i need a back up reel for the river striper run next spring. i like the fact that the nautil is water proof, but i like penn products. the slammer has an awesome drag, from what i am told. i have zero experience with these two reels. any advice pro or con on either reel? i know the nautil can be turned into a "bail-less" reel. can this be done to the slammer? also, i will be using 65# whiplash if you know how either performs with braid.

perhaps if anyone has either reel "just laying around" that isn't getting any use, i could take it off your hands.:hee:

....thought you said them fish in the river were on steroids?

The Penn Slammer 560 is no bigger then a 5500.

yeah, that is why i was thinking 7500 nautil. but, i have heard good things about that slammer drag. i figure with a full spool of braid i might be ok. besides, it would be backing up my VS250. as i told you, it only took two weeks this year to blow out that reel's drag! i need something to throw in a pinch. i still haven't ruled out another VS..... :smash: :wall: :whackin: :fishslap:

You know VS has a new drag system right??

the past two i had installed were the new system! blew up the stock, blew up the first improved one, now i'm on the second try at the new system.

I'm guessing the slammer is the same design as the liveliner, minus the liveliner feature.
I have a liveliner 5600L, and the baitrunner feature stopped working after 3 months.
Pros: yes, the drag is beter than any other reel I've ever used (minus the internationals).
Cons: I have to take the whole reel apart every 3 months, I've lost 2 bail screws, and pray you never loan it to your best friend who puts it down in the sand (once).
Bottom line, I think the Mitchell is ultra low maint., while the Penn is super high maint.
Talk to Billy, he loves the Mitchells.
Later,
Rick:mad:

hey, speakin of, "no bigger than a 5500" r u referring to the spinfisher SS5500?? I just bought one today, and i gotta say its a really nice, smooth reel for 90$, in case anyone with a low budget is thinking of getting a new reel!;)

I bought a 560 slammer for my father which performed well so far this season. Although it is similar in size to a 5500ss, it has more line capacity. I dont trust the Nautils. A friend of mine is on his third 6500 this year. The 7500 Neptune seems to be a better performer but its big and clunky. The Penn 560 will work fine in the river.

I like the Slammer 560 myself and plan on picking one up for the spring - unless my reel acts up again this weekend and it ends up in the Big Pond. ;)

My vote goes to the 7500 Nautil if you wade alot. The line roller is far better than the Penn SS series and I have three of those (1 550ss 1 750ss and 1 7500ss). Not sure if the Slammers have a new roller. I'd say stay away from the Naut 6500 until the problems fade/resolve.

Ya won't go wrong either way:)

THE 5500SS WEIGHS ABOUT 14OZ THE 560 ABOUT 20OZ ,BIG DIFFERENCE.THE 560 HAS GREAT LINE CAPACITY.THE WHOLE LINE OF THE PENN GRAPHIT SS SERIES HAS PROBLEMS FROM ANTI-REVERSE TO BAIL CLOSING WHEN CASTING.

the slammer has a penn int'l drag, completely different from the ss series. the slammer also has an unlimited anti-reverse bearing. the ss has a dog. as far as the nautil goes, try finding parts...that day. it's not going to happen. you could always do a 9500ss. same drag. wimps need not apply as it weighs almost 2 pounds. i think you'd be able to put on about 2000 yards of 65# whiplash.

OK I guess I will throw my 2cents in. Some of the Nautils, the black ones, had some gear problems. I am on my 2nd 6500 yellow Nautil. When you get the reel, follow the reelseat stem to the body. Where it attatches to the body, the is a rubber insert that covers 2 screws. Before you use the reel, take one screw out, and put a tiny drop of Loctite on it, put it back in and tighten it. Now do the other screw. It is important to do one screw at a time, or you will screw up the internal gears. On my first one the screws loosened, and caused the gears to wear out, and grind. If you do the above you will have no problem. The drag on these reels is unbelievably smooth. They are excellent drags, I think the fact that Slipnot, and J Powers, and JettyJockey use them on jigging rods, catching large in the swift, and strong currents of the canal speaks for thew quality of the reels. The reels come with a velour bag, aluminum cartridge spool, and 2 spare graphite cartidges. By the way when my first one crapped out it was a week or so before Cuttyhunk. I contacted Purefishing, the distributor, they sent me a replacement overnight, without getting the old one first. When I recieved the new one I shipped back the old one. Now thats customer service. I will be buying a couple of more of these reels next year, you can bet on it. Also forgot these reels have a large line roller and are very braid friendly, waterproof, and sand proof.

