New Penn Spinfisher V
 

Just an fyi for you guys, Penn has a new reel the Spinfisher V coming out in the fall. It's a sealed reel and price should be under $200. I had one of the proto's last fall during the big sandeel bite we had here in Jersey and I have to say the reel held up to a lot of abuse including storing it in a five gallon bucket of saltwater when it wasn't being fished. Nice reel for someone looking for an affordable sealed reel.
I don't work for or am I a spokesman for Penn just had a chance to try the reel out and wanted to pass this along.

do you store it in salt water t keep it from corroding ?...kinda of like a swamped outboard? If it is sealed than what would the purpose be? just curious I really like the new sealed model even the baitrunners are watertight. I've been dying to hear some. feedback

Interesting. Spinfisher V - Coming October 2012 | pennreels.com

We put it in the bucket to see if it would leak and affect the performance, It didn't!

Is the reel still performing well?

big question for me is if the gears are grey metal crummy gears like in the slammers or bronze alloy like in the Torque. Can't tell from the picture. Probably in between.

Reel looks nice, would be nice to own a penn again.

thats a great price range too.

what size did you get to test Lou?

Manual bail? bailess conversion doable?

Yes it is, and they have made some improvements over the one we used.
Stainless steel mainshaft and alloy main gear, had no problems with the gearing at all

Chris, We had all the sizes but used the 4500? the most, it took a lot of abuse from about 5 of the guys at the shop and held up well.
They said there would be a manual p/u at a later date for a few models. price is supposed to be $139 to $199. which should make this reel a BIG hit!

If its as good as it sounds ill be on board

sounds like a winner, especially if they can keep it under 200, and have a bailless option

been wanting to get a torque 5 bailless to put threw a season of wetsuiting too.

Just watched a video of it on YouTube looks awesome.

Sorry Chris, it was a 5500, here it is prior to the torture test!

That would be the sized I'd buy. Looks really nice.
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looking forward to this. need some smaller reels for my 7 and 8fters, and cant afford to buy any more vs's. not saying its a replacement for the vs, but considering these wont see the torture my vs's see they should be a good fit

exactly what im looking for too, cant justify the money for another zee for a rod thats going to see minimal use in the surf. but nice to have solid gear that can be used in different applications.

When I first got my hands on this reel I was skeptical, but I have to say this thing is one hell of a reel for the $$, and when I say we tortured it, we did. I dropped it in the sand on several occasions and did not rinse it off, just went back to fishing and dunking and whatever I could throw at it. And one more thing, there was a problem with the cap that covers the handle through hole and we lost the cap, didn't stop using the reel and even dropped it in the sand and it went in the water with no problems!! It's a great second reel if you are using a VS or ZB but don't be afraid to fish it the same. Penn did a great job with this reel and there were plenty out in testers hands since last year so I think the few minor bugs were addressed. If I was in the market for a reel I would buy one in a heartbeat.......but using VS's since the 200 came out it's hard for me to use anything else.

Now if they would just do Spinfisher Pro (704/06)

it looks like a good design. much better looking than the high end one they came up with. will be curious to see how they hold up. want to believe it'll be good, but very skeptical with penn.

It looks great. I just bought a Penn Battle and really like it but I'd put the Battle on the boat and buy a SpinV for the surf.

That might make me give up my 704s

I will never give up my 704s. I have 6 greenies 3 black and gold and 2 all black.

I have 3 blacks 704s and a 710, but I use mine:uhuh:

I have a 704 with aluminum side plate, a black 04z, and 710 greenie, all still going strong. In fact I preferred using my greenie at cutty over my vm150
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Maybe the "holy grail"?
 

Just what I am looking for, was in a battle to release a bass with my Penn conquer, put sand all over it, and took me a while to get it working smooth again...take it apart, clean all bearings and gears etc...only the third year in the surf, and realiize by reading others that this reel is not designed for surf fishing. Avoid dipping it,and it was fine, but this new reel sounds like what I am looking for. Thanks for the honest test results...

The market is hurting for a sealed surf reel that is affordable... Many guys need a sealed reel, but 800$ + tax is just not in the budget for many many people...

A sealed affordable reel will sell like mad... Which is what i thought the torque was gonna be... if they priced the torque at 300 it would put a dent in VS sales

It will be interesting to see how they warranty the reel. If they cover water intrusion the price of the reel will rise fast.

this is directly from Penn. Price is very good, main shaft not sealed. Main gear same alloy as slammers.



