A month or two ago I saw a posting about someone who had a problem with their penn spinfisher v locking up on them when they were fighting a nice spinner shark. It concerned me because I had purchased a few of them a few months prior to his post. I have the 6500 and two 8500’s. My last outing I noticed my 8500 the drag was extremely tight even when loosened, mine had what I believe to be the same issue. My reel is 5 months old. I was talking to the sales rep at the local tackle shop and telling him about my issue. The reel repair man was standing behind me and heard me. He then told me that this is a common problem with the spinfisher, allot of people having the same problem. The issue he said was that when fighting a big fish that the reel heats up and the reel has a plastic piece inside that then expands causing this issue, sucks to be me. I loved the spinfisher up until now, it worked great until this point. So now in need of a replacement I decided to do a little digging and looked for unbiased pro reviews. I found on line a fellow by the name allen hawk who seemed to be very good and unbiased, I looked at other reviews as well. He has great info on his web site and I think is worth taking a look at. His #1 recommended reel for general salt water use was the Quantum cabo 60-80.I know there is no perfect reel and they all have problems but I found this interesting. The reason being was one of the best surf fisherman on this sight has been telling us this for a long time, Mr. Parker, he loves them.
So I went looking for a quantum cabo 60. Got to the store and checked out the reel and the sales rep told me it was his favorite reel and he would buy nothing else, had several of them. Out of all the reels they had, with plenty being more expensive, it was his recommendation . He didnt know anything about all the stuff I just posted, was unbiased. I bought the reel, not crazy expensive at 209.00 hope it lasts more than 5 months, anything you buy these days sucks its all made in china, I think its a conspiracy to
?..another PENN failure…? [:0]
And before the hate mail begins, let me say that PENN makes a great product. I would say the most popular brand in saltwater. (With folks that have a normal mans budget) I’ve had a couple PENN Spinfishers, 5500 and 6500. Very smooth, well balanced with a bit higher line capacity than others, size for size. I just never was impressed with the drag system. To me, never smooth, jerky and no real fine adjustment. Also, it seems, has some nice palstic pieces inside…kinda like Cracker Jacks.
Am I biased? Sure! Aren’t we all? Absolutly. But…I have 8 Boca and 2 Cabo, NEVER have any trouble, zero. And sometimes after a 7-8 hour beach trip, I’m to beat to rinse them off. Next trip works perfect.
Sorry to here of your troubles Pete. You will like the Quantum.
good packing of high quality reel grease like penn blue or cals will almost always prevent overheating and failure. Penn will service and or replace the reel under warranty, likely with no questions asked. I have a shimano saragossa that was self tightening mysteriously so i sent it in to shimano and they fixed the issue. This kind of thing can happen, just send the reels in and get em serviced under warranty. I will take your ssv of your hands if you like 
I am beginning to highly dislike Penn. Last year I dropped 2k on custom internationals, they have been with Penn since July, yes July, being “serviced” due to faulty drag. That company will never see a penny from me again.
Sorry to hear that about those newer Penn Spinfishers.
I still use a 5500, 2 6500’s and a 750 for surf fishing. They are all american made.
I’ve bought them new in the early 90’s. Never a problem with any of them.
Jack Taylor
Had an old spinfisher from the 90’s that died at some point. Then got a 706Z reel (bailess) and it has worked great. Its built like tank. Pack it with reel grease and it will stand up to heavy saltwater abuse. Also got some slammers and they work real nice too. Not as tough as the Z reels but smooth drag, anti reverse, easy to take apart and service yourself.
Yea Im not a penn hater i have two older 760 slammers that have been good for me for for a few years now. The other 8500 has no issues “yet” and the 6500 is also still working fine so far. I bought the 8500s for surf fishing for sharks, mostly, they are over kill for reds unless you get a really nice one. Im going to look into getting it fixed under warranty and will see what happens, if the same issue occurs again ,to the pawn shop they go, I will cut my losses.I take good care of my reels and expect them to last at least 5 years in the surf but after reading alan hawks review and talking to two reel repair guys which stated they are not impressed Its a little concerning . All three of these people stated water does get into these reels which was a huge selling point for them when I bought them, because of the harsh conditions of the surf. They really boasted about them being super sealed, water proof, they have changed their wording and say water resistant now if Im not mistaken. Im going to give the Quantums a shot , somebody’s got to be making a solid reel out there that you dont have to pay 350.00 for. I had the same issue with a shimano speros that tightened up on me as well and the plastic side plates came off- glued on. Which is why I bought penns. Its very important that the drags dont tighten up over time because when you put them in a sand spike or surf cart they can be pulled over and take a bath and get sand in them, then they never feel the same, sorry for the rant just tired of dumping money into cheep Chinese bull crap, and yes I know quantums are made in China too.
I really appreciate the info I’ve learned from you guys. If you could help me learn how to squeeze out a couple more hours in the day so I can fish I’d appreciate that even more.
