If someone were going to buy a tough reel for chinook fishing next year, what would it be. Im looking for a reel that is tough but in-expensive. I have a calcutta, but dont want to use it during the big fish season next year. I also have a cheap garcia reel. Im thinking about trying another garcia but the one I have right now sucks butt. I have a tgc6000c. Its a lower end garcia and you can definately tell. Any suggestions and opinions would be appreciated.

Shimano Bantam 50....$94.99...I know many on this board will tell you much they love theirs and how much abuse they ahve taken...without skipping a beat!

Abu Garcia 6500 C4. A winch you attch to your fishing rod, but still controlable enough to cast jigs, eggs, or spinners. About $75 or less, if you shop around.

I'll second that vote for the Bantam 50 ... countless fish on 'em in my boats over the years ... great reel at a reasonable price!

I second dogfishes choice...I have had mine for about 6 years now and it still is acting like new, I do mostly throw spinners and troll plugs.

A third vote for the Garcias. I have six of one sort or another, some of them close to twenty years old. All are still working, despite a LOT of use and abuse. A 6001 or a 6501 would be my choice for river chinook. Cabela's is a good choice for a source, though GI joes just had them on sale, and they might still be on sale.

One of the good them's about the garcias is that they haven't changed much over the years, so parts are readily available, compared to the Shimanos. I have three shimanos that are getting tired that I can't get replacement drag washers for anymore.

Well, for my 10 bucks you can't beat a Penn 109. And yes, I've bought perfectly good used ones on eBay for just that, and brand new ones for under $30. These things last forever and have the distinct advantage of direct drive or star drag. The 109 has probably been around since the 40's and all the parts are interchangeable over all those years. There is no better king reel made

I have and use both, the Bantam 50 is tougher, they are both great reels, the Bantam is more resistant to salt water.

If you like the Calcutta, I'd recommend the Bantam 50 - but if you prefer direct drive - the (discontinued) Bantam 1000 Plus is my #1 choice. It's a little lighter than the 50 and has bearings instead of bushings. You can still pick some up new on Ebay eg. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1979614143
I also had Ted's put a direct drive button on some 50's, but I think they have discontinued doing that. Shimano still produces the Bantam 1500 - which is similar to the 1000, but with a clunky line counter added: http://fish.shimano.com/baitcasting/bantam/bantam.html

i havent caught a whole lotta kings, but my abu 6501 c3 is my only choice, i jus bought 3 more for under 100$$ and now all i need is 3 new rods...

If you want a 109 it'll either used or lost in the stock room for awhile. Penn quit making 109's a couple yrs back.

i would reccomend abu garcias.
http://www.abu-garcia.com/products/index.cfm

Holy crap. Too many garcias to choose from. I have never seen or heard opinions on allot of those.

I love my calcutta reel, but I guess why im looking at the garcia's, is I want a good reel that will hold a decent amount of high test line that is still a decent price.

Thanks for opinions all.