Casting: Where this reel really shines is in the casting department. Abu Garcia uses an old school centrifugal braking system with this reel. It is very much a set and forget type system. When you tie one on and launch it out, your baits sail through the air much further than expected and with such ease. There's even an audible whirring sound when you cast this reel that makes it feel like a poor man's digital cast control. In fact, Zander thought I was testing a new Shimano DC reel when he heard it!

A little more disappointment... in order to get to the centrifugal brakes, you need to disassemble the reel.

The downside to this braking system? You have to disassemble the reel to get to the brakes and adjust their setting. What's more, you have to do this with a flat head screw driver. Abu Garcia does not allow for easy adjustment of the reel's brakes, so you have to anticipate which setting will suit your casting ability and needs prior to hitting the water - unless you enjoy disassembling your reels when you're out fishing. If so, remember to bring a flat head screwdriver.

This task could be made much more convenient if there were a set of knurl headed bolts holding the reel together rather than flathead screws.

One last thing to note with this reel that sort of fits in the casting department is a little idiosyncrasy when engaging this reel in free-spool mode. The thumb bar pushes down easily enough when there is no pressure at the end of the line, but if there is any tension at all, like when your bait is in the hook keeper and the line is tight, that thumb bar will not engage. You need to pull some line out of the reel first, to relieve any tension for that thumb bar to work. If intentional, this is an actual benefit when you're fighting a fish as the risk of you accidentally depressing the thumb bar and putting the reel in free-spool mode is greatly reduced.

The C3 does have a bearing on the levelwind worm gear.

Features: Taking the reel apart to investigate its features is like disassembling a watch. Everything looks an feels so precise inside this reel. On our features checklist, the Ambassadeur C3 4600/01 does not have an externally adjustable brake system, and there is one bearing on the levelwind. The knobs are riveted to the handle which usually indicates no bearings, and neither the dragstar or spool tension knob feature micro-click adjustments.

The vial of oil supplied with the reel has a faulty top that can and does leak into the plastic bag within which it is contained. Ours was practically empty by the time it got to us.

The reel does not come with a cover and while there is a vial of oil in the box, the plastic vial used to contain the oil has a very insecure cap. Abu Garcia knows this and packages that vial in a zip lock bag. Good thing too because our vial of oil was nearly empty with all the oil having leaked out into that bag. Their REVO reels come with a vial of oil that has a secure, screw top lid. Why they don't use this same bottle in these reels is a little puzzling.

Disassembly of this reel reveals very precisely engineered innards.

A look at the height this reel sits on the reel seat.

Design & Ergonomics: As we mentioned earlier, this reel is roughly the same diameter in size as that of a Shimano Calcutta 200. It's actually a hair larger. It also fishes bigger because the reel foot is not recessed very far into the body of the reel unlike a Calcutta, so it sits taller on the reel seat making it a little more difficult and uncomfortable to get your hands around. It basically has the ergonomics that turned people away from round reels in the first place.

That depressed top bar does very little to relieve the task of palming this reel.

As I alluded to earlier, the 80 millimeter handle is sufficient, but a longer handle would be nice and the knobs are average in comfort as well - they're just a tad hard. At nine point two ounces (9.2oz), the C3 4600/01 is a bit on the heavy side and while the reel's makeup inside resembles an expensive watch, it takes a bit of determination to get to all its parts. Care needs to be taken when tackling disassembly of this reel for maintenance.

Despite its lack of cranking power, the C3 is great for shallow to medium running crankbaits.

Line capacity and lack of any real cranking power limit this reel's versatility.

Application: With its slow-ish retrieve ratio, large size, and precise gearing, this reel is ideal for moving bait applications. Line capacity and lack of any real power kind of precludes it from big bait fishing and it's not very well suited for finesse applications either. It will suffice in other areas beyond that, but again, its strength lies in tossing cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and anything else where you want to keep the bait moving and aren't too concerned with how fast.