The Location

 I live in Guayaquil, Ecuador; about 45 minutes away from the nearest beach and right on the Gulf of Guayaquil.

 I own a 14 feet Sears game fisher bass boat. I bought it wrecked and have fixed it really nice for fishing. I mostly fish saltwater.

 My Grandpa was a spinner and my Dad a troller and bait caster so you can say that sport fishing has been in my family for a while.

 I inherited form Grandpa many old Mitchels in different sizes I still use them every once in a while.

 My wife likes spinning better that bait cast reels so she has a little Abu Cardinal.

The Arsenal

I own 6 Abu Garcia Reels, some of them belonged to my Dad, now they are mine.

A couple of them were gifts from my wife.

Other were gifts from me to me. He he !!

1 Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 8600 striper form the 70 or 80s made in Sweden.

2 Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 7000 reds from the 70s made in Sweden.

1 Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 7000C3 grey 2006 made in Korea.

2 Abu Garcia Revo Inshore Low profile 2007 made in Korea.(one got stolen)

1 Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Record RCN50 2008 made in Sweden.

 I enjoy two types of fishing.

One is inshore trolling with crankbaits in the seashore, near the rocks where the surf breaks; it is kind of dangerous because you can get flipped or flooded by a wave. I practice this kind of fishing from December to May when the sea temperature is the warmest and the weather is really hot. Because there’s no wind, the ocean is glassy every day, making it a bit easier.

 The rest of the year I go fishing in the Gulf of Guayaquil, this is a huge saltwater estuary full of channels, mangroves and water pumping in stations from the shrimp farms.

I also go fishing in the main water distribution channel inside the shrimp farms.

I use live shrimp, live  fish, rubber swim baits and smaller crankbaits. I like to use the live shrimp with colored jigs.

The Prey

My favorite fishes to catch are most species of Snook (Robalo) Centropomus medius, Centropomus nigrencis, Centropomus viridis, Centropomus armatus.

I think snook looks like Aussys Barra but with a black side line.

This fish is a fighter a jumper and an expert in braking lines.

 Another of my favorite catches in both types of fishing that I practice is Whitefin weakfish (Corvina) Cynoscion albus. Not as feisty as snook but delicious too.

 Both of these species are caught all year around and range from small size to 50 pound monsters with regular catches between 10 and 25 pounds.

 We have lots of inshore species but those two are my favorites, we also have huge snappers, Jacks and groupers.

 If you got a bit farther out you will get Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi and a several kinds of Marlin. I don’t practice deep sea fishing that much.

The  ABU Reel reviews

 ALL MY ABUS ARE AWESOME. THEY ARE TOUGH, LASTING, EASY TO MAINTAIN AND REPAIR.

 I use my Dad’s 8600 Striper and one of the 7000 Red for trolling. Both are fantastic and robust reels. They have provided our family with fish dinners for decades now.

 My sweet wife gave me the 7000c3 as an engagement gift a couple of year ago.

The first use I had in mind for it, was bait casting near the mangroves, but I didn’t like it for this. The spool has a loose feel and it tends to trap the line. Also, it isn’t very good at casting light baits like live shrimp. So, now I use it for trolling exclusively, and for this it is excellent and has got me many big snooks.

 The Abu Revo inshore is great, the drag is monstrous it can easily handle any size of inshore fish. After my first Abu Revo Inshore got stolen, I went crazy with rage and bought another one immediately.

My B Day was this past July and my wife outdid herself again.

She got me the Abu Record RCN50, I haven’t used it very much yet but I can tell you it is going to be a pleasure to fish with. It is very comfortable in the hand and casts very smoothly. I love the rubber thumb rest.

It still has to pass the big fish test in my book though, but I’m sure it will like all my other Abus.

 Luís Alberto Plaza Rendón.

Mucha suerte en el Agua amigos pescadores.

Editor Wayne's note "Looks like one must be careful not to become the prey also here!"