Reel maintenance is a must when fishing salt water, Even if it’s as little as freshwater rinse. I’ve used the same reels for years and never any of those issues. Personal favorite is Penn Slammer 3.
Yeah, he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. The Spinfishers just need a service. But, whatever, it's not my money he's blowing. But, he did lie about the Penn warranty.
I’ve had a Penn Pursuit II that I would use to fish off the jetties. I got sand all inside the gears from wind blowing sand, water from waves splashing up against the rocks onto my reel. I haven’t serviced it in over a year and when I did service it, it felt smooth like it came out the box.
I will say this . You can keep most reels working with maintenance. I have to take some reels apart and clean after every fishing trip. The best reels do a good job keeping sand and water out with little corrosion. I like the better reels that don't keep me working on them all the time. I make my living as a repair man. I like to play or fish more than work.
The first thing I noticed about this reel is its weight ruclips.net/user/postUgkxM68VkfsQhHaabDce1IwOCXuvumcpbZ_k . I wouldn't say it was uncomfortable but it was a little heavier than other similarly sized reels. However, that didn't deter my enjoyment of how smooth this reel is. I spooled it with 20lb. Tuf-Line XP and it's perfect for what I use it for. I have it paired with an 8'6" Medium/Fast Okuma SST Salmon/Steelhead rod. The combination is perfect for casting and even drifting. I used the reel all day and didn't experience any arm or hand fatigue except when fighting a few fish! The bail is solid and feels strong when engaging by reeling and manually closing the bail by hand. The large rubber handle grip is very comfortable. It's got a powerful drag, silky smooth reeling, and feels very comfortable in the hands. I recommend it!
I've never destroyed a Penn Reel and I've put way more hours on them than yours. Proper maintenance will keep them working for a lifetime. I've replaced a few worn parts but very minimal cost and time
I just cleaned up a 1980's Penn reel a friend gave me, that his grandfather used for a decade, he used for a decade, and stayed in storage for the remainder. The internals cleaned up and look brand new. I used a cheap penn reel for years, barely maintained it, fave it to a friend, and he has used it for years. All I ever do is rinse them, and oil them
@@stevescuba1978 Yeah, I don't get how people destroy reels? The only things I've ever had go wrong is bail springs, anti reverse mechanisms(on Diawa's which I don't use anymore), and a bent bail which I bent back. Oh, and replacing the line roller after decades of use.
@@Fish-Erman I've had a few spun bearings, and I've shredded aluminum gears on small reels while catching large fish (both times, I was able to hand-line in the fish!). I've not had a decent salt water reel fail in any way. All those failures were on the cheapest reels available.
@@stevescuba1978 Wow, handlined the fish in! I've never had to do that. The failures I've had were not top end reels, but not junk either, in today's prices $150-$200 reels. I've only had one "expensive" reel, a Van Staal I used for surf fishing swimming to rocks and such, and that reel never had an issue.
The best thing I think about Penn reels is they are easy to work on and if they do need new bearings they are not expensive to purchase. Also, I've taken to downloading the schematic for the reels I buy. Good luck and keep fishing.
When is the last time you priced a main gear for a newer Penn? $63 is the cheapest I could find for a 4k something. Sold that crap the next week as is. Penn has out priced there value.
I love my Penn reels and a few of them are nearing 10 years old. I put in 12-24hr of fishing in a week from spring to fall in the surf so not the time you put in, plus 75/25 bait/lure usage. One thing I learned is I need to maintenance them at the end of the season by stripping them down cleaning with a good solvent like a break/parts cleaner then greasing them. Don't over grease and make sure you're using a smaller (Jewlers) screw diver set because both of these can make the reel feel like it's seized up. Too much grease is like making the gears wade through a pool of jello and if you use a larger screw diver you can tourque those screws down too much which locks up the gears with pressure. So as he said you can get many great years out of these reels if you treat them right. I say this with most of my reels have handled numerous 30-50lb as well as some 30-40lb class striper. The only pushing too far was my fierce 3000 vs a 40lb black drum where the fish crushed the gears but I still managed to land the beast with 1/4 of the driver gear gone. I went crazy and replaced all the internals in this reel for like $20 bucks plus some postage and it's working as good as new.
I'm still using two Penn Senators 4.0 and 6.0 plus a Squidder my Dad gave me in the early 60's. I'm 74 now. They work and look like they are brand new. Pulled in a lot of Black Finned Tuna, Wahoo, Kingfish, Bull Dolphin, Cobia and many Sailfish with those reels. They always remind me of all the great days fishing with my Dad and Grandfather. I never had a bad day fishing in my life, even if nothing was caught.
What is it with the Yanks and not cleaning and maintaining their reels? Here in Australia, we fish for big fish in extreme conditions, and not once have I had a reel shit the bed. Get home after a trip, strip reels, clean, grease, oil and spray with some CRC Tackle Guard. If it gets dropped in the sand, rinse it off with fresh water before spinning it, easy.
This isn't typical of most anglers. I've got 3 spinfishers that are over 20 yrs old and work great. I'll also bet that if you fished everyday you wouldn't strip, purge and deep clean your reels after every outing, because you would be tearing the reel down just about everyday which is unnecessary.
That’s why honestly, keep doing so because they won’t last forever if you fish them hard. But any reel will Fail if you mistreat them. Besides Daiwa BGs lol I’m a Shimano guy but those BGs are freaking fort knox
I’ve been fishing my Penn Fierce 3 for three years now in the surf and on the pier. I’ve been crashed by waves plenty of times and my reel works just fine. Not hard to rinse with freshwater and apply oil and grease where necessary.
They have screws in them for a reason and aftermarket grease and oil is available along with Penn O.E. oil and grease for sale... You dunk a reel as soon as you can take it apart, remove water, use oil and grease in the right locations...
If you ever decide to get a new, consider the shimano spheros 8k sw. I've owned one for 6 years and have never serviced it lol. I've done some hard-core surf and jetty fishing with it , no problems. One thing that sucks about all the reels you reviewed are their clickers. They're quite af, the spheros is super loud.
I have abused my Spheros 6KSW dunking it, dropping it in sand while surf fishing. It's still going strong after three years. It's easy to maintain. I am seriously considering the Okuma Maikaira as my next surf fishing reel.
I agree it's worth it to buy Van Staal. I also use a Van Staal now but I still use unsealed reels as backups. You just buy new penn internal parts for cheap and rebuild the reels.
