Favorite Chinook Reel

[walkersteelhead]

I am just curious what everyones favorite Chinook Baitcaster reel is. Mostly river use I know alot of people use Abu Garcia 6501 c3 but was wondering if there is one that would be a lil added insurance. Thanks all for any replys.

[V. Green]

Abu 6501

[skrimmy]

Abu 6500 C4.

[Sliderite]

Abu 6501 c3

[crabbait]

Quit messin around.........Calcutta 400! :wink:

[First Light Bite]

Abu 6501 c3, but calcutta will be my next upgrade. :grin:

[Timber]

6501

[KENAIDOG]

Calcutta 400 all the way!!!

[Fish Finder]

Daiwa Millionaire CV-Z series

[Redbull]

6501

[Boedy]

Do they make that Daiwa Millionaire CV-Z series in a left hand model ?

[Dipnet]

6500C3

[Fish Finder]

Boedy, yes they do come with left hand models.

[Gone Fishin]

If you want one that will last, go with the Calcutta. They can't be beat!

[Ifishsum]

6501C3

[walkersteelhead]

Thanks for all the responses. Will porobaly run 6501 for know but the Calcutta does look like a strong reel. thanks again.

[Fish'nDude]

Calcutta 401 TE!!!!!

Smooooooooooooooooooth..........

[RvW]

Penn 975cs

[PapaHog]

6501c3

[Whalerman]

Penn 975, also have a Penn 965. Tough, dependable reels, smooth.

[Wright Angle]

Daiwa Millionaire CV-Z series 300A

[luguando]

Penn 965, Abu 6501 C4, Calcutta 400 - all great reels. Of course the best reel is the one with a Chinook on the end of it!

[parthur]

Calcutta 400 all the way. Also doubles for a great sturgeon reel :wink:

[Bob Barthlow]

What no Bantam 50's graemlins/hearton.gif .........great salmon reel..
thats what I went to after after 12 years of 6500's...and jerky drags :depressed: .....also have Calcutta 400's on my downrigger rods......very nice

[Killertraylor]

Calcutta 400 - I've got 5 of them and they all continue to work great even after lots of sturgeon and salmon. I've also got 2 of the Daiwa CVZ 300's and both of them have bearing problems allegedly caused by saltwater exposure and Daiwa refused to repair them under the 1 year warranty because "saltwater corrosion" is excluded - The cvz's are just as smooth as the Calcutta's, but I'd be wary of them as they don't seem to hold up as well and my experience with the warranty dept. was dissatisfying to say the least - it cost $160 to fix them both.

[Nanook]

Originally posted by crabbait:
Quit messin around.........Calcutta 400! :wink: <font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/otn/animals/bablefish.gif

[Stz ll]

Calcuta 400. Best reel on the market. Once you use one you will never be able to use those throw away Ambassadors again.

[spinnermaker]

Bantam 50

[Steelie Steve]

ABU 6501c3

[Small Fry]

6501c3
Although if I had an extra $200.00 I would buy the Calcutta 400. :bowdown: Smooth

[Trophy]

Consensus seems to be:

Democrats: Calcutta

Republicans: 6501

No?

Or is it:

Got money to burn: Calcutta

Never tried Calcutta: 6501

No?

I've tried both Calcutta and Abu: Calcutta

I've only tried 6501: 6501

No?

I give up!

[Airborne]

calcutta's will show em whos boss and takes a beating in the boat with no complaints, and if you have the extra $$$$ go with the TE version...

[Bankbound]

Trophy,
Well said :smile:

[jet]

My screaming 6501 c3.

Jet~~~

[AtWorkALot]

My 6500's are fine for me. Yes, the drag is a little jerky. But, they're easy to fix, and they don't cost a ton o' money....

[Drachir]

Shimano Catala 300, great reel!!

[tipndwater]

for brute stregth i like my shimono triton i have two tr200 never had any problems. they are not a finess reel but they have a very strong drag. for finess i love my calcuttas i have the 250 and 400. i try to use the triton when i use more than 10 onces of weight. i have had some drags fail on the 6500s. good reel for the money is the shimon triton. i just the matter of what you like, and what feels good.
good luck
tipndwater

[HOGGEMIN]

Penn 965 or 975 might try a calcutta te.

[norms gone fishing too]

depends on what i'm doing tosing or pulling plugs at wind or drano, calcuttta 250, plunking kwikfish or alvens 6500c4, plunking from bank
backmax widespool, trolling in wil 6500c4

[no bad days]

penn 965

[Flatfish]

The one with a fish on it.

If you pull divers and herring in salt, the 6500 is grand. But for sled/drifter fishing( you can chase them) the 5500s , with tuf line, will do just fine.

I am not real up to date on the shimano lines. Aren't there reels that use materials that do not like saltwater?? I am not sure.

Mark and the dog.

[Kilgore]

Some hi-end Shimano reels (usually the smaller Chronarchs, Calais, etc.) have magnesium spools that will corrode in saltwater or brackish water. But the bigger reels such as the Calcutta TE were actually designed with saltwater fishing in mind.

[blacktail]

6501

Mike

[monoman]

Reels with metal gears to hold up to big divers.

[Twoshottom]

6501 C3

What's the difference in the C3 and C4 models?

[Tillamook Slugger]

I agree with Trophy. If you have the $$ the Calcutta 400 is the way to go and has a smooth drag like no other. I personally have had a little maintenance problem with it after two hard years (two trips to Ollie Damons, and one in-house repair (thanks SureSet) and will again try it out soon on the Springers. My second choice would be the less expensive Shimano TR100G - solid performance for under $90. I used 6500's and Penn 109's for years with success as well, they just have a weaker drag reaction.

[fishnxtc]

Calcutta 400 is a great reel for salmon, the drag is smooth and I've never had problems. If you want to go cheap like most Abu owners :shocked: :shocked: :shocked: try the shimano TR200. The TR200 is a great sturgeon reel also.....Chris

[ 01-13-2003, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: fishnxtc ]

[fish_on]

if I am trolling a penn 9M or 310, other wise a abu it great. As far as the jerky drags go to this site. They can make your abu cast far and make the drags smooth. They have a kit to make your c3 a magnetic reel. Click misc. then reel candy.

http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/

[Jettin' Fool]

I have 4 6501's and have no problems with them. But I have to agree with a few other posts..... My Calcutta 401 TE is the bomb!! This is one sweeeeet reeeel :grin:

Spendy but very nice.

Fool :cool:

[fatfish]

ABU 6501 C4 and Bantam 50. No question that the Bantam is the better of the two reels. However someone at the factory put the handle on the wrong side of my Bantam.

[TillamookChinook]

ABU 5501c3

[Tyeebuster]

400 Calcutta gets my vote!

[onstep]

Bantam 50's . toughest reel I've used. They have last a LOT longer than the Calcuttas I had.

[Pirate]

ABU 5501