Abu Garcia® Ambassadeur® C4 Round Baitcaster???

[iceintheveins]

I'm looking for a swimbait reel to hold heavy line for big swimbaits up to 4 ounces. It says this reel comes with a 6 pin centrifugal brake. I couldn't for the life of me find where to access the brake on the reel the other day when scoping it out in the store. All my other baitcasters that have the 6 pin brake have a removable side plate on the left hand side of the reel (I'm right handed).

Does anyone have this reel and could help me out???

[iabass8]

You have to unscrew the side plate on c3s and c4s. Love the reels  but thats a pain to switch brakes.

[0119]

It takes all of 20 seconds. The three slotted thumb screws on the right sideplate. Dont tighten them more than hand strength so you can pull the sideplate off when needed and there they are on the right side of the spool.

[deep]

Sounds like my Cardiffs. When I got my first one, I spent at least half an hour messing with the non-handle side trying to access the brakes, and felt like a fool afterwards..

EDIT: Cardiffs have a known problem of the thumb-bar not working unless you close shut the handle sideplate with the the thumb-bar held in the up (spool engaged) position. Also; the 3 screws need to be tightened pretty well otherwise they turn loose after a while on their own. Some folks actually put a drop of loc-tite on each screw to seal it. I don't know if your Abu is anything like my Cardiffs, but just some things to keep in mind.

[webertime]

Get the C3 (5.3) it has a lower gear ratio than the C-4 (6.4?). The above posters are right about the brakes. I have a 5501C3 that I used with 20lb CXX and tossed 6" Wood Punkers, 7" Tru Tungstens, and 6" Hudds with NO issues at all.

A C3 plus a bearing (if you want) and a Smooth drag upgrade with cost the same as a C4 and be a better reel for Swimbaits.

[BradH]

Get the C3 (5.3) it has a lower gear ratio than the C-4 (6.4?). The above posters are right about the brakes. I have a 5501C3 that I used with 20lb CXX and tossed 6" Wood Punkers, 7" Tru Tungstens, and 6" Hudds with NO issues at all.

A C3 plus a bearing (if you want) and a Smooth drag upgrade with cost the same as a C4 and be a better reel for Swimbaits.

I agree, C3. That extra bearing is on the levelwind and not really a big deal. If you want to add bearings a C5 levelwind has 2 bearings and will drop right in. A 4bb Revo S handle will go right on and is a worthwhile upgrade. The spool diameter is large so that 5.3 C3 sucks in as much line per turn as a 6 something low profile. All the newer ones I've taken apart have the carbon drags disks already.

[B-Dozer]

very easy to change gears in the C series Abus. not very expensive either. There's a C-4 5600 w/mag control on e bay now. Two actually. great reels. JMO good luck, have fun! some might say the mag. control gets in your way. it does for about ten casts, until you are used to it.

[iceintheveins]

Thanks guys. I'm going to look at the reel again and then make a decision by tuesday.

How is the Shimano Cardiff?

[Hooligan]

Thanks guys. I'm going to look at the reel again and then make a decision by tuesday.

How is the Shimano Cardiff?

The Cardiff is a stellar buy, in terms of value and what you get. It's a very good reel for the application, the 300 size is adequate for what you're talking about. I have a couple as back-up reels for swimbait sticks. Mind you, I can tell a HUGE difference in fit, finish, and overall quality between them and a 300TE. However, for $110 the Cardiff is a good buy. 4 SS ARB and a foolproof braking system. They're a solid, workhorse of a reel for it. You can fit something like 150 of 17 on them with no issue, so the capacity is there, too.

[iceintheveins]

Cool. I was looking to use 17 pound mono for my swimbaits.