kokanee reel?

[davkrat]

I have two of the Kokanee 4601 left hand retrieves both on Shimano Talora rods and another 4601 C3 on a Shakespeare Agility I use for bass/jigging. I love the Abu rods and the addition of the line clicker is great for top line or trolling with a few ounces of weight on. I simply let the line out and engage the clicker. Really helps detect bites and hook fish while paddling. In a PB I can watch the kids rods and listen for mine.

 

[dragonfly]

I like a bigger reel and love the tica caiman gj i51's and have 4 but I needed 2 more reels for company and kids, and was at fisermans and they had the abu garcia kalex 61 with a very respectable 5.9 to 1 gear ratio, very well layed out much like a tica with a thumb bar release and most important a clicker it seams very smooth and it's about 70.00 bucks cheeper than the tica so i will give them a try and see if they are as smooth and reliable as my tica's. dfly

 

[SuperD]

Shawn, I just read reviews on the Kalex and there were a lot of 1 star ratings. I'll be interested to hear your real reel opinion.

 

[dragonfly]

dave I haven't fished with it yet but took it all apart and it looks to be fairly well made and the maching is also good, it's also easy to disasemble and asemble. the 60's have the clickers the smaller ones don't and I wonder if the rattings are based on the smaller ones, and people not knowing the difference much like a post above (not picking on any one 101wave2101) compairing all ticas with a line guide that dosn't move back and forth kind of deal. the reel is made in china and there may a personal problem with that also. to me these are tools to do a job and they need to be (1) well made,(2) work smoothly,(3) be easy to use and(4) handle the task. so far they pass the first 3 and will see if they can handle the down rigger stacking and the fish. dfly

 

[calamari]

I use old Daiwa ProCasters that are still as smooth as the day I bought them but my favorite reel for down rigger kokanee is an Abu 3400C . You can't find them anymore and I can't even find a picture of one but they are too darn cute. I may try to take a picture of mine.
later: Actually it's a 3500C not 3400C. I'm getting old. The outside dia. of the case is 2 1/8"
Here's a picture:
http://www.bbcboards.net/reels-4-sale/268957-fs-ft-abu-ambassadeurs-2500c-3500c.html

 

[mtncat1]

i like the tica camen 151s they are much better than the cheaper kokanee special's,i also like the okuma san juans 250s but they are hard to come by

 

[bob r]

Just set up the custom kokanee 4601 abu garcia reel for Melanie, cost is now $109. Spooled it with 15 lb. ug maxima for backing and 15lb. slik8 braid by Power Pro.Didn't have the rod last week so couldn't use it at Merwin, but will use it at the end of the month at the latest(if it ever stops raining!)The rod is a lami MDC 702 7 ft. kokanee special, really a light rod,but that is what Melanie and I like!Reel looks identical to the standard 4601, I am hoping the side plate with clicker is available from abu to fit on my 4601, looks like they are identical.Bob R

 

[dragonfly]

ok we have 8 red jj rods on the boat 4 with the kalex 61s and 4 with the tica camin gj 151s and we use 4 downriggers, most of the time it is just my wife and I, but we use all 8 rods 4 in the water 4 on deck loaded with different combos. I am a beleaver if you are marking fish and no bites in 10 min. change until you find what they like, but always have something ready. any way we cycle thru them and I must say the kalex performed flawlessly in fact I like the grips and the turning radius better, they are not as smooth as the gj and the drag is not as nice or finely adjustable but for 10'' to 16'' kokanee I feel they are more than adequate. I also like the fact they have a clicker which is great when stacking. we have been out 14 times 8 at greenpeter and 6 at odell and boated 463 kokanee (my wife keeps trac of these things along with what combo worked best and when) and had no problems, and as much as I hate to say it, I don't think the gj at 115.00 bucks more, is better at catching fish. just nicer to use and they match my rods and boat thumbsup. dfly

 

[platypus]

--Only in Canada eh.... for level winds I use abu, DAM quick and Okuma red isis.. double up for use when river casting for salmon.
--A favourite is an old Peetz... mahogany and brass.. mooching style. I use 4 inch on smaller rod 8ft and 6 inch on larger 9ft...really the 6 inch and above are made for salmon trolling and spawned the current reels like the islander and shimano BC mooching style.
--The sound of the Peetz click is unique and for several years the company made a screeming reel alarm clock which imitated the sound of a few short pulls then a long run.
--When targeting 3 lb plus often have the peetz on one rod just for the old school sound.