Acquired these today from Haddrell’s in Charleston on Windermere. They only had one TLD25 so I had to go to Mt P to pick up the other. Priced individually I think the combo is $280 including what I valued at $20 in line. I’m hoping this is a good start to what I need Trolling tackle wise. They didn’t have the Penn Squall 60LD so I’m going to look online at some I saw. Their other Squalls I believe VSW’s were pretty heftily priced. Need to upgrade my spinning reels to all be similar or equal to my Penn 750 but not really wanting to spend $180+ per reel. Has ANYONE tried the new Fierce 7000 or 8000 (red and gray reel) in the Salt yet? Wondering how they’ll hold up. Id like to thank those who have lent a helping hand in giving sound advice so far to the mass of questions.
if your looking at spinning reels look no further than alan hawk reviews/lists… he is not payed to do reviews and flat out calls it like he sees it(inside and out)
fwiw I love my fin nor lt100’s, cabo 80’s, vm150’s, vm275 the cabo/fin nor are on his list in the top budget reels…
http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lists.html
The Fierce reels will only last as long as you keep them clean. For cheap/weekend warrior reels, they’ll do the trick. They don’t last very long when put to use on a charter boat.
Also,if you have a pair of TLDs, why would you want to get the Squalls as well? What would be the benefit of getting a set of different reels? One of the up sides to having a set of matching reels is that you get to know how to service them all in the same way. Parts are easy to come by on the TLDs and you’ll learn them pretty well.
The Squalls are fine reels but I’m not sure why you would want to mix and match your gear with two models of similarly sized graphite framed reels from different companies.
To try them both Rap. I won’t be going enough to have much to worry about service or getting super comfortable with them. They both came highly recommended. I’m hoping I can handle learning 2 reels with similar features at once. Other than that, having a set of 5 matching reels never crossed my mind as something that was a must do. For now, my 5th reel will most likely be a Senator 113H. I’m going to have tons to learn in 2016 and I have all intentions on trial and error and good folks like many on here to lend a helping hand or text or call.
They will perform about the same. I’m very familiar with both reels and have caught many fish on both and would not hesitate to recommend either. I’d be inclined to go with a matching set if only for ease of parts and service way down the road when needed.
The Squall VSWs are in another class than the Squall LDs.
I’m guessing that’s the price difference as well? I’m guessing you’ve fished the LD’s, I hope 
. I see they run same price as the TLD’s thus hoping for similar quality. Guy @ Haddrells seemed sold on the TLD’s. Ensured it would handle anything I was gonna run into. Said if I happened to come into a 50+ lb wahoo he may scream the first 400 off the reel and you may have to do some boat driving but the reel will give you a chance to get the line back and catch the fish.
the tlds have a long standing name… they are/were a staple of the get into the game offshore world. only time will tell if the squalls will step into the market and survive. I have seen a good bit of the squall’s in service/warranty… I’m not sure if tlds have ever stepped up but I know the carbonetix drag washers are a huge stepup from the felt ones… again I’m not sure if the newer tlds have updated to newer material.
I would recommend like most everyone to stick with 1 reel combo or set of however many you get… it really helps setup and get a learning cureve allot straighter… your going to want set up the drag and if your on mismatch they may not all get to strike the same or at the same position and if you have any ocd(most do) the fact its not uniform will get to you… it will basically have you second guessing where its set or if ones to far or to light…
I would also recommend gearing up for what you plan to do the most…it seems to plan to troll… I would really hold off on the spinners unless you find a good deal used or sometying… get one tast finished before you start building a stable of combos for various thing. in a pinch you can always bottom bump a tld… id get a few spinner for topwater or bottom bump but if your really wanting to go the troll route id get as much in that department as you can… its not just the combo’s its the odds and ends that add up as well. seawitches,bait,snap sqivels,swivels, I’m sure I’m missing a good bit just saying the rods and reels are the easy part it seems.
I’ll bump more than troll most likely. Bottom fishing is what I know. Still trying to learn the grouper ropes but overall general knowledge I know bottom and have Atleast 4 open and 4 spinning combos set up I’m just wanting to upgrade some cheaper spinning reels I have that have worked but won’t by the time 2016 is up
I’m afraid.
