I am looking at buying a new reel for fishing inshore. Ill be using it at piers, wading, in a kayak, everything. I have narrowed it down to a Penn Battle or a Penn Fierce. I will probably put 20# braid on it, however the guy at bass pro said the fierce is not braid ready (no rubber)? Anyways, he told me i have to put mono on it first? So should I get the battle or the fierce? I want it to last at least two summers. Price is an issue, plus ill have to add another $20-$30 for braid.

I typically use $50 Shimano Sedonas, but I decided to treat myself and bought a few Penn reels last year, including a Battle. They felt great in the store and look beautiful,but I don't recommend them now that I've had some time to use them. The drag isn't smooth and, when reeling in, they have an uneven feel to them. I bought 3 Penns and they all feel this way to me. I'm sticking with Shimano from now on.

I've got a couple of Penn SSg's and like them well enough. I'm not a big fan of spinning gear but keep a couple on hand for guests and catching bait. I much prefer bait casters.

Penns are like a Harley, if they don't make that certain sound or feel, they just ain't right.

okay the penn fierce on bass pro shops got about 5 out of 5 stars. Maybe I will buy this one. With the cost of braid that should put me between $80-90. How much line do I need? I think it said it could hold around 200 yds of 20#. Whats a general rule of thumb for quantity of line? I assume I need to put some type of tape around the spool as well to keep it from slipping?

Penn has gotten pretty good about their braid capacities on the website.

You are looking at the 6000 reel, when you can probably down size to a 4000 or 5000.

Penn Fierce Information.

Many of my reels aren't "braid ready" and all I do is back it with some mono usually a little lighter lb test. I usually use what the median lb test is for the reel this way if something spools you beyond recognition, the backing will break off saving your reel and rod.

Most filler spools used to be 125 yards, just figure how much of the reel you need to fill with backing so you will finish it off with the braid.

I'll tell ya what holding a rod with a 6000 reel on it gets pretty heavy after a while, and it is definitely a disadvantage when chucking lures. A 4000 series is probably strong enough for what you are going to catch, and Penn has upped the drags to be within the 1/3rd rule for line weights and braids.

Look over that chart in the link I posted and see which one will fit your needs better.

4000 is a good all around reel for what swims in the surf and bays

What about Cabelas Salt Striker reels? esp the baitfeed model? Several of the catfish regulars use them double duty for Big Blue Cats and trips to the coast.Most use the 65(00) series but they sell a 40(00) size too

SSB40) - $65

Don't know much about salt striker reels, but I have two 4000 Penn Captiva bait runners, dang near the same size and weight as a 7000 reel.

I use them when I can put them in a rod holder, because they sure do get heavy holding after a while. I like them for black drum because of the way they hit bait, but you can loose a lot of line quickly on some of the other species.

I started out with a Penn Battle 5000 and it turned out to be a little much. I went down to a Battle 3000. It does just as good and it's a lot more fun. I'm trying to decide if I want to get rid of the 5000 or hang onto it incase I end up fishing heavy duty. Heck, it might make a good catfish reel.

5000 Battle would be a great big cat reel! If u dont have a rod for it get a ProAngler from the cpl guys in cat section or http://www.proanglertackle.com/CatfishRod.htm and it'd be a killer combo! Get the 10 footer and u got a good surf combo and a great catfish bankfishing.combo.

or just box it up and send it to me.......

I agree, a 5000 battle makes a great heavier duty / long casting reel. Since I don't do much surf fishing, I would put it on an 7, 8ft broomstick rod fill it slam full of 20 or 30 lb braid and use it for targeting big fish.