I now fish with higher dollar reels but 5500c3 is still my Carolina Rig choice

Cool. I remember drooling over that reel @ Bottom Dollar back in the day... My Dad busted me trying to throw his Lews speed spool on a Kelly Wiggler rod (LCI)and I got a WHOOPIN'! A few days later, my Birthday came and got the Abu combo..Thanks DAD!

16. Abu Garcia Orra Sx

9 or 10years old. Old mans pearl handeled johnson reel with clicker, black nylon line on a metal rod. Yep, I am definetly gett'in to be a old dude. Sure wish I had that outfit today.

11 or 12 years old and it was a Ryobi AD5000V.

Remember it well, out practicing in the snow on Christmas morning.

At 12 i set up a bucket and and tied a weight on and i would spend hours practicing chunkin at it between cutting out birds nest then restringing

Same

My first was a cheapo Diawa but then I made the switch to the 1310 MG and never looked back. I still have it and the berkley Stinger rod. It's my catfish setup now!

Around 10, it was an Abu Garcia 5000.

I started on an old red ABU 5000. With brass bushings, that was before bearings came out in the ABU's. Thats where I learned how to pick out a backlash. Guess I was 9 or 10.

I was 33 years old and it was a BPS entry level. Better late then never.

16. Quantum Accurist 4500LX. Still use it today and it caught my PB

11 ish. Got my first reel at 12. Calcutta 250. I fished that reel for 10 years in saltwater and now use it for my deep cranking reel and it works flawlessly!

8 or 9, with the Shimano Bantam my Papaw bought for me the day I was born. Still have the reel in my safe, I keep it oiled and clean.

I was 5 in hawaii, used to buy a giant shrimp at the store and wade in the surf with a cane pole and no reel. You could wade out a mile on the reef. the water was only knee deep. I caught millions of small colorful fish. you would come to a big hole that was maybe 20 or 30 feet deep. water was gin clear. you could see those monsters down there. I could sometimes hook one but always broke off. Later my stepfather gave me an old steel pole with a bait caster and rayon line. the handle would spin when you tried to cast. I never could without a tremendous backlash. Later I got a shakespear closed faced reel that I could cast. Later I got my dream real a mitchell 300 and I really got into bass fishing. I hitchhiked to every bass pond in southern California. Caught a lot of fish on a small black sonic, super dupers,mepps spinners, and rooster tails. I was fascinated with a hula popper, but I never caught anything on it. When I was 12 I got a job . at 14 I bought an old ford model A and my fishing life began.