Gears – main gear is Al/Zn alloy, the pinion is brass. Same materials used in the SSm, Slammer, and Conquer. We believe the current gear material to be more than adequate in terms of strength and durability at these price points, and when compared to the competition. The reality is that to offer a machined brass or stainless main gear would drive the cost through the roof, increasing the retails by roughly $75-$100. Increasing the retail on one of our best selling spinning reels by this margin does not make sense….we need to keep the retail on this reel within reach of our core PENN customers. That being said we have heard the feedback loud and clear on the desire for an upgraded main gear, and we are researching this option for future projects. Just so there is no misunderstanding…the retail on a spinning reel with a machined main gear will be somewhere in the $250-$300 neighborhood.

Gear ratio – 6.2:1 is a high speed retrieve, when combined with a smaller spool like we have on the 3500 size (13.4oz)…30” is close to the industry standard. Check any other reel in this size range and you’ll see what I mean. You may see 31-33” from the competition, but keep in mind they measure IPT (inches per turn) from the outside diameter of the spool, we measure it by the definition of a full spool of line (our 3rd line capacity ring), which is noticeably less than the full diameter of the spool...so to be fair we are not comparing apples to apples. Our definition is much more realistic, nobody can fish a spool that is 100% full (90% is much more realistic), and we refuse to embellish our specifications (IPT, Max Drag, Weight, etc).

Seals – this is a watertight system, not a fully sealed system like the Torque, there is a difference. The Spinfisher V has 6 seals, the Torque has 7. The Spinfisher V has a seal on the handle cap (bearing cover), the Torque does not. The Torque has a seal on the main shaft and under the rotor, the Spinfisher V does not. The Spinfisher V can be dunked, splashed, or submerged without accepting water into the gear box and drag system. If the handle is turned or the drag is engaged (with line going out) underwater then there is the possibility for water to enter the gearbox and drag system…but it will be minimal. If you plan on fishing underwater please check out the Torque spinning reel.

Country of Origin – this reel is made overseas, if it was built in the US it would cost well over $300 retail. We are committed to building product in the US as we have shown through new product introductions over the past couple years, but to remain competitive in this industry overseas manufacturing is a necessity at certain price points. We are commited to building a quality proudct overseas by choosing the correct partners and investing heavily in quality control.

Pricing:

SSV3500/4500 - $139.95
SSV4500LL/5500/6500 - $159.95
SSV6500LL/7500/8500 - $179.95
SSV8500LL/9500/10500 - $199.95

Slammer and Spinfisher (SSm/SSg) are being discontinued….there will be deals out there over the next couple months so if you really like the current models you need to get them while you can. Conquer is staying in the lineup, no change to the pricing.

The Conquer will continue to retail at a higher price point….if you take a close look at the internals you’ll see why. The EAS (Easy Access System) makes the design complex ($$), as does the slow oscillation system. The drag design is also more complex ($$). Take a look inside both reels, or have your local tackle shop do it, and they will explain to you why the Conquer costs more to build than the Spinfisher V. One of the keys to the Spinfisher V’s design was to keep it simple so the everyday angler could maintain/repair there reels as needed.

Bailess (manual) 6500 and longcast 7500 models – will be available in Sept 2013. Kits for the bailess will not be available but if you are determined to modify your reel you will be able to buy parts through the PENN parts department.

This reel has a crosswind block, as do all other currently manufactured PENN spinning reels.

Anti-reverse bearing is stainless steel, ball bearings are stainless as well as shielded.

Line roller is substantially larger than SSg/SSm and Slammer models.....50% larger on average.

Bailess (manual) 6500 and longcast 7500 models – will be available in Sept 2013. Kits for the bailess will not be available but if you are determined to modify your reel you will be able to buy parts through the PENN parts department.

tony

Thanks for that info W-D.
Clarifies a Few things I was wondering about.
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IMO, fast retrieves and soft metal cast gears are a bad mix.

Only $75 to $100 more for a machined brass gear? That's all? Many anglers would gladly pay that price for durability. I guess their "core Penn customers" are entry level fishermen, at least in their eyes. :doh:

I'd rather buy four used 704s off eBay than invest in this thing. Retrieve is too fast for me for plugging and eeling. The only appealing aspect is the new larger drag system under the spool. But even still, the 704 drag is more than sufficient. Seal the freaking 704 and add infinite anti reverse and you will sell out in every store you stock them in. Is it really that difficult? The 704 and 704z have a huge cult following. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
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