penn 950ssm - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

niko · 06-14-2010, 08:45 PM

anyone have any idea how much drag pressure this reel is capable of?

BassDawg · 06-14-2010, 09:16 PM

i have no spec's~~~~

but i've had the reel for two full seasons,
and it is on my eeeeeeling/chunking stick,
and it is an excellent reel that has hammered multiple 30#'s,
and lost fish of much largerness due to my googanity ~~~not by any fault of it's own.

i also went swimming with it last year, unintentionally, and it has survived like a champ. the first year i did NOTHING to it, save for rinsing it every other time or so and it was good to go. last year after the dunking i rinsed it, dried it, and re-packed it from A to Z and it is like new~~~~ i have it loaded with 25#Back Country Ande, now, and the first year was with 35# Yozuri Hybrid. both worked well and spooled nicely. my only draw back is not finding a bailless conversion kit, yet. i friggin' despise the whole bail scenario.

hope this helps,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i say GO FOR IT, you will be pleased!!

niko · 06-15-2010, 04:50 AM

not using it for bass. crazy overkill for bass imo

freebie · 06-15-2010, 05:03 AM

I remember hearing something around 30 lbs paul. think it's gonna be enough for these fish this year?

O.D. Mike · 06-15-2010, 06:29 AM

my only draw back is not finding a bailless conversion kit yet. i friggin' despise the whole bail scenario.[/QUOTE]

Cut the bail off

nightfighter · 06-15-2010, 06:31 AM

With the HT100 drag, I think you are going to see 18-22#. That is the working range once you get the fish into a spiral under the boat. Seems I do better when I palm it at that point and am not trying to pumped the rod to lift the fish. Just grab a turn as the fish circles out from under the boat, and I hold on, and rest on the other half of the spiral....

Roger · 06-15-2010, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.D. Mike

my only draw back is not finding a bailless conversion kit yet. i friggin' despise the whole bail scenario.

Cut the bail off

The problem with cutting the bail off is the possibility of a quick bite by a tuna leaving no time to put the line on the roller.

I just cut off the protrusion on the reel foot that closes the bail, and manually close the bail at the end of the cast.

niko · 06-15-2010, 03:13 PM

[QUOTE=nightfighter;773946]With the HT100 drag, I think you are going to see 18-22#.

18-22# okay for little guys, gonna be tough on the bigguns. how much drag on a big vs? anyone want to buy me a stella as an early xmass gift

numbskull · 06-15-2010, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko

18-22# okay for little guys, gonna be tough on the bigguns. how much drag on a big vs? anyone want to buy me a stella as an early xmass gift

It seems possible that the largest stella will be outclassed by these fish in the next 1-2 years.

freebie · 06-15-2010, 05:45 PM

the new saltist spinner looks to put out some serious drag. not sure how they hold up though. still a little new.

niko · 06-15-2010, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numbskull

It seems possible that the largest stella will be outclassed by these fish in the next 1-2 years.

i'm hoping there is an uptick in some younger year classes. truthfully i really only want to target smaller fish with a spinning setup, 60-80# fish, they're fun.

tattoobob · 06-15-2010, 07:15 PM

Have you thought about using a VS 300? I have one for sale

niko · 06-15-2010, 08:25 PM

i've been thinking of a vs. want to hear a few more good things from people who have taken fish on them. how many # of drag can that badboy produce

roy50 · 06-15-2010, 08:29 PM

VS 200 and 250 put out (according to Van Staal) 40 lbs of drag

Typhoon · 06-16-2010, 08:11 AM

We hooked up with a 60-70" class fish last year on a 950ss. Did the job but it took 1 hours.

We really were pushing it. I wouldn't want to fight a bigger fish on it.

angler229 · 06-16-2010, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko

i've been thinking of a vs. want to hear a few more good things from people who have taken fish on them. how many # of drag can that badboy produce

Take me out and you can try my VS.

luds · 06-16-2010, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angler229

Take me out and you can try my VS.

lol....you beat me to it.

Sea Dangles · 06-16-2010, 11:27 AM

Fried my 275 yesterday on a fish probably better suited for a 50.A look inside the spool revealed paper thin drag washers.I had no reel problems with it last week on a fish of around 180 pounds.Maintenance on gear was never my strong suit and that's why I have a VS.From now on I will try to replace drag washers after 5 or 6 fish.Service from VS was topnotch as usual,nice to have a company stand behind their product and fix it that day.
At 5 inches per year,George is probably right about spinning gear in the coming years but it sure is a lot of fun casting unweighted rubber and topwater plugs at these fish.The VS can achieve over 30# of drag which is very substantial but the stella maxes out at 65 which is twice the limit to make most grown men cry.

maddog2020 · 06-16-2010, 02:43 PM

Why not use the Fin-nor Offshore -$150? I heard of guys using them and unable to kill them. So what if you have to toss it at the end of the season.

Shimano Saragosa 18000F is nice, too, but it is closer to $300.

niko · 06-16-2010, 05:08 PM

thats disappointing to hear about the vs. i'm going to check out the shimanos - spheros, sargosa, and stella. i may have to bite the bullet, sell a few plugs and get the stella

Sea Dangles · 06-16-2010, 08:27 PM

I wouldn't interpret the failure as anybodys fault except for mine.I saw the drag washers and they should have been replaced prior.Maintenance on fishing gear,especially for tuna,will have to improve.I had no previous problems with the drag and don't expect any more.I did get a stella 20000 over the winter but it sure feels big and heavy next to my 275.I plan on using the stella for jigging and the vs for tossing plugs.