penn 5500ss

[getin]

g'day all i've just bought a penn 5500 and i'm not sure what size braid to put on i'll be land based although a charter may be on the cards probably depends on weather i get fish from shore or not will hopefully be fishing pennefather,vrillya punsand and so on any advice? cheers kev

[geoffjy]

g'day all i've just bought a penn 5500 and i'm not sure what size braid to put on i'll be land based although a charter may be on the cards probably depends on weather i get fish from shore or not will hopefully be fishing pennefather,vrillya punsand and so on any advice? cheers kev

Hi Getin,

I have several reels that i use braid on-

Penn 965
Penn 975
Penn 7500
Penn 8500
Daiwa Millionare

On all of these reels i use 50lb Bionic Braid. This is not cheap, last time i bought some it cost me $230 for 700 yards. I find that having the 50lb on all reels is beneficial to me. If i do happen to hook onto a large fish on the Millionare that will spool me, i will have a knife ready to cut the braid should it get down very low to the point where the braid has only several winds around the spool.

All my other reels i use mono on. These reels are-

Tiagra 20
Tiagra 30
Tiagra 50W
Penn International 50 x 2


The reason for this is that i believe that it is more useful to have stretch in the line when a large fish hits you lure. That way the rod and reel dont take the sudden shock of a fish hitting the end of your line.

For your type and size of reel i would probably use the 50lb braid as Penn have pretty good drag washers on them to be able to handle the extra pull.

Hope this helps.

[plucker]

50lb should do.
However anything larger will either pull you in or take all the braid.
Personally I prefer mono for land based stuff for the break line factor.

[Stacky]

g'day all i've just bought a penn 5500 and i'm not sure what size braid to put on i'll be land based although a charter may be on the cards probably depends on weather i get fish from shore or not will hopefully be fishing pennefather,vrillya punsand and so on any advice? cheers kev

Hi Kev,

I believe that is the smaller one of the Penn Spinners. Cause it's a spinner i'd think