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Posts: 2686
Location: Hayward, WI | I have an uncle looking into getting a fairly high quality reel. Probably looking to spend somewhere in the $200-$250 range. Performance is high on the list, but durability is also very high. He'd be using it for Double Cowgirls, maybe Mag Dawgs, and other 3-8 oz. baits.
I was thinking the Penn 975 might be a good bet. They sound durable, and if I'm not mistaken, already have a power handle. Lunas, St. Croix AC's, and Calcuttas would all need a power handle upgrade, which means more money added to the cost of the reel.
My biggest question, the Penn brings in about 20" of line per crank. Is this noticeably slower than the other typical reels that bring in 23-24 inches per crank? He's not looking for anything to burn bucktails, but also wouldn't want to struggle picking up slack line or keeping a double 10 near the surface.
If not the Penn, would most lean towards the Calcutta 400B over the Luna/St. Croix? I've heard about 1/2 the guys say the Lunas have anti-reverse issues, and the other half say they've had no problems. Calcuttas seem to be pretty solid for the most part?
Thanks for any advice.
curleytail |
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Posts: 547
Location: Oshkosh | I think the 975 or a Toro Winch would be perfect for what he is looking for as long as he doesn't want to burn them. Or look at the 5.4:1 Toro for a more versatile reel.
Peter |
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Posts: 393
Location: Hopefully on the water | I would look at the Revo Toro in the 5.4 to 1 gears for a good all round reel. I beleive that gives you about 24" per line retreival. But if you llo at a Diawa Saltist in the LW30 it will give you 27-28" on a normal retrieve. It all depends on what they want to spend of how the reeel feels to them. If you are comfortable and can get the job done go with what you like. |
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| I've got the Penn 975 and really love the reel. Glad I spent the money on it. The Revo Winch 4.6 to 1 looks like a nice reel as well and it's a little bit lighter although I haven't found the Penn overly heavy and I love that gold color. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | I have a penn 975 and it worked great last year with no problems,brings in 10`s just fine.The reel also has a loud clicker which works great for trolling or sucker fishing. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I have been running the Penns for 3 years now, and really like them. However, as anything mechanical, nothing is perfect. All three of mine have been back to Penn for one thing or another, most notably, the level wind idlers on all three, pinion gear on two and anti reverse on one of them. With that said, only one of them failed the very first time out as a flaw in the gear(was a common issue with them a few years back), otherwise I got full seasons or more, or hundreds of hours on them before issues. Comparing them to my other reels, and the way I use them(heavy duty), I'd put them up there with the best I have, durability-wise. And the nice thing is, I always got the reels back within a couple weeks of sending them back, in like new condition and all performed longer without fail the second time around than the first(perhaps the replacement parts were tougher or improved). All in all a nice reel that is unique in that it actually gets smoother in time as you use it, is nice for bringing in big blades easily(though not a burner) and they'll continue to be in the main rotation for another year.
Edited by Reef Hawg 3/26/2010 7:43 AM
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Posts: 4342
Location: Smith Creek | AC300A comes with the power handle. |
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Posts: 582
| i would suggest the AC300 as well. Mine did NOT come with a power handle when i bought 3 of them this past fall. I wish they did. But overall a good reel for $229. If if the power handle was $20 you are at $250. |
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Posts: 2686
Location: Hayward, WI | Thanks for the replies so far guys. Those of you with the AC300 or Luna, have you had problems with the anti-reverse? It seems like the was about the only problem I've heard they are prone to having. Also, where is a good place to get a powerhandle for one?
It sounds like the powerhandle for a Calcutta 400B is something like $50, and the big knob on them can potentially cause the reel to enage during the cast unless you replace the clutch springs with something heavier duty. Wouldn't be impossible to do, but kind of sounds like a pain, and the handles add a fairly significant cost to the reel.
On the Penn 975, it sounds like they aren't super smooth right off the bat. Is it that noticeable that they are "rough" right away? Do they break in to the point where they are pretty smooth after a reasonable amount of time?
I'll have to suggest the Toro too, but I'm not sure what he'd think of that reel.
Thanks for the help so far!
curleytail
Edited by curleytail 3/26/2010 2:28 PM
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Posts: 400
Location: North/Central WI | Don't buy a Luna. You will have anti-reverse issues and it will probably cost you a fish. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | LUNA or StCroix reels have no back up pawl to the anti-rev bearing, The TORO 50 or 60 in 5.4:1 ratio has what U are looking for in a reel, and is only 10.9 oz !!!!!!! and comes with a power handle !!!!!!! The 975 weight is 17oz !!!!!!! The Toro main gears are 40mm tall so this reel has POWER.
Edited by PIKEMASTER 3/28/2010 7:54 AM
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | The nice thing about the penn is the two spots to attach the power handle, I put mine to give me the most leverage and it brings in the tens really easy. It is fast enoug so you can bulge them too. |
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Posts: 814
| I have penns,lunas and calcutta's.
Then penn is rougher than the other 2 but it never hinders the performance, the reason its rougher is the penn uses stainless steel gears. which are noisier from the begining. never had any issues with mine, going on 3 seasons. The penn also has the worst drag of all of them and its a real pain to try and back off as you have to crank it down so tight.
The luna imo is smoother than all of the others, its even smoother than my te. But they do have anti issues. but its mainly because of oil or grease getting into the ar bearing. I now clean mine and install them dry, which isn't recommended but it keeps it from slipping. other than that issue the reel has been flawless, One other thing about the luna is you can freespool under tension, you cannot on the calcuttas or penns. go back and do a search on this there is some info about this. Need to service these reels every season imo.
The calcutta is pretty good all around but ive had anti issues with these also. so their not bulletproof. one other problem ive had on the calcutta is when fishing in Nov, the freespool button doesn't always pop back up(the reel won't engage.) This is what I hated the most about this reel. never had this problem with the others mentioned.
Never ran the toro's and won't just because of all the other problems with abu's in the past, won't risk spending the money for a dissapointment
Also the penn isn't as slow as its made out to be. ive caught fish on this reel with tens during the day and had more in the tank to speed up the retrieve to trigger the fish. Being that this is for your uncle I would go with the penn just because it makes reeling the tens and larger lures easier which in the end will keep him fishing longer
Edited by mskyhntr 3/27/2010 12:34 AM
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| I have two penn 975's and i love them for the 10's. I dont find them to be rough at all. Granted, they are not as smooth as my Calcutta TE but feel about the same as the calcutta b and luna's that i also have.
I have only used them sparingly, but i dont find any flaws in the drag or anti reverse. Just a nice, tough reel.
Let me know if you are leaning toward the penn 975, mine are like new and i probably could part with one or both. I could use the money right now.
Email me at [email protected] if you are interested.
Rob |
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | Curleytail, I have a Revo Toro 60 5.4:1 in the Buy/Sell?Trdae forum if he's interested. As others stated above, it works great for everything but burning big blades IMO. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | The Penns are not rough at all, out of the box, they just get even better after a few days of fishing with them, as the stainless gears learn one another. |
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Slower Reels - Penn 975