I'm looking for a new reel to build another surf rig. I plan on putting which ever one I buy on a 12' Ocean Master rod.

I don't own a Kayak so I'm looking for long casting reels instead. Something to sling around a 6 - 8oz surf sinker and a decent size chunk of cut bait.

I grew up in a house that had a father who swore buy Penn, Abu's and Daiwa. I'm very partial to these brands as well since I've used them my entire life. I like Shimano too, I just can't afford them.

Here's the Daiwa Sealine-X Models I'm looking at:

SL-X50HV

and the Penn GS Models:

545GS
555GS

I'm looking for opinions and comments from users of either model line. If you had the choice between these models which would you choose and why?

-Kevin

Dude, its not a surf reel but the new high speed curado is the shizzle. I love it. It retrieves like 30 inches of line per revolution. Can catch up with anything. Its also more resistent to salt water than the old ones.

Thanks for the suggestion. If there is one thing I don't need right now though, it's another small baitcaster. I have several trout rods / reels that barely get used as it is because I have my favorites that I always fish with.

-Kevin

The lever release on a GS broke/striped on me twice. Nice reel but with a chinzty part.

Pick a jig master or squidder. I use a penn
sea boy 190. Its about 4 years old and I've never had to clean it once. It's mated to a 10 ft
Eagle claw 2-piece rod. This is my cheap set-up, yet my favorite.

I have a few high end surf rods and reels but enjoy my junk twice as much.

I fished Penn reels (various models) in the surf for many years (about 35). Last year I got ready to buy a new surf rod. I looked at the Penn GS reels and decided on the Sealine-X SHV30. The Sealine-X looked and felt much more solid and better built. I put it on an 11' Tica rod. I liked the combo so much I bought a Sealine-X HV40 and the 11'6" Tica rod. This is an honest "8 and bait" combo but it is more comfortable with 6oz. The Sealine-X reels are the smoothest casting reels I've ever used. They easily outcast my carefully tuned Squidders. My only complaint is that they are a little bulky. I think the HV50 would feel a little clumsy on a surf rod. Unless you really NEED a bigger reel I'd recommend the HV40. I put almost 300yds of 80# Power Pro on mine. I don't expect to need anything more.

Cheers,
Kelly McCoy
West Texas

penn is the way to go -- never had any problems with my gear. just keep 'em oiled and they'll be fine. as for the lever release on the GS, nothing is perfect. i've never had one go wrong and if it happens to, penn has an excellent service department to get it taken care of very quickly. Be American, Buy American...proud of that import? Think about it!

You just cant beat a jigmaster for the money. I have a penn 555 and a daiwa 30hv and more. i think the daiwas will out cast penns, but the penn will out live the daiwas. I still use a penn i bought in 1975. clean it an sling it.

I would go with a smaller penn or a diawa 30shv if your going to be casting. I have a 30shv and a 50hv. I can get a lot more ditance with the 30. I do like my 50 though if I don't need to cast far and need more line capacity.