I need a Saltwater Reds/Speck Spinning Reel/Rod Combo

[flatheadsteve]

You guys are a bad influence I just ordered a Penn Pursuit 4 size 6000 with a Walmart gift card I got for Christmas. I was going through gear In the basement getting old line off a couple rods and noticed the old Mitchell on one of our spinning rods had a bent up wire bail. Tried to fix it but it snapped where it attaches to reel.

 

[Drock]

You guys are a bad influence I just ordered a Penn Pursuit 4 size 6000 with a Walmart gift card I got for Christmas. I was going through gear In the basement getting old line off a couple rods and noticed the old Mitchell on one of our spinning rods had a bent up wire bail. Tried to fix it but it snapped where it attaches to reel.

You might check with “2nd chance tackle” on youtube. I watch him often and he seems to have quite a stash of parts reels and has old Mitchell service and repair videos. He is in New England and says to email him with questions.

 

[thill]

You guys are a bad influence I just ordered a Penn Pursuit 4 size 6000 with a Walmart gift card I got for Christmas. I was going through gear In the basement getting old line off a couple rods and noticed the old Mitchell on one of our spinning rods had a bent up wire bail. Tried to fix it but it snapped where it attaches to reel.

A 6000 size reel is huge for trout and puppy drum, unless surfcasting with a big 9 or 10' rod.

What kind of trout fishing are you doing?

 

[thill]

Yeah and it’s about $80, so I’m getting one. I actually bought one yesterday from Academy but realized after I got home it’s a 4000 size reel. A bit overkill for what I’m doing. Going to return it and get a 3000.

It's funny... I used to use 4000's, then 3000's, and 2500's are my most common reels, but now I'm using 2000's mostly. Catching fish from 12" trout to 50" stripers, and lots of in between. The gain in lightness and sensitivity is very noticeable, especially for light-biting fish in deep, moving currents.

Braid is the big factor. A little 2000 size reel can hold a TON of 12# braid. The big fish in the last pic tested the line capacity, but you see who won that argument.

It's funny, because I'll take guys fishing, and they think my tackle is too small. After not catching many, I eventually convince them to try one of mine, and some of them have tried to buy the rod off me right on the spot.

A 2000 or 2500 sized reel, loaded with 10-15# braid, matched to a 6'6" - 7'4" medium action rod can catch a LOT of fish. The only time I upside is in the surf, or when fishing deep water around very heavy structure and current where you really need to winch the fish out of the rocks or pilings.

This is just my experience, but it's based on thousands and thousands of trout, reds and striper, besides bluefish, mackerel, and other species.

 

[flatheadsteve]

A 6000 size reel is huge for trout and puppy drum, unless surfcasting with a big 9 or 10' rod.

What kind of trout fishing are you doing?

I'm not chasing trout with it mostly big blue and flathead catfish. Takes a bit of winching to pull a 40lb+ flathead out of his log jam. Chasing big blue cats on the Tidal potomac it's not uncommon to use 8-12oz sinkers in deep holes with a half pound slab of shad to catch the big 60lb plus ones. I usually use 5000 size reels and 80lb braid but they didn't have any 5000s in stock and the 6000 was on sale for $52.

 

[thill]

Aaahhh, that makes a lot more sense. There are some big cats in the Potomac. The James river has monsters in it, too. You need a stout rod for 80# braid and those big fish.

Catfish give some serious pull!

 

[thill]

Here is a pic of the reel I just got in the mail. Smooth as whipped butter, with an outstanding drag system. And a rock-solid feel that is hard to explain.

I have another coming on Wednesday. I'm going to retire some of my older reels now. For $21, why not?



This is an excellent reel for fresh or saltwater use. Mine has caught a lot of fish in fresh and saltwater and is still butter-smooth. The best deal I can remember for a quality reel.

This is an excellent choice for a speck/red combo.

 

[CRB357]

You guys are going to laugh at me, but I am extremely impressed with this reel after two seasons:

View attachment 118391

It's a KastKing Centron bought off Amazon. I fish the salt, and this reel has been absolutely flawless! I use it over my Stradics and Presidents. This thing is butter!

