# are the abu garcia 6500 tccf catfishing reels any good?



## bigcatman

i got a couple of questions im looking at this combo in cabelas the abu garcia 6500 tccf reel with king kat pro casting rod are they any good do they hold up well or are they to heavy of tackle for ohio lakes and want to fish tusc river and be able to bring fish in. should i get a 8 ft mh rod or 7-7 1/2 heavy rod not sure what to get need help ? any ideas would be helpful i dont want buy to heavy of a set up but i have heard diffrent things about the reel and nothing about the poles.


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## Fishman

Not really sure, but here's my 2 cents. 

I recently purchased 2 new AB6500C3's. I hate to say it, but they are shoddy. Without going into lengthy detail, they are nothing compared to the older 6500's. Which I own 2 of those, and I've put them through hell and back and they're still tough as nails, with minimum upkeep. I'm not sure, but if I had to guess Abu's reels arn't being manufactured where they use to be, or they are cutting the quality of the stuff they're putting inside. I consistanly have problems with them, if I wasn't so lazy, I would of returned them to BPS and got the same reels hoping that it was just the batch I picked up.

If the price is right go for it, other wise you might want to get some suggestions on other reel makes.


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## flathunter

Those are very good reels..I have used 15-lb test line on mine for channel cats, and 30-lb test for flatheads..I caught a 50-lb flathead on one..I dont know anything about those rods...I use quantum bigcat rods, m/h and heavy action.


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## jfout

I seen those today while browsing cabelas, I think its pretty much a standard 6500 C3 w/ a catfish engraved on the side and it cost 15 more dollars cause it has the power handle, which you can buy from cabelas seperate. My main concern was the King Kat Pro Rods, I know the BPS CatMaxx rods are good cause I have fished with them, but haven't heard many reviews on the King Kat Pro rods. 7-7 1/2 MH- H would be the way to go, especially if your fishing snags and have to horse a fish around alittle bit. I think rod and reel combos rely heavily on the type of cover your fishing. Im gonna check out the Shakespeare Tidewater T15 and T20 for the price , also Penn Levelwinds . Tons of options out there, so do your homework.


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## Abu65

I love the Abu 6500 & 7000 wouldnt get anything else. Try the new boss rods by Jim Moyer they are awesome I have the light, mediem & heavy and like all 3, however the medium is becoming my goto rod for most situations except high current.


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## H2O Mellon

Dont hesitate for a second on buying a Cabelas King Cat rod, espically the King Cat Pro's. Maybe JLEach (OGF mbr) will see this, I think he knows some people that are sponsored by Cableas & the King Cat rods if I recall. Please dont let the price $20 for the reg King Cats or $40 for the Pros fool you. Those are both ood rods for the $. I just sold a Pinnacle Bait runner reel on a King Cat (reg rod) to a OGF mbr & I think he was surprised w/ the rod as well. With that being said that particular rods was made for more channels & lake flats not really heavy river. For HEAVY river fishing it's hard to beat a Qunatun Big Cat for $40. But the HEAVY Big Cats can be overkill for small Channel Cat fishing.

Now heres my take on 6500's. I have owned several & I sware I perder the Red 6000's over the 6500's. I like the clickers better on the 6000's that I have, I think I;ve had 4 of the 6000's & 3 of the 6500's. The main difference is the 6500's have bearings & the 6000's have bushings. So you can spend all day casting the 6500's (for Muskies) & be fine where you wouldnt be as comfortbale casting the 6000's all day long. I had this ezplained to me by an ABU rep at my local tackle store. Very interesting stuff. He basically said for Catfishing save $20-25 & get the 6000's, although he did say nothing beats the 7000's (of corse they are lots more $ too.)


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## Tadpole

I agree with Mellon .. i'm the proud owner of 2 Cabela's KingKat rods and have nothing but good things to say about them. I was hesitant to buy one at first because of the cheaper price till i seen and used one a friend of mine had and my mind changed in a hurry.
Also .. my casting rods all have Abu Garcia 6500's w/ power handles and they are definitely my favorite by far. Buy that combo and you won't be disapointed !!!

Best of luck, Good Fishin'


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## catfishhunter33

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## jfout

My bad, the 6500 tccf has 4 ball bearings, but has a Gear Ratio of 5.3:1 like the C3's. So I was mistaken when I seen the gear ratio and figured it was C3, but now I know that C3's have Two BB + one roller bearing, and Gear ratio of 5.3:1. So in essence its a C3/C4 Hybrid.


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## Robocat

I own 4 Abu Garcia reels which include two 6501C-3's, one 6001B, and my newest reel is one of those new Big Game reels, version 7001 HS. My favorite one is a older 6501C which is probably 12 years old. I feel that it is a better built reel then my newer 6501C which is only 1-2 years old. However, I also like the 6001B that I own and I use it on a older 7.5ft medium heavy action BPS Power Plus Trophy class rod which I really like....As you may know by the model #'s of my reels all are left hand retrieve as this is a personal preference of mine as I'm used to using spinning gear and prefer the reel handle on the left side.....I've not really had a chance to use my Big Game 7001 reel which I have combo'd with a 9ft Eagle Claw-Cat Claw medium heavy action rod. I intend to use this rig primarily for Flathead fishin, however, I have never specifically fished for Flatheads before as all of my catfishing experiences thus far has been on Channels and Blues.


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## catfishhunter33

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:F


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