I'm looking to pair a penn torque 9' surf rod with a penn spinfisher V reel, for redfish and drum. I wil mostly be fishing from the surf.

I noticed that there is a big difference in reel weight SSV4500 (Reel Weight (oz):14) SSV5500 (Reel Weight (oz):20.4)

How does that affect the balance of the combo? or my ability to cast?

I think either reel would work for the fish i'm aiming for, but I'd like to know how much of a difference the weight would make? Or if there are any other differences in usability.

Thanks.

Balance is more important than overall weight in my opinion, especially when you are talking about long surf / pier rods. Holding a 9 or 10 footer for hours on end gets kind of tough usually.

Some rods balance out better with different reels, that is where you need to fit the reel in question to the rod you are going to use.

I try to target my reels to hold a lot of 17 to 20lb line, don't know why, but that is my target. A 4000 reel will hold a bunch of 20lb braid and still be affordable to fill, a 5500 is doable, but does get expensive, but will hold a decent amount of 17 or 20 lb mono.

I might not be helping much here, but it all depends on what YOU want to do, just giving some food for thought.

You should get more distance with the 4500 on a 9ft rod less weight.If you feel you need more line capacity and drag go with the 5500. Get some power pro 30 or 20. I use 30lb its the same size as 8lb mono so you can increase your capacity.