02-17-2006, 12:56 AM
I've had nothing but good service out of my Abu Garcia's in saltwater, which is what I mostly use them for. Asside from catfish in freshwater, I use them for Sheepshead, flounder, trout, king mackeral, shark, and anything else that I don't need 300 yards of line to catch. I've caught smoker King's up wards in the 45 pound class on Abu 7000's. I only tear down my reels once a year, and I sometimes re-spool them two or three times, depending on the work load. One thing you may try is using vasaline instead of regular reel lube, that stuff is awesome, and while it keeps things moving smoothly, it's repelling the saltwater. I also give my reels a shot of WD-40 after I rinse the saltwater off of them. I use the same Abu's that I've had for years, with no problems, and i've never replaced a single part. Infact, I have the old booger green faced 5000 they made probably 20 years ago that's squared off like the 7000's instead of rounded like the new 5000's are. It's still kicking, not a part replaced. Infact, I just caught a 3 foot sand shark on it just the other day.
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