A buddy has been telling me about these reels for years, but I didn't think they would hold up. Then I used one of his on a trip, and was impressed, and it was years old. I bough it, thinking at worst, it would be a beater reel I lent to guests, but my buddy was right - It's one of the finest reels I own. I could post pics of stripers, specs and reds caught with it, but this little reel is amazing.

In fact, I just ordered two more, just in case they run out.

Possibly a dumb question, but like I said, I'm new to the tackle side of this, but can the handle be reversed on it? Seems like you can reverse the handles on all spinning reels?

 

[thill]

Yes, the handle can be reversed.

Caught these earlier (1/1/2024) on my little tackle, including THE BEAST (over 50 lbs):

 

[CRB357]

Big ol’ stripers!!!! Nice fishing man.

 

[thill]

I'm still tired from getting up at 3 AM, towing 2+ hours, launching and running the boat over 50 miles, fishing hard all day, and then towing 2+ hours back home.

It was a very long day, but what a great way to start the year!

The only downside is that my nephew didn't get his big fish. He had one on, but didn't stick the hook and it dropped off. I bet he will set the hook next time!

 

[LDUBS]

Here is a pic of the reel I just got in the mail. Smooth as whipped butter, with an outstanding drag system. And a rock-solid feel that is hard to explain.

I have another coming on Wednesday. I'm going to retire some of my older reels now. For $21, why not?

View attachment 118487

This is an excellent reel for fresh or saltwater use. Mine has caught a lot of fish in fresh and saltwater and is still butter-smooth. The best deal I can remember for a quality reel.

This is an excellent choice for a speck/red combo.

That is almost too good to be true, but then I look at your pic's and think there is the proof.

How are these reels holding up? At $20 & change, even if you get only one season, it ain't too bad.

 

[thill]

I've had one for a year or so, used in fresh and salt water, and it's holding up better than my Penns and Pfluegers. The second one is new and caught some of the fish pictured above, and I have two more coming this week. Personally, I'm sold!

 

[CRB357]

My Pursuit IV 3000 combo is on the way. I returned the 4000 to Academy, but they didn’t have any 3000 left in the country, allegedly. I think that model is being phased out. So I ordered one from Bass Pro. Hope it gets here before Sunday. We are going to the famous Hackberry area south of Lake Charles. It’s funny, I’ve lived near some of the best world class red fishing places most of my life and never paid any attention to it. From Hackberry west of me, to Venice to the east, and everything in between. 2hr max drive. I’m enjoying my new hobby.

 

[LDUBS]

I've had one for a year or so, used in fresh and salt water, and it's holding up better than my Penns and Pfluegers. The second one is new and caught some of the fish pictured above, and I have two more coming this week. Personally, I'm sold!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience with the KastKing Centron. Nice to know there is great reel at an incredible price.

 

[thill]

My 3000 size is supposed to come today. Curious of the size difference between it and the 2000 size.

2500 is about the perfect size for much of my Fishing

 

[thill]

Just got the 3000 size, and it's just as nice as the others, just a little bigger and even more solid feeling.

One thing I like about these reels is that they have a 5.2:1 gear ratio. Many new reels are 6:1 or higher. We are often slinging a 7-10" soft plastic on a 1-1/2 ounce jig and catching numerous big fish in a day. Those higher ratio reels always burn up quickly. I personally like a 4:1 reel, if I can find them, but those are rare nowadays.

 

[thill]

Oh, as a more exact answer to your question as to how they are holding up...

I can't tell which one is the new one and which one is the older one, either visually or by feel.

But that smaller reel has only caught fish in the 5-8 lb class, not the big 20-30 lb fish, so it will be interesting to see how they hold up to the monsters. But I'm not worried, as my buddy who has been using his for years on big fish still thinks his are the best reels he's ever used.

 

[CRB357]

After a few trips, I'm happy with the Penn Pursuit. 20lb braid and it is a long distance casting machine. However, 3000 size is a little too big for the inshore marsh stuff we do. Out of the 3 rod/reels I bring, I use it the least. However it will have a place for when we go after the bigger Bull Reds. It will be too big for the bass stuff we are about to start doing to. I agree with Thill, the 2500 is probably perfect size for what I'm doing.