Equipment

[njsportsman]

I am new to this forum and not really new to saltwater fishing but, now that I have done the party boat thing i want to get more involved especially having the right equipment. let's face it the equipment on the boat is well; junk. that is where I hope I can get some help. I am looking at getting a conventional setup to start for deep sea fishing. I am looking at Penn equipment i think i have it narrowed down to a GT2 320 or 330 combo rig. Now the only thing I can see different is the gear ratio which doesn't seem like a huge difference one is 3.6:1 where the other is 4.3:1 and the 330 seems to be a more heavier action. Can someone tell me what the gear ratio is and how it plays into effect? Thanks in advance

[BigAl13]

the gear ratio works like this 3.6 :1 means for every one turn of the handle the spool will turn 3.6 times.
4.3:1 means the spool will turn 4.3 times per 1 turn of the handle. The difference is line retrieve a bigger gear ratio will allow you to get more line up quicker especially when the spool is full of line.

[Bucktail]

As Big Al said, gear ratio is simply how many times the spool revolves per one crank of the handle.  Therefore a 4.3:1 gear ratio means the spool with go around 4.3 times for every crank of the handle.

Keep in mind, Penn has discontinued this series so you may be able to pick one up at a decent price on clearance sale somewhere.

And between the two reels I would go with the 320.  It will be smaller and a bit lighter than the 330 and should be able to handle anything you may encounter on a party boat here in NJ.  In fact, if you can find one, the 310 would also work well for your purpose.

Good luck and  

[njsportsman]

I also may want to go on charters where it is a small crowd. I also want to go stripper fishing with it so, is the 320 still sufficient enough. eventually I want to go for bigger game like tuna but, for now I want something that will do flounder, sea bass and stripper. I eventually know I will have to get stuff more suited for the application but, for now an all purpose boat rod is what I want. I also read more about gear ratio and they say that the lower ratio reels are for bigger fish. How high do ratios go is 3.6 and 4.3 considered high or low? Thanks

[Hunter 2]

3:6 and 4:3 are middle of the road for gear ratios.  Pretty much all purpose.  Sorry to say but your really going to need 2 setups if you want to fish both offshore and inshore.  A tuna will probably be too strong for the 320 and spool all the line off of it.
      If you want to learn the ropes quick I would suggest jumping on an open boat charter with one of the six pack captains on the sponsor list. They will answer all your questions and be very personal with you to show you different rigging techniques and little secrets on how to land nice fish.  They also have nice rods and reels for you to try out for free prior to making a decision on what you should buy.
    Good luck,       Eddie

[Royalstewart]

You can't beat Penn!  I would go with the 320 ALL you need!  Then again how about a Senator you can't beat that reel either!

[Spanky]

I have a 330 and a 320 both with the level wind. They are both sitting on my bench because I have had problems with the level wind jamming up. I reverted back to my 30yo Penn 160 on my favorite rods because these things are bullet proof. Gear ratio is maybe 2.8-1, which is fine for water up to 70', but they have never let me down. Personally I just go on ebay and buy all the cheep 160's I can and tear them down, clean them good and put them back together and have had very little issues. Have landed many of stripers with them with no issue.  However recently picked up two, new, in box, tsunami, open face, 4000 for $20 each. Granted they are cheaply made reel. They will work for the time being. As far as big game goes, Penn internationals 2 speeds are all I have used.

[BigAl13]

Level wind reels have a tendency for jamming up, alot of us don't use them for that reason. Thumbing the line isn't that difficult. In all reels I generally go with less parts = less things to break.