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Penn 850 SS and braid

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850 braid penn
12K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Greggmondo 
#1 ·
Hi all, First time poster long time lurker.

Question. I have two 850's in excellant condition always well maintained. Main use in the surf. I am thinking of switching to braid. I have heard and read the older Penn SS models are not braid friendly and MAY stress the reel. If true why? Can this be mitigated, eg mono backing ect? Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Not sure about the SS but i heard the same thing about the Greenies and it's not true. I have one spooled w/ Power Pro Braid and one w/ Fireline Braid and no problems so far. I also have a 650ssm w/ power pro and i did have some problems at first 'cause i had too much line on the spool. Stay 1/8" from the lip and you should be ok!
 
#3 ·
The SS reels are good with Fireline, avoid the other braids.
Spool to 1/8" under the lip of the spool and you'll be good to go.
 
#4 ·
Re: Penn 850 SS and braid --- FYI----

Hi all, First time poster long time lurker.

Question. I have two 850's in excellant condition always well maintained. Main use in the surf. I am thinking of switching to braid. I have heard and read the older Penn SS models are not braid friendly and MAY stress the reel. If true why? Can this be mitigated, eg mono backing ect? Thanks in advance.
Wrote to the Penn main office and posed the above, horses mouth if you will, here is the response:

The only thing I could think that people were
referring to was the Graphite ss model reels. This would be
4200,4300,4400,4500 and 5500 series. You can load these with braid but
the stress point is lower because of the lightweight graphite parts. Now
the reel that you have, 850ss, should have no problem at all handling
braided line. This reel has an all metal housing which can tolerate the
pressure put on the reel while using braid. That reel can handle 440 yds
of 65 lb. braided line with no problem.

Take care.........Tom

Thomas Blecker/Service Department
Penn Reel Mfg.
3028 W. Hunting Park Ave.
Philadelphia,PA 19132
(215) 229-9415
(215) 779-4039 Cell
tmblecker@purefishing.com
 
#5 ·
Like you I thought of trying braid this season. I was nicely advised by my buddy at his tackle shop that the Penn reels would work, but weren't the best performing spools for braid. He said that the deep, short spools, and short,fast oscillation by the spool caused the braid to overlay and criss-cross , whiich led to wind knots or bird's nests,(nightmares) in the line. I stuck with mono for the Penns and really like it. These are my surf rods and reels.

My limited experience with braid has taught me that when it knots up, you're done. I have had fewer problems with the flat Fireline, and constant knots with the Power Pro, that I could not clear. These were all on Shimano reels.

I'm a believer in mono. Having the stretch in the line will cover some mistakes made by rod handlers, or surf created slack, current and anything else that causes some slack in the line. It's always been easy to handle, and has proven good for me.

Braided line under pressure will cut anything in it's path, like fingers, and can also be cut by rocks, barnacles, chain, lower units and boat hulls. Did I mention the Knots??

Also the $$$ I've thrown away more $ in balled up braid than I spent all season on mono. Just one man's opinion.
 
#7 ·
I posted quickly earlier, here's a bit more detail:
I have two old SS reels, a 450 and a 650. Both are spooled with Fireline and have been for many years, the 450 with 14# and the 650 with 20#.

The 650 has been converted to manual pickup and packed with grease, it serves as one of my Montauk backups. I had a windknot the first time I used braid on it, user error, I overloaded the spool when putting the line on. Since then I've never had another. Like I said earlier, you need to keep it loaded to no more than 1/8th inch under the spool lip. Also, the manual pickup eliminates the chance of a trapped loop that's always a possibility with a bail (see below)

The 450 still has the bail. As with any other bailed reel and braid you need to be very aware and careful that when you close the bail you do not leave a loop running across the top of the spool, aka a "trapped" loop. If you do and you retrieve the line with that loop over the top, you will get a windknot on your next cast (which actually has nothing at all to do with the wind). In the dark, where you can't see if there's a trapped loop, what you do is give the line a good tug after each cast, just enough to pull out a bit of drag. This ensures that there is no line over the top of the spool. Many reels need to be treated the same way. The Mitchell Nautil being a perfect example.

Also, 20# Fireline breaks at almost double it's listed strength, so there's no reason (except very rough barnacle encrusted areas) to lose casting distance by going to a heavier test.

Load your 850 with Fireline, you'll never go back to mono.
 
#8 ·
I just got an 850ssm for Christmas and made the decision to try braid for the first time this upcoming season. I have never fished braid before as my chunking rig is all mono (conventional reel) and I have recently decided to give up chunking... I prefer the challenge of artificial lures. One thing I'd like to note is that tying knots in Fireline is MUCH easier. It's much more like thread and has zero memory which I really like. I straighten my mono leaders which is a pain but the braid is very easy to work with. I do get the impression though that some knots won't hold with it. Is this the case?

I picked up a pair of Aquaskinz casting gloves to prevent any cuts from it as well... I'll post again when I'm able to get out and test it.
 
#9 ·
I have four pristine 850ss reels (the OLD ones) I love them. They are the first ones made, and they have changed the reel quite a bit .. since they were first made. I use 50 lb and 40 lb power pro on these reels.. Like Jim said, as long as you dont overload the spool, no problem with knots. I load the spool just like in the pic.. no more than 1/8 inch, but no less.. and as the power pro "breaks in" it knots up less .. I can fish all day without a knot.. great reels.. love the braid.. cast a mile..
 

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