I love Penn. I currently have the Penn Fierce on my Tsunami Trophy II. I think it's a great combo. When I'm not using my rod (like a break) my husband takes it lol When I can't go out to fish, he takes my rod. I've caught so much on it from small baby seabass to larger blues and stripers. I don't put my reel down on the sand, or on the rocks at the jetty. I usually lay it over my bag to minimize sand getting in. It's currently end of year 2 on this set up and it's still going. But I also am not a daily fisherman since I do have 2 kids, and also work for a large healthcare system (administrative) - hours are extremely rough cause of COVID.
@@ysoutdoorgaming3367 I had the SaltX. May try it again when they upgrade it, but for now she's been using that Spinfisher VI 5500 with a fried bearing. lol
@@marcopugliese7284 dang...I just get "there's nothing we can do, it's over the time that we can do anything" email... I literally bought the Spinfisher VI from Penn directly because I knew I would probably end up needing it fixed/replaced fairly quickly and I didn't want to deal with Amazon not helping me, or BPS, or Cabela's not helping me. Turns out, even PENN themselves wouldn't even help me. lol, explain that one haha
It’s funny. I have tested reels for Penn. I tested the original Spinfisher V. I fish both the 6500 and the 6500( released as a 7500) long cast. As well as the Battle II long cast. I fished them hard. Every day. They were splashed. Dunked when using my rod as a walking stick. I can tell you they’re all still going strong. Although I have to admit that I have put them into semi retirement because they are on long rods that I have stopped using as much. And the Lc is now my bait reel. I also have the Conflict II LC and it’s on a 7’ rod I use in the bay. So far so good. Haven’t dunked it yet and hope not to. Lol. I also have gone to the 6000 Saltx and fished it this whole season almost daily. Fingers still crossed that it holds up after what you said. But again I think you have the worst luck with the Penn reels.
Wow you really murdered a lot of reels. I think it definitely makes sense for you to get the VS. I’m shocked the spinfishers died so quick too! Luckily my slammer has been good for me for the last few years surf fishing jetties and beaches. I obviously try not to dunk it though. It’s nice to have ease of mind with the VS. great review 👍👍
Yessir VR 200. I’m gonna fish it to death. Old timer recommended a van staal said I wouldn’t regret it and if I buy one I’ll end buying another one. I hope he’s wrong cause this expensive lol
@@rainsong7327 hi and I’m glad you reached out because I’ll be straight up with you. 1. I bought a VR150 and a VS200 bailless 2. I sold the VS200 . I only kept it a couple of months. Why? I’m not swimming out to rocks nor fishing in the dead of night. Lastly, contrary to popularity, I did not like bailless simply because I just wasn’t good at figuring it out. I’d rather spend more time looking at what’s going on , on the water than figuring out when to pick up the line etc; plus when it was windy and casting it was a hassle. 3. I kept the VR (2021 model) because ta a little lighter, just as smooth and efficient. It has a bale and it’s just a tough reel that I am confident in. It’s sealed so I fohh my t have to worry about sand or water. 4. I have 2 Saragossa. A 10k and 6k. I think for how I fish and where, the 3 reels I have are fantastic! You don’t need a Van for the cape cod Canal. The 10k gosa is perfect for that style of fishing. You need line pick up and drag. The other 2 reels are for the beach & breachways. Style of fishing I enjoy most. 5. If you stay in the Boulder fields and fish in extreme situations where more than half the time you are chest deep in water and getting thrown around in the waves??? In my opinion and recent experience…. Go with a VR200 2021 model that has a bailless option. Throw on 50 pound test 832 or X9 and go catch some fish!!! I hope this helps you.
@@kevinshort5468 honestly agreed lmao, he sounds extremely arrogant and is using "heavy fishing" as an excuse, I've abused my poor banax GT5k from 2010 till date on surf fishing, i only had one problem ever and that was because of my own negligence. He just doesn't know how to respect his gear and service them, i bet my left nut almost every reel he "broke" can be fixed with a simple service and cleaning.
Slammer 3 all the way. I Fished up to 4-5 days a week and put 100s of hours into the Slammer 3 and caught many fish on that reel. Great reel for the price. Kinda sealed, but if u soak it in freshwater after everytrip, its basically just like new again.
Bro im gonna hook u and your subscribers up with a secret hack to waterproof any spinning reel. Buy some plumbing valve packing material/string (ptfe/Teflon type) 3/32" diameter. Remove the side cover, bottom cover and bail spring cover. Cut the material, stretch it out a bit and lay /compress it all around the edge where the covers meet the body. Place covers back, push to form watertight seal. Put tiny piecrs of regular Teflon tape around each screw then tighten down. To seal drag place a thin silicone hose washer coated with silicone grease under knob. Remove crank handle fill both hole with silicone grease
I found a Penn pursuit 3 3000 combo fishing the intercoastal in Florida on the bottom of a clear creek in the mangroves. Brought it home and cleaned the silt also algae off it and it made a little noise but worked. Took it apart and cleaned it up and re-greased it and so far it's like new. Guess time will tell.
You can fix those Penn's pretty easy. I fixed 3 last month. And you can buy the bearing for a few bucks. Or you can throw them in soap in water and completely lean them, and repack them afterwards. Good as new! I would recommend!
Its not about the hours,Spinfisher for example is a great reel,it never dies by fighting the fish,is just a beast,but all the reel that you "have broken" are max IPX5 not Surffishing reels,so its not the fault of the reel,they simply are not the reels for your style of fishing.
I bet you've probably jacked up 10 coolers by beating them up on the rocks before you put the fish in them. Falling in the surf with your reels? Dude, You've got to be smarter then the equipment you're working with man.
I've an original Penn 525 mag multiplyer made in USA long distance casting reels since 1999 and I've pulled in lots of big fish, tope, stingrays and triple dogfish and double bass as in two bass together and its still working well. Although I do maintain it regularly
i started to seriously surf fish in the mid 90's. i sold my boat in 98 and then it was all surfcasting from that point on. reels that i completely destroyed were, stradics, sustains, cabos, SS spinfishers & probably a couple more that i just can't remember. reels that did last, with some maintenance were the original daiwa bg's & penn z's. but between me & my wife fishing 4-5 nights a week may thru oct didn't leave much time for reel maintenance. so we bought 2 VS, a 150 & 200. never regretted my purchase. i don't live in ny any longer so i sold my 200 (also had a 150, sold b4 i left ny) but my wife still has her 150. for the few times i come to ny i bought a penn ssv 5500 and upgraded the gears to all brass. it makes a big difference! but i never fished the reel like i did when i lived there. good video Paulie had you & me also just bought a vs from the get go we'd have saved some money. i see Erica doesn't have a vs....Christmas is coming!
