penn 6500 SS bail

[GoFish]

Don't know why, but if you flip the bail toward the butt of the rod the bail almost never releases prematurely. Lost a small fortune in plugs before I figured it out. (Actually, I think someone else on this site clued me in.) Takes a bit of getting used to, but now it's second nature.

[1dozenraw]

Are we talking about the 650SS metal body reel? Or the later graphite body version? I have the early edition and love it. No problems. I think they are great reels. I have never tried the graphite 6500ss.

[maddog2020]

650ss/6500ss have always been metal (aluminum) bodies.

The smaller 4200ss thru the 5500 ss are graphite bodies. New style ssg are graphite and the ssm are metal bodies.

I had the bail flipping issue on one of my older 650ss - it is due to my wristy casting technique that I no longer use. I started to pay close attention to the location of the handle as well - having it pointed toward the butt of the rod was key.

That $31 conversion kit (plus shipping - fixed minimum fee) is STEEP = almost $40 at that point.

[fishsmith]

I had the same issue with the 704z, I just started holding the bail with my pinky when I cast.