I do get OCD at times too so there will have to be a flow about the rods. If I have 1 odd reel it’ll most likely by my WTFB center out of my 5 spread.
I second looking at Alan Hawks reviews, I’ve been checking out for a couple of months trying to do some updating spinning gear myself. Its a great read and very helpful. He really liked the new cabo’s. Stay away from the penn spinfishers 8500, I’m replacing mine after 1 season, drag failed in 4 places after a few sharks off the beach, Paper Dragon.
Quantum Cabos are the best spinning reels I’ve ever had.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larry
Quantum Cabos are the best spinning reels I’ve ever had.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
I felt the same till I put a fin nor lt100 on…
Got these bad boys in today. These are super smooth reels. The lever drag definitely takes effort to slide to heavier drag. Can’t wait to test out their abilities. Got them both for $260 shipped total so i think I got a really good deal. Brand new in box with all parts.
We fish TLD’S in combination withe the big gold Penn Internationals. I’m not sure what the big deal is with fishing them together. Different reels, different parts and service. No biggie. We just aquired them as we could.
To each their own. Some folks are type A people and need uniformity. I wouldn’t fish all different ones because my type A would go crazy. I’m going to fish, for now, 2 TLD25’s, 2 Squall 60’s and either a Pflueger Contender lever drag or a Penn Senator 113H. Whatever happens, happens from that point forward.
Glad you found something that matched well for what you were looking for. I have a SSV7500 that I have been very pleased with. If others have had experiences I would tell them to contact Penn and I assure them they will be taken care of as long as the reel wasn’t neglected. If you’re looking for a Bottom fishing replacement for your reels I would check out the 6500 jigging combo.
experience noun \ik-#712;spir–#601;n(t)s
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the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation
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that thing you get just moments after you needed it.
quote:
Originally posted by FLORIDA_BOY2
I’m guessing that’s the price difference as well? I’m guessing you’ve fished the LD’s, I hope . I see they run same price as the TLD’s thus hoping for similar quality. Guy @ Haddrells seemed sold on the TLD’s. Ensured it would handle anything I was gonna run into. Said if I happened to come into a 50+ lb wahoo he may scream the first 400 off the reel and you may have to do some boat driving but the reel will give you a chance to get the line back and catch the fish.
I’ve caught hundreds of fish on the Squall 60LDs and TLD 25s and Penn Fierce 7000s while working in the Keys. They’ll be well suited for just getting into offshore fishing in Charleston. Eventually, I’d upgrade to 30s to be prepared for big wahoo or a random marlin. No real need to run 50s though.
You can use braid backing under your mono for extra line capacity.
Both the TLDs and the Squalls would GREATLY benefit from an upgraded handle. It’ll be like a whole new reel.
I have a few rods that you may be interested in for the squalls unless you want to get all billfisher rods. They Are Tsunami trophy rods tstsu5930R. They have roller tip and stripper. Probably about a 8-9 condition. I bout them slightly used and decided to go with all Star rods. $50 each.
The upgraded handle is the **** on the tld’s. You can get them on ebay for about $25 but you will be fine with the original handles. I have enough **** you can try one of my setups if you like.
Charlie
www.tidedownsportfishing.com
(843)312-2981
I do need a couple rods but won’t be back to Charleston until the boat show. Heading to Myrtle Beach Boat Show on Friday and dang it hopefully finally find the right boat. I now have 2 or 3 dealers calling me every couple days dropping prices on boats. So far I’m considering a Robalo R222 with 200yam rigged out for $53k, a Sea Fox 246 Commander with 250yam for $61k and a Key West 244CC with twin 150’s but it’s pushing over what I really wanted to spend being a little over 70k. All new on each boat.
Squall is a great budget reel. Commonly used for kingfish and wahoo trolling by those with tighter budget. I have 2 squall 15 for surf casting and love them. The TLDs are also great reels have 2 25s I use for live bait rods. Very basic reels, not much can go wrong if take care of them IMO.