That's crazy! Looks like we have a very similar story! And yes, the VS is probably one of best investments for this sport lol...and shhhh don't give Erica any crazy ideas for a Christmas wish list haha
All of my spinning reels are Penn Spinfisher VI. I do a lot of kayak fishing and wade fishing in the surf. Both activities involve wave action and the reels get soaked some times. These reels are tough and have lasted for me. 🤙🏽
I’m so surprised no one talk about shimano, I have ten different shimano, they are almost in 3 ~ 7 years old, no even one was broken. Just rinse every time after fishing, and clean gears yearly by myself. I never had a van staal in hand, but want to have one to try it.
Hi Paulie. I had purchased the Tsunami Saltx 6000. After 3 times out in surf the reel started to grind. Brought it back to J&H. Full credit refund. In spring going to get a Van Staal. Thanks for the video. Awesome as always. Happy Holidays
Yeah, Warren, the SaltX reels are not as good as people made them out to be. But hey, it’s the companies first “fully sealed” reel, so we’ll see where their failures take them. Hopefully they learn from all of their mistakes and can produce a well put together, fully sealed reel in the months/years to come! Thanks for watching! I’m looking forward to hearing how you like your future Van Staal! #smoochandrelease
Maintenance is key if you want to keep your reels going, my dad has reels from the 70s that he uses constantly still catching monster Striped bass, blue fish, tatoag. I think just getting sand and water in your reels and calling it toast is a waste of money, but hey to each his own I guess.
I fished my Penn spinfisher V very hard in the surf. It's been dunked and sprayed continuously for 6 or 7 years. I rinsed it off very good after every use and serviced it several times. The rotor bearings have been replaced twice and it's still going strong. A set of bearings are like 20.00. Just bought a Tsunami saltx 6000 for next season. Hopefully it holds up.
We can both agree the vs200 is hands down a monster of a reel. I can see that it will be in your hands for many years to come! It’s a reel that was simply put together for hardcore surf guys. Second winning reel for me was my daiwa fuego 2500 for freshwater. Just change the felt disks into carbon fiber ones and it’s an absolute tank for freshwater. Hope we get a nice off season into freshwater till March. Tight lines and thanks for taking us on awesome adventures throughout 2020!!!
Thank you very much Roberto! I can't wait to start catching some good freshwater fish this winter! I just ordered a couple new freshwater spinning reels to fish more finesse techniques (I had maybe 2 unbroken spinning reels and a bunch of heavy duty baitcasters), it should be a fun winter for sure! These videos will be fun! Thanks for following this year! #smoochandrelease
Great video. Thanks for the update. I’m moving back to the beach where I grew up so I’ll be doing the same amount of fishing that you mentioned. I totally appreciate the advice given as I don’t have a lot of money to spend on expensive gear. I would rather get a reel that’s going to last during extreme fishing hours. What exactly would you completely recommend for daily long hours and heavy fish ? Onelove.
When you started surf fishing You put down the use of more expensive quality equipt, in limited time you thought knew more then the veterans on this, lesson learned!
LEGEND! Thanks for making this, going to be crab fishing off a beach soon for the first time. What do you recommend to run? Backpacking to the location, so needs to be bulletproof
Bro I love penn reels I fish in south Louisiana in brackish and salt water I have a 4000 Silverado that’s as old as me past down from my pops and the thing still works to this day keep it lubed and service it at home I bet they all still work
How do you go through so many reels? Ive got 9 reels and rods and ive dropped one an okuma 8k surf in the ocean I had to scoop it out with a crab net fell off my boat. I took it apart when I got home sprayed it all out with wd40 and then used lanolin spray and greased it with lithium grease and it still works like new. All my reels get pulled apart and sprayed out and greased with lithium grease
If you keep breaking those spinning reels, switch to a casting reel. Ambassador 6500 C3 or maybe a vintage Penn Surfmaster or a 209. Even a KastKing Rover 60 will be tougher than a spinning reel.
Mind u i have so many reels to count ( mainly shimano and some penns , none ever broke on me aside from line roller bbs, fight with rod n know ur reel strength for reeling under pressure , it takes some knowledge to judge that well plus knowing ur reel water protection rate
I love my penn reels. I buy one or two new ones almost every year by saving up all winter. I also get the older ones serviced so I always have a back up just in case.
One great thing about the Penn Reels is they seem to be the easiest for me to get open so I can blast out all the crud and get them cleaned and lubed. Other brands take my much longer to open and clean. Sand is bad but falling in the mud seems worse.
i don't like to use a reel that i can't take apart myself so a van staal or anything like that is out. i use the moderately priced reel i like and maintain it now and then. hose it off when i get home from fishing and when i do clean it i go light on the grease, thats what i find catches the sand and grinds up the mechanisms.
I fish Penn in saltwater from Fierce to Battle to Spinfisher. Battles outlasted them all. My Spinfisher froze and I took it off and threw it in the bay!
I’ve been saying it for a while... PENN is garbage and I will never buy another. My very first saltwater reel was the Pursuit which lasted a few months. I didn’t even fish that much. Had problems with the Battle II, Fierce, and even the Slammer. They’re all grinders now except for the Slammer. The Slammer is a decent reel and actually sealed well but had major problems with the bail. No more Penn for me
I have been moving away from Penn Spinning Reels. I will never buy them any more. I will say that most of their higher dollar Conventional Reels are good. Okuma Coronado, Diawa BG are the best budget spinning reels i have purchased so far. Even the KastKing Sharky iii at it's extremely affordable price holds up better then Penn's spinning reels do.
i fished a 200 staal damn near every day last year on the jetty and in the surf. probably about 130 days on the reel. the only thing i ever grease is the line roller. otherwise it gets a good rinse every time i use it as quickly as i can get fresh water to it. it's being serviced as we speak, and if i wanted to i could probably sell it for more than i paid. they're not for everyone. heavy, poor line pickup, line lay isn't super clean, it is not smooth, but at the end of the season it was still pretty much the same reel as it was early in the season, whereas my cheap reels needed to be taken apart and greased as soon as water got to them.
Doesn't look like they work.. it doesn't take too many fishing trips to get them wet. You've got me second guessing the spin fisher. I had been considering the 5500 or 6500. Good video.
