# Baitrunner Reel or Spinfisher?



## Diesel222

Has anyone used either of these reels for Kingfish/bottom fishing? And if so how do you like them?


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## rufus1138

never been bottomfishing but i have a spheros (baitrunners big brother) and its shimano ftw all the way, penn is nice but bang for ur buck, quality assurance, and engineering quality. all side with shimano if you ask me. penn makes some real winners but there seems to be way more lemons wearing that tag than shimano.


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## Diesel222

what size rod you use for that particular reel>? 7'?


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## marmidor

I LOVE my 6500 baitrunner. I have been bidding/buying some off of eBay. I use my spinner(6500 baitrunner) for everything. I very seldom use anything but my baitrunner!


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## JD7.62

Both are fine reels but Ive never been happier with a reel as I am with my Spinfisher V 5500. Only time will tell how they will hold up over the long haul but Ive pulled up everything from dozens and dozens of flounder to a 31"+ red snapper, 4ft sharks, bobos, etc.

The reel is stupid strong, while vertical jigging with it I was catching average sized bobos and they couldnt even budge the drag. The fish would hit the jig and be stopped dead in their tracks only able to spin in circles.

The sharks Ive caught on it Ive just horsed up plus unlike the Shimano its completely sealed, a HUGE plus for kayak use IMO.


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## Chris V

I think the new Penns are worth just as much as a comparable Shimano. If talking about the new Baitrunners VS a Penn Spinfisher SSV, I'd pick the Spinfisher every time. If dealing with the "old" Baitrunner, than I'd have to think for a while. 

One thing I'll mention though, unless you are holding the baitrunner and feeding the line out in baitrunner mode, you don't want to just stick it in the holder with the baitrunner on, or else a striking king will give you one hell of a backlash. I love the feature for feeding a cobia, snapper, shark, etc; but a fast striking fish like a King will cause quite a snarl on there. I've done that too many times and never again


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## rufus1138

to compete with the spinfisher i would suggest the spheros honestly, a little lighter than the bait runner and much beefier in the main gears and bearings, its a little more expensive than the baitrunner i think but still very competitive with the spinfisher.


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## The Pitt

I've owned a few of the newer penn spinning reels and had issues with two of the three. I did a little research before choosing between the penn liveliner and the shimano baitrunner and more people said to with shimano. I own two of the shimano baitrunner 6000 now and love them.


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## Chris V

rufus1138 said:


> to compete with the spinfisher i would suggest the spheros honestly, a little lighter than the bait runner and much beefier in the main gears and bearings, its a little more expensive than the baitrunner i think but still very competitive with the spinfisher.


The newer Baitrunners are just as expensive as the Spheros


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## Diesel222

JD thats a plus I was looking at incase I turtle or it goes overboard. The watersealed enclosure is appealing but seem many ppl have had issues with the penn reels. I have some other penn reels and they seem to be fine other than one battle I recently purchased but sent in to be fixed. What type rod you guys are throwing these reels on? New to the offshore fishing/Kayakin in general <----NOOB]


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## Chris V

The Pitt said:


> I've owned a few of the newer penn spinning reels and had issues with two of the three. I did a little research before choosing between the penn liveliner and the shimano baitrunner and more people said to with shimano. I own two of the shimano baitrunner 6000 now and love them.


Just curious, which model Penns? Were they the SSM or SSG reels by chance? If so, I'm not surprised. Penn has discontinued them other than on premount combos. 

I've never had a Spinfisher SSV returned yet and only two Battles


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## marmidor

Chris V said:


> The newer Baitrunners are just as expensive as the Spheros


No doubt! I'm looking at the old 6500! They are going for around $70-$90.


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## Chris V

marmidor said:


> No doubt! I'm looking at the old 6500! They are going for around $70-$90.


I have two 6500s and will NEVER part with them. Shimano should have left them alone IMO.

Sorry, didn't mean to derail slightly


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## rufus1138

Chris V said:


> The newer Baitrunners are just as expensive as the Spheros


i was just about to go scoping out price, idk if im gonna get another spheros but the one i have is freakin killer for a heavy spinner.


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## marmidor

Chris V said:


> I have two 6500s and will NEVER part with them. Shimano should have left them alone IMO.
> 
> Sorry, didn't mean to derail slightly


Yeah man I agree with you %100. Heck no derail man. The more info. we can provide for each 
other the better off we are when decision time comes!


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## Diesel222

thanks for the quick replies, I think im going to get the spinfisher and try it out. Hopefully the basspro has them in stock in destin, heading up there today for my wedding. After I jump off the cliff going to try to get out in the ocean wed or thurs and get lost at [email protected]!!


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## marmidor

Diesel222 said:


> thanks for the quick replies, I think im going to get the spinfisher and try it out. Hopefully the basspro has them in stock in destin, heading up there today for my wedding. After I jump off the cliff going to try to get out in the ocean wed or thurs and get lost at [email protected]!!


Check with Chris V. He is at SAMs B&T in OB!


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## Diesel222

where at?


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## JD7.62

OB is Orange Beach, Alabama.

If Sam's is too far from you and if youre in Destin its probably close to a two drive, look at the Ugly Stick Tiger Lite Jigging Rods at Bass Pro. Great rods for the price IMO and only run about $60 or so.


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## rufus1138

i can back jd up on this, ugly stick makes a tough ass rod, a little chunky for my taste but i tend to end up using everything i have when im in the flats and i hate throwing topwater plugs on my ugly stick from a seated position, wears me out way faster than my little eagle gt.


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## Chris V

Yeah, OB might be a tad bit further than he might want to drive (nearly 2 hours from Destin), but I'd do my best to make it worth the effort

Regardless of where you end up getting it, you won't be disappointed.


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## jasoncooperpcola

I have two Baitrunner 6500B reels and love them. Actually have one for my Cobia set up. I have a Penn LiveLiner and used it alot. But Wednesday night something broke? The spool just turns with no drag? Have not looked at it yet. 

I do plan to get a Ssv Penn just to try out. But most of my reels are Penn and most of my rods are Shimano!!!


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## The Pitt

Chris V said:


> Just curious, which model Penns? Were they the SSM or SSG reels by chance? If so, I'm not surprised. Penn has discontinued them other than on premount combos.
> 
> I've never had a Spinfisher SSV returned yet and only two Battles


Fierce, battle and 550ssg were all shit in my opinions. Fierce and battle and all the reels that are similar I've seen nothing but problems between myself and a handful of friends. Every one of them had drag or line twist problems. My 550ssg was actually ok aside from the line not catching on the bail unless I manually put it there.


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## Rolexx

Spinfisher v with the liveliner. Its water tight and has the bait runner feature as well. The live liner is adjustable so you can tighten the tension to where you wont get a backlash from a king or anything else


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## The Pitt

I've read a thorough review on the new spinfishers and they are NOT waterproof. Fairly water resistant though. The guy in the review also ruined something on the reel by tightening the drag a bit to horse in large amberjack while vertical jigging. Not to say they aren't a bad reel. I said earlier in this thread or got two the baitrunners and I use them in the secondary drag position while trolling for kings and have never had a backlash.


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## Rolexx

They are both great reels. I use the thunnus's myself but the spinfisher v is water resistant enough to deal with the constant splashing reels get while OFFshore Kayak fishing, and there line capacity is a lil better. I wouldn't recommend either reel for big amberjack lol sorry haven't read every comment on the thread just seen the post and thought I would give my opinion


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## The Pitt

Here's that review that I read. As long as youre not putting a lot of pressure on the drag I bet itll be pretty decent. Pretty sure itll he a good reel for yak fishing. http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/spf.html


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