I feel like I have been offcially initiated My first Sportco purchase.

try it out yet? i've always been curious to how one of those 5600AB reels works

one of these might be my next purchase(when i can find the money), not really common in the US:

5500CS Pro Rocket:


or a 5500CS Mag:


hatteras outfitters sells them, as well as a lot of cool ambassadeur stuff like bearing retrofit kits so you can add an extra bearing to a C3, ceramic rocket bearings, and low and high gears. but for everything else i'll stick to sportco

Save your recipt, Garcia has had allot of problems with the AB models. Take it back and get a Shimano Curado. It has a VBS system and will make you feel like a real pro caster. Garcia's are great reels, This was a flub in thier long line of fine products.

Hey coyote thanks for the headsup...does the reel your talkng about have magnetic and centrifugal..I saw one the Cabelos was selling and I am sure its made by Shimano....have you seen it?
What types of problems should I be looking for?

Thanks Again
Paul

yep tall keep the receipt. my son, nephew , and myself all had those ab fail within the first month a few years ago. traded them in for the regular abu reels 5500 and 6500. if you get them wet, the anti backlash they'll bird nest on worse than any regular baitcaster. watch out for the snap ring that holds the braking mech together, thats what failed on ours

Hey Griz...thanks for the heads up....hows the Cow...have you been lately?

Thanks Again guys I'll keep ya posted
Paul

all ambassadeur fans: if you really want the best reel abu makes, invest in the ambassadeur morrum...i've been using the m5600c for almost a year now and it is hands down the best baitcasting reel i have ever used( and i've tried just about everything out there with the exception of the japanesemodel shimanos)...it is a little spendy retail but i got mine off ebay for under $125, it did take a few months for the bids on them to stay in the range i wanted to pay for it but my persistence paid off big time..

sorry but those antibacklash reels really suck!!

Can't go wrong with a 200/201 or 250/251 Shimano Calcutta. I think the Calcutta TE is my next reel

Thanks for the replys....the longer the thread lives the more the "opinions" come out of the wood work. You know like they say, Opinions are like as*h....oh never mind.

My goal is to master a baitcast reel. I currently have multiple setups and more and more have become discouraged with my spincast setups.

I have a question for such informed guys on what sucks and what doesn't.
Can you explain to me the advantages/disadvantages of magnetic vs centrifugal AB systems? Seems mfg's choose one or the other and there only one I have found that combines both, but it is a small capacity reel.

I look forward to hearing more on this, thanks in advance

Paul

i think mag systems work a bit better. i think most ambassadeurs have a centrifugal brake system, my C4 does(it's on the right side of the spool, 2 little plastic brake pads that move out when it spins)

personally though, i've always done best just using my thumb

Have to agree here..... I have 2 Calcuttas (51 and 201) and they are the best by far, and I have owned alot of different brands....

MC

Thanks guys, I placed an order for a new Shimano AxisV2 ...a little lighter that the Calcutta and half the cost. It is a Japan model. I also am going to try out the Mörrum.
I let ya know how it compares to the new AB.

Paul

Hey Paul, nice reel but your spincasters are just too cool looking to put away!! So, what made you decide to modernize??

Haven't been out much lately until the knee heals up, but I'll ring you when I do. Supposedly there are fish everywhere down here, yet I haven't seen much.

Glad to hear you finally made it to Sportco!

I bought an ambassador 6500 this spring at sportco. hardly used it, but now when I get fish on, the tension makes the spool "squeek" and bind up. I could hardly reel humpies in the other week. I pulled the side off and pulled the spool out, but cannot see anyting wrong. I2 years ago bought a 5500 c3, and the button stuck down all the time for awhile, though now it seems okay.
I wonder if abu has gone downhill in the past few years.

-rbf

I used to fish the ambassador reels also until i picked up a Shimano curado. Every ambassador real that I have ever had has had the barrings starting going out after one season. Besides for casing light weight or spinners they tend to have backlash problems. The shimano curado can cast light weight with out a problem. Pick up a shimano, they're a bit spendy, you will never go back.