Could you go through your reel cleaning process and how you grease them up again? I usually spray mine off with the hose or soak them if they get sandy. I thought I was taking good care of one reel and it finally died after a few years and I took it apart to assess the damage and was amazed at the amount of sand throughout the reel.
ive owned them all and ill only buy shimano spinning reels these days. just my 2 cents
“mr keys”
Blue reel grease works great for surf reels. Your reels will last way longer. If not the salt and sand will eat up the gears in one season. If you want total waterproofing get yourself a Van Stall. It will be the last surf reel you ever buy. I know they are very pricey. You can also find lots of great surf info on http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/
The Z reels are great surf reels.
quote:This right here, some people complain about their customer service, but when I am buying a reel from Japan what am I supposed to expect? The quality makes penn look subpar, from the cheaper 100$ models to the stella and OJs.
Originally posted by northchuckyive owned them all and ill only buy shimano spinning reels these days. just my 2 cents
“mr keys”
This is interesting to see what type of reel you guys have… I am just starting to fish off the pier and beach with a cheap reel and pole cost in total approx: $40 and seeing the cost or reel you guys are talking about is $189…As a beginner I don’t understand that part yet maybe as I get more experienced and really try an expensive reel to compare…
I have a buddy who goes out with me once or twice a year who has one of those inexpensive combo sets from walmart, he has been using the same rig for years now, his inexpensive set up is so smooth it baffles me, he doesnt baby it by any means ,to put it lightly, probably doesnt even wash it. I do believe there is some luck involved, sometimes you can get one that will last for years and sometimes your lucky to get a season out of them . You can get more expensive set ups that fish better but it doesnt mean they will last longer, for example I have some high end st croix rods that fish like a dream and some ugly sticks that dont fish quite as nicely, Ive had to replace several of the st croixs because they have broken, Ive never had to replace the ugly sticks, they are durable as hell, but casting and using them side by side there is a considerable difference between the two. Reels I have bounced back and forth between penns and shimanos and has issues with both of them. I hate to say it , and dont mean to be a Debbie Downer, and youve heard it a thousand times before they just dont make things like they used too, its " all" poorly made these days, I mean whats the point of making things last, the more we turn over products the more we have to buy, Chinas getting “Rich” . The only thing good that has ever come out of China is the camo snuggy.
I currently have 3 Fishing Rod
Shakespeare bought from Flee Market for $20
Shimano it was given to me and I look online cost around $50
Berkely Fusion Spinning Combo bought it at Walmart for $30
I dont clean them after I use it guess I will see which one last long I am planning to add another one at least 10ft long for my surf fishing
Its not just about durability its about the feel and usability. It was years of fishing before I started to get nicer stuff. I just wasn’t fishing where I needed or wanted something with more performance than entry level set up, once I gained more skill and the desire to do more finesse fishing I noticed the differences of the higher level more specialized tackle. Even good brands have there lower end products that won’t have the same quality as there top of the line, but I do feel Penn has had a drop in quality or quality control because there seems to be a lot of little issues with Penn’s after a year of hard use.
quote:
Originally posted by surfwranglergood packing of high quality reel grease like penn blue or cals will almost always prevent overheating and failure.
This sums it up. Even with a brand new reel I’ll break it down and add more grease and oil the bearings well. I like Penns blue grease. Seems to repel water well. I like to add a doolop on the outside of the handle bearings, both sides, smear some on the edge of the cover so it smushes out, underneath the spool at the base of the shaft, anywhere you think water could possibly get in, put some grease on it. I will clean my reels 3-4 times a season, or anytime I change line.
Never owned a reel that costs more than 60.00 in my life. Most
of what I use are walmart combos’ . Only reels that I paid that much for are Diawas 5500 bait runners. they are the newest but look like
crap , even though I wash and lube them after each salt use… My favorite level wind for salt trolling is the Shakesphere tidewater.
Rods are mostly the cat rod combos,; caught bulls,kings and a ton of cats 30-50 lbs and never lost a fish I remember due to rod or reel failure , lost a few over the gunnels though !!!
To each their own;;;;just sayin…
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When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
All my reels get a thorough rinse after each trip. I lube external parts as needed. I usually take drag washers out 2 or 3 times a year clean and lube. All my reels get completely disassembled,cleaned, lubed and any worn parts replaced annually.
Jack Taylor
I dont ever encounter problems with my Shimano reels. They’re all I fish with anymore. Nearly every penn I’ve owned has gone in for service work. From broken drag clickers,bail springs to peeling paint. I’ve never had to fix a single Shimano. Usually the service is cheap but it’s so much easier when you don’t have to fix something every other season.
Capt. R. Killin
“Day Tripper”
Shamrock 20 cuddy
Ford 351W
there is a good balance of products out from penn, shimano, daiwa, quantum, and okuma for inshore offshore applications. I think the competition in the sweet spot (between $100-$200) drives the companies to try and squeeze every last bit of possible profit out of the products in those ranges. All the companies have made good strides in terms of materials and construction/tolerances, but there are always going to be problems in this price range because they cant afford the quality control and or best materials for all parts of the reel. its a give and take. so much so that i now have no company allegiance. rather i pick products based on specific use/tactic desired, some better for certain things, others better for others. then i gravitate towards the best warranty and customer service from there. I will say that penns customer service has been incredible for me. take a pic of your receipt and email it to yourself. you wont loose it and there will be no question when sending it off for repair or replacement. ask the guys at the shop. i crush some gear.