Is ABU still a quality brand?

[Trampster]

Just doing my mornig trawl through the local Gumtree. A few nice looking Multipliers for sale, but since I don't use them, I have no idea of prices. May be interesting to somebody!
Pair of Abu chrome rockets:

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New boxed Diawa SL250H:

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Pair of Diawa Tournament 7HT's:

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[Mr Fish]

Just doing my mornig trawl through the local Gumtree. A few nice looking Multipliers for sale, but since I don't use them, I have no idea of prices. May be interesting to somebody!
Pair of Abu chrome rockets:

Used stuff for sale | Gumtree

Find the latest stuff for sale on Gumtree. See used items for sale from clothes,electricals, furniture to tickets and more.

www.gumtree.com

New boxed Diawa SL250H:

Used stuff for sale | Gumtree

Find the latest stuff for sale on Gumtree. See used items for sale from clothes,electricals, furniture to tickets and more.

www.gumtree.com

Pair of Diawa Tournament 7HT's:

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www.gumtree.com

Hmm, I’d say those prices were about right assuming the reels are in reasonable condition.

That SL250H is just a very basic boat reel, quite old now. I’ve got one. £35 might be a bit optimistic for that...

 

[dodders]

Hi Steve, I was the same as you in that many years ago I only used to coarse fish, but when I became interested in sea fishing it seemed right to try a multiplier, and an ABU at that! Since then I have a few 6500 Abu's and love them, but like others have said, for clean beaches. I've had no problems with their quality, some made in Sweden and a couple made in China I guess. Didn't take long to get used to them, but a couple of things I found important to avoid birdsnests - don't go too thin on your mainline. Normal 15lb works for me, and more mags or brakes to start with. I can't get on with chucking 5oz plus of lead with a fixed spool.
I know exactly what you mean about the ABU catalogues of the 70's - I stupidly chucked them away years ago and have since been tempted to get a couple on ebay for old times sake

 

[James81]

Might be worth looking on Ebay for an Abu Mag elite with green side plates these are nice reels and quite a few come up on Ebay.
If you don't get on with it you can always sell it on hopefully get back what you spent. They have brake blocks and mags so easier to slow down. The blue elites are nice too but have a ratchet instead of a mag . Some reels have levelwinds best to get a CT which doesn't have the levelwind.

 

[ouchthathurt]

I’ve used the abu 6500 ct rockets for a fair few years, i had 4 of them at one point. I loved them for clean ground work, but I had one pack up on me when trying to haul a bass out of the weed at the mouth of a harbour with a strong tide race. I contacted Abu Garcia a mere year after busting the reel, (a tour of Afghanistan got in the way) asking for details for repairs, I explained the situation and why it took me so long to get it fixed, they asked me to send it on in. 2wks later, a brand new rocket ct arrived in the post, free of charge. I couldn’t fault their customer service, they could have charged me for the repairs etc, but didn’t. Top guys.
I sold them with the rest of my shore gear about 4yrs ago when my mangled shoulder (afghan again) started popping out when casting. Sending a 6oz lead sideways down the beach is not to be recommended! I recently got back into beach casting and regret selling those abus. (I regret selling all my gear!)

I managed to get a pair of mint condition, ex display Diawa 7ht Millionaire multis for £100ea, from my local tackle dealer and I’ve got a pair of sonik sks black 13ft beachcasters on order so as soon as they tip up, I’ll be rearing to go again!

 

[Trampster]

I’ve used the abu 6500 ct rockets for a fair few years, i had 4 of them at one point. I loved them for clean ground work, but I had one pack up on me when trying to haul a bass out of the weed at the mouth of a harbour with a strong tide race. I contacted Abu Garcia a mere year after busting the reel, (a tour of Afghanistan got in the way) asking for details for repairs, I explained the situation and why it took me so long to get it fixed, they asked me to send it on in. 2wks later, a brand new rocket ct arrived in the post, free of charge. I couldn’t fault their customer service, they could have charged me for the repairs etc, but didn’t. Top guys.
I sold them with the rest of my shore gear about 4yrs ago when my mangled shoulder (afghan again) started popping out when casting. Sending a 6oz lead sideways down the beach is not to be recommended! I recently got back into beach casting and regret selling those abus. (I regret selling all my gear!)

I managed to get a pair of mint condition, ex display Diawa 7ht Millionaire multis for £100ea, from my local tackle dealer and I’ve got a pair of sonik sks black 13ft beachcasters on order so as soon as they tip up, I’ll be rearing to go again!

I did mentioned further back in the thread there are a couple of Abu chrome rockets for sale near me, but if you were interested, I don't know whether he would post them or not.

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

I am keeping an eye out on Ebay and locally on Facebook but keep flip flapping between yes, I'd like to give one a try, and no, I need to improve my FS casting and why change from my current set up.

There may be some merits in getting a multi and a new rod (have seen a couple that can be used for both FS and multi so no real risk there) as I have one continental rod and wonder if it would be better with a second conventional one for if it was really windy and rough, as the conti is very sensitive.

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

Just a quick update.......I picked up a nice condition 6500 CT Mag on E Bay and have now used it for 3 sessions. The first was aborted as the winds got up but so far I am loving casting with the multiplier. Despite using a FS all my life, casting a more powerful rod feels so much more manageable by switching hands and mounting the reel low.

Weirdly, when casting a big FS I do need to concentrate on when to release the line. Using my thumb on the multi just feels so natural I already don't think about it.

