GPSguru Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 On 3/21/2023 at 6:25 AM, Saintly Fish said: I've been using penn reels for years in different forms. Apart from the cheapest Squall or the FS surf blaster (which I've never owned but seen) they have been faultless. I've only ever serviced them once and they are as smooth as the day I purchased them. Alan (my mate with the Offshore 25) used to be very much into Penn gear, but when on his boat I have seen a few Penn boat rods snap, and also a few Penn multi's lock up, but I have to agree that most folk highly rate the Penn FS reels. However, the really old Penn Multi's, like the Senator 6/0, were absolutely bombproof and there are still a good few in use today, and can command a high S/H price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 13 minutes ago, GPSguru said: That is really a Carp Reel, does it also make the coffee that it grinds ? Well, why don't you say what you really think! 🤣 GPSguru 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 1 hour ago, GPSguru said: Alan (my mate with the Offshore 25) used to be very much into Penn gear, but when on his boat I have seen a few Penn boat rods snap, and also a few Penn multi's lock up, but I have to agree that most folk highly rate the Penn FS reels. However, the really old Penn Multi's, like the Senator 6/0, were absolutely bombproof and there are still a good few in use today, and can command a high S/H price. Those 6/0 senators out of the box new with standard drags only put out a measured 7lb of drag pressure. They really were primitive bulky reels that relied more on line capacity to eventually wear a fish down, broke handles and side plates on mine. Where now a small Talica 12 can put out around 40lb of drag and hold 700m of 50lb braid. I use my lever drag Talica 12 as my offshore heavy game outfit on a very light Daiwa Saltiga rod. I can cast with the Shimano Talica but admit its not a decent cast but that's mostly down to the rod its used with. As for Penn reels generally, well I have a battle 6000 which is used on anything big from the shore and also picked up a slammer mkIV two days ago. The slammer is going back, regretful purchase. Though I like the battle for its price, I won't be making any big moves over to these Chinese made reels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 1 hour ago, JDP said: Those 6/0 senators out of the box new with standard drags only put out a measured 7lb of drag pressure. In their day they were good enough, especially for Conger. I have measured the drag on my Fin - nor MA2011 reels and one gives 42lb and the 46lb, although I won't be using max drag on Blues and Porgies as I like them to be tired before they come to the boat, otherwise they tend to go ballistic when unhooking. No, I won't touch Penn gear, and TBH I am tending to give Shimano a miss at the moment. JDP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDP Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 5 hours ago, GPSguru said: In their day they were good enough, especially for Conger. I have measured the drag on my Fin - nor MA2011 reels and one gives 42lb and the 46lb, although I won't be using max drag on Blues and Porgies as I like them to be tired before they come to the boat, otherwise they tend to go ballistic when unhooking. No, I won't touch Penn gear, and TBH I am tending to give Shimano a miss at the moment. I had a few Fin-nors many years ago but wasn't overly impressed with the smoothness of the drags, how are yours and have you needed to do anything to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, JDP said: I had a few Fin-nors many years ago but wasn't overly impressed with the smoothness of the drags, how are yours and have you needed to do anything to them. I fink, but not sure that the company closed down years ago and the name was bought up, they are all wing wangs, just better quality ones. My MA12s are really smooth to use, though go be honest the drag doesn’t get overly examined during my fishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Slight tangent towards FS reels; I am hugely impressed with my shimano exage 4000 and how smooth the drag is. It hasn't let me down as yet and has coped well with pollock heading back to snags. I also have a Finn Nor offshore FS (6500 I think) which has an even stronger drag set up but not used it for anything other than general bottom fishing yet, but will be used for tope soon enough 🫰 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 11 hours ago, GPSguru said: I have to agree that most folk highly rate the Penn FS reels NO 😱 it's the FS reels that dissolve in sea air. The multis are great, except the cheapest "Squall". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Malc said: Slight tangent towards FS reels; I am hugely impressed with my shimano exage 4000 and how smooth the drag is. It hasn't let me down as yet and has coped well with pollock heading back to snags. I also have a Finn Nor offshore FS (6500 I think) which has an even stronger drag set up but not used it for anything other than general bottom fishing yet, but will be used for tope soon enough 🫰 Shimano are good for FS reels - I used their Exsence 2500 and Sustain 4000 for lure fishing for bass and they are still silky smooth after 8+ seasons of use. However I found myself using the Van Staal 150 exclusively on the boat. It's a thing of beauty in my view #tackletart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Andy135 said: Shimano are good for FS reels - I used their Exsence 2500 and Sustain 4000 for lure fishing for bass and they are still silky smooth after 8+ seasons of use. However I found myself using the Van Staal 150 exclusively on the boat. It's a thing of beauty in my view #tackletart When did you catch a bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, JonC said: When did you catch a bass? Last season, when I took @Davemc bream fishing in Sandown Bay. I was using a spinning rod and that Van Staal with a bream rig and a bass took off with one of the squid strips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Actually, I think I've caught another more recent one, when out with @Saintly Fish at the Spoils last summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Andy135 said: Last season, when I took @Davemc bream fishing in Sandown Bay. I was using a spinning rod and that Van Staal with a bream rig and a bass took off with one of the squid strips. #41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Andy135 said: ...Van Staal 150 exclusively on the boat. I first heard about these being used by the nut jobs who go skishing. They are lovely though. 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Malc said: I first heard about these being used by the nut jobs who go skishing. They are lovely though. 😍 Yeah, there's no way I'd take it skishing! Too lovely to risk it. But they are good in the surf. @Davemc and I took our Van Staals to Jersey for a few days luring for bass (I blanked before @JonC asks a pointed question...), and we used them in big surf conditions in our waders up to our waists. They never missed a beat and only needed a quick rinse off. Malc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 35 minutes ago, Andy135 said: Yeah, there's no way I'd take it skishing! Too lovely to risk it. But they are good in the surf. @Davemc and I took our Van Staals to Jersey for a few days luring for bass (I blanked before @JonC asks a pointed question...), and we used them in big surf conditions in our waders up to our waists. They never missed a beat and only needed a quick rinse off. I haven’t asked anyone pointed questions? Andy135 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 45 minutes ago, Andy135 said: I blanked 😱What??? Not like you!! Andy135 and Maverick 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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