One great thing about Penn reels one can actually take apart and replace anything. Check out Dennnis at Second Chance Tackle..Salt X is no Van Staal that’s for sure....Great job fish on
This is such a great and undervalued point... I have many of the same Penn reels in this video, some have experienced the same problem and for small investments in replacement parts, you can make them like new for years and years.
Hey guess what, I use the same trouble free Penn Surfblaster MK1 after 15 years. You know why it's been trouble free? Because I rinse after every session.
wow man penn spinfisher version 2 ended up only 2 weeks??? I'm glad I choose the penn slammer 3. If that broke as well, I will go for Van Staal but with the bail. Probably in 250 size but not sure how long is the rod will fit well with size.
Great video. I have the Tsunami saltx 4000. I was told that the seals are very very thin compared to a van staal. So if you are banging against rocks and submerging it you'll have problems. I'm careful with it up in Montauk. I've submerged it without any problems. I just try to be careful. I now have the VS 150 and 200. The Tsunami will be a backup
Spinfisher 4500 would give you more power, drag, and line. Clash 2 4000 will feel better after long days of plugging though. You’ll have enough line on it, the drag is 15lb though instead of the spinfishers 20
Proper reel maintenance is important. If you fish as much as you claim you would think in your off time you would clean something or replace an O-ring or two lol.
Thanks for the review. Been looking at Penn reels for catfishing and trolling Texas lakes. I want something I can take apart and service if/when it breaks and I’m learning you can do that with Penns. I also fish an Ambassador 5500 C3 and an old Penn 209 but the 209 is hard to cast and heavy.
I wrecked a Fin For LT100 5 minutes after the first time out. I caught a 7' sandbar shark with it. I spun the drag all the way until I couldn't spin it anymore to put the heat on it. I wanted to see how strong I was VS the fish. I had on 100 pound braid and a 450 pound metal leader I made. It still took 45 minutes to get the fish in. It knocked me down because it let off and pulled again.lol. after I landed and released the fish my reel vibrated when I wound it. The handle would go in reverse at the 10 pm position as well. It's back to Fin Nor and being replaced under warranty. I have 4 other brand new LT's and will make sure not to crank the drags down on them when battle big fish from now on. IMO the $89 I paid for the reel at the time was worth the price since I caught and landed the fish. I did catch a moray eel and a couple of 3 and 4 foot grey reef sharks with the broken reel the next day.
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Reel maintenance is a must when fishing salt water, Even if it’s as little as freshwater rinse. I’ve used the same reels for years and never any of those issues. Personal favorite is Penn Slammer 3.
If you’re breaking that much gear…it’s you.
Oochh!!!
Dude gets sand in a reel and calls it toast, more money then brains
Yeah, he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. The Spinfishers just need a service. But, whatever, it's not my money he's blowing. But, he did lie about the Penn warranty.
Alot suspect comments he made
His tying to justify the money spent on the van staal. Penn reels are great especially the spinfisher
How do you get sand in a sealed reel🤷🏻♂️ that’s pretty special
@@nickmcewan5932 I've had my fierce 1 for 10 years and never had a problem lol 😆
I’ve had a Penn Pursuit II that I would use to fish off the jetties. I got sand all inside the gears from wind blowing sand, water from waves splashing up against the rocks onto my reel. I haven’t serviced it in over a year and when I did service it, it felt smooth like it came out the box.
Ive yet to trash a reel. Just keep the sand out of it. Even if you dunk it, you can rinse it out and grease it up.
Yeah Andrew! Knock on wood!!! Best thing to do is to keep the sand out! Good luck! #smoochandrelease
I will say this . You can keep most reels working with maintenance. I have to take some reels apart and clean after every fishing trip. The best reels do a good job keeping sand and water out with little corrosion. I like the better reels that don't keep me working on them all the time. I make my living as a repair man. I like to play or fish more than work.
12 to 14 hour days fishing every day you think your gonna do home maintenance on every reel?
The first thing I noticed about this reel is its weight ruclips.net/user/postUgkxM68VkfsQhHaabDce1IwOCXuvumcpbZ_k . I wouldn't say it was uncomfortable but it was a little heavier than other similarly sized reels. However, that didn't deter my enjoyment of how smooth this reel is. I spooled it with 20lb. Tuf-Line XP and it's perfect for what I use it for. I have it paired with an 8'6" Medium/Fast Okuma SST Salmon/Steelhead rod. The combination is perfect for casting and even drifting. I used the reel all day and didn't experience any arm or hand fatigue except when fighting a few fish! The bail is solid and feels strong when engaging by reeling and manually closing the bail by hand. The large rubber handle grip is very comfortable. It's got a powerful drag, silky smooth reeling, and feels very comfortable in the hands. I recommend it!
I've never destroyed a Penn Reel and I've put way more hours on them than yours. Proper maintenance will keep them working for a lifetime. I've replaced a few worn parts but very minimal cost and time
I bought two Penn 8500ss, one in 1996 and other in 1998, the reels I still use today 😮
I just cleaned up a 1980's Penn reel a friend gave me, that his grandfather used for a decade, he used for a decade, and stayed in storage for the remainder. The internals cleaned up and look brand new.
I used a cheap penn reel for years, barely maintained it, fave it to a friend, and he has used it for years.
All I ever do is rinse them, and oil them
@@stevescuba1978 Yeah, I don't get how people destroy reels? The only things I've ever had go wrong is bail springs, anti reverse mechanisms(on Diawa's which I don't use anymore), and a bent bail which I bent back. Oh, and replacing the line roller after decades of use.
@@Fish-Erman I've had a few spun bearings, and I've shredded aluminum gears on small reels while catching large fish (both times, I was able to hand-line in the fish!).
I've not had a decent salt water reel fail in any way. All those failures were on the cheapest reels available.
@@stevescuba1978 Wow, handlined the fish in! I've never had to do that. The failures I've had were not top end reels, but not junk either, in today's prices $150-$200 reels. I've only had one "expensive" reel, a Van Staal I used for surf fishing swimming to rocks and such, and that reel never had an issue.
The best thing I think about Penn reels is they are easy to work on and if they do need new bearings they are not expensive to purchase. Also, I've taken to downloading the schematic for the reels I buy. Good luck and keep fishing.
When is the last time you priced a main gear for a newer Penn? $63 is the cheapest I could find for a 4k something. Sold that crap the next week as is. Penn has out priced there value.
Learn how to service your reels and you’ll still be using the first reel you bought
Facts, sounds like he purposely trying to destroy the reels.
