# Penn reel name help



## sharksurfer66 (Sep 17, 2005)

A few years ago, Penn had a reel out called something like a cougar, or barracuda or some thing like that. It was a conventional reel, about the size of a 4/0, maybe smaller.... Help me out with the name!


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

longbeach
mariner
squidder
jigmaster
senator
leveline
surfmaster
peer


bout all i remember


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

and delmar


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Baja Special??


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## sharksurfer66 (Sep 17, 2005)

Nah, it wasnt any of those. It had an animal name i think...


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## sharksurfer66 (Sep 17, 2005)

GTO is what i was thinking of... sorry my memory wasnt great. But you know, cougar, barracuda, GTO.... all car names... my mind works oddly sometimes!!

Anyway, anybody got one? What do ya think of it?


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

I have nothing good to say about a levelwind in the surf... unless its spooled with 12lb mono for tossing topwaters and jigs

From a boat, sure. From a pier, go for it. In the surf, explore your options


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## fishing-guru (Feb 2, 2011)

I have a penn 209m levelwind, but I took off the levelwind so it will cast farther. So if you get the GTO, I advise taking off the levelwind.


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## sharksurfer66 (Sep 17, 2005)

I am not looking for advice on how to fish in the surf... I have lots of experience to that end... But thanks for your input. 

Does anyone have a review of the quality and functionality of the penn GTO series of reels?


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

Penn doesn't make junk in my experience. I fished several diff. Penn levelwinds 15 years ago when I got into the surf and they all held up good. They're just not made for fishing the surf. Smart money says its a quality reel. You oughtta try googling reviews or restart this thread in the general fishing forum


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

Check the country of manufacture. As with many US companies, Penn has started having most everything built in China. The quality has dropped off considerably.

Level winds are fine for the surf. I've fished various level winds made by Penn and ABU for years without problems. Obviously, be careful to keep sand out of them.


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## Sweet Baby Cletus (Jan 18, 2010)

Jolly Roger said:


> Baja Special??


Absolutely one of the most underrated reels ever! These things are great reels.


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

I know people are going to the aluminum frames but my GS 555 has been a friggin awesome workhorse


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## newsharker (Oct 31, 2009)

The newer penns are a long way off the old ones. Ive had lots of trouble with a new #9m. If you get a penn, get an older one. I have a few older ones, 2 jigmasters, 2x4/0s, 3x 6/0s. You could buy one if ya want. Just have more than I can fish.


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## skooter2 (May 3, 2011)

newsharker said:


> The newer penns are a long way off the old ones.


I agree.

I prefer reels without level winds for the surf but my wife prefers level winds and openface reels.....so....we have level winds and openface reels. I have 5 209's and 2 309's that are 15 to 20 years old. Pawls and worm shafts are common on these reels so spares are simplified.
I also have a 310GTI. Parts on average are 3 times the cost of the 209.


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## tomcat102 (Feb 3, 2011)

Maybe a Penn with a tuibouron frame


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

X2 with JC!

If you want a cheap penn reel for the surf, Get you a jigmaster! Those are great surf reels.


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## Charlie2 (Aug 21, 2004)

*Penn Reels*

Somehow; my Quote thingy doesn't work but I beg to differ.

While the Penn Mag10 is a quality reel, the levelwind stinks.

You should go ahead and remove it, then install a cross bar. This makes it perfect IMHO. C2


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

I have been sorting through the debris on ebay and playing with different reels for the last 6 months or so. For the long rods, I have settled on some old Penn Surfmaster 200s and Beachmaster 155s. The Surfmasters have aluminum spools and I have added magnets for casting. The Beachmasters have the plastic spools. So far, I have no complaints about casting distance or fish fighting. They have not been tested by a big jack or shark, yet. We'll see...

I decided to bump this post because of a small surprise. I picked up a pristine Penn 9 with the aluminum spool listed "for parts". The level wind did not work going out, so it would not cast. I replaced the level wind mechanism ($10 worth of parts). I added two small magnets and spooled it with 30# braid. I tried it yesterday and was amazed. I have it on a 9' Okuma rod. Casting a 4 oz sinker and cut bait, it was effortless. Totally thumb free. I can throw the Surfmasters a little farther, but I occasionally blow them up ugly. I caught one good slot red on this rig. I kept this reel so my 9 year old could use a level wind reel instead of the Surfmasters. It will definitely stay in the arsenal.


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

I have several penns, but for my surf fishing I went to Daiwa's sha 30' and HA'a 50 they cast better and futhers for me and reasonably priced.


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## Jdog223 (Jul 4, 2011)

Sorry for the hijack but i found this reel of my grandfathers and cannot find any info on it it is a Penn LevelLine 350


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Nice find. That hasn't been made since about '97, but yours could be much older since they were first made in the '50s. It is a fairly large reel with 3:1 gearing. It's capacity was listed at 300 yards of 30 lb mono. The reel has a fairly unique level wind feature. Just run the line over the twisty bar and it will slide the line back and forth as you reel. It was intended as a heavy casting reel, but you will need a much better thumb than I have to get any distance with it. That chromed bronze spool develops an ugly fly wheel problem once it gets spinning. It is easy to blow those reels up.

Yours looks to be in very good shape. Just clean it, lube it, spool it and it would be ready to fish. Use it anywhere you would use a Penn 309.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

You got the brain itching with this one. I did some more reading and found several posts on some of the east coast striper boards about the reel. These posters claimed that the 350 takes the same spool as the 200. If true, then an aluminum spool option is available for this reel (29L-200). They are not cheap ($30), but with a couple of magnets, might turn this into an acceptable surf casting reel. I put the 29L-200 in my Surfmasters and they will take a 300 yd spool of 30 lb. braid topped with about 125 yds of 25 lb mono. The reel is only going to give you about 8 lbs of drag, so going over about 30 lb line won't gain much.


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## Jdog223 (Jul 4, 2011)

Hmm alright thanks so much histprof, ill look into the parts, only problem I see is the black cover by the drag star has a broken piece and I can see a small part of the gear 

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