I have been away from fishing for to many years so I decided to start fishing for Smallies and Walleyes again. I have some older Abu Garcia 2500-C ( from the 70's) and 5500 series reels and been considering adding
new ceramic bearings for the spool, levelwind cog and level wide. Is doing so worth it?

Those old reels are great,but I think you would be happier with putting your money towards a newer reel.The old reels,the level wind does not disengauge when you cast,the new ones do.Just one speck of grit in the level wind can give you a backlash from hell that you may need a pocket knife to get out.

Like you I love the older reels but the newer ones, even the round ones are much easier & less fuss to fish with.

The new ones are bullet proof.

If you prefer round reels I have an excellent condition Pinnacle Vision Limited round reel with 8 bearings I would sell if you may be interested in it. Was hardly ever used.......would sell it for $60 TYD.

sll,

I won't live long enough to use all the Abu Garcia round reels I have.....thanks for the offer.

All you need is spool bearings. It's the only ones that will make any difference in casting diatance. They are louder.

I replaced my ABU 2500 bearings with the ceramic ones, didn't like them. They are loud and didn't seem like much of an improvement to me

Having just replaced the bearings in my Aby Garcia 2500-C I determined replacing the cog wheel with a 2-bearing cog wheel was also necessary. The ceramic bearings are certainly noisier than the factory bearings.

Verns real repair if It's made he'll have it.

https://m.facebook.com/Verns-Reel-Repair-167427019972210/

55's and 65's are about all I use on saltwater salmon, great reels.....

6500's and 7000's drifting live spot for rockfish (striped bass) in the Chesapeake bay work perfect. A tricked out 6500ct on a 11' rod with 3oz. Of lead is damn near perfect for casting in the surf at Hatteras. 6500c3 on a med heavy 7' rod for Muskie can't be beat.

I had him build an umpteen ceramic bearing reel for me a few years ago.

I'm a big fan of the magged Aikos reels for surf casting.

Tried one for the first time this Nov. I thought the Penn 525mag was a decent surf caster but the aikos 656ctm is awesome. Im gonna buy two for the next trip. Still haven't tried a daiwa millionaire yet. Always used daiwa bg30 spinning reels til a couple years ago.
Aren't they ex-Abu guys that started Aikos?

Akios reels are in a league of their own...a true custom reel.

A dozen blood worms on a circle hook will catch early rockfish spawners near the Chesapeake Bay bridge...expensive live bait but it works.

I've soldiered on with about a half dozen old Ambassadeurs, some dating back to the early 70's. Technology has caught up to these sturdy old reels. I will be gradually replacing all my older reels with current production models. Just not worth my time to sit and rebuild the guts on these old reels any more.

The Abu Garcia Ambassadeur round reels still have a very strong following among anglers, At least the demand and sales on Ebay indicate this. Having replaced the bearings in my older round reels along with just replacing the cog wheels with the "2-bearing" cog wheels has added many feet to the casting distance for each reel.

We shooters add many upgrades to our hunting rifles so why not our fishing reels.......money well spent both times.

My Ambassadeurs put a lot of bass in the livewell back when I fished tournaments. Brutally hard on reels to fish them aggressively 5 plus days a week. Now they live a life of leisure for my much more occasional outings. I haven't had to repair anything on them since I retired from tournament angling. They are just about as close to bulletproof as a reel can be. I've got 4600, 5000, and 5500 models. Very good equipment.

Have a number of red Ambassadors that I use for casting plastic worms. I have several 6500C's that are excellent reels for catfishing & stripers.
Also have 2-'2500C reels that remain one of the best light casting reels for Smallmouth. Also use them for finess casting of plastic baits. Purchased a as new 5000 at a pawn shop for $20. Owner said it had been on the shelf for over a year. The Swedish Ambassadors remain one of the best casting reels ever made, especially with a little upgrading.

I believe a cleaning and a light appropriate oil in gears and such is all the routine service I have ever done to mine. I have 5000s and 5500s , I have used 6500 in the past and was completely happy with it. The 5500 is my prefered muskie casting reel and it is great for it. The 6500 was a boat rod for bluefish and bonitos in a past life, a baby blue fin tuna made one huge run on it ,emptied it of 15 lb test and drag never worked again.......

Tbear,

I believe I purchased two 2500'c from you here on the fire some years ago. I put new ceramic bearings in them along with new two bearing cogwheels. Both reels are now just slicker than snot and cast with much less effort and more importantly...a lot farther.

Doc

I would never sell a 2500C. I currently own 2 & use them frequently. One of the best casting & most durable light casting reels ever made. The Abu spinning reels sold as Zebco Cardinal 3 & 4 are also great light & med-light reels. Most of my reels tend to be older reels that are well maintained. Still looking for the Blue Cat that ripped a rod holder out of my boat with a 6500C & skied the rod down the lake. Good fishing.

I've got a good dozen or more 5500 and 6500 reels. I upgraded the drags with Carbontex drag washers and keep them greased. We catch hundreds of salmon on them and they just keep on rolling. Mostly trolling in fresh and salt water, and some casting. I love them old Abu's