I love my Penn reels and a few of them are nearing 10 years old. I put in 12-24hr of fishing in a week from spring to fall in the surf so not the time you put in, plus 75/25 bait/lure usage. One thing I learned is I need to maintenance them at the end of the season by stripping them down cleaning with a good solvent like a break/parts cleaner then greasing them. Don't over grease and make sure you're using a smaller (Jewlers) screw diver set because both of these can make the reel feel like it's seized up. Too much grease is like making the gears wade through a pool of jello and if you use a larger screw diver you can tourque those screws down too much which locks up the gears with pressure. So as he said you can get many great years out of these reels if you treat them right. I say this with most of my reels have handled numerous 30-50lb as well as some 30-40lb class striper. The only pushing too far was my fierce 3000 vs a 40lb black drum where the fish crushed the gears but I still managed to land the beast with 1/4 of the driver gear gone. I went crazy and replaced all the internals in this reel for like $20 bucks plus some postage and it's working as good as new.
I’m 65 & still using the same USA made penns when I was 20. I have several newer spinfishers that end up left at home.
Still use my Penn 140/146 I’ve retired them to catfish drift rigs no more tuna for them and there spotless 60 years old
I'm still using two Penn Senators 4.0 and 6.0 plus a Squidder my Dad gave me in the early 60's. I'm 74 now. They work and look like they are brand new. Pulled in a lot of Black Finned Tuna, Wahoo, Kingfish, Bull Dolphin, Cobia and many Sailfish with those reels. They always remind me of all the great days fishing with my Dad and Grandfather. I never had a bad day fishing in my life, even if nothing was caught.
I fish everyday in the summer before and after work the only problem is I will never be able to afford a van stal
Take care of your gear! I have a penn 750ss from 1972 and still use it to this day its called maintenance
What is it with the Yanks and not cleaning and maintaining their reels? Here in Australia, we fish for big fish in extreme conditions, and not once have I had a reel shit the bed. Get home after a trip, strip reels, clean, grease, oil and spray with some CRC Tackle Guard. If it gets dropped in the sand, rinse it off with fresh water before spinning it, easy.
This isn't typical of most anglers. I've got 3 spinfishers that are over 20 yrs old and work great. I'll also bet that if you fished everyday you wouldn't strip, purge and deep clean your reels after every outing, because you would be tearing the reel down just about everyday which is unnecessary.
This guy is bashing Penn for him not knowing how to take care of his gear
You new here?
@@GetReelBassFishing I think what he is trying to say is that your older reels need a simple service, thats all...
Ive had my spinfisher VI for two years and it still works great, given i do treat it like its worth a million bucks.
That’s why honestly, keep doing so because they won’t last forever if you fish them hard. But any reel will
Fail if you mistreat them. Besides Daiwa BGs lol I’m a Shimano guy but those BGs are freaking fort knox
@@andrewwolf4963.... Which "Daiwa BG's" ? the older or latest?
I’ve been fishing my Penn Fierce 3 for three years now in the surf and on the pier. I’ve been crashed by waves plenty of times and my reel works just fine. Not hard to rinse with freshwater and apply oil and grease where necessary.
They have screws in them for a reason and aftermarket grease and oil is available along with Penn O.E. oil and grease for sale... You dunk a reel as soon as you can take it apart, remove water, use oil and grease in the right locations...
If you ever decide to get a new, consider the shimano spheros 8k sw. I've owned one for 6 years and have never serviced it lol. I've done some hard-core surf and jetty fishing with it , no problems. One thing that sucks about all the reels you reviewed are their clickers. They're quite af, the spheros is super loud.
Awesome bro! I appreciate the advice!! 🤙🏼🤙🏼 I’ll have to check it out.
I have abused my Spheros 6KSW dunking it, dropping it in sand while surf fishing. It's still going strong after three years. It's easy to maintain. I am seriously considering the Okuma Maikaira as my next surf fishing reel.
They don't make the spheres anymore and anyway good luck finding anything shimano
@@thedetective8150 the spheros is the toughest real I had so far.
Na, he just needs a new hobby !
I agree it's worth it to buy Van Staal. I also use a Van Staal now but I still use unsealed reels as backups. You just buy new penn internal parts for cheap and rebuild the reels.
I love Penn. I currently have the Penn Fierce on my Tsunami Trophy II. I think it's a great combo. When I'm not using my rod (like a break) my husband takes it lol When I can't go out to fish, he takes my rod. I've caught so much on it from small baby seabass to larger blues and stripers. I don't put my reel down on the sand, or on the rocks at the jetty. I usually lay it over my bag to minimize sand getting in. It's currently end of year 2 on this set up and it's still going. But I also am not a daily fisherman since I do have 2 kids, and also work for a large healthcare system (administrative) - hours are extremely rough cause of COVID.
When i salt water fish i place my reel in a walmart gallon zip-lock freezer bag. It looks silly but less salt water & sand gets into the reel.
Send them out to a professional for service. They will all still work.
🙏🏼🙏🏼
those reels are still good just service them by cleaning he grit off and oiling and tightening bolts
🙏🏼🙏🏼 did the best I could on the ones that aren’t ground down 🙌🏼🙌🏼 #smoochandrelease
did you try the tsunami salt x for Erica its like a van stall but chap has seals but can not be reeld under water tight lines brotha
@@ysoutdoorgaming3367 I had the SaltX. May try it again when they upgrade it, but for now she's been using that Spinfisher VI 5500 with a fried bearing. lol
@@GetReelBassFishing send them in to penn. I absolutely thrashed my old spin fisher gears were grinded to shit. They sent it back feels good as new.
@@marcopugliese7284 dang...I just get "there's nothing we can do, it's over the time that we can do anything" email... I literally bought the Spinfisher VI from Penn directly because I knew I would probably end up needing it fixed/replaced fairly quickly and I didn't want to deal with Amazon not helping me, or BPS, or Cabela's not helping me. Turns out, even PENN themselves wouldn't even help me. lol, explain that one haha
It’s funny. I have tested reels for Penn. I tested the original Spinfisher V. I fish both the 6500 and the 6500( released as a 7500) long cast. As well as the Battle II long cast. I fished them hard. Every day. They were splashed. Dunked when using my rod as a walking stick. I can tell you they’re all still going strong. Although I have to admit that I have put them into semi retirement because they are on long rods that I have stopped using as much. And the Lc is now my bait reel. I also have the Conflict II LC and it’s on a 7’ rod I use in the bay. So far so good. Haven’t dunked it yet and hope not to. Lol. I also have gone to the 6000 Saltx and fished it this whole season almost daily. Fingers still crossed that it holds up after what you said. But again I think you have the worst luck with the Penn reels.
