i've been considering getting a large baitcasting reel for catfish but the seem to be pretty expensive, is it worth the money or should i just stick with my spinning reels, i'm on a budget so i can't afford the expensive reels, though i'm sure they're better

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dance with the one that brung ya'!

whitneycatfish ... I"m not sure what's wrong with these other two fellers so don't pay any attention to them ... they must be "special".

you should probably look at both as tools instead of one vs the other because that's what they are ...they're tools we use while we're fishing in order to get the job done ... I like using spinning reels for flathead fishing as I can freeline bluegill better with spinning reels and leave the bail open so that when a fish picks the bait up he can take off with it and he won't feel any resistance from the reel like it would from a baitcaster that you'd have to have the clicker on or the primary spool tension tight enough so that when the fish took off with the bait the spool wouldn't backlash so spinning reels are great for some things and baitcasters are great for just standard catfishing ... you might look at the tidewater 30L as a possible choice in baitcaster reels fitted on a uglystick catfish 7 ft MH rod as they're fairly cheap also at $30 ... I've got 9 of them on my guide boat that I've had for over a year now and they've literally been banged around and caught tons of fish and haven't had one failure with the rods ... the tidewater reels last about as long as any of my reels that I've purchased and I don't take very good care of them ... if I were to take the reels off the rods and put the reels in a camera bag so that road dirt wouldn't get on the levelwinds they'd last a lot longer but those tidewater reels have lasted quite a while even though I don't take good care of them ... I've had two of them over a year now and they've gotten a lot of use and still working just fine and they were only about $35 at walmart.

thanks for the advice

This forum is wealth of info but you cant stop the morons! Keep asking and keep learning.

IF YOU WANT TO TRY BAITCAST REELS (WHICH IS ALL I USE) I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST LOOKING AT www.proanglertackle.com DOUG "TEX" ELLIOT IS A GUIDE ON LAVON AND DESIGNED THESE RODS AND REELS AND THEY ARE GREAT. AND AT THE SAME TIME THEY WILL NOT BREAK THE BANK. A REEL IS ABOUT $60 AND A ROD IS ABOUT $35 BUT THEY ARE NOT BUILT CHEAP AND HE STANDS BEHIND THEM.

TINY, YOU ARE REALLY A CLASS ACT. THANKS FOR ANSWERING THIS FELLA'S VERY GOOD QUESTION. THOSE 1ST 2 FELLAS MUST HAVE " ISSUES"

Every once in awhile I think of trying a baitcasting reel, but then I think, "why"? What's the advantage?

I mean, anyone can pick up a spinning reel and start fishing, but it takes quite a bit of practice to use a baitcaster.

I'm sure there must be some advantage, because so many people use them, but I just don't know what it might be.

Cabela's has the ABU 6600 C3 and a King Kat rod for 83.00 and I will also I have a "take a friend" 10.00 off voucher. PM me your addy and I will send it to you.

They also have the Salt Striker Combo on sale.

Online Bargain Cave

I prefer the baitcasters my self but that's just my preference. I love the Ambassadeur 6000 series. Specifically the 6500c3 and 6600c4. They'll hold 240yds of 14# test and come with the bait clickers.
Both types have their advantages, I guess it just boils down to what you like or what you have confidence in.. I usually fish with the reel disengauged with the clickers on,for kittys, which puts a very small amount of drag on the spool. Baitcasters are supposed to be more accurate when casting and supposed to be a little more powerful when reeling in a bigun.

Whitneycatfish,
Don't laugh, but I have piked up several GOOD reels on Ebay pretty cheap...You have to ask questions, but I have never gotten burned and paid pennies on the dollar for some expensive reels. ASK QUESTIONS before bidding!!

I use both. I use 6500 C for drifting and anchor fishing with shad or cut bait. I have several small spinning reels I use for punch bait. I use a crappie set up because I can feel the catfish when he is mouthing the bait and swimming by. Tiny is right consider them tools and they make all different types for the job. Go with the type tool you are comfortable with. You might get the other and practice with it until you decide it isn't for you or switch. Good luck and happy fishing.
I too have gotten several good reels off ebay. Ask questions put down a price you can spend and don't change it. There will always be another one come by. I just got an excellent 6500c for 22 dollars that didn't look like it had been fished 2 times.

the main advantage baitcasters have over spinning gear is there is no line twist problem when using baitcasters and the line normally lasts longer because of this for one thing. and due to that you can put a little more pressure on the fish with baitcasters with less line breakages. I use them mostly on my guiding because I throw all the lines out each time and don't have to explain too much when the clients reel fish in with baitcasters ... when I use spinning gear I have to teach them how to reel the fish in more so than with baitcasters because if they just winch the fish in and the drag is slipping or the spool is just turning while they're reeling they're twisting up the line real badly. but if I take spinning gear I can let the clients throw the rods out which helps a lot if they're willing to do so. beefing up spinning gear with power pro 65 lb test line will allow a person to tighten the drag quite a bit however. this will reduce line twist somewhat but there's a problem there if you do get line twist with braid ... it'll put a lot of little nasty knots that you have to deal with in the line when you cast it if it's twisted up real bad or spools up a little loose on the spool so there's just more problems with spinning gear than baitcast gear. when you get proficient at using baitcasters then spinning gear is a little bit of a pain sometimes unless everything is working perfectly on them.

Does the C on the ABU models stand for bait clickers?