Hi all:

I've recently switched from spinning rods/reels over to baitcasters. I hadn't touched baitcasters since I was a kid and grew frustrated because of the overruns I'd constantly get.

In the end, I will end up with 4 rods/reels just for cats. So far I'm happy with the two reels I've purchased - The Abu Garcia Catfish Pro and a C4-6600 with the power handle upgrade. I've got them both tuned and have learned technique so that I don't overrun anymore.
For those that have held, used or own both, do you find the $70 more of the Catfish Pro as worth it?
Instinctively I think the Pro is "better" because it's more expensive.

As far as features, the Pro has spool tensioners on both sides vs just the handle side. I like the casting button on the C4 better. As far as the bait clicker, I find both are easy to use so no preference there.

I bought a Catfish Pro, just because I liked the looks of it. But, as far as performance, I can't really see any difference in the standard 6500 and the Catfish Pro, or even the Catfish Special. Also bought the Catfish Special for the looks of it.

The Pro models have a tougher frame.

I ran Abus for 35 yrs. If your spending that kind of doe on an Abu then you guys gotta check out the Shimano Tekota 600HGA. It blows Abus out of the water and it’s not even close!

I will take a look at that Shimano El Gato. I ended up with 2 C4-6600s loaded with 14lb mono for channel cats, 2 Catfish Pros with 20lb mono for regular blues and a 3rd Catfish Pro loaded with 50lb mono for gar and big blues.

I have a bunch of Abu 6500's but recently bought a couple of additional rods, and purchased two Daiwa Seagate bait caster reels to go with them. I love them, they are beautifully made and heavy duty construction. They are basic though, no level wind and you have to manually flip the bail arm after casting, but a very smooth action and the drag is much more adjustable than the Abu.

Catfish Kayak (Justin) uses them and swears by them. Same price as the Abu, $150.

https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-SGT35H...wa+seagate&qid=1632955021&sr=8-1

I use both spinning(Daiwa BG's for big blues and flatheads) and casting(Abu 5500's for hybrids and striper and Daiwa Saltist levelwinds for big blues and flatties).Both have a place in my arsenal,I like the levelwinds for dragging and suspending and the spinners can cover both those areas but really shine balloon and slip float fishing.My spinners also ride on surf rods in the winter when boat fishing would be uncomfortable. Just my .02 but for $100-$130 you'll not find a better reel than the BG for catfishing.If you prefer casters ,for $160 you can have the Saltist levelwind or bout $10 cheaper the Seagate conventional. The drag difference alone between Daiwa and Abu is what sold me on Daiwa's years ago.

Those are all good reels and will get the job done Luke. The reel isn’t that important and the differences are mostly personal preference until you start pulling planer boards with big baits and then there are huge differences. For your Bluecat reels I recommend getting rid of the 20 and 50 lb mono and go all 30lb. In the event you hang a Toad on 20 you will lose some of your biggest baddest fish from break offs and loosing a 50-60 lbr is heart breaking. Not because 20 is too week but because you can get some week spots due to hook nicks from casting and abrasions from stuff on the bottom. 30 lb will hold up much better to those nicks and abrasions. 50 lb mono is just too strong for my liking and getting hung up with that heavy line is a pain in the rear snd means your cutting your line a lot more. 30lb mono will tow my 23 ft bay boat and can handle any fish in the lake when your drag is set properly, even a 200 lb gar. If you do get hung up with it it’s hard to break but you can do it and the break off will be at the hook knot 95% of the time. I fished with 25lb mono for a long time but lost some giants so went up to 30lb 10 yrs ago and haven’t broke off once on big fish and we catch our fair share.

I used to fish freshwater with the Daiwa BG spinners but now I only use them on the surf because they are so simple to clean, grease and put back together after taking a dunk in the salt water. I was getting a lot of breakoffs as well with the BGs due to not having time to set the drag while winching in and the fish running under or around structure.

I can tell you that the Shimano is like butter in your hands. You can feel the quality, the refinement, they are a great reel. The biggest fish I've reeled in with them approaching 30 pounds and I felt in control 100% of the time. Paired with the BCF trolling rod it makes a great high quality combo.