When my VR175 got fried after one dunk I knew it was time to get a VS250.
2 year strong no service yet i love it❤🎣
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Wow you really murdered a lot of reels. I think it definitely makes sense for you to get the VS. I’m shocked the spinfishers died so quick too! Luckily my slammer has been good for me for the last few years surf fishing jetties and beaches. I obviously try not to dunk it though. It’s nice to have ease of mind with the VS. great review 👍👍
Thank you! Yeah, 2 weeks with that Spinfisher VI, didn't expect it to be that quick haha #smoochandrelease
I'm guessing almost every failed reel can be going again for a few bucks in bearings, grease and AR clutches.
Ok . I invested in a VS today . If I have it for 10 years that’s 60 bucks a year. I will be fishing at least 4 days week next year
There you go!!
Yessir VR 200. I’m gonna fish it to death. Old timer recommended a van staal said I wouldn’t regret it and if I buy one I’ll end buying another one. I hope he’s wrong cause this expensive lol
@@heyjoejp So whats the story with the VS how is it? Also want a VR. Putting the VS or VR on a 10ft gsbM. Thanks
@@rainsong7327 hi and I’m glad you reached out because I’ll be straight up with you.
1. I bought a VR150 and a VS200 bailless
2. I sold the VS200 . I only kept it a couple of months. Why? I’m not swimming out to rocks nor fishing in the dead of night. Lastly, contrary to popularity, I did not like bailless simply because I just wasn’t good at figuring it out. I’d rather spend more time looking at what’s going on , on the water than figuring out when to pick up the line etc; plus when it was windy and casting it was a hassle.
3. I kept the VR (2021 model) because ta a little lighter, just as smooth and efficient. It has a bale and it’s just a tough reel that I am confident in. It’s sealed so I fohh my t have to worry about sand or water.
4. I have 2 Saragossa. A 10k and 6k. I think for how I fish and where, the 3 reels I have are fantastic! You don’t need a Van for the cape cod Canal. The 10k gosa is perfect for that style of fishing. You need line pick up and drag. The other 2 reels are for the beach & breachways. Style of fishing I enjoy most.
5. If you stay in the Boulder fields and fish in extreme situations where more than half the time you are chest deep in water and getting thrown around in the waves??? In my opinion and recent experience…. Go with a VR200 2021 model that has a bailless option. Throw on 50 pound test 832 or X9 and go catch some fish!!! I hope this helps you.
Maybe a Shimano Stella SW...😊
Butter
Dude doesnt deserve a stella the way he trashed those reels. Jmo
@@kevinshort5468 honestly agreed lmao, he sounds extremely arrogant and is using "heavy fishing" as an excuse, I've abused my poor banax GT5k from 2010 till date on surf fishing, i only had one problem ever and that was because of my own negligence.
He just doesn't know how to respect his gear and service them, i bet my left nut almost every reel he "broke" can be fixed with a simple service and cleaning.
He’ll only break it! 😂
Slammer 3 all the way. I Fished up to 4-5 days a week and put 100s of hours into the Slammer 3 and caught many fish on that reel. Great reel for the price. Kinda sealed, but if u soak it in freshwater after everytrip, its basically just like new again.
Slammer is good bang for your buck!
YES SIRRR!!
Yea ,I have never had a problem with my penn ssv reels and the ssv 5 has been under many times .wash ,rinse and check once a season and good to go.
Bro im gonna hook u and your subscribers up with a secret hack to waterproof any spinning reel. Buy some plumbing valve packing material/string (ptfe/Teflon type) 3/32" diameter. Remove the side cover, bottom cover and bail spring cover. Cut the material, stretch it out a bit and lay /compress it all around the edge where the covers meet the body. Place covers back, push to form watertight seal. Put tiny piecrs of regular Teflon tape around each screw then tighten down. To seal drag place a thin silicone hose washer coated with silicone grease under knob. Remove crank handle fill both hole with silicone grease
I found a Penn pursuit 3 3000 combo fishing the intercoastal in Florida on the bottom of a clear creek in the mangroves. Brought it home and cleaned the silt also algae off it and it made a little noise but worked. Took it apart and cleaned it up and re-greased it and so far it's like new. Guess time will tell.
You can fix those Penn's pretty easy. I fixed 3 last month. And you can buy the bearing for a few bucks. Or you can throw them in soap in water and completely lean them, and repack them afterwards. Good as new!
I would recommend!
Its not about the hours,Spinfisher for example is a great reel,it never dies by fighting the fish,is just a beast,but all the reel that you "have broken" are max IPX5 not Surffishing reels,so its not the fault of the reel,they simply are not the reels for your style of fishing.
I bet you've probably jacked up 10 coolers by beating them up on the rocks before you put the fish in them. Falling in the surf with your reels? Dude, You've got to be smarter then the equipment you're working with man.
I've an original Penn 525 mag multiplyer made in USA long distance casting reels since 1999 and I've pulled in lots of big fish, tope, stingrays and triple dogfish and double bass as in two bass together and its still working well. Although I do maintain it regularly
i started to seriously surf fish in the mid 90's. i sold my boat in 98 and then it was all surfcasting from that point on. reels that i completely destroyed were, stradics, sustains, cabos, SS spinfishers & probably a couple more that i just can't remember. reels that did last, with some maintenance were the original daiwa bg's & penn z's. but between me & my wife fishing 4-5 nights a week may thru oct didn't leave much time for reel maintenance. so we bought 2 VS, a 150 & 200. never regretted my purchase. i don't live in ny any longer so i sold my 200 (also had a 150, sold b4 i left ny) but my wife still has her 150. for the few times i come to ny i bought a penn ssv 5500 and upgraded the gears to all brass. it makes a big difference! but i never fished the reel like i did when i lived there. good video Paulie had you & me also just bought a vs from the get go we'd have saved some money. i see Erica doesn't have a vs....Christmas is coming!
That's crazy! Looks like we have a very similar story! And yes, the VS is probably one of best investments for this sport lol...and shhhh don't give Erica any crazy ideas for a Christmas wish list haha
@@GetReelBassFishing LOL!.... fishing with your significant other doubles the cost but for me it was well worth it!!
