# Penn Let Me Down!



## bit wright (Feb 27, 2013)

Went to Bass Pro and bought a new Penn Battle 6000 combo on Wed and spooled it up with Power Pro 50#. Went out with wife and grandson this morning to some near shore wrecks to jig for AJ's. I was showing them how to jig with spinning gear so I dropped my rig down to the bottom and started jigging it up. About the 3rd or 4th twitch of the rod a fish latches onto the jig and the fight is on! Whaaaaa Whooooo! 
Drag is screamin! I am in combat mode! I get a little room to work and start to crank on the winch handle and .........??????????
Who would have thunk that a $100 reel would be locked up that tight. Could not turn the handle! 
What a piece of "Stuff"!!!! Needless to say the fish got me into the metal and cut me off. I pulled in about 60 yards of line and cut it off. 

On a better note, the grandson got his first and biggest fish of his life. What a trip. Love coaching the kids in their battle with the big ones.

Rod and reel went back to BP and they replaced it with out any problems. Thank you BP!


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## fish4life (Mar 3, 2008)

*livingston marine*

I have 2 6000 and jig with them to and no problems yet. think you may just have got one that was put together wrong.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

That sucks that happened, but I will say that the Penn Battle is an awesome reel and I'm glad you got a new one.

Thanks for the report


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## coin op repair man (Aug 28, 2012)

Hope that one was just a bad apple, I am looking to get a new reel for my king/cobia rod and I was leaning towards the Battle series.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

coin op repair man said:


> Hope that one was just a bad apple, I am looking to get a new reel for my king/cobia rod and I was leaning towards the Battle series.


I'd stick with that plan, you won't be disappointed. I've been selling tackle for 11 yrs and can tell you horror stories about many other, much more expensive reels that were right our of the box


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## coin op repair man (Aug 28, 2012)

Good to know, which Battle would you recommend? I'll be using it mostly for the Gulf State Pier and offshore occasionally. I will be using mono only if that matters.

Thanks,

David


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## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

Got several Battles between my fishing partner and I and have never had an issue. One of the best you can get for the money IMO. Guess you are gonna get a bad one every once in a while...


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## baldona523 (Mar 2, 2008)

First of all, $100 is not much for a reel expecially for AJs. Aj's have whipped $500-1000 reels. No reel is perfect, I would test it out on a couple smaller fish to make sure a screw or knob is just not loose which is most likely. The battle series are great reels for their price point.


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## Robbinsnathan32566 (Feb 26, 2013)

*penn persuit 8000*

went outto the rigs sat morning had a penn persuit 8000 spooled with power pro super slick 50lb (cheep reel) bumpy on the way out on a good frends boat 32ft twin v and look up and my reel was bouncing above my head about 2 ft the reel broke at the handel where it seats to the rod.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

bit wright said:


> Went to Bass Pro and bought a new Penn Battle 6000 combo on Wed and spooled it up with Power Pro 50#. Went out with wife and grandson this morning to some near shore wrecks to jig for AJ's. I was showing them how to jig with spinning gear so I dropped my rig down to the bottom and started jigging it up. About the 3rd or 4th twitch of the rod a fish latches onto the jig and the fight is on! Whaaaaa Whooooo!
> Drag is screamin! I am in combat mode! I get a little room to work and start to crank on the winch handle and .........??????????
> Who would have thunk that a $100 reel would be locked up that tight. Could not turn the handle!
> What a piece of "Stuff"!!!! Needless to say the fish got me into the metal and cut me off. I pulled in about 60 yards of line and cut it off.
> ...


Maybe you should get a "Winch"......you pull the fish in with the ROD, the reel is just a place to store the line!.....ever heard of pump and reel?


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## Yellowrivermudder (Dec 22, 2012)

I have a PENN Battle series rod and reel as well and the drag is one that I trust a bit more than some of the other gear that I've owned/used. I have mine setup for the cobia as well...if it can handle a cobia, I'd imagine that an amberjack should be a breeze! I'm sorry you lost that beast of a fish! That's always dissappointing! Good luck with the replacement!


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## MGuns (Dec 31, 2007)

I've heard alot of good things about the Battle series. When it's time to replace some of my older reels I'll be replacing them with the Battles. You can get a bad apple of anything; lets just hope yours was an exception. Glad BP took care of you.


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## bigtallluke (Jul 14, 2012)

I have a battle 5000 series that I bought last season to use offshore for mahi, kings, ect for top water.... i dont have many hours on the reel yet, but it has done great so far. I read a "million reviews" on reels in that price range, and thats what led me to buy it. Thanks for sharing the info, and definitely glad to hear that you were able to return it w/o a hassle.


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## 20simmons sea skiff (Aug 20, 2010)

I have seen the 8000 battle on a lot of fishing shows, I would still buy a new spinning rel but not a new penn level wind. I bought a few combos a couple years ago, eves fell out of around 5 rods a
I sold all new penns cheap and went to pawn shops and got all older penns.New penn rod and reels made in china.


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## amarcafina (Aug 24, 2008)

A 5000 doing jigging for AJ's is like taking a knife to a Gun fight..
Way to small, 7000 minimum 8000 better match up for amberjack..


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## bit wright (Feb 27, 2013)

There are few things related to fishing that aren't work related in one way or another. As I'm sure every person who fishes for pleasure will agree, the hookup and the fight are what we do this for.
I started my fishing on left coast in Ca. and moved it to the South Pacific and then back to the Pacific Northwest. 
I have always challenged myself and the fish by using the absolute lightest tackle I could get away with just because I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy the battle more then putting every fish in the boat.
That's just me. Appreciate all the input from all of you. And thank you all for your contributions.


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## tofer (Oct 7, 2009)

Its pretty ridiculous to me to be upset that a $100 reel fails to make it, when putting it through super serious pressure. I would doubt that penn would not replace it when you are clearly putting it through the paces. Its a budget reel, and although it is made at that size, by being a lower price point they have to save in cost somewhere to keep it at that low of a price. Maybe you ought to think about paying a little more for better materials, than bashing a company that gave you a great budget reel that performs pretty amazing for the money. I am damn impressed in some of the new direction they are going, and with their loyalty to their customers.


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## bit wright (Feb 27, 2013)

Who the hell was bashing a company? I just said that they let me down and I was disappointed. Maybe you can afford to spend $300 or more for a reel. Some of us arn't that luck. I am a disabled vet on a serious budget. Don't lecture me with your superiority attitude and condecending crap.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

im a light tackle fisherman too, i say the handle would prolly have turned when you released the torque ...on the down stroke......please tell me you don't "crank" your fish in????
Thats why i cringe when a girl catches a fish on my stella's.....sorry ladies:whistling:


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## bit wright (Feb 27, 2013)

No I don't try to winch them in. Way to experienced for that kind of thing. I let the drag take what it wanted and then work down on it to recover line. It just locked up on me as I was doing that. It was still locked up tight when I took it back to BP. We could turn the spool by hand in both directions but could not turn the handle or open the bail all the way. Probably just a simple misalignment issue.


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