abu 6500 sports mag

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#1 Post by **Kraken** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:29 am

Hey all,

just bought myself one of these for €180 (good deal/bad deal???)

anyway - gonna use this for casting etc -

my question is .....

are these good to go outta the box or do I have to do anthing to em first b4 I start casting (add or take mags/lube/tension?)

john.

#2 Post by **IDPearl** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:44 pm

They are OK out of the box if you're just starting out. They have a disadvantage in casting in that they have a plasic toothed cog attached to the spool which acts as an air brake. You may want to consider replacing this with a brass speed bushing later or get yourself a Mag Elite when your distance needs to improve.

#3 Post by **Pat Spillane** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:24 pm

Good reel for light stuff but no cranking power or quick retrieve for dirty ground. I thought you should be able to get them a lot cheaper ???? As your aim is casting then look to the experts for advice. I intend to use similiar when it gets going so I will be watching this closely.

Conor C · #4 Post by **Conor C** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:38 am

i use it on rough ground and on beaches etc and have never head any problems with it

#5 Post by **MAC** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:47 pm

I have one of these myself Ian....... Any thoughts on where I can gut the brass bushing?

Kev

#6 Post by **IDPearl** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:45 am

Hi Kev,

Chris Macey does the conversion with offset single mag knobby. It comes with a brass speed bullet to replace the nylon cog and installation instructions. When I was looking, he was asking £17.50 inc post within UK, which sounds OK to me.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/idpearl/SportsMag.jpg[/img]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/christopher.macey/

An alternative could be to take it down to a local precision engineering shop and get them to make one up for you.

I opted to keep the reel as it was and bought Abu 6500 Mag Elites instead, which are far better for casting.

#7 Post by **MAC** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:29 pm

Thanks for the Link Mate.

The Macey conversion looks good. Have a Florida Orange with mag Conversion that looks like it will be the casting reel of choice for 125 and 150. I was thinking of getting the conversion for the sports mag and maybe using it for some of the lighter stuff..... Specifically the 18g plug..... Any thoughs :?: Not sure how good that set-up would be for the lighter stuff.

Kev

clog · #8 Post by **clog** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:24 pm

I tried spinning and plugging with a mag elite a few years ago but could not get the reel casting properly with such a light weight. Even with the only 2 magnets and no brakes the weight of the lure wasnt sufficent to pull line off the reel properly. In the end I gave up and bought an abu 5500 ultracast multiplier (smaller size reel) and it works great.

paddyc · #9 Post by **paddyc** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:01 pm

i think the reels used for the lightest leads and plug casting are 2500,s up to 5500,s along with older style ultra-mag 1,s and you can still get some sweet ones on evil-bay quite reasonable.

#10 Post by **IDPearl** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:03 pm

Kev,

To be perfectly honest, I'd keep the Sports Mag for fishing, but wouldn't waste money on messing around with it for casting.

For the 18g weights, Keith White has been playing with them and gives some very good write-ups and video footage on his site http://myfishcasting.org/casting_forum/ ... um.php?f=1

Do a search for 18g and there's loads of info there. Because the 18g is so light, any restrictions - such as that plastic cog - will dramatically reduce your distance. I'd say you'd be better off looking at the 5500's.

#11 Post by **MAC** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:32 pm

Thanks for the info guys,

Looks like I'm now looking for a 2500 or 5500..... decision to be made.

Might have to put the sports mag up for sale, as I nearly always use the Penn 525's for fishing........ Decisions, decisions.
:?

Kev