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Has any of you ever use Kastking reels? if so how would you compare them to Abu garcia ? I have always stuck to Abu Garcia and (Penn back in my saltwater days.)
Was looking for a new reel for my catfish setup. Seen Kastking was like half the price of Garcia. Now I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.
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There's Always Time For One More Cast
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I bought one just to see. I've only fished with it a few times, but I'm VERY impressed with it. IIRC, it has 11+1 bearings and it is smoother than the proverbial baby's bottom. Not one but three anti-backlash systems. Lots of drag available, and it is also smooth. For $40. As they say in the TV ads...aMAZing!
My most recent Abu is a Hank Parker Special, and it isn't nearly as smooth or reliable as the KK. It sometimes doesn't come out of freespool, for example.
There's also the reel on sale now at BassPro/Cabela's that I posted in the For Sale forum for $50. I haven't tried one of those, but it gets good reviews online.
Edit to add: My KastKing is a baitcaster.
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Been using the Sharky III spinning reel and two of the Demon Pro rods for the past year now. The reel is one of the best I have ever used and will be replacing my Quantum spinners with the Sharky's. The rods have been excellent also, but I have some new Veritas that I am using. I am going to get a Demon Pro 7:1 baitcaster this spring as my Revo's are getting worn and will need replacement shortly. So far, the quality has been excellent and the performance has been also. I have compared the Sharky with my buddies top of the line Shimano's and do not see much difference. Check out their website for more details on the products. I have also been using the braid line and really like it. Lots of different colors, very soft and limp, good knot strength, and much cheaper than Power Pro. I am using the hivis yellow in 10 and 15lb.
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I can't add anything except what I have read. The Abus are touted as the absolute best catfish reels ever. The 6500 C3 was on sale at Sportsman's for $99; the lowest price I could find on the internet was about $116. I am tempted to buy one and never look back but I'll wait and see what responses you get. Good topic.
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The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
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Never bought a kastking. Love my abu Garcias c3, c4, revo s. For big fish, I use shimano tekotas for trolling. Love them also. [fishon]
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My experience is only with the more common low-profile casters. The Abu 6500 is a heavy-duty round reel, I believe. I still have two Swedish-made 5500 Abu reels from the early 70s, a regular red one and a more upscale black. Impressive for their day and probably more suited for catfish duty than a reel you'd make 200 casts with every day.
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I am not trashing Abu's, I have used C3's and 6500's for years. My C3's are 25 yrs old and still in good shape. My Revo's are 10yrs old and going strong, I have just wanted to upgrade to some higher gear ratio reels and a 7:1 Revo is about $200 or more, so I am going to look at the Kast King for $80 to see if it will hold up. Still use my 5.1:1 C3's for crankbaits. Have upgraded the bearings to ceramics and they cast like a dream!!!
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My son bought a kastking last year. It was the pontius model which is just below the sharky III. it Cast wonderfully well and would just drag the fish through the water. I was very impressed with how smooth it was that for my Christmas present I bought me a sharky III. I haven’t had a chance of course to use it but it feels as smooth if not smoother than my sons. It comes with a spare spool as well. If you want a baitcaster of course abu is the way to go but if you want to get a spinning reel and one that has baitrunning capabilities I think the sharky III is a great buy.
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I like my shimano stradic and naisc for spinning reels.
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When I found the kastking reels on Amazon for a fraction of the cost of the store brand or name brand reels .. I thought I would try one . I love them I bass fish 3 to 4 days a week in the summer months and I own 5 kastking reels now the bait caster style and find myself fishing them over my 200 dollers reels more and more .. imo for the price they can't be beat
I have owned a few abus and never cared for them I feel like they are cheaply made and don't bold up unless you get the ones made I Sweden the newer ones are junk
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I just recently put a Kastking on one of my new koke poles.
I think it was the 'Rover' model. I cant remember for sure but it is red.
I was mostly concerned about the drag but my wife being the good sport she is mocked up a salmon retrieval for me and it performed flawlessly.
Unfortunately she is still complaining about me trying to clip a stringer to her.
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Well thanks guys. Don't see any bad reports on the KK so I ordered the Rover60 . Well see how well she can handle the 40 inch cat that I'm going to catch this year.[bobhappy]
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There's Always Time For One More Cast
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That's a larger and very different KK than mine, but I'm sure it will serve you very well. The "low gear" retrieve ratio will really power in those big cats.
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I was just out working on my boat and remembered to snap this pic for you.
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How well does it cast? I have an abu and it’s fine for boat fishing but not shore as it doesn’t cast all that great.
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Not sure, it has yet to even see water.
I bought it and put it on a koke pole strictly for trolling.
It has a bait clicker and supposedly a very nice drag so I figured for $40 bucks I would give it a shot.
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