Abu Garcia 6500 C3 vs Shimano TR 100

I'm kinda just getting into saltwater fishing off my yak.  I already have the Abu 6500 that I use for stripers in fresh water, etc.  Looking at older posts, the Shimano TR 100 and 200 are recommended often as good all around reels.  All I'm doing is jigging for rockfish and lings in fairly shallow water.  Is the Shimano a better reel than my Abu?  Is the Abu adequate for what I'm doing?
Thanks,
Ron.

Been pulling Lings the last 8 years on my Abu.....

I guess I should add that my "other" reel is a Penn Squal 15.  I have it spooled with hi-vis 12# mono and it lives on an 11' Fenwick casting rod.  Love that for surf casting!  No idea how it compares to the other two, other than to say it feels sloppier than my Abu.  Easy to tear down and service though.
Ron.

I use a 6500 Abu and it works perfectly for rockfish/lingcod

I have both reels but I like the shimano better because of it's clicker other than that both are good reels

Sounds like the Abu should serve me just fine.  I did order the power handle upgrade today.  That little handle was just kinda bugging me.
Thanks guys!
Ron.

Sounds like the Abu should serve me just fine.  I did order the power handle upgrade today.  That little handle was just kinda bugging me.
Thanks guys!
Ron.

Good idea, the power handle will be a major upgrade. Have fun!

had both...Abu all day plus the power handle

Those are all good and different reels. The Abu is quicker and easier to use than the tr100. The tr100 has a stronger drag and holds up better in the salt. I prefer the Abu for swimbaits because of the faster retrieve and easier hookset. I like the tr100 for bait because of its simplicity and stronger clicker.

The squall is probably the best of both worlds. I say try them all and see what works best for your style of fishing. Be sure and rinse your gear well after the salt and you should be good to go.


-Eliot

Graphite frames are nice as they don't corrode in the salt. Components still will though. I have many ABU C3 reels and love them and rebuild them to death. There is a drag upgrade that can be done and Alan Tani has the perfect write up some where on the web about it.

The only time I use a lever action is off a boat bait fishing for stripers where I use the strike setting for a hook set and then back off to the fight setting. Levers are harder for me to rebuild so I tend to shy away. Although I don't do the surf launches like I used to so getting a reel filled with sand and rebuild after each trip is not as frequent an event as it used to be.

I landed these two girls last season off my buddy's boat at Freeport using the Abu spooled with 14# mono on a Cabelas 7' M Whuppin' Stick.  I was jigging a P-line Lazer minno.  The small fish just went to the bottom and started making wider and wider circles around the boat.  The bigger fish went to the middle of the river and took off upstream.  I thought she'd spool me, burn up the drag, or both, but I managed to bring her to the boat.  That's when I realized the Abu was tougher than I thought.

Wish I'd been on the yak.  Would have been a couple wild rides!

This crab opener, I used the same setup, off another buddy's boat, jigging for rockfish out of Bodega.  Pulled up a lot of fish and that's when I decided I wanted the power handle. 

I've always rinsed my reels after saltwater, and also lubed them up from time to time. 

Sounds like between the Abu and the Penn, I'm pretty much set, at least for now.

Ron.