Penn Conquer Reel

[Ron Barwick]

As Capt. Cefus mentioned in his review of ICAST, Penn has a new Spinning reel called the Conquer. These reels were designed for inshore saltwater use, but comes in sizes that will work equally as well for Bass, Walleye or Pike fisherpersons.



It comes loaded with 10 stainless ball bearings and a one-way roller bearing for an infinite anti-reverse. It also features a 1-piece machined aluminum gearbox to eliminate any torque on the reel extending the life of the gears and bearings. The spool lip is a material called Eternal Alloy, which doesn’t scratch, ding or dent for super smooth casts and can’t catch and damage the line. Also on the spool you will see a black strip. This they call their Superline Spool. With this feature, there is no need to use backing with braided lines.



This photo shows the Easy Access System. You remove a single screw and the rear hatch provides full access to the gears and crosswind system for easy maintenance and inspection. The reel comes with maintenance instructions, Penn grease and oil, and spool stacking washers to adjust how the line lays on the spool.
These reels should start shipping the end of September and will retail for $200 - $225 range.
I have been fishing with a 4000 size prototype (#21) for the last year and have caught Redfish, Flounder, Trout, Snook and Pompano with it and it has preformed great. The only minor problem, which was my fault, is one bearing had started to chatter, but only after it had gotten kicked off the dock (on a trip to Tampa for Snook) and it wasn’t until 6 days later I had the chance to open it up and clean it out.
I do have the first production run of the 5000 size sitting in the box, loaded up with PowerPro, just waiting to go fishing. Don’t know when yet.
RB

[Capt Cefus]

Yep, I completely forgot to mention the superline spool feature.   Thanks for picking up on that Ron.   It really was a nice feeling reel.

[Ron Barwick]

I got home from work, and a 2000 size was sitting by the front door. It is sweet. Its going out Thursday morning after some trout. Will give a report.
RB

[Capt Cefus]

Cool.   Haven't fished one yet.   Anxious to hear your analysis.

[Ron Barwick]

Sorry Capt.,
You can't fish one yet, they won't even start shipping the until the beginning of October. If you get down here, you're welcome to try one of these. But, when we did the Trash Can Slam, you fished one of the prototypes.
RB

[Ron Barwick]

I got to try out the 2000 size today for a couple of hours. I wasn't able to catch any flounder or redfish but a few decent trout and some gaff-tops. At least these 4 to 6 lb catfish pull and dog you like a simular size red so the drag got a workout. It performed great. Although, in the two hours, I got two major windknots. It was loaded with 20 lb PowerPro. I slapped on a Daiwa loaded with the same line just to make sure it wasn't the rod, it wasn't. Mounted the Penn back on and tried to watch what was going on. The line just peels off the spool, maybe too easy. It was stacking up against the stripper guide on the rod for a split second until the weight of the jig would pull it though. The same way you can get a backlash on a casting reel. So now the PowerPro comes off and I'll try a stiffer line like Stealth Braid or Fireline and we'll try it again.
RB

[Capt Cefus]

Ron,
That is a wonderful report.  !!!

That's EXACTLY what people need to hear....a thorough examination and real-world application results of a product.   And, I for one, definitely appreciate it.   

Let us know how the Spiderwire fares with the Conquer.   

[Ron Barwick]

