Abu Garcia 6500 C3 CT Mag (Gun Metal Grey)

When it comes to reels I'd have to admit to being more than a little biased. In the 1970's the reel of choice for most serious anglers was the ABU 6000 or 6500 but in those days they cost more than two weeks wages to my father and so for me, a young lad on very limited pocket-money, owning one was just a dream. My first week's wages were life changing in more ways than one; not only did I enter the adult world of work but it finally gave me the opportunity to make the long-standing dream of owning a 6500 come true with the purchase of a 1980 black 6500c, a reel that cost me my entire first weeks wage but which I still own (and use) to this day. Since that day I've owned a number of 6500s of various models and colours and, with the exception of the very cheap and nasty mid-eighties models, I've always found them a joy to use. Over the years I've built up a bit of a collection and last year, impressed with my Green Mag Elite, I decided to purchase the latest Mag Elite, which comes in a very nice Gun Metal Grey colour.

The first comment about this reel is standard for all 6500s, old or new. If you want a reel that doesn't require servicing then don't buy a 6500; like any fine piece of engineering 6500s will only give their best if they receive regular maintenance. Provide the required amount of TLC and they'll run like a dream and give years of service, abuse them and they'll feel like a sack of lard and suffer premature death. Quite frankly if you are a stranger to a pot of oil then there is no point you reading any further - you are just a heathen, forget the ABU and go buy a Diawa.

Although it looks very different on the outside, inwardly the reel is almost identical to the rightfully very popular Green Mag Elite that came before it. The 5:3.1 retrieve ratio is perfectly adequate for a reel of this size (the faster the gearing, the more strain the gears suffer) and the gearing mechanism seems identical to the Green Elite. Internally the mag brakes are the same although ABU have done away with the numbered gauge on the slider. Although this makes the reel a bit prettier it is a bit inconvenient as instead of using the gauge to adjust the brakes, you now have to count the clicks; two clicks equals one increment on the Green Elite's numbered gauge. The other minor difference in the braking department is the fitting on the gear end of the spool which allows you to fit multiple combinations of centrifugal brake blocks. Quite frankly, this addition is a complete waste of time unless you intend to do away with the magnets; if you can't cast the reel using just magnets alone then you are never going to get it. The mag brakes are so good that most average casters will probably never need more than half the adjustment and I normally start off with them set to about four (eight clicks from zero) and work my way down to two.

This reel sports the now well familiar and very reliable ultra cast spool, which holds ample line for most casters (250 to 300 yards of 15lb depending on how neatly you lay your line) and rotates on a loose spindle rather than one built into the spool. This has cured many of the problems with spool distortion that the old fixed-spindle models suffered, although like all the ultra cast models to date, it still has an Achilles heel in the plastic circlip which attaches to the gear end of the spindle and prevents the spindle from falling out when you open the reel. These circlips break with annoying regularity and it really is about time that ABU got to grips with the problem!

Looking at the outside of the reel ABU seemed to have changed the material used for the end-plates which are now thicker and seemingly heavier than on previous models. Time will tell if corrosion is still a problem, but certainly they don't seem any worse than the old ones and the paint finish seems very good. The cage is of the same design as the Green Mag Elite with the flat support bars. It's extremely strong and won't warp but the design of the flat bars makes them a sod to clean (the older 1990s design with the rounded support bars were much better) and the quality of the chrome on this latest model is not a patch on the one fitted to the Green Elites, which is maybe something to do with the etched ABU Garcia emblem on the front bar. Somehow I don't think the flat bars were made in Sweden!

My final comment is about the part of the reel that stands out like a (very) sore thumb: the handle. I've never understood what was so appealing about the so-called power handle and quite frankly it seems utterly ridiculous to take a lovely light, balanced reel like the 6500 and attach a cement mixer handle on it. Not only do they weigh a ton, they encourage the user to just keep on winching when they should be pumping, putting needless stress on the gears. I can only assume that ABU see this as a way of selling spare gear parts, there can't be any other reason because they are as ugly as sin. For my own part I decided that the power handle had to go and replaced it with a CS type paddle handle which gives all the winching power you are going to need, looks much prettier and strips about 4oz off the weight of the reel.

So when all is said and done is this reel worth buying? The simple answer is yes. While its build quality is not up to that of past incarnations it is fundamentally a very good reel that generally performs well and if this is your first 6500 then your unlikely to be disappointed. If, like me your an owner of previous models from the days when the 6500 reigned supreme as a casting reel then you will probably be a little disappointed with the reels finish, but even then you can't fault the silky-smooth performance of this little beauty. While Penn and Diawa both now produce reels that are true competition for the 6500 in the performance stakes neither have, in my opinion managed to emulate the "classy" feel of a well maintained 6500.

Overall Mark: 7 / 10 - put a 1990s cage and the smaller handle on it and it would rate a 9 / 10.