I THINK SPECIALIST HAS IT RIGHT,BUT ALOT OF NAUTIL FAILURES ON ANOTHER SITE.AFTER YOU DRIVE THE DRIVE AND DO THE WALK DO YOU WANT THE REEL TO FAIL EVEN WITH GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.I HOPE BILL WILL KEEP US INFORMED.2 OF MY SONS HAVE PENN LIVERLINERS AND THEY MET THE SAND AND BOTH HAD PROBLEMS.WHY CAN,T PENN NEOPHRENE SEAL THE SLAMMERS WITH WATERPROFF GREASE AND NEO "o"RING REMOVABLE SIDE PLATE,OFFER SMALLER SIZES WITH GOOD LINE CAPACITY .CHECH OUT VS WEB SITE AND CLICK ON MAINTANCE-EVERY 20 HRS NEEDS ANNUAL SERVICE @$37 PLUS SHIP BACK FOR 2 WEEKS.I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF VS150-BUT HAVE HEARD OF CAST CATCHING ON BAIL ARM,LINE ALSO GOING UNDER SPOOL.E-MAIL VS WITH ???NEVER HEARD BACK

Originally posted by HESH2
CHECH OUT VS WEB SITE AND CLICK ON MAINTANCE-EVERY 20 HRS NEEDS ANNUAL SERVICE @$37 PLUS SHIP BACK FOR 2 WEEKS.I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF VS150-BUT HAVE HEARD OF CAST CATCHING ON BAIL ARM,LINE ALSO GOING UNDER SPOOL.E-MAIL VS WITH ???NEVER HEARD BACK

first off, regarding service, how often do yo clean YOUR reels? i strip aprt my penns after about every othe trip, re oil/grease/clean. this should be standard procedure on any reel used to its extreme!

as far as the line catching on the roller, i have made THOUSANDS of casts with my VS and line has never caught on the roller. before each cast, i make sure the spool is fully extended. by this i mean that the spool is on the top of its cycle so that all of the spool is open to the air.

i have also never experienced line going under the spool. somebody is doing something wrong if that occurs... :doh:

IT SEEMS AFTER ANY POST WITH A STATEMENT ABOUT VS CREATES A STRONG RESPONSE (WHITNESS 3 PAGE SOL VS PAGES AFTER BM VS).MR T. LAPINSKI I HAVE FISHED FOR OVER 50 SOME ODD YEARS AND HAVE NEVER CAUGT THE TYPE AND SIZE OF THE FISH YOU CATCH.RIGHT NOW I FISH MAINLY SCHOOLIES.BUT AS FAR AS REEL SERVICE IT SEEMS YOU WERE LECTURING ME ON REEL SERVICE.WELL I HAVE 2 GREENIES PENN 704 OVER 30 YEARS THAT ARE LIKE NEW,5500SS,PRION 2400,STRATIC 4000 AND 3 SONS WHO HAVE AN ASSORTMENT.I WASH OFF AFTER EVERY TRIP-WD-40- LUBE AND DISAMBLE WHEN NECESSARY LUBE WITH WATERPROOF LUBE.I PERSONALLY HAVE FISHED WITH 2 GREAT LOCAL FISHERMEN WHO CATCH BIG WITH THEIR VS 150S AND 1 MAKES THE ADJUSTMENT YOU MAKE BEFORE CASTING,THE OTHER HAS HAD THE PROBLEMS I DESCRIBED.I ALSO FISHED WITH ANOTHER GREAT LOCAL WHO HAD SIMILIAR PROBLEMS WITH HIS VS 100.I MYSELF AM CONSIDERING THE VS 150 BUT HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND WILL WAIT TILL SPRING BEFORE I DECIDE.WHEN I FISH WITH THE REELS I USE I REEL IN OPEN BAIL AND CAST,NO SPOOL OR HANDLE ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED.

Okay.. another $0.02 worth... Haven't used any of the new Mitchells or Penn slammers yet, but I do own Fin Nor Ahabs for my spinning reels. Silky smooth drags, (and only 30seconds to replace them), easily maintainable, and the guts to hold a big fish. Have fished them hard and long over the past five years with zero problems. Not the cheapest reel on the block, but a lot cheaper than the VS reels, and I haven't had to spend a dime to replace them. Just my $0.02 for what it is worth.

Then again, you can always come over to the conventional side of the road.. Love my Abu's..:happy:

HESH2 --

i didn't mean to come across as if i was lecturing you regarding service/cleaning. my point was only that in order to properly service a VS you must send the reel back to the service department. if you were to go the route of buying the service kit, you would probably be doing it after every 20 hours or so. i think the service kit is a newer option, so before that there was only option to keep the reel in tip-top shape. again, i appoligize for coming across the way i did.

as far as contacting VS, have you tried calling them directly? here are the phone #'s i got off of their website:

Company Headquarters
Van Staal, A Division of Reel Ventures, LLC
3-B Landing Lane, Hopedale, MA 01747
FAX: (508)478-3795

Sales and Customer Service
Phone: (800)718-7335

give them a call. i have been very pleased with all of the people that i have spoken with.

-Toby