Abu Garcia Catfish Special Reels (6500 c3 and 7000 Series)

I’ve long been a fan of the Abu Garcia classic round reels for catfish. They’re my “go-to” reels for catfishing.

They’re the most popular fishing reels among catfish anglers for a reason. They’re affordable and built to last, in fact with some basic cleaning and maintenance they’ll outlast the anglers using them.

I prefer the 6000 series Abu Garcia reels for the vast majority of my fishing though I do use the 5500 C3 reels for channel catfish and at times the 7000 series reels for trophy blues and flatheads.

For more in-depth information on choosing the right catfish reel, using the features, and setting your reel up for success check out our Ultimate Guide To Catfish Reels.

Yes, That’s The Reel In The Videos

Early this year Abu Garcia sent me some of their new special edition catfish reels for field testing. I’ve been using the reels ever since and putting them through the paces catching catfish.

They’ve shown up in the background of some of my videos on accident. I’ve had a ton of questions from people seeing them in my videos but couldn’t discuss the reels until Abu Garcia made their formal announcement.

They released the round reels to the public at iCast in July so I’m finally in a position where I can talk a bit more about these reels.

I had the opportunity to check out a number of their other new products at iCast (in addition to the catfish reels).

They’ve got some great products hitting the market soon that are all worthy of checking out (as usual). They’ve got an awesome new Revo Beast Musky Reel (I’m really hoping they follow up with a similar catfish reel next year) a catfish spinning reel combo and some slick apparel.

The Abu Garcia Catfish Special Reels

There are two reels in the “Catfish Special” series, the 6500 C3 Catfish Special and 7000 Catfish Special.

Abu Garcia 6500 C3 Catfish Special

The 6500 C3 Catfish Special is similar to the standard 6500 C3 that’s so popular with catfish anglers.

The 6500 C3 Catfish Special has all standard features of the 6500 reels in addition to a special edition color (orange) and the catfish graphic. Outside of the special edition color, the biggest difference is the Catfish Special reel comes stock with a power handle.

Many catfish anglers prefer power handles instead of the standard dual paddle handle that comes on the standard 6500 series reels. The power handles are typically preferred by trophy catfish anglers. It’s been common for many anglers to replace the stock dual paddle handles with power handles and the Catfish Special reel eliminates that hassle.

3 stainless steel ball bearings + 1 roller bearing
Gear Ratio 5.3:1
Carbon Matrix drag system
Extended bent handle for increased cranking power
6 pin centrifugal brake
Synchronized level wind system improves line lay and castability
Special edition color and graphic

Abu Garcia 7000 Catfish Special

The 7000 Catfish Special is similar to the other 7000 series reels. This reel is larger in size overall than the 6500 series reels and has a larger line capacity.

This reel, like the other 7000 series reels is suited for targeting trophy class catfish. If you’re chasing after monster cats and need a big reel with lot’s of line capacity and power the 7000 Catfish Special is a great option.