Old school fishing reels (penn z series)

[James Whalen]

I just want to put this out there. Does anyone use any older series Penn,Diawa,Shimano spinning reels? I have a Penn 712z reel that only has to be cleaned and relubed. When I used this reel it was paied with a daiwa fiberglass 6.6 2 piece spinning,fiberglass rod that was discontinued about 25 years ago. I had great success with this outfit. I threw spinnerbaits,buzzbaits,big crankbaits,big rebel and rapala jerkbaits. also     caught many bass on it too. One day I was fishing about 10 years ago and a fellow fisherman pointed out that I was using obsolete fishing gear. I thought about it then I got more"modern reels" None of them where built as well as this reel. I plan on using this with a 2 piece ugly stik gxe2 since I only fish from shore and do not use baitcasting gear. Also I have 2 friends who use shimano ultralight spinning reels that where built in the 80's and still going strong. It seems "old school gear seems built to last.

[Mobasser]

James, I wouldn't give a hoot what others say about your tackle. If it's working good for you, then it's all good.Newer reels are very nice, but many older ones are tough and we'll made too. Keep on catching em!

[CrankFate]

It is far beyond obsolete. It’s scrap metal. Do yourself a favor. Get new gear. Your body will thank you and you’ll catch more fish. Nobody should be using a rod/reel combo that literally weighs four pounds. Get yourself something that weighs less than the reel alone. You will definitely catch more fish and you will definitely feel physically better doing so. Even with cheap gear, youll easily get a better setup that weighs half as much as the reel alone for the same price as a 712z. 

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

If you try some modern gear you will put that stuff up on the wall or in a case for display.

 

[NHBull]

I have my dads Mitchell and it stays in my office.

Someday I hope my son does the same for for one of my Met MGL and

i hope my grandson is still throwing my Calcutta Conquest cause I think the that’s the only one that might stand the test of time

[DaveT63]

It all depends on what you are fishing for.  I know lots of people using older Penn's, Shimanos, and Daiwas here fishing for stripers and other fish here in the Chesapeake.

[Drew03cmc]

Those Penn Z are some of the best spinning reels ever made. Keep fishing them if they work for you. Hell, I just discovered the TD-S/X line of casting reels from 15 years ago...so I get it.

[WRB]

There is old school high end rods and reels over 30 years old that are still being sold and lower to mid range that were not worth the money paid back then. 

Daiwa TD SS1300 & 1600 for example is still being sold today, the same reel 35 years ago.

Penn Z fresh water spinning reels were heavy lower end reels that went away for good reasons and have retained little value. I would retire it.

Tom

[new2BC4bass]

I have a Penn 430SS on a 6' ML Lightning that are both over 40 years old.  It may be heavy for its size today (I wouldn't know.), but at its size it is still plenty light for me to fish all day if I wanted.  This combo has caught more fish than any of my newer purchased combos since I got back into fishing a few years ago even though I've pretty much gone to baitcasters and haven't fished it to speak of since returning to fishing.

[James Whalen]

Thanks everyone for the input,I just joined this site and have found it to be very informative. It seems that if you want to buy a good spinning reel you have to spend at least a good chunk of change to get a new model that will last. The Penn model I mentioned will be put on an ugly stik to fish for catfish and carp in the Delaware river. I have had bad luck with other brands. I am going to lean towards Shimano or Diawa

[new2BC4bass]

I try not to be a brand snob.  I am partial to Daiwa, but my Penn has treated me good.  What do you consider a 'good chunk of change'?  The Pflueger President gets excellent reviews.  Used to be a gentleman here from Florida that used spinning reels only.  Fished about 365 days a year.  He fished Pflueger and Shimano.  Said every Shimano had been sent in for something, but not one of his Pfluegers.  Not knocking Shimano as I have several of their casting reels and one spinning reel.  No problems with any of them so far.

 

The Daiwa BG can be found for less than $100 occasionally.  I have the 1500 and it feels like a little tank.  Bought a Daiwa RG for a brother-in-law's birthday a couple years ago.  He fishes spinning only.  Haven't heard anything bad about it yet.

 

 

[James Whalen]

3 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

I try not to be a brand snob.  I am partial to Daiwa, but my Penn has treated me good.  What do you consider a 'good chunk of change'?  The Pflueger President gets excellent reviews.  Used to be a gentleman here from Florida that used spinning reels only.  Fished about 365 days a year.  He fished Pflueger and Shimano.  Said every Shimano had been sent in for something, but not one of his Pfluegers.  Not knocking Shimano as I have several of their casting reels and one spinning reel.  No problems with any of them so far.

 

The Daiwa BG can be found for less than $100 occasionally.  I have the 1500 and it feels like a little tank.  Bought a Daiwa RG for a brother-in-law's birthday a couple years ago.  He fishes spinning only.  Haven't heard anything bad about it yet.

 

 

Thank you for the input. I have had bad luck ever since I decided to move on from Penn since their spinning reels where starting to be made in china.First I tried Ardent made in USA spinning reels(one model was good,the other 2 models had issues),then I acquired 2 shimano symetres. Both are being put on ebay as parts reels did not last.They where also discontinued too. I am looking at the Pflueger supreme,diawa fuego,or shimano Nasci

[islandbass]

$100 can buy you a lot of spinning reel performance. All you need next is to find the right spinning rod for the typing of fishing you plan to use it for. 

 

Ive been eyeing that ugly stik to be my saltwater squid rod. ?

[Glaucus]

15 minutes ago, islandbass said:

$100 can buy you a lot of spinning reel performance. All you need next is to find the right spinning rod for the typing of fishing you plan to use it for. 

 

Ive been eyeing that ugly stik to be my saltwater squid rod. ?

I'm very ignorant of salt water fishing. I've never even seen the ocean in person. Is squid fishing with a rod and reel actually a thing?

[islandbass]

Yes!  I can only speak for the Pacific Northwest puget sound area. We have inland water that is salt water. Orcas and sea lions reside here. The squid come into the sound. People shine high beam lights into the water in piers and they come like moths to a flame. There are special “squid” jigs they use and the have needle like spikes and no hooks. 

This is a winter activity. 

Let me tell you. When you catch them this fresh, they aren’t fishy at all. You can make calamari or kick it up another notch and make this Asian dish called salt and pepper chile (substitute your meat of choice but it’s usually pork chops) squid. 

The use of squid is just my take on this. 

 

Go ahead. Make your calamari and then sauté onions, garlic, Serrano (or your choice of chile- jalapeño for the weak or scotch bonnet or Thai  Chile for the pain enthusiast). Throw in your calamari, mix everything up well, coating the calamari in the sautéed items and salt and pepper to taste. This is the bomb. I kid you not. Works great with rice, but applications with a taquito sized tortilla would be an excellent alternative and blend of Asian/Mexican. 

I called it here. You can thank me later, lol. 

[wasabi_VA]

I have numerous 25+ year old fishing reels in service. They are not as smooth as my newer purchases for darn sure. It works this way for me:

 

Fish with my new, smooth reels: I keep telling myself how nice they are and really enjoy using them

 

Fish with my older reels I lovingly have maintained: I take great satisfaction using them and enjoy the experience almost as much as the new stuff

 

At the end of the day nobody gives a rat's ass about me and I equally don't care about others opinions of using my old gear