Hey Steve left ya message, knee sounds as bad as I thought.

Nope, still have Grandad's reels that I still keep rigged, you know me. Just want to try soemthing different, I tried a 6500 and thought it was a super nice reel. I wanted the control of the AB to develop technique.

I bend a lttile to the pressure to buy the smooooothest, most ball bearingest, stuff just to see, but you know Ill never throw away my Johnsons.

I have caught more damn fish on those reels than can be imagined and light test to boot.

CAll when you can

Paul

Hows this? LOL

is that so you can play tetris when you're fishing?

advantages/disadvantages of magnetic vs centrifugal AB systems.

Magnetic puts the same drag on the spool the duration of the cast, centrifugal winds up to a constant speed during the cast, there is nothing realy wrong with the centrifugal system execpt it has more moving parts, and sounds different when casting. I can tell you when I worked at Ace Hardware fishing section we got lots of returns on the ABU reels and little to none on the shimano's. I have over 20 shimano reels some are 15 years old and still work like they were new...DJ

Holy Sheat, Batman! What the hell kinda' reel is that?? C'mon Paul, get it under control buddy!!

That thing looks like it should shake for you when you pee over the gunnels. Does it have a laser sight for sight casting?

I still have my 5500D from when I was a young'n. Still going strong after 28 years (?) I had my knuckles busted more than once with it... (ah the good ol' days!)

i've always wanted to stumble on a 5000D at a garage sale for $5 bucks or something like that. i'd be able to reach a higher level of satisfaction using something without a drag, just like the old timers

paul,
I have not seen the new model you picked up post a pic! One thing about the Jap. models, You won't be able have it worked on for warrenty repair. I was thinking of getting a scorpion untill my Shimano rep, Phil said I would be on my own for any problems. I ended up with another Curado 200. The Calcutta series are great reels except for one thing, the metal side plates will pull the heat right out of your hands. The Morrum reels from garcia do have a fatal flaw, the over sized bearing next to the spool gives out under heavy pressure. My 4000 broke down after one trip to te vedder.

I for one will never buy another calcutta again... way overrated! I have had a 251 for 3 years now. It has had to have major repairs for the last 2. It has cost me nearly $90 for the repairs. The drag washers keep burning up after a summer of catching salmon. When I send it in, the repair rep tells me to wash the reel better in freshwater after saltwater use, then the next year the same guy says "never wash your reel in water, spray it down with wd40" big time mixed message. I bought a 6501 special edition in June, and its great. After hundreds of salmon in the salt this year, no sign of needing an overhaul.

Just wanted to update you on the Abu AB reel. It has performed flawlessy. I haved fished this reel heavily over the past coupla weeks with ho problems whatso ever. The anti backlash feature is awesome. I turned the AB feature off only to backlash and birdnest after about my tenth cast, turned back on and VIOLA, no backlashes. It is smooooth, casts a mile and so far so good. Now for the real sweet reel. It a Shimano AXIS V II. Its the no frills Calcutta. After all the hubbub about Shimano I thought what the hell. I ordered from a dealer in Japan.
I have 300 ft + of some Japanese 10# super duper line and STILL have room for a ton more line. The reel is tiny> I kinda laughed when I saw it. Cost was about 165.00. It was a good purchase.



Happy Fishin'!
Paul

I felt I needed to report on my "first" trip to Sportco and not necessarily on reels since I think I have one of everything already.

