The Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6501 C3 Casting Reel is a classic design built to handle hard charging fish in both salt and freshwater. Two BB + one roller bearing and Swedish cut brass gears are designed to be rugged and stand up to rigorous use. Dual spool braking and instant anti-reverse put the brakes on hard charges. Re-engineered levelwind includes tough titanium nitride plated line guide. One-piece spool reduces weight for longer casts.

The Abu Garcia 6501 C3 is an attractive fishing tool, with a silver acyrlic finish in the classic round design. A thumb recess located on the spool bridge allows for a balanced and comfortable hand grip. All of the other reel controls are easily accessed, the star drag wheel, the spool brake and release, and the spool click. The classic round design allows for a larger diameter spool enabling a greater line capacity making it suitable for med-large hard running fish.

As a professional charter guide I outfit my boat with a variety tackle options for my clients; fly fishing, light tackle spinning and bait casting. The equipment I choose must stand up to the rigors of frequent use. So, before a piece of equipment becomes a regular on my boat, I will fish it hard for several weeks before handing it off to a client. I the mounted the reel on a fast action 7 foot Cabela's Fish Eagle 2 MH casting rod and filled the reel with 20 lb Berkley Fireline. First time out I chose to cast top water hard baits(1/2-2 oz sizes) to a school frenzied bluefish feeding on peanut bunker. When you are in the middle of a school of feeding fish (besides catching them) you think of casting distance, drag tension and retrieval speed. The 6501 C3 reel can cast the small hard baits(7/16 oz) equally well with the heavier ones(2+ oz) with only an adjustment in the spool brake.The casting distance through the range of lure weight was 70 to 120 feet. The line retrieve was adequate with the 5.3:1 gear ratio especially with bluefish who like the bait moving quickly and irradically. The star drag wheel allowed for quick and suprisingly strong drag tension. The drag system is a multi-disc system with an excellent range of adjustment. The drag tension capability easily managed the strong, fast charging bluefish. At the end of the day, I felt confident that the reel would handle the demands of my charter clients.

Abu Garcia 6501 C3
Construction-Quality	The 6501 C3 is well constructed, with a quality acrylic finish, titanium nitride line guide and other corrosion resistant materials.	4.0
Performance	The reel fished well, casting, drag tension and retrieve all acceptable.	4.0
Features	Well designed casting reel, equally at home in the "salt" or "fresh". Has all the necessary controls. Available in L or R hand retrieve.	4.0
Functional Design	Reel balanced well on the rod, crank handle of good size and shape, drag tension adjustment easy to change, smooth retrieval, no vibration.	4.0
Price	Very good value at an affordable $69.99	4.5
Application	Salt water capable, good performance in the med/light tackle niche	4.0
Score:1-5(5=highest)	Total Score	4.08

Plus	Minus
Good design and features	Spool brake knob a bit difficult to adjust.
Price point
Angling performance

Conclusion: The Abu Garcia 6501 C3 casting reel is a good choice in the lower price point niche. It offers salt water capability in the light- med. tackle arena and a number of features that should add up to acceptable on the water performance.

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