@@surfandstreamfisher5749 haha yes it does, but like you said, VERY well worth it! #smoochandrelease
By going the VS route, you didnt truly leave the Penn world. Penn is owned by Pure Fishing, and Pure Fishing also owns Van Staal
TRUE. TRUE.
All of my spinning reels are Penn Spinfisher VI. I do a lot of kayak fishing and wade fishing in the surf. Both activities involve wave action and the reels get soaked some times. These reels are tough and have lasted for me. 🤙🏽
I’m so surprised no one talk about shimano, I have ten different shimano, they are almost in 3 ~ 7 years old, no even one was broken. Just rinse every time after fishing, and clean gears yearly by myself. I never had a van staal in hand, but want to have one to try it.
Yeah, since making this video, I’ve switching a lot of my rods over to fishing shimano reels. Love my shimanos
I bet you won’t treat that Van Staal like you treat the Penn’s.
Hi Paulie. I had purchased the Tsunami Saltx 6000. After 3 times out in surf the reel started to grind. Brought it back to J&H. Full credit refund. In spring going to get a Van Staal. Thanks for the video. Awesome as always. Happy Holidays
Yeah, Warren, the SaltX reels are not as good as people made them out to be. But hey, it’s the companies first “fully sealed” reel, so we’ll see where their failures take them. Hopefully they learn from all of their mistakes and can produce a well put together, fully sealed reel in the months/years to come! Thanks for watching! I’m looking forward to hearing how you like your future Van Staal! #smoochandrelease
Maintenance is key if you want to keep your reels going, my dad has reels from the 70s that he uses constantly still catching monster Striped bass, blue fish, tatoag. I think just getting sand and water in your reels and calling it toast is a waste of money, but hey to each his own I guess.
I fished my Penn spinfisher V very hard in the surf. It's been dunked and sprayed continuously for 6 or 7 years. I rinsed it off very good after every use and serviced it several times. The rotor bearings have been replaced twice and it's still going strong. A set of bearings are like 20.00. Just bought a Tsunami saltx 6000 for next season. Hopefully it holds up.
I own a Mitchell 406 salt and it works like the day it was bought 79 keep clean and greased I can rotate in my hand and the handle turns freely
All those reels are all servicable !
Exactly this dude has more money then brains
What’s wrong with it. “It’s broken” 🤦🏻♂️
@@cigsfishing5491 you dont have brains though
I feel like everyone of those reels could be rebuilt back to working like new. You should send them to a good reel guy like 2nd Chance tackle.
We can both agree the vs200 is hands down a monster of a reel. I can see that it will be in your hands for many years to come! It’s a reel that was simply put together for hardcore surf guys.
Second winning reel for me was my daiwa fuego 2500 for freshwater. Just change the felt disks into carbon fiber ones and it’s an absolute tank for freshwater.
Hope we get a nice off season into freshwater till March. Tight lines and thanks for taking us on awesome adventures throughout 2020!!!
Thank you very much Roberto! I can't wait to start catching some good freshwater fish this winter! I just ordered a couple new freshwater spinning reels to fish more finesse techniques (I had maybe 2 unbroken spinning reels and a bunch of heavy duty baitcasters), it should be a fun winter for sure! These videos will be fun! Thanks for following this year! #smoochandrelease
Great video. Thanks for the update. I’m moving back to the beach where I grew up so I’ll be doing the same amount of fishing that you mentioned. I totally appreciate the advice given as I don’t have a lot of money to spend on expensive gear. I would rather get a reel that’s going to last during extreme fishing hours. What exactly would you completely recommend for daily long hours and heavy fish ? Onelove.
When you started surf fishing You put down the use of more expensive quality equipt, in limited time you thought knew more then the veterans on this, lesson learned!
Think this says more about you than the equipment. Have you considered switching to knitting?
No it says a lot about Penns quality control.
Take to local penn dealer and they can rebuild those reels! I have 25 year old penn reels rebuilt work excellent.😊
All the gear with no idea 😂
LEGEND! Thanks for making this, going to be crab fishing off a beach soon for the first time. What do you recommend to run? Backpacking to the location, so needs to be bulletproof
Bro I love penn reels I fish in south Louisiana in brackish and salt water I have a 4000 Silverado that’s as old as me past down from my pops and the thing still works to this day keep it lubed and service it at home I bet they all still work
thanks for this video i learn something about buying a reel. watching from saipan
How do you go through so many reels? Ive got 9 reels and rods and ive dropped one an okuma 8k surf in the ocean I had to scoop it out with a crab net fell off my boat. I took it apart when I got home sprayed it all out with wd40 and then used lanolin spray and greased it with lithium grease and it still works like new. All my reels get pulled apart and sprayed out and greased with lithium grease
Why didn't you just replace the gears in most of those reels? I'm sure you had a good reason, just curious.
If you keep breaking those spinning reels, switch to a casting reel. Ambassador 6500 C3 or maybe a vintage Penn Surfmaster or a 209. Even a KastKing Rover 60 will be tougher than a spinning reel.
Mind u i have so many reels to count ( mainly shimano and some penns , none ever broke on me aside from line roller bbs, fight with rod n know ur reel strength for reeling under pressure , it takes some knowledge to judge that well plus knowing ur reel water protection rate
I love my penn reels. I buy one or two new ones almost every year by saving up all winter. I also get the older
ones serviced so I always have a back up just in case.
One great thing about the Penn Reels is they seem to be the easiest for me to get open so I can blast out all the crud and get them cleaned and lubed. Other brands take my much longer to open and clean. Sand is bad but falling in the mud seems worse.
You are officially * the reel slayer *
i don't like to use a reel that i can't take apart myself so a van staal or anything like that is out. i use the moderately priced reel i like and maintain it now and then. hose it off when i get home from fishing and when i do clean it i go light on the grease, thats what i find catches the sand and grinds up the mechanisms.
I fish Penn in saltwater from Fierce to Battle to Spinfisher. Battles outlasted them all. My Spinfisher froze and I took it off and threw it in the bay!
These are the review vids I love!
#nobullcrap thanks bro 🙏🏼🙏🏼 I appreciate it! #smoochandrelease
You’ve broken more reels than I’ve ever owned.
hahaha accurate...
@@GetReelBassFishing hello sr, Any opinion about the okuma surf 8k? Thanks
why don't you use a baitcaster? like a modded ambassadeur? casts for a mile and basically a tank.
Ive had a spin fisher for close to 10 years🤷♂️ and a couple less expensive LLBean salt reels for longer.
it sounds like it was user error. if the reel is not a fully sealed system don't drop it in water and expect to work
What is it about people these days that refuse to properly use and maintain their gear. This is all a joke!