On my lst trip to Westport this year I pulled off I-5 and drove into Sportco in Fife. We were on a mission to grab a couple of Scotty releases for the downriggers. The Scotty display on the wall was empty where the releases I wanted were supposed to be. We asked a "clerk" and he was busy BSing and not really interested in helping us find anything..no wonder since there was far more merchandise strewn all over the floor than on the shelves. You would need to crawl on your hands and knees to find what you need in that place. Unbleieveable mess! We almost gave up but I decided to look around. At the end of the aisle where the Scotty prodcucts were supposed to be organized for sale I found a full pallet of unopened Scotty boxes. In the pile I found several cases of the release I wanted. I just tore open the box and grabbed a couple of bubble packs. Merchandising was non existent in that extremely cluttered store. I am estimating it would take a small army of "clerks" to put all that stuff on the shelves. Since I have had my own retail stores in the past and was also a store manager as well I would have kicked some serious butt around there until the place was merchandised properly. That is just simple common sesnse in business. I suspect the store is staffed with wannabe fishing experts who know very little about selling. Too bad because they really did have a great selection..problem is it is all in disarray on the dang floor. N O way would I drive out of my way to shop there.

I felt I needed to report on my "first" trip to Sportco and not necessarily on reels since I think I have one of everything already.

On my last trip to Westport this year I pulled off I-5 and drove into Sportco in Fife. We were on a mission to grab a couple of Scotty releases for the downriggers. The Scotty display on the wall was empty where the releases I wanted were supposed to be. We asked a "clerk" and he was busy BSing and not really interested in helping us find anything..no wonder since there was far more merchandise strewn all over the floor than on the shelves. You would need to crawl on your hands and knees to find what you need in that place. Unbelieveable mess! We almost gave up but I decided to look around. At the end of the aisle where the Scotty prodcucts were supposed to be organized for sale I found a full pallet of unopened Scotty boxes. In the pile I found several cases of the release I wanted. I just tore open the box and grabbed a couple of bubble packs. Merchandising was non existent in that extremely cluttered store. I am estimating it would take a small army of "clerks" to put all that stuff on the shelves. Since I have had my own retail stores in the past and was also a store manager as well I would have kicked some serious butt around there until the place was merchandised properly. That is just simple common sesnse in business. I suspect the store is staffed with wannabe fishing experts who know very little about selling. Too bad because they really did have a great selection..problem is it is all in disarray on the dang floor. N O way would I drive out of my way to shop there.

Grandpa, Interesting post. I made my purchase via the ole internet so I cant attest to the mess you talk about.

What a shame as I have heard it is an awesome place as far as selection and quantity of items ......

The store is big and does have alot of merchandise but they need a store manager who understands how to run a store I think. Just my opinion. Especially when you have a bunch of clerks who would rather stand around and pretend to be fishing experts by giving pontifications to anyone who will listen instead of helping people find things to buy.

Oh by the way..shouldn't leave this without saying that there are some examples of big selection with professional management: Bob's in Longview and Swains in PA and Port Townsend. All are too far for me so I stick with Ted's in Lynnwood and Three Rivers in Woodinville.

Grandpa 2 sorry to hear about your bad experience at sportco.Yes you do see a lot of inventory on the floor and also above the displayed items but every time ive been there since it opened there have been stockers running around replacing items kinda like costco, my guess is that its due to the volume of merchandise and people that go thru the store on a daily basis.Ive never seen a sales person or a fisherman that wasn't a bullshi**er so yes you do have to wait, at times longer than i care to but they usually have the answers or items I'm looking for.As for management using swains or others for comparison is like comparing what it takes manage a business like costco versus a 7-eleven they don't even come close to having the inventory or number of employees. I'm not trying to argue with you (was always taught to respect my elders )but i think sportco is the best sporting-goods store in this state

I sure don't intend to base my long time view of Sportco on the one time I stopped in. I'll stop again and see if things have changed. By the way I didn't find prices any better than Outdoor Emporium....or even GI Joes for that matter. Maybe if they issued free knee pads at the front door the customers could crawl around the floor looking for stuff without hurting their knees...

The number one reason I shop at sportco is because of their prices, Im not sure what you say is overpriced, but all of the gear I buy is way cheaper then GI Joes..ect. Personally I don't like salespeople bothering me every 10 seconds about needing help, if I did I would seek it. The only complaint I have is their hours. When you work all day its hard to get over there before six, and if I do make it I have 15 minutes to shop. But other then that I prefer it over anywere else