As a result of that, more than the reel I suspect, I am already casting as far, if not further with the multi. Whilst not an exact measure I know, I hit about 105 yards yesterday based on turns of the handle on the retrieve (each recovering 65cm on line).

I haven't caught a fish on it yet but seem to have managed to learn to lay the line fairly evenly, and have only suffered from one minor birds nest so far, although am still using the mags turned up quite high.

My next step might be to get a second reel (and swap out a fixed spool rod). Any advice from you multi users on reel choice?

As I mentioned, I have always wanted an Ambassadeur as I drooled over them in "Tight Lines" when I was young. Should I stick to them, and get another, knowing they are reliable and last, and can be tinkered with, or, as I have read elsewhere, are modern reels now better in terms of reliability and performance? I still think ABUs look great, but do like the look of the modern Penns.

Cheers, Steve.

 

[Tournamag]

Just a quick update.......I picked up a nice condition 6500 CT Mag on E Bay and have now used it for 3 sessions. The first was aborted as the winds got up but so far I am loving casting with the multiplier. Despite using a FS all my life, casting a more powerful rod feels so much more manageable by switching hands and mounting the reel low.

Weirdly, when casting a big FS I do need to concentrate on when to release the line. Using my thumb on the multi just feels so natural I already don't think about it.

As a result of that, more than the reel I suspect, I am already casting as far, if not further with the multi. Whilst not an exact measure I know, I hit about 105 yards yesterday based on turns of the handle on the retrieve (each recovering 65cm on line).

I haven't caught a fish on it yet but seem to have managed to learn to lay the line fairly evenly, and have only suffered from one minor birds nest so far, although am still using the mags turned up quite high.

My next step might be to get a second reel (and swap out a fixed spool rod). Any advice from you multi users on reel choice?

As I mentioned, I have always wanted an Ambassadeur as I drooled over them in "Tight Lines" when I was young. Should I stick to them, and get another, knowing they are reliable and last, and can be tinkered with, or, as I have read elsewhere, are modern reels now better in terms of reliability and performance? I still think ABUs look great, but do like the look of the modern Penns.

Cheers, Steve.

@jackjock will be "Very Pleased" He loves Multipliers......But...................................Can't cast them as forgets to put thumb over spool to stop them!

 

[ouchthathurt]

The Penn 515 multis are decent reels, I moved from Abu 6500 CT to Penn 515 mag2s. I found the Penns to be reliable and solid for my needs, if anything I thought they were a bit more user friendly than the Abu multis, I now use Diawa 7ht millionaire multipliers (non mag black model) and I love them, I’m a left hander, so I fish reel down, controlling the spool with my left thumb. I find casting reel down is easier for me.

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

The Penn 515 multis are decent reels, I moved from Abu 6500 CT to Penn 515 mag2s. I found the Penns to be reliable and solid for my needs, if anything I thought they were a bit more user friendly than the Abu multis, I now use Diawa 7ht millionaire multipliers (non mag black model) and I love them, I’m a left hander, so I fish reel down, controlling the spool with my left thumb. I find casting reel down is easier for me.

Yes, weirdly I am finding controlling the spool with my left thumb quite comfortable, and even winding with my right hand isn't an issue, despite using the opposite hands to cast and wind on a fixed spool for the last 50 or so years!!!

I have looked at Penn, but have read some mixed reviews of the later Chinese made ones. Might have a look "in the flesh" but am tempted to buy a similar magged Abu so both reels would be similar to cast, rather than having 2 very different reels.

 

[ouchthathurt]

Well the carp angler in me would recoil in horror at the thought of mismatched reels! Lol! If you like the Abus, and they suit the type of ground you fish over, then it makes sense to get a second. I have the two diawas, I’m looking at getting a 3rd so I’ve always got a spare. I always had a spare Abu as I can be a bit of an animal with reels and after knackering one, I always carried a spare.

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

Well the carp angler in me would recoil in horror at the thought of mismatched reels! Lol! If you like the Abus, and they suit the type of ground you fish over, then it makes sense to get a second. I have the two diawas, I’m looking at getting a 3rd so I’ve always got a spare. I always had a spare Abu as I can be a bit of an animal with reels and after knackering one, I always carried a spare.

Yea, my carp angling background and OCD draws me towards matching set ups!
Also like the safety of mags and centrifugal blocks on the ABUs given I am a novice with multipliers. I am also a bit of a tinkerer, so can see myself wanting to take them apart in the future and I know that spares, upgrades etc are readily available for 6500s. And yes, they suit the generally clean ground along our coast.

 

[James81]

There's lots of multis to choose from most of the Abu's are similar some have ratchets some mags, some neither !
7ht black originals are good , the first multiplier I used. They come with different sized brake blocks large , medium and small.So good if you like tinkering about.
The benefit with mag reels is you can adjust it when you are fishing but with brake blocks you have to take the reel apart , which isn't ideal on a beach .
Penn Fathom 2 reels have mags and a ratchet,no brake blocks, also they wind in faster than Abu's and 7ht's.
These are the reels I have experience of , hope this helps .

 

[ouchthathurt]

Yea, my carp angling background and OCD draws me towards matching set ups!
Also like the safety of mags and centrifugal blocks on the ABUs given I am a novice with multipliers. I am also a bit of a tinkerer, so can see myself wanting to take them apart in the future and I know that spares, upgrades etc are readily available for 6500s. And yes, they suit the generally clean ground along our coast.

Looks like you know in what direction to head mate! ?