Got a question if anyone can offer advice about gear.
The past few years I have been fishing the near shore reefs just with the same rigs I use in the creeks.
Never had a problem with blues, sheeps, spades, black drum, you name it.
The past few weekends I have run into some red drum in the 40+ range that have me looking at the 7 foot heavy action Penn Slammer rod a friend gave me a few years ago. Its been sitting on the porch and I think its time, I brought it up to the frontline.
What model of the Penn Spinfisher series would you pair up with a 7 foot Penn Slammer…5500? 6500?
The specs on the reels are pretty close. Same max drag. The 6500 reels in 4" more line per handle crank than the 5500. Really depends on how much line capacity you think you need. I would probably go with the 6500. Only weighs 1.3oz more and it will hold 300 yards of 15lb dia. line. Vs the 5500 at 240yds. That would be 65lb test in power pro. That will give you the line strength you need to horse those big boys up quick so they don’t overload with lactic acid. I fish 6000 size battles myself and I really like them. A lot of people rave about the shimano bait runners. I know Glenn and Cracker Larry use them. Good luck reel hunting!
I would go with the larger spool. I fish a shimano Spheros 8000 and wish i had the next size up at times. Mainly on cobia and large sharks. They are on a really good sale now at
To get the same qualitys in the spheros he’d have to go to the 12000 or 14000 size… They are Heavier by 6oz and will be $130 when you calculate the price right. Also the new spin fisher has a “live bait” drag switch that disengages the regular drag until you rotate the handle and then the regular drag kicks back in. I would imagine this would be a similar feature to the shimano bait runner. I haven’t personally used this reel or the feature… So I can’t comment on quality compared to shimano. Just something to think about.
I don’t know madfire after reading that you fish the Battle, I went and read over those some.
Kind of leaning towards that one.
The deal on the Spheros is pretty good and I have always liked Shimano, too. Honestly I have had better luck with Shimanos than Penn reel. But I have never owned a higher end Penn just a Captiva and it was horrible. I have been wanting to check out a higher end Penn for awhile to formulate my own opinion more.
The only problems I have heard about the battles are corrosion issues. I wash mine down with soap and water every time I get home and I haven’t seen any yet. I fish the Shimano Stradic CI4 3000s inshore. So I’m use to high end spinning reels and the battles perform flawlessly for a $100 reel. The spin fisher has 30# max drag and the battles only have 20#. I have caught some 40"+ reds on my battles with no problem. Another thing is that the reel cost $109 and you can get the rod reel combo for $119. I’ll take a $10 rod all day long.
You can come by and check out the spheros any time you want. I have never had a good experience with a penn either. But have never bought one of their newer higher end models. Which reel to buy?? That’s a good problem to have!
Just an FYI. I have 6 Penn Battles 3000, 4000, and 6000 models. I have never had any corrosion problems. They range from 6 mo to 3 years old.
I rinse them off. Once I get time in the week, I use a spray bottle, wash them off (rod and reel) then spray Pledge on the reel and wipe it down. Winter time, I re-grease and lube the reel.
Those are mere children I’ve got 6 Shimanos over 10 years old. Some close to 20. Hose them off usually sometimes. Grease them almost never or when they get dropped in the water. No corrosion or any other issues with them either. Have to replace the drag washers every few years, that’s about it.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
I’m with you Larry the shimanos just flat out work… Have to change a drag washer or a line roller bearing from time to time but they make good equipment. I went with the battles because I mainly use them for Cobia fishing 2 months out of the year and they get stuck back on the wall. Saved the extra cash and spend it on equipment that I use a lot more.
