Penn takeover

[wingshooter]

goodbye penn company, they are bought by shakespeare,,

[catfish hunter]

this could be a good thing ,there reels have gone down hill in the last couple years

[wingshooter]

i have 2 penn reels both about 20 or so years old,,they were my surf fishing reels and still use them once in a whille,,

then penn started selling these silver colored reels that were made in japan and they were crap, then there was Rody by penn baitrunners i bought one used it once and put it away it sucked,,  so unless i find a used old one like the ones i have i wont touch their products,  shimano and abu for me

[catfish hunter]

couldnt agree more I grew up on there gear,I thought at first it was me but everyone was blowing them up

[CapBob]

The older Penns are great have quite a few and they are still going strong ,

Two years ago I started using Okuma's on the boat, they have taken a beating with the clients and are still going strong, a good product for a good price and if they happen to fall into the drink I don't cry too much

I just flush them good after use and oil them down on a regular basis

[Flukedood]

pop was a Penn guy so in turn I was a penn guy. but I have been hearing some pretty bad things about them  in the last year or so. It looks like a Calcutta will be my next reel

[Capt. Ed]

Hi All,

Just back from five (5) days at the Fred Hall Show.

I spoke to many Reps. at the Penn booth. They are of the opinion that this is a good thing as they are part of a company with "bigger pockets."

I totally disagree about what people are saying about Penn products the past year or so (they did have a hard stretch 5 years ago). They have recently made companies like Shimano look foolish in the engineering department. The Torque series and the 16VSX conventional reels are, without a doubt, great reels.

I use Penn, Shimano and Accurate (I have had Newells, Quantum, Abu and Avet in the past) and for my dollar, Penn is the first I look at. BTW, I turned the Avet T-RX Quad ... it is nice. If you need a reel in the 130-200 lb. line class, give this one a look see.

The biggest disappointment to me lately has been Abu. There stuff is being made in China now for the most part. Think of a tournament fisherman stripping main gears on 4 of his 6 new reels in one tournament where it was a slow bite. He has just changed sponsors.

In the end folks, let's face it, it is not the reel or the line or the rod. Most stuff works and provides many years of use (with just a bit of maintenance). I cannot remember a time that I was fighting a fish and even remembered what reel it was. Of course, equipment makes good dock stories. Like the time that my niece and nephew were bringing in 16 lb. bluefish on 8 lb. test on their 3 ft. Barbie and NASCAR rods/reels.

If you want to be a good fisherman, learn how to locate fish; larn how-to present bait; and put your time in on the water. Throw in some luck and you are all set!

Thanks,

Capt. Ed

[woodrufflou]

Man, over the past year or so all i hear about is bad news from penn reels 

[drome]

Ed,

We spoke a little about this the other day, but there actually is a good market for cheaply made rods and reels.

.............. (I figured I'd give everyone a few seconds to let that sink in)

There are a few categories of fisherman, the sports fisherman (most of us addicted fishermen), the recreational fisherman (my neighbor, my brother, your average husband), and the third I label the hard working father on vacation. 

While we may be very critical of items such as drag, bearings, gears and line capacity,

the rec. fisherman loves the sport, enjoys a few hours away each weekend, but doesn't have a desire to master the sport or learn the why's.

"the father" - hardworking man on vacation in a shore town, probably doesn't spend as much time with his kids as he would like to.  Could care less about what the difference between a fluke and a flounder are, convinced their are striped bass in the lagoons, and as long as he's making his son or daughter smile, you could have sold him twine wrapped on a popsicle stick and it would not matter.


While their are a select few that have the "need" for the high end reels, there are millions of fathers that fish for the experience and family time rather than to be a sports fisherman.  These guys buy the shakespeare rods by the dozen and are the masters of the 19.95 combos. 

I once spent 5 hours catching snappers with my son on a scooby doo rod and reel combo.  Wasn't worth more than the cardboard it was sold in, but the experience was worth more than anything in the world.

Opinion is a matter of perspective.

[Kahoots]

i caught a lot of big fish on the old penn 9/0 senators.i also use the jigmasters & squidders for wreck & flounder with no problems,just changed drag washers every other year on the 9/0's, with heavy use.use to get parts across the river in Phia. buddy  had a new 50 international an the drag would fetch up wile fish on,he sold it,bought a okuma 50.I also use an okuma 50 2 speed,i like a lot.old penn's great new penns not to sure.

[mad8713]

Penn was recently bought by shakespeare who is owned by K2 inc.  Yes, the ski company. You really believe the amount of product lines they own.  I think when these companies changed hands nothing really changes except profit going into someone elses pockets.

[Flukedood]

I just Bought a new Penn 940 off of Ebay, I heard great things about these reels and along with the new 965 international I just bought I'm hoping these reels keep my faith in Penns..