# Reels for Kings/Sailfish, etc



## ctgalloway21 (Jun 25, 2012)

I am new to saltwater fishing this year. I mainly fish inshore around Ono Island. My salt arsenal includes

Abu Garcia Revo Inshore Baitcaster
Penn Fierce 4000 Spinning
Penn Sargus 4000 Spinning

These are perfect for inshore.

I have started trolling off the beach for bigger fish. Right now I am using an older Abu Garcia Ambassaduer with the bait alert and an Ugly Stik Catfish rod.

As far as Penn goes, what kind of rod and reels do I need to target the bigger offshore fish? Spinfisher V 6500 with 300 yards of 50 lb braid? Also what length rod is best to match with a Spinfisher V? Which Penn baitcasters have a bait alert for trolling?


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

For trolling the beach for kings I there are a variety of reels you could use. If you want to use braid, it will allow you to use smaller reels because of the line capacity but for trolling and live baiting my preference is mono. You could also use braid backing with a mono topshot if you wanted the extra line capacity. Penn 4/0- 6/0 senator's are ok and are fairly versatile. If you like spinning outfits shimano baitrunners or spheros are great offshore spinning reels. The baitrunner is designed for live bait fishing. Just match whatever rod you end up using to the size of line you plan to use and make sure they have some backbone to them. 

To directly answer your questions, a spinfisher 6500 w 300 yds of braid will tame about anything you will encounter nearshore. For rod length you need to decide what you will be doing most with it. If you plan on casting a longer rod, 6' plus is better. Jigging and trolling you don't need that extra length. All Penn cnventional reels have a clicker or "bait alert".


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## Dragsmoker (Aug 15, 2011)

ctgalloway21 said:


> I am new to saltwater fishing this year. I mainly fish inshore around Ono Island. My salt arsenal includes
> 
> Abu Garcia Revo Inshore Baitcaster
> Penn Fierce 4000 Spinning
> ...




I have a Penn Fierce 6000. I'll have to check what length rod I matched it with but it's and Ugly Stik. I love my PF 6000 but I feel like its an over kill for kings. It has stood up to sharks, Bonita and kings so far without a problem. If you were targeting kings on a boat I would use a PF 5000. But for sails it would be safe for a PF 6000. Ill edit my comment when I get gone from school and give you more details.


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## ctgalloway21 (Jun 25, 2012)

Right now I am looking at getting a 

Abu Garcia Revo Toro NaCl for trolling offshore and throwing Alabama Rigs and swimbaits in freshwater

Penn Spinfisher V 5500 for throwing topwater plugs for kings, etc.


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## Bigkidneys (Jul 14, 2011)

I have quite a few setups that I use for Kings. Most of the time I use my Penn 550ssg (2 of them) with 30lb power pro tied straight to a stinger or duster rig. Have caught all of my Kings and Spanish with them and the fact they are graphite means less susceptibility to corrosion. One is on an All Star Snook rod and the other is on an Ugly Stick MH 6'6 rod. The last time out the Kings damn near spooled me twice and one broke off after I was almost spooled so I decided to step things up for more drag and line capacity and bought a Diawa saltist 4500h and a Penn Torque 5 to better handle the bigger Kings and bottom fish. Both are loaded with 50lb braid and mono top shots. When you come down and if we get together and go off the Key, I have an older Penn 750ss made in USA with an ugly stick and loaded with 20lb mono you can try if you like. Rarely use it so it just sits in the corner.


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## ctgalloway21 (Jun 25, 2012)

How long of rod do I need to trolling. Could I get an 8 foot swimbait rod that can handle swimbaits, alabama rigs, and trolling. Is 8 feet too long for a Revo Inshore Toro?


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## Patriot (Jun 4, 2009)

I use Penn 750sm on Penn powerstick and another one on a Penn Slammer. That works great on smaller kings along coast and in bay. If you hook up with a smoker/brute, you more than likely will get spooled in about 5 seconds.

For the smoker kings, I use a Fin Nor 80. It has 38lbs drag. 

If you are jigging, get the Penn Torque rod.

Otherwise the Penn Powerstick or the Ugly Stick are good all around rods and they don't cost an arm and a leg.


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