I’ve been saying it for a while... PENN is garbage and I will never buy another. My very first saltwater reel was the Pursuit which lasted a few months. I didn’t even fish that much. Had problems with the Battle II, Fierce, and even the Slammer. They’re all grinders now except for the Slammer. The Slammer is a decent reel and actually sealed well but had major problems with the bail. No more Penn for me
I’m starting to feel that way as well.
It’s a good beginner reel who can’t fish very often though. Good price points.
I have been moving away from Penn Spinning Reels. I will never buy them any more. I will say that most of their higher dollar Conventional Reels are good. Okuma Coronado, Diawa BG are the best budget spinning reels i have purchased so far. Even the KastKing Sharky iii at it's extremely affordable price holds up better then Penn's spinning reels do.
Which ones would you recommend?
Let’s rename this vid and call it “look at this indestructible Van Staal I got... this 1 reel and best 25 others”😏😏😏
😂😂😂
i fished a 200 staal damn near every day last year on the jetty and in the surf. probably about 130 days on the reel. the only thing i ever grease is the line roller. otherwise it gets a good rinse every time i use it as quickly as i can get fresh water to it. it's being serviced as we speak, and if i wanted to i could probably sell it for more than i paid. they're not for everyone. heavy, poor line pickup, line lay isn't super clean, it is not smooth, but at the end of the season it was still pretty much the same reel as it was early in the season, whereas my cheap reels needed to be taken apart and greased as soon as water got to them.
My grandma gave me one of those van staal and I didn’t notice how expensive it was until I looked it up
Danggggg! Good gift!! #smoochandrelease
@@GetReelBassFishing also I fish a lot in the sound and catch flounder with a penn battle 3 with 30 lb line
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
WOW what a great grandmama!🤶 Gotta love her!
That one sounds like GILF to me
WOW really useful information!
Right for me like weekend angler!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Leaning between a pflueger president for pike and bass. Any suggestions for line?
3 weeks of 18 lb blues every day... Forget the reels , how do you still have arms?
Man, it was insane!!!!! The most memorable experience of my life.
THIS GUY NEED A VAN STAAL AS HE INSISTS ON SCUBA DIVING WITH THESE REELS.
💯💯💯
Doesn't look like they work.. it doesn't take too many fishing trips to get them wet. You've got me second guessing the spin fisher. I had been considering the 5500 or 6500. Good video.
I smoked a few penns last couple years I just replace the guts good for another couple seasons
Excellent vid. I also switched from the Penn Battle to the Penn Spinfisher because the Spinfisher is sealed better. We shall see.
What I noticed is that the motors are of a higher rank, not low-priced ones.😮😮😮
Slammer III all the way, I probably fish 2 or so days a week, meets my needs in NJ. Prior to that I would rotate a Penn 704 and a Fierce 5000.
They don't make them like the 704! The Slammer series are great reels!! #smoochandrelease
@@GetReelBassFishing Dont they now make a USA made 704 along with the USA made Senators.
Bro if you want any of them serviced let me know ! I would gladly do itfor you
One great thing about Penn reels one can actually take apart and replace anything. Check out Dennnis at Second Chance Tackle..Salt X is no Van Staal that’s for sure....Great job fish on
This is such a great and undervalued point... I have many of the same Penn reels in this video, some have experienced the same problem and for small investments in replacement parts, you can make them like new for years and years.
Hey guess what, I use the same trouble free Penn Surfblaster MK1 after 15 years.
You know why it's been trouble free? Because I rinse after every session.
Thanks Richard Jones, hey guess what, I do the same thing 👍🏼
wow man penn spinfisher version 2 ended up only 2 weeks??? I'm glad I choose the penn slammer 3. If that broke as well, I will go for Van Staal but with the bail. Probably in 250 size but not sure how long is the rod will fit well with size.
I’ve been using the Penn slammer IV DX and no problems at all.
i find these reels that are suppose to be waterproof hold water in better than they hold water out.
My Spinfisher shit the bed in a year, had a Shield shit the bed in a year, second shield is still holding up
Dang man. Van Staal...😬😬😬
Thought the sponfisher 6 was totally sealed? Had some recognized waterproof seal to it?
Great video. I have the Tsunami saltx 4000. I was told that the seals are very very thin compared to a van staal. So if you are banging against rocks and submerging it you'll have problems. I'm careful with it up in Montauk. I've submerged it without any problems. I just try to be careful. I now have the VS 150 and 200. The Tsunami will be a backup
Penn Spinfisher 4500 or Penn Clash 2 4000? for larger bass plugs from the boat....
Spinfisher 4500 would give you more power, drag, and line.
Clash 2 4000 will feel better after long days of plugging though. You’ll have enough line on it, the drag is 15lb though instead of the spinfishers 20
I 100% agree. Get a Penn Slammer or Spinfisher if you love fishing, or get a Van Staal if you really REALLY love fishing. They look like great reels.
Proper reel maintenance is important. If you fish as much as you claim you would think in your off time you would clean something or replace an O-ring or two lol.
Thanks for the review. Been looking at Penn reels for catfishing and trolling Texas lakes. I want something I can take apart and service if/when it breaks and I’m learning you can do that with Penns. I also fish an Ambassador 5500 C3 and an old Penn 209 but the 209 is hard to cast and heavy.
Hey I love the videos!! What line do you typically use for surf? And what strength do you recommend for stripers and blues? Braid to mono?
Typically 30-40 PowerPro Braid with a 60# mono leader. #smoochandrelease
@@GetReelBassFishing any benefit using mono instead fluo?
Maybe try an Australian ALVEY, bullet proof and simple
I wrecked a Fin For LT100 5 minutes after the first time out. I caught a 7' sandbar shark with it. I spun the drag all the way until I couldn't spin it anymore to put the heat on it. I wanted to see how strong I was VS the fish. I had on 100 pound braid and a 450 pound metal leader I made. It still took 45 minutes to get the fish in. It knocked me down because it let off and pulled again.lol. after I landed and released the fish my reel vibrated when I wound it. The handle would go in reverse at the 10 pm position as well. It's back to Fin Nor and being replaced under warranty. I have 4 other brand new LT's and will make sure not to crank the drags down on them when battle big fish from now on. IMO the $89 I paid for the reel at the time was worth the price since I caught and landed the fish. I did catch a moray eel and a couple of 3 and 4 foot grey reef sharks with the broken reel the next day.