# Catfish Reel Question



## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

TRN200G from Shimano a good catfish reel? 14lbs. max drag 1 ball bearing Gear Ratio 4:3:1 Weight 13.2oz. I am looking for a new reel for the Ohio River I have a 6500c3 but a gear is ate up and don't know how to fix it so I was looking for and new reel at a good price and just about the same as the 6500c3. :B


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

Depends on your budget and the price. Also, 14lbs max drag seems a bit low for catfish in the ohio river IMHO. Not sure what your budget is but the Daiwa BRi 4000 or 5000 with the bait runner feature seems like a good reel for you situation... just sayin'.

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## Ðe§perado™ (Apr 15, 2004)

That 6500c3 is a good reel for what you want. Not sure how you tore up the gears. But check into a reel repair shop, it is cheaper than a new reel. But check out catfishconnection.com for best prices on reels.


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## catfish_hunter (May 31, 2005)

the shimano triton TRN200G reels are great catfish reels. Ive had several and know alot of guys here locally that use them religiously! They are basically the same thing as a charter special just have a star drag instead of a lever drag...Great reels and you can get em on ebay for about 40 bucks.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Chuck is exactly right. Same reel as Charter Special with star drag instead of lever drag. They are half the price. I have maintained that TRs are one of the best bargains in flathead reels.

For the fella worried abut drag capacity:

M. Magis got a 62 pound flathead on a TR and I have landed several 50+ pound flats with them. Not sure what more you might need. In any case 
it will handle more drag and line capacity than a 6500.

James:

I believe your levelwind bound up on the 6500 then the "gear" broke.
Inspection should prove the counter gear (which runs the levelwind worm gear) has teeth missing and is binding the reel. The countergear is white plastic and the only non metal gear in your 6500. It is designed to give out before you can do damage to the main gearing in the reel.

You can merely disassemble and replace the gear or remove it and your levelwind assembly and continue fishing without levelwind.

Replacing the counter gear may not repair the oringinal cause of the failure which I believe is a bound worm gear which could be caused by dirt or pawl wear or overtightning.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Like Robby mentioned, the TR reels have done well for us. I&#8217;ve had mine for going on 10 years probably, and though they haven&#8217;t been used lately, they were used hard for the previous 7 years. I never had one fail me. 
BTW, 14 lbs is more drag than you&#8217;ll need for any fish in Ohio. Worse case you thumb the spool, but you won&#8217;t have to around here.


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## flatcat (Dec 1, 2012)

Hello all, sorry to bring back this thread up but I have been trying to find some info on this reel with no luck. 

Same setup (TRN200G) for catfish but wanted to know if the reel makes a constant clicking sound when reeling like the old TR model. I don't mean the clicker alert, just when regular reeling. 

Thank you all.


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## JohnPD (Jun 12, 2012)

flatcat said:


> Hello all, sorry to bring back this thread up but I have been trying to find some info on this reel with no luck.
> 
> Same setup (TRN200G) for catfish but wanted to know if the reel makes a constant clicking sound when reeling like the old TR model. I don't mean the clicker alert, just when regular reeling.
> 
> Thank you all.


It will be harder to find info in that reel due to it being discontinued, but as already mentioned a 14lb drag is more than enough for anything Ohio has to offer. That being said the Abu 6500 series is plenty of reel for anything Ohio has to offer.
If you're set on the shimano triton TRN200G reels, tackledirect has them new for $69.99.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Just a little note to explain Mmagis point of view.
Any catfish in Ohio can mean cats over 70 pounds.
I have landed flathead up to 52 pounds with an Abu
6500.










But this fish had a better chance than average of escaping.
I would have had much more confidence in a TR 200
with a fish of this size.










Mike did not mention several 60+ pound flathead we have caught
on the TR 200. The larger capacity allows us to spool over 150
yards of 36# test braided dacron and put much more pressure
on larger fish.










Mike did point out the TR is durable. A few large flathead will quickly
wear out the drag disks on the Abu.










So if you rarely expect cats over 30 pounds the Abu
may be a better fit. To feel confident to land larger
cats I would reccomend the TR.


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## JohnPD (Jun 12, 2012)

Great info, thanks!


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## Eriesteamer (Mar 9, 2007)

I fix reels just to have something to do. I like get some reels to fix as I got nothing to do but read post in here. Plus I got lot Penn reels to sell or trade on broken ones. I maybe quit fishing as no one cares go any more and I never wear out these reels at 20 plus I got. there is other then penns in my load. one is a philuger that one is only one I care keep. all are small or medium no big salt water in lot.ones a penn 321 GT my best penn in mint shape not used very much rest are the there next line down the 309 line one thems a green one and that ones a collector item rest are there black and red ones. 
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What the heck you guys do with the big cats. I use then for garden fertilizer and carp to. if any in here eat these what they taste like. I caught a blue cat this summer about 25 inches and threw it back but now wonder if I should ate it. there the better to eat but with all the eyes I catch really need not eat them. by the way those in pictures in here beat any I ever caught. they look big enough to eat me rather then me eat them LOL


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