Wrecked 706 Z's
 

The recent threads on high dollar reels had lots of mention to the fact that some had gone thru an wrecked the 706 Z series reels.
Every time I read this I scratch my head in wonder.I have been usin em for 12 yrs now an I have never had one rendered usless while fishing..I don't regularly get in the water where i primarily fish.But when I travel i well get it dunked..I simply clean the drags every now an then..I use em jiggin in the current.During some epic battles I have had noises comin out of it u could not imagine.She held up fine. I have totall confidence in it..
Of course with the advent of braided line I have popped some teeth off of the main gear.It did not ruin my night an since I lightened up on the drag a few yrs ago, I really don't have this problem.I am certainly no slave to maintenance..My main weapon last yr had my reel taped on. I never took it off.Over 100 outings with this setup per yr.I pounded it like I always do.. I maybe cleaned it once.And it is still hangin in my truck..Waiting for the next call to duty.
I can understand the why folks might want something that feels more solid. I happen to prefer the loose feel of the penn to the tight sometimes hard to reel VS's.I did take the VS route for a short spell an I was not overly impressed to the extreme's where I could justify the expense.I also fish a Saltiga for the canal, But thats a different animal..I lightly lube the drag washers an they preform fine in all conditions including when wet..In fact i consider the HT-100 drag one of the best in the biz...
It's reel that is so basic in design that with a small collection of parts if u did have a problem u could fix it an be back in the water in small time.Hey i don't wanna turn this into a Penn Vs any other reel thread.We seem to have enough of that already.
I just gots to know...
All of u Penn Destroyers How did U manage to wreck a reel that a 250 lb clutz has had no trouble with over the yrs...

I know exactly what you mean NIB. I can only guess that perhaps these guys where power cranking in tons of surf weed wrapped around their line or constantly casting plugs.
Do you toss plugs or do you use eel or chunk? Maybe your type of fishing doesn't involve the same abuse on your gear.

You should've driven to the plugfest you lazy baztard, then you wouldn't be trolling around here popping people's bubbles. Saw a NIB plug......bottle darter.......measured it real carefully, too. Very nice.

Yeah! What Numby said!
If you have any ruined 706s or 706zs send them to me, I'll give them a decent burial.

Um, actually i was comin i made my mind up when i saw that DZ was comin.But yesterday afternoon something came up an I could not make it..
That Bottle darter is nothing special I just cut it out of a old Gibbs..

I am looking for a (or 2) Eat Me Pencil popper

Hows my chances of getting one?

BB Jake - was it you who jimmied my lock and took all my 706 parts and bodies????

You sly guy you.

Yea ,,, What Numby said ... The big hype of the whole event was Nib might make an apperance.. You don't show and dissapoint alot of people especially the youngens.. This ain't about Penn its about you !!!! Buzz Kill .....

&... U missed something else.. me presenting BM, with the treepopper.. once again.. no re-enactment tho,, Slip had it in a plastic case.. and BM.. just laughed.. and kept it...
he told me he might actually fish it now!


U shouldabeen there.

Like i said i was comin.Even though i didn't make any plugs. Like Slip says i don't make um, I just Talk about em..Looking at them pictures makes NIB sad thinkin of all the plugs I could have had.
Unfourtunatley there are things that are more important than plugfest.
Believe it or not..

Sorry you couldn't make it my friend, you were missed though like they said. :(
see ya soon anyway I'm sure.
Myself and Professor Moriarty are a little spoiled with our 5 minute drives to plugfests, I can understand your priorities NIB.
Not sure if you would have made off with much pluggage though since your competition from the cape did pretty well :rollem:

I was gonna call ya, I knew u had a busy schedule..
I was only kidding about the plugs..
Actually i don't like to HO,,
I prefer to trade.Or at least the promise of a trade:D
I'd feel funny any other way.
There is a NIB plug on the shirt..:D
Really looked like a great time...
There is always nexr yr..

So is there no one who has wreckedem...??

what

Nah.Sold mine.Can't stand a 706z.Now a bailess 704 is something else!

i had one freeze up when salt built up on the shaft- after breaking it down and a regreasing it was good as new-

wreckedem, NIB getting a little personal arn't we

I used my 706z once and hated it sold it the next day, like Basswipe said is true for me to

thank gawd for todays reels, if i had to fish one of those green pos i would kill my self

Mine are all black,Sold off my greens long ago they are all hype.
I love my sloppy penn reels. I just don't get it why more don't use em..

same reason people dont drive ford pintos :laughs:

cuz the reels now are smooth and aint clunky. ya they hold up and i fixed a few on nauset in my camper i remeber. i used the 650's an carry'd a pile of them cuz i destroyed them wich i thought was smooth over the clunkers then in the 90's we used the hot cape set up a ahab reel and a 1204 and this new chit called fireline.
nib basicly the reels made today are better but dont holdup for the japan reels and the vs are smooth and cast good and no wind knots.
i actually have a sustain but it wore out after about 5000 fish and its frozen.
evolution of reels with me thats all. gimmie a vs an im happy
but to this day there is always a spare reel in my sandsled

I don't know NIB I have a 706 (greenie) and a vs200 and at first I almost past on the vs becuase I liked the "rughed old school feel" of my penn.well it did not take long for that vs to change my thinking I must have been crazy.much much smoother and balanced.no wabble ,no noise,I could never look back.now to answer your question I never had any failers the real is a true work horse.It seized up once and not on the beach so it was just a quick cleaning and regrease and it was fine.I fished mine for 5 or 6 years w/ only the occasional cleaning and it always worked.If I wasn't welling or able to buy a higher end real the 706 would be my first choice.

I prefer the loose feel of The Z to the tight smoothnes of a VS.
To me I can really feel whts going on on the end of my line better with the reel thats not as tight.
It's not like have not tried other reels I had a 250 an I do have a Saltiga..
If I where to purchase another VS it would be the 300.
Just for the pure crankin power..
But when I think about the dollars to dollars comparison I always come to my senses..

NIB..
the spot you and paul and I fished when you came up (not the bowling spot)
does not like 706's the way I fish it.. but I did fish one for a 2 week stretch this fall, packed in grease w/ no major problems.
to each his own. My back-up remains a greenie

I feel just the opposite. When I use a sloppy reel I feel like I feel less. Probably since all I can concentrate on it the clicks and clacks...

I hear you on the dollars to dollars for the money it is the best buy,like I said true work horses.As for the "feel" to each their own I guess like I said I used to see it the other way as well.

I thought my penn was a cadilac until i bought a fin nor ahab...then the penn was loose as a goose

then I bought a van staal and they all seem loose and sloppy

I hear ya shadow, its personal feel, NIB loves the loosenes of the penns where you and I like the tighness of the vs. to each its own as long a we can all land the fish we want with what we are fishing with

I can see if i was doing that every night where it might be a problem.
I can see it being a problem with no matter what u use.Its really nothing that a quick rinse could not fix..I don't fish mine packed with grease.I do grease em.Over doing it makes em tight when they get cold..
I have never had one bind because of sand..The sand usually cranks right out..

True;
I use 'packed' loosely.. it wasn't stuffed to the seams but more than a coating..

Rinse your gear... like I remember to do that :D

This is right on...To each their own..
I don't want this to be a penn vs any of the high dollar reels thing..
I wanna hear from guy's who wreck'dem..
Since no one can actually own up.
I gonna start callin out the liars in the future..

I'm the same way I'm lucky i can climb outta my truck when I'm done.Sometimes I do em on sunday..

I'm still using the 7500 Nautil .. I consider them throw aways ,, never come apart ,, occaisionally rinse.. under water and rock falls alot . I have a couple of penn 704's but prefer the long cast spool on the Nautil and it likes braid .. I think its 3 yrs. now using that no complaints . I know there's some clunkers out there . Poor mans VS good to me . Its kinda like "Reel Wars" now with all the high end stuff battling .. I'd like to get something nicer but waiting for this dust to settle . Pretty much always fished conventional until recent years .

the z's are just about bullet proof and if any thing goes wrong it is always a easy quick fix. That you got to love.and for that resaon penn does not want to produce them.

I realy like the 704 packed, whether bailess or not. The reasons mentioned above are all good reasons why its one of the best bang for the buck reels. If your going to put alot of time into one reel and have it be dunked then your gonna spend alot of your time breaking it down, IMO this is where the VS stands above the rest no matter what you or mother nature throw at it, it remains the same. With alot of talk about smoothness of the two reels....if anywhere it should be looked for in the drag. Many guys own both, some a few of each and when the fish are in its almost always the VS or other high end reels their fishing with ,,not the Z's.

The same arrugment goes for rods, some break two or three rods a year, I fish alot too and never broke not even one unless through my thoughtlessness. So depending on who's telling the story I try and take that kind of stuff lightly.

I have to agree with that.

I rarely have a rod break, and several of my most used boat rods are the supposedly break prone IMX Loomis series. None of my surf rods have ever let go either. **knocks on wood...**

As for Z's, I know a friend of mine stripped the gears on several 704's. These were fairly recent models and he's prone to breaking things, so it's not necessarily a valid incident of breakage...

Most of the issues I see with Z's that come into the shop are due to extreme neglect. Quick rebuilds and they're up and running again.

I use a 706z and the only time it failed was when the rotor nut came loose. I have fallen with it and it still keeps on going. Hard to fault these reels. I have thought about buying a VS but I can't bring myself to stop using the 706z.

1st off I would not buy a new VS, the older ones are the reels to have, that external counter weight sucks and that is and has been a problem for me. I own 3

2nd the z series, I don't like that the rotor cup spins freely I have lost a few plugs do to this and will not use one to throw plugs, I have also had problems with the reel locking up when trying to reel a good fish in. I own 3

3rd I like the ss series for dunking bait, worms or live lining I have never one had a problem with one of these. I own 3

I break down all my penn reels in the winter, and before fall and load them with grease. the VS's go get sent in and I have the serviced

None of mine have any paint left on the base of the spool :jester:

love all three of my Z's :cheers:

I bought a 706z yesterday, still dont know if i will fish it or not. Not because im saving it, simply because i dont have a rod to match it up with. It was the only one left at the store i went too and figured i should pick it up.