# Big sharks on a Spinning reel



## johnf

I caught those two big hammer heads last week on a Penn 309 that I borrowed from a friend, but I prefer spinning rods over casters, mostly because I can't cast the dang things. Kayaking the bat out isn't a big deal, but there were a couple times that we lost bait after dark and I just don't have the nerve to kayak out in the dark. Anyway, I saw that the 8000 Penn Battle line will hold quite a bit of line. I could put 300 yards of pretty big braid on it and top shot it with well over 100 yards of big mono. They have 25# of drag and the 309 that I used only has 15. I would think that it would be plenty reel for the sharks I caught, then a heavy rod should mate up pretty easy.

Would that work?

Any other suggestions?


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## tigershark

John,
it can be done the downside is if you hook into something a little bigger and you manage to get the shark in and you plan on releasing it the shark might not make it, the longer the fight goes the odds of you reviving the shark back to health to fight another day go way down because the shark just gets too exhausted. Have you thought about getting a penn 4/0 and magging it and putting it with an Ocean Master heavy 12 ft rod? You can practice and get to where you can cast 85-100+ yards with weight and bait . With the right conventional reel paired with a good Ocean Master you can really throw it out there. I have seen some big bullsharks landed on spinning tackle but they will wear you out, yes it can be done. my vote would be for stepping up in reel size and practice your kayaking skills at night


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## Randall2point0

Wirelessly posted

I yak the bait out at night. There is nothing like having half a Bonita in your lap while in a sit on top yak. Your first couple of times Yakimg at night your mind will play tricks on you and little waves will look like dorsal fins. After a few times of doing a night run its not so bad anymore, you don't think about it. I am in the process of fixing a zodiac boat up for bringing my bait out, I'll be able to put all my gear in it and drive out to the pass instead of carrying it all out there.


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## Randall2point0

Wirelessly posted

Oh and I just read in a Florida Sportsman about drag, gears,etc. basically what it was saying is if your going to have a high load (like sharks) the fast retrieve reels won't help. They will also wear out faster since the gears are smaller where the lower retrieve has the 'Granny Gear' to get the big fish in.


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## jcallaham

John I have been surf casting for a long time. Most of that time I used baitcasters,still do.
However when you really want distance you tune that baitcaster so it's free spinning,gettin rid of line as fast as it can,but doing so puts you on the edge of disaster, that is a nasty back lash. when you try to cast one of these into a head wind you better know how to thumb that spool. lot's of people believe that spinners are to weak to handle a big fish,but if you do your homework on the specs of newer spinners they are impressively strong.
I don't know how to do links. However if you get stripers online,surf talk there are some heated discusions pro and con spinning reels ,conventional reels. look for posts by High plains Drifter and ROD N REEL enough stuff there to help you decide. I just got a new spinner in the mail yesterday,I have absolutly no doubt it will outfish a Penn 309


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## johnf

What size line do you use. The 30 that I have seemed to be plenty. I thought if I could step down to 20 or 25 I could get something like this http://www.daiwa.com/reel/detail.aspx?id=52










It's got twice the drag as the penn I used and the gear ratio is only 3.4:1. I know it's not a great reel, but for only a week out of the year, and realistically only 3-4 nights a year, I figure it should last me several seasons. The reviews are really good on them.


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## Ugly 1

Hey John do your self a favor and buy a 9/0. You are not going to land 2 hammers and then go for something smaller to make you happy. you are going to try and catch a bigger badder sharks!!!! You can use spinning reels to catch just about anything BUT they wont last and they put un needed stress on the sharks. I don't know of any pole that is designed to chuck a 6+ ounce weight and a 10lb chunk of bait with it. Or a fisherman or woman capable of doing it. If your going to continue to do the land based shark fishing the penn senators give you the capacity and drag without breaking the bank and I know guys that have used the same reels for years without a problem! I will be the first to admit that yaking out baits in the heavy surf is a bit scary and yaking out baits in the surf at night can be terrifying at times! If you take the proper safety precautions (PFD, radios/cell phones and spotters with an emergency plan) and work on your yaking skills it gets better with time. The 9/0 has capacity so you can still run out long drops. it has plenty of drag to turn big sharks. And it is light enough that you can use it without help from a friend. I love my 9/0 and if you want to try it out sometime PM me and we will try to hook a monster for your test drive. Good luck!.... UGLY


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## johnf

Thanks for the offer Ugly, but I'm back in the hills and won't be back for that test drive until next summer. The yaking out at sundown wasn't a big deal by the 3rd time for me and I figure the way we do things, if I don't get a bite by 1AM we'll head to the house anyway, so yaking out in the dark really isn't much of an issue. We got hooked up a couple times just casting into the surf with our little rods, I can see how a little one would be fun on them. We rent houses right on the beach, so it's not real heartbreaking to go to bed and try it again later. I'll look into the 9/0 I think the 309 was a little light for the drag on the second one, I need to be able to get those bigger ones in faster.


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## salt-life

All I gotta say is check out the fin nor offshore 9500. An amazing spinning reel for sharks and holds a ton of line


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## surfish

salt-life said:


> All I gotta say is check out the fin nor offshore 9500. An amazing spinning reel for sharks and holds a ton of line


 those are good reels and don't cost to much


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