getting some sinning reels as well as more baitcasters for bass. I've fished abu-garcias since childhood and have always had no trouble. Very Happy

Posted Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:31 pm

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