Big Tough reel for Tough Going
Written: Mar 22 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A tough reel, well built, and plenty of dealer support
Cons: Hold on, this baby really wobbles, and tends to lock up. Not for the timid
The Bottom Line: Like the rest of the SpinFisher SS series, a great reel. Not the smoothest you'll come across, but one of the most durable. You get your $$$ worth.
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| beagdad's Full Review: Penn Spinfisher SS 8500SS |
The 8500SS Spinfisher is my big momma (there is only one reel bigger in the SpinFisherseries: the 9500SS). To be honest, I thought I was going to use this reel in tough weather, which I do, but I don’t use it as much as I thought I would. This is a heavy outfit, and tires me out after a couple of hours. It can certainly get over those high wave tops, but I can only expect to make a few casts every trip out.
I have reviewed a couple other Spinfisher SS reels elsewhere on this site: this is the only one I have had trouble with.
The sales guy that suggested this to me, it turns out, is a “big rig” guy, and I fell in on that one. I would have been better off, in retrospect, to go with a smaller, perhaps lighter graphite rig.
The 8500SS uses an aluminum body. This is a tough reel that is also a weighty (26 oz). I have a 7500SS that weighs only a half ounce less, but the 8500 seems that much heavier. It carries 325 yards of 20 # test (I usually use 25# on it. The reel has a 4.6:1 gear ratio.
I have these attached to 12’ Heavy Action Shakespeare Ugly Stick, so it’s a heavy rig. You can read my reviews of our other Penn SS reels, and see most of the comments apply to the other reels. I use the 8500SS mostly for throwing bait in rough weather, but it’s a handful.
The 8500SS has a selectable anti-reverse. Our experience is that when you get a strike in the normal position the anti-reverse kicks right in, and so you are set to go. You can select anti-reverse off by a small switch on the bottom of the reel if you need to backwind and let a little tension out. On the 8500SS you have the option of selecting clicker action on the anti-reverse. This is a great feature when you have the rod in a sand spike, since it signals a bite.
On all of the Spinfisher SS series the bail can be tripped either automatically, by turning the handle, or by manually tripping the bail. This is the first gripe I have with the 8500: rotating the handle to trip the bail doesn’t always flip the bail shut: we find it is better to manually trip the bail. In all cases the bails, rollers, and springs are corrosion resistant stainless steel. In the same vein, I have noticed that every once in a while on a cast the bail unexpectedly snaps shut. I recently had a conversation with a Penn rep who told me that the best thing to do is to be sure that the handle is all the way down, and the bail problem can be eliminated. In practice, I find it hard to remember all the time. I have a 7500: on that reel it is kind of important to make sure the handle is down before the cast. With the 8500, you are almost sure to have a problem. More than once I have lost most of my terminal tackle when the bail suddenly snapped shut. I have been standing watching bait, hooks, and lead all fly in one direction, while the rest of the rig goes limp. On one toss I thought my wrist was gonna snap, given the rapid deceleration. I would not have minded that, but I lost a perfectly good eel, and the last one I had for the day.
This is the only one of my SpinFisher reels to have a problem. In the midst of a pretty good fight the reel suddenly and without warning locked up. I tried to pull the line in by hand, but didn’t succeed. Finally, I had to just cut the line. I sent the reel to Penn for an overhaul, and they sent it back saying they replaced the eccentric cam. To this day I don’t know if or how this could have been prevented.
The main rotor is stainless steel, giving it strength and durability. I have written reviews of the 7500SS and 7500SS, and you note that the 5500SS has a very smooth rotor. Not so the 8500, which has a pronounced wobble. The magic that Penn got right in the 5500 didn’t carry over to the 8500. This reel wobbles like crazy, and when you have it about set where you want, the rotor will follow the handle around, so you end up setting it again and again.
As with the rest of the Spinfisher SS series, the handles can be reversed, for either right or left handed use. We like the material the knob is made from: it is a soft rubber-like material that is easily gripped when wet.
The Spinfisher SS reels require very little maintenance, basically just washing them thoroughly with fresh water after every trip, and a drop of oil in critical places. Penn suggests that you use a gentle stream of water, and that “power washing” the reel will just force the salt into the reel. Penn’s suggestion is that you don’t over-lubricate the reels. Usually twice a year I grease the main rotor a bit. I thought after a couple seasons we should have our reels thoroughly cleaned, and so I sent them back to Penn. We have sent the reels back to Penn service after two years, and they sent them back in beautiful shape. It seemed to us that the reels were better than the day we got them. Penn charged us $45.00 for this reel, which we thought was reasonable. A note here: we’ve been told that there are changes in Penn’s management, and that the fee for overhauling the reels is going up. Also, I’ve found that getting the exploded diagrams are not always on Penn’s web site, so plan accordingly. I hear Penn is upgrading their Web site, so stay tuned on this one.
Almost every fishing store around has Penn parts. This is important. We have seen other reels that are less expensive and that compare favorably to the Penns. We have found, however, that they don’t always have stock of parts the competing brands. We were very happy when we were able to replace a drag know that fell off in the surf, and we were miles from home.
The skinny on the 8500: you’ll get a lot of reel for your $$$, and with a little bit of care it will really last you. Just watch out for that bail: it can really bring you up short. And, if I could make a suggestion to Penn: balance these guys out better, they really get to rockin’ and a rollin’.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beagdad
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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