Reel

[sjones]

Hi all, im looking at getting a pair of new reels this year for my river piking, will be for float fishing, dont need nothing big as mostly fishing under the rod tips.
Any recommendations ?
Thanks

[Duncan Holmes]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

[Andrew Croft]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

I'll attest to that. S stands for s**t, its truly aweful and £80 isnt all that cheap. Spend about the same on a good used c3 and still have a superior reel than the model S

Whats your take on rods for float fishing with a multi Duncan. Might be what i need to get fishing for pike again... being a bit more mobile and less weighed down.

[Duncan Holmes]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

I'll attest to that. S stands for s**t, its truly aweful and £80 isnt all that cheap. Spend about the same on a good used c3 and still have a superior reel than the model S

Whats your take on rods for float fishing with a multi Duncan. Might be what i need to get fishing for pike again... being a bit more mobile and less weighed down.

Unless i am fishing a strong flow or after dark all my bank fishing is with floats and multi's. P1's, 6501s and a neutral braid will cope with almost any condition. If you dispense with heavy leads and aim to fish up to, say 40 yards 2.5 or 2.75 is all you really need. ( for years i fished with 2lb tests and caught plenty of big pike with no problems)

I fish unloaded pencils, liftstyle, no banksticks, rods on the deck. Banksticks are psychological barrier to moving, same with chairs, stoves and brollies.

Obviously some conditions and waters don't suit this style, but I find it incredibly effective. I can't remember the last time I spent more than 2 hours in one swim, bank or boat.

[MarkBerrisford]

Shimano 6000 oc baitrunners, rock solid and a good drag

[davelumb]

Shimano 6000 oc baitrunners, rock solid and a good drag

[Stewlaws]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

I'll attest to that. S stands for s**t, its truly aweful and £80 isnt all that cheap. Spend about the same on a good used c3 and still have a superior reel than the model S

Whats your take on rods for float fishing with a multi Duncan. Might be what i need to get fishing for pike again... being a bit more mobile and less weighed down.

Unless i am fishing a strong flow or after dark all my bank fishing is with floats and multi's. P1's, 6501s and a neutral braid will cope with almost any condition. If you dispense with heavy leads and aim to fish up to, say 40 yards 2.5 or 2.75 is all you really need. ( for years i fished with 2lb tests and caught plenty of big pike with no problems)

I fish unloaded pencils, liftstyle, no banksticks, rods on the deck. Banksticks are psychological barrier to moving, same with chairs, stoves and brollies.

Obviously some conditions and waters don't suit this style, but I find it incredibly effective. I can't remember the last time I spent more than 2 hours in one swim, bank or boat.

Spot on in ref to fishing paraphernalia..

[martin(rockape)]

Why not try a Centrepin, good fun.

Regards

Martin

[John Milford]

[davelumb]

Banksticks are psychological barrier to moving, same with chairs, stoves and brollies.

Banksticks are only a hindrance if the ground is hard or you must have them perfectly lined up. Most times you only need one per rod anyway when piking.

Besides, they let you use Delks and remotes so you can hide your snide rod/s...

Seriously, when I was barbel fishing one river I'd move every half to three-quarters of an hour. I had banksticks, chair, brolly when it was likley to rain, and I broke my rods and net down for each move. No problem if you cut the rest of the gear down and get organised.

I find the real barrier to being mobile is using too many rods. Two is easy, three manageable, four and I'll stay put. Obviously being in a boat means you can fish eight rods and stay mobile.

[Steve Moore]

I've managed to get my roving gear down to the bear minimum by using a korum multimat, the one with the pockets on.
Scales and tools go in large pocket, unhooking gear etc in other pocket, landing net, handle, and two rods in the middle. Along with deadbait, flask and grub.
No need for a seat, I use the mat, don't bother with banksticks, if I'm fishing rods up due to debris or fast flow I use these.

s-l225.jpg

Rods are 10ft 3lb broadland rods, with Abu 6501 c4s, and i use cheap s**t polysteryne floats.

[Bob Watson]

Roving on a river and one rod does it for me. I've found that if there's a pike in your swim and it's feeding, it'll have your bait just about instantly, if it's not feeding, stick four baits on its' nose and you'll still struggle for a bite.

One rod cast into any likely looking spots after a few minutes of each other should produce.

I also agree with Duncan about the psychological barrier bit, the more gear I carry, the less inclined I am to move, but that's probably down to a bit of laziness aswell!

I use my boat rods for roving about now, they have daiwa regal z 4050BRT on them, the free spool is an alarm in itself. I also use a ground spike like Steve (from Eddie Turner) instead of banksticks when float fishing, which is 99% of the time when roving.

[Duncan Holmes]

Roving on a river and one rod does it for me. I've found that if there's a pike in your swim and it's feeding, it'll have your bait just about instantly, if it's not feeding, stick four baits on its' nose and you'll still struggle for a bite.

One rod cast into any likely looking spots after a few minutes of each other should produce.

I also agree with Duncan about the psychological barrier bit, the more gear I carry, the less inclined I am to move, but that's probably down to a bit of laziness aswell!

I use my boat rods for roving about now, they have daiwa regal z 4050BRT on them, the free spool is an alarm in itself. I also use a ground spike like Steve (from Eddie Turner) instead of banksticks when float fishing, which is 99% of the time when roving.

"I've found that if there's a pike in your swim and it's feeding, it'll have your bait just about instantly"


That's the theory that I work on most of the time, there are occasions when a sit and wait, ambush style works, but 90% of the time I don't let my baits dwell in the same spot for more than a few minutes. Twitching the baits back towards you is a lot easier with a float as you pick up less debris, and you don't have to reset alarms, etc.

I also tend to immediately repack anything that isnt being used, helps with the psychological barrier bit.

[Chris b]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

Im the same as Duncan my main 2 pike bait rods havent had anything but 6501c3's on them for years , i allso find they fire out float rigs in a much more controlled manner resulting in very very few rig tangles on the cast.
I fish a bit heavier thou as big lochs and 2ft waves+higher winds means 3-4oz leads are needed plus heavier pencils (1.5" diameter balsa 10" long)
One top tip for casting float rigs thou is make sure when you wind the stop knot onto the spool is push it over to the nearest side of the spool to stop it tearing your finger to shreds when you cast :)

[spittlebug]

Hi, i have Korum Multi Mat (earlier one with no pocket).
However bought Nash H-Gun Multi Mat (think called Dwarf Multi Mat now), no pocket, but IMO overall lot better. Use it alot for different types of fishing.
Zips on ends for releasing fish, velcro all around, so seals, like a flat Cornish pasty. So can use as large sealed pocket to hold fish or tackle. Nicely padded.
Handles just a tad too short, so use Korum padded handle strap on it.

61KI1VXJzdL._SY355_.jpg

Bob

[Lanky94]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

I know the float is the primary source of bite indication, but do pike still run against the resistance of the clicker? Do you back the drag right off?

[Duncan Holmes]

Abu 6501 c3, reel for life, no need for banksticks, superior cranking power and clutch. Loud clicker, easy accessible parts and easy to service and repair.

Avoid the S model like the plague.

I know the float is the primary source of bite indication, but do pike still run against the resistance of the clicker? Do you back the drag right off?

Simply the best noise in fishing, a screaming Abu, pike will happily run against the resistance.

When in free spool the drag has no effect as the gearbox is disengaged from the spool.

There are some mods you can do to reduce the resistance off the clicker but I haven't bothered.

[Stewlaws]

Duncan, the Abu reel, is the new reels the same quality as the ones you use or like most things now the internals get cheaper, fancy buying a pair to use and wondering new or used....cheers

[Duncan Holmes]

Duncan, the Abu reel, is the new reels the same quality as the ones you use or like most things now the internals get cheaper, fancy buying a pair to use and wondering new or used....cheers

The c3 model is still a quality bit of kit, whether it's the same as those from 10/15+ years ago I am not 100% sure. I have a 6501 c4 which is only a couple of years old and it's fine.

The S model is a pile of crap and should be avoided.

[Stewlaws]

Duncan, the Abu reel, is the new reels the same quality as the ones you use or like most things now the internals get cheaper, fancy buying a pair to use and wondering new or used....cheers

The c3 model is still a quality bit of kit, whether it's the same as those from 10/15+ years ago I am not 100% sure. I have a 6501 c4 which is only a couple of years old and it's fine.

The S model is a pile of crap and should be avoided.

[Lanky94]

I assume the 6500 C3 is the RH version, but with a clicker?

[Andytheammer]

I assume the 6500 C3 is the RH version, but with a clicker?

Built for us cack handed anglers

[Happy Hayes]

I assume the 6500 C3 is the RH version, but with a clicker?

Built for us cack handed anglers

I’ve heard you called a lot of things

Cack handed was never one of them