Wondering what reels the guides that fish fulltime prefer to use here in Texas for Bluecats? I fished with Tom and he runs mostly Swedish AG for cats....my buddy Steve Schiele runs Shimano Japan. Furguson runs AG. Intrested in knowing what some of the other guys who make a living at it prefer and why? I've always used Swedish AG and shimano Japan but I hear Chinese models are just as good these days. I guess I been wasting my money on reels all this years.

I wouldn't get all worked up on what reels people use. Just stick with what you have faith in and keep catching them toads!

I'm not worked up at all Amigo... I just like to try and emulate what the top guys are doing. I figure they know best and I value their opinion.

Every Cat Guide I have fished with runs Sweedish ABU's, a lot of the C4's.

Edit: one guide I went with had Penn Fathom reels.

I am not a guide but I'll be watching, this thread! I have fished with ABU 5500 C3's for years and love them, maybe something is better.........

What do they prefer to run? or what do they run and the easiest to replace or fix from customer abuse?
Im betting on Abu's

Yea I believe most guides I've seen, run Abu's.

You know what I'm talking about D...I want to know what they run day in and day out for dependability, durability, cost, ease of repairs, etc.
Obviously a pro rocket is better than a C3 6500 but price is a defignitly a factor for most guides I would think. Tom told me he gets his Abus used.

I run all Abu reels as they do hold up. Only problem I get are the screws backing out on the side plates sometimes. I run some C4 6500's, C3 6500's and 2 6600SX reels. The customers have a much easier time reeling in fish on the C3 and SX reels. Abu has great customer service and I buy the gear gaurd from Bass Pro on most reels these days. If it can be broken eventually it will be broken. Did run some Shakespeare ATS reels for a little while. Did a good job on fish just not built to last long. Nice gear and drag system.

Wasn't trying to get you all bent gato just stating my opinion. Abu's aren't the end all be all and I never said Chinese cr@p is "just as good". The reels we were discussing aren't plastic geared Chinese BCX's and appear to be made well, is the only point I was trying to make. I have at least 15 Swedish 5500/6500's so I'm no abu hater either.

Thanks Blues...I'm not bent out of shape one bit. I never said Abus were the end all be all but if you have 15 Swedish Abus I would figure you could attest to their durability over inferior Chinese reels. Why not just buy Chinese Abus? Could it possibly be because they aren't built as good?

And Blues...no hard feelings bud. You can come fishin on my boat anytime...just leave your China reel at home! Lol

AG reels have went down hill it seems like. I have a couple of 6500 cat specials less then a year old and both have been worked on already. If you want a reel that will last along time look into conventional reels a lot less moving parts and most are made for saltwater so there built a little better.

What are you running currently and what reel do you plan on getting next clk?

It ain't the tool, it's the mechanic.