I had the chance to fish both the 2000 and 5000 sizes this weekend. 1st out was the 5000. Its loaded up with 30lb test Spiderwire Stealth on a new custom I built just for this reel. Fished Saturday night in Tampa Bay. On some rock piles in the middle of the bay caught some nice Mangrove (Gray) Snappers, my first ever Striped Grunts and some Gafftops. The rod and reel preformed great. It was easy to control the line and casting distance, whether slinging it out there or pitching, was never a problem and no wind knots. It wasn't until we were coming it did I get a real workout with the drag system on this reel. Penn's HT-100 drag was smooth and controlable when I hung the first 30 inch Snook. After  couple more snookers and and a slot red I'm calling this setup a keeper.
Sunday afternoon, fished the 2000 size, hoping I solved the windknot problem by going to a stiffer line. I also changed the rod from the customs I used before to a factory St Croix just to make sure there wasn't something wrong there. After only 6 casts, the 1st knot. I always manually close the bail and pull my line tight after each cast. I cut out 10 yds and tried it again, same thing. 10 yds more cut off and it did it again. This time had to cut about 6 yds off but never had the problem again. Maybe I'm overfilling the spool? But I did notice that it only happened when I was going for max distance. Short casts and pitches worked fine. OK, now I'll try going the other way, with 10lb test Fireline Crystal. These reels are designed for superlines, its a good thing they give me the line otherwise it would be a few bucks out of pocket. I guess its like trying to find the best load/ammo for a gun, You just keep trying until you find what works best. I did manage my inshore slam, 3 Flounder, 26 inch Redfish and a couple of 16 inch Trout. I also caught the biggest Croaker I'd ever seen, 17 inches. I was using a 1/8oz Lunker City jighead and DOA's CAL Shadtail grubs in Electric Chicken.
RB

[Capt Rick Hiott]

 Your right about overfilling the spool. You cant put as much braid on a spool as you can mono.
 
  One problem a lot of my clients have that cause wind knots (The wind has nothing to do with it) is that after they cast they have that sagging loop that hangs from the end of the spool to the first guide on the rod. This is where the problem starts.

 Closing the bail by hand does not make any difference at all.
 
  All you have to do is before you close the bail, elevate the rod tip to tighten up the line while closing the bail with the handle,,,,,,,the slack loose line is what causes the loop on the spool that's pulled off on the next cast you make. 

[Ron Barwick]

The story continues....Loaded up with 10lb test Fireline Crystal, 15 lb test flouro leader, Lunker City 1/8oz jighead, Fishbites' Xtreme 3 1/2" shrimp grubs and headed to one of my honeyholes. In less than 30 minutes had my inshore slam, although the Reds were only pups and the Flounder were no bigger than silver dollar pancakes, the Trout were decent, up to 20". Anyway, the Conquer reel performed great, I found the right combination of rod, reel and line. At least for a couple of hours. Remember in my first post about this reel I mentioned the spool lip is made out of a material called Eternal Alloy? It isn't suppose to scratch, ding or dent. Well it didn't, it cracked and split the entire ring. It cut the line better than the sharpest knife. Now, I've fished the other two sizes I have alot more and never had a problem, so I think this is an isolated thing. The good news is that the spool for this reel is modular, and by removing 4 screws the ring can be replaced in just a couple of minutes. In most spinning reel spools, only the drag washers can be changed, where with this one, every part can be replaced easily. This hasn't changed my opinion on this reel. I still will use it and recommend it.
RB

[Capt Rick Hiott]

You did contact Penn and let them know about this didnt you?

Have you used the SpiderWire Invisi-Braid yet Ron? Its what I use now on all my inshore reels.

[Ron Barwick]

The Penn Team along with the tournament boat and trailer and the product showcase will be here on Wendsday. I'll be showing them the reel. I'll have to hit them up for some Invisi-Braid.
Earier this year I had talked to them about the perfect Sailfish reel while kite fishing,  they took the idea back to engineering and I'll find out about that also.
Capt Rick, are you using the 10lb test? And what knot are you using for your leader?
RB

[Capt Rick Hiott]

Ron,,,Im using the 8lb (I think) on my ultra light, and 20lb on my other spinning reels, with a Palomar to an in-line carolina rig.

[Ron Barwick]

Well, the Penn guys had never seen this happen before, they got right on the phone to the factory and now the reel is on its way to Philly. They replaced mine already.
I have some Invisi-Braid coming, yes Coach, I'll share.
The new Torque spinning reel looks great. It took a little convincing, but they let me take it apart to see what makes it tick. Massive Stainless gears and seven seals to keep sand, salt and water out. Quite the impressive reel. Reels with bails are available in most sizes now, bail-less in March.
RB