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Reel Choice for live lining and chunking

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JayC

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Both are very good reels.

 

The ABU is super smooth with a mediocre drag.

 

The Penn is also smooth but with a better (much?) drag.

 

It's a coin toss.

 

Personally I use a 7000C3 and have not issues with it.

 

 

 

 

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LIStriper

LIStriper|00000027
"vir prudens non contra ventum mingit"
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I was faced with a similar decision last year. It was between the 975 & the Calcutta 400. The contest was over the second I handled both reels side by side. The 400 is so much smoother & the difference in price is only a few bucks. I matched that baby with a St. Croix Premier & it's a pleasure just holding that outfit.

 

Just my $.02

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Thank you guys, I appreciate the great info.

 

My B-Day was yesterday and the family set me up with a brand new St. Croix and the 7000C3. Since "LI" likes his 7000CS and "Vin" mentioned the St. Croix, I figure I'm in good shape with this setup. I hope to get out this weekend and put it to the test. I originally was set on the Penn 975 but I had heard from a local shop that some people were bringing them back due to the levelwinder jamming up along the sides of the reel. I thought that was kind of strange so I asked for the C3 instead. Maybe I'll take a quick peek at the Calcutta 400 tonight. Can't wait to give it a try and break it in on some fish. Here Fishy,

Fishy......

Thanks again,

Jay

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JayC---exactly. The 975 is a great reel right out of the box, but that level wind jamming is a common problem. It's an easy fix (replace a fifty cent pawl unless the jamming also damaged the worm gear), but then you have to strip the line to the point where it started to pile and let it respool itself level. Otherwise, it'll always be "high-sided" on the spool. It happens a lot sooner than in any other level wind I ever used. The other problem that regularly plagues people on the 975 is it not going all the way into free spool, resulting in the button popping up on the cast and the reel going into gear. You get backlashes at a minimum and potential gear damage. You have to keep the clutch clean and well lubricated. I found it to be a very high-maintenence reel. There's more plastic inside than I ever expected to find in any Penn reel---especially in one that costs $200+.

 

But, the gears are strong, and the drag is top-notch. What really would be neat is a Calcutta of the same size---call it a Calcutta 550.

 

Anyhow, I'm glad I didn't sell my Abus after I bought the 975s. I just swapped the frame from my 7500CT for one from an old 7000C3 I had laying around, now I have a levelwind with 5.3:1 retrieve instead of 4.1:1. Without spendng almost $100 for the HO conversion kit to make the 7000C3 5.3:1. The 7500CT left side plate has the little post for the level-wind drive gears to sit on. Just have to be aware, the spools from the 4:1 and 5.3:1 7000/7500 size Abus aren't interchangeable---different pinion gear.

 

[This message has been edited by Ditch Jigger (edited 06-08-2001).]

"…if catching fish is your only objective, you are either new to the game or too narrowly focused on measurable results.” - D. Stuver

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Get the 7000C3 bro, it is a fine reel. As far as the drag issue, you can always put in a set of SuperSmoothies from SmoothDrag, I have them in all my Abu's and they perform flawlessly time after time(and after lots of fishes too!). wink.gif

 

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Baubus5@home.com

Originally Posted by Mike P: "August 29--a date that lives in striper infamy."

(*member formerly known as 'DaveS')

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I have a 7000 and it is great. I have a few other Abus and love them as well. I do not have a 975 so I won't comment on that but I do have a couple of other Penn reels and though they are decent, I do not feel that Penn produces the same quality that they were known for in the past. I will admit that I am not an expert by any means. This is only my opinion.

 

luke

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Just wanted to comment on the 975 levelwind. I bought one when they first came out and it worked great for while, then I had severe problems with the levelwind. Chewed up the pawl, worm gear, and idler gear. I ordered the parts and replaced them and again had the same problem after a short time. Ordered new parts and replaced again, this time I noticed the rod that guides the levelwind, the one located above the worm gear assembly. Anyway, I noticed that the the rod was about 1/64" shorter than it needed to be; this allowed the line guide to move independantly of the worm gear, causing the worm gear and pawl to be destroyed, also this is what destroyed the idler gear. I called Penn and spoke to an engineer who was extremely helpfull and aknowledged that he had seen this happen before and said he would ship me out a few different replacement parts. He did ship the parts,(received them in two days), and of the 5 he sent me, two were long enough to prevent the problem in the future. Since I replaced the parts that time I have had 1 full season and all of this season with absoloutly no problems of any kind; the worm gear still looks brand new, as do the pawl and idler gear. The way to check for this is quite simple, just move the guide rod side to side while the reels is fully assembled, if you can move the right end of it out of it's socket that could be the source of the problem. While I think that this is a problem that should not occur on a $200.00 reel, s*&t happens. Now I have an extremely reliable levelwind reel with a great drag. As to the reel being high maintainence, it must be kept clean in order to function properly. I hope this helps some of you folks who are having levelwind problems.

TL

Angryeel

 

ps- if you ever cast your 975 and notice a tendancy for the line to become out of sync with the levelwind, this is most likely the root of your problem.

 

[This message has been edited by Angryeel (edited 06-08-2001).]

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