I fish near Baytown and galveston. I haves garcia pro max 2 and c3 6500 I found cheap at a pawn shop. I want to buy a new rod and reel but dont know what to get. I was thinking about a calcutta, but dont know the difference between the different models. Any suggestions? Thanks.

The main diff is the price lol. If your going to be fishing from the bank I wouldn't spend that amount of money on a round bait caster the c3 can do the same thing and lasts for ever if you take care of it. Are you wanting to stick with a round baitcast or low profile?

A round bsitcast

This is just my preference, but I like the Abu Garcia C3's, tgc 5000 and the rocket. You can look on ffo-tackle.com and find some pretty cheap. The new models are cheaper than the shimanos and cast just as well. Their easy to take down wash out and grease yourself and parts are always available.

Abu are all you need. They're awesome for just about any application

I like Abu's as well. I use a 6500c3, 6500cs, 6600c4 and a 6500cs sports mag a lot.They are very easy to tear down, clean and maintain. And, like has been said, parts can be found everywhere. They are also easy to upgrade. With upgrades, there aren't many reels that can beat them on performance for the money.

Where do you recommend to buy reels?

If you want new, decide on a reel that you want and then shop around.

Garcias don't come on sale much and the C3s are pretty consistent in price, but once in a while you might catch some company selling them out or something, that is the time to buy.

If you are adventurous, play the yard sale, pawn shop game, you can sometimes come up with a gem. I usually have to rebuild just about anything I buy from Pawn sales, but I'm just lucky that way.

Not much more than you can buy them used on eBay
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/abu-garc...1093+4294951530

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/abu-garc...1093+4294951530

www.ffo-tackle.com the rocket 5600l is is one of my fav abu and the tgc5000 or 6000 they both handle pretty much everything in salt and freshwater. Pretty versatile, you can throw lures or just carolina rig and throw live bait cut bait etc.

I don't know if you would call this a beginner's reel, but after you learn to use one, you can cast just about anything made.

They don't cast far, but they are pretty much bullet proof, and last a long time in the salt with minimum maintenance.

Big intro for the Penn level wind series of reels, the 109m, 209, and 309. They are pretty good workhorse reels, and with practice you can cast them a ways, maybe not as far as a C3, although I can, but then I have been using them for years.

Also depends on what sort of fish you want to go after and how you want to fish.

If you plan to wade for trout, reds, and flounder and want a nice upgrade set up... really nice for the money.. Get Lews Speed Spool baitcaster and a TiteLine (http://www.titelinefishingrods.com) rod. for the money it's the best upgrade you can get. Solid materials and will handle the salt with a little care. nothing in salt will hold up without taking care of it.

but if you want to fish the beach for big reds or big drum you're probably better off with something bigger like your Abu 6500 ect. not a calcutta.

Once I reach the required posts to sale things here I'll have 6500c3 for sale that's brand new. I have a few so I have some that have to go haha

What year model and how much?

I've got Abu/Garcias that I've been fishing with since I was a kid in the 70's (Used one catfishing just the other day)
and they do make fine equipment. But in my opinion the Calcutta is the finest reel I've ever used. And of course they make them as big or as small as you want and need to fit most coastal fishermens needs. They are pricey. And I will admit I haven't bought a new Garcia product since the last one I bought about 7 years ago shelled on me down at Rockport after about 3 trips use. And no it wasn't a cheap Chinese made one, but some of the insides were plastic junk. Guess I need to give the newer ones a try again.