Question for the muskie guys.

Getting into musky fishing this year.  Lookin at reels.  What reels do you guys like/dislike.  Heard some good things about the abu garcia C3'S but someone last nite told me there not a good reel for muskies.  Love shimano but hoping to get asomething without that much of a price tag.  Any suggestions?  Thank you

Gotta agree w/esox.I decided to get muskie "serious" this year,Picked up a couple 7' mh rods and an Abu Garcia ambassaduer and diawa millioniare off e-bay for under $100.Abu is a lefty diawa is a righty,I'm much more comfortable with the abu.Either way unless you're trolling the "fish of a thousand casts"is gonna wear on ya.Have'nt hooked up yet this year but I think that I'm ready now,I hope

I Have 5 curado 300s, have not had any problems with them that were the reels fault. I have gotten careless with one and had a level line guide break but it was all on me. I also have an abu 5600ext i use for jerkbaits, I like the way it feels when i palm it, its the only rod/reeel i palm musky fishing. All the others i hold the foregrip for more leverage on hook sets, every one is different that works for me.

For trolling:
Penn levelwind
Diawa linecounter
Okuma Magda

C3's are the work horse and one of the most common musky reels out there, the guy who said they would not work for a musky well..... I won't go any further on that one. If you want a thumbar, look into the SSC3, they are out of production but only last year so you can get some great deals on them and I love mine. They are a C3 with a thumbbar. I also have a Record 60 and I cannot say enought good things about that reel, keep your eyes on e-bay and you can get one cheep ($113 shipped for me). I can't say much about other brands, I am an abu guy, I had an okuma induron and it was bad out of the box which is why that particular model is out of production. Pair an abu SSC3 6500 with an 8' gander rod and you have a great set up for all around use, no pounders or double 10's but the stuff we throw in pa for sure. All in all the set up will run you about $180 or less I found some SSC3's for $55  and you can get a gander rod for about $80 so that would land you in the $135 range and $20 for some braided line and your set...... man it's an expensive hobby........
 
Good luck, pm me if you ever want to hit the water or try out some equipment.
 
Jacob

Sounds good to me 1317.  Got a st.croix 7' rod for 150 bucks.  Abu Garcia sounds like the way to go.  Wish I could find a Quantum Iron baitcaster big enough.  Have one for bass and that reel is awesome.  Cant wait to get out on the water. 

Its all in what you pay vs. how much time you put in....I used to cast hard for many days on the water, owned just about every Garcia made....they lasted about a year maybe two. I still have the original Calcutta I bought about 10 years ago....still going strong. I just wish it was a high speed retrieve. Just prooves you get what you pay for IMO.

never used anything but the abu 6500 never had any problems even with the big bucktails

I have had a 6600C4 for a few years. I don't have any complaints with it so far. One of my friends has had one for longer than me, and his is holding together well too. He also has a Calcutta 200GTB  i think it is. It has served him fairly well too. I recently took a plunge and order another reel I have had my eye on lately. I ordered a Revo Toro 60. I am anxcious to give it a whirl.

All in all, I feel the Abu Garcia 6600 C4 is a great first reel for musky.

I would go with the Revo reels from ABU. They are a compact low profile reel so are easy to handle when casting but have plenty of capacity if you use a superbraid. They also have a 24lbs drag system which is approx 50% more that the 6500 and 5500 Abu reels. I have a 5501 that I just had to upgrade the drag system on because the drag would let out line when trolling my Legend Plows.

They have both high 7.1 to 1 and low 5.4 to 1 gear ratios. Here is a link.

http://www.abugarcia.com/prod.php?k=132609&sk=132584&u=REVO S

With the use of super lines there is no need for the large capacity reels anymore. I would suggest one of these for casting along with a Shimano Compre rod. The whole set up will set you back approx 200-250 dollars and will be extremely lightweight and dependable.

You will be happy with the 400 cardiff...i've got 2 of them and both have some serious hours on them...learn to tear them down and grease and oil them good...i also recommend spending the cash on a power handle. You wont be disappointed...The calcutta 400b is also a great reel, just another $120 more but trust me you wont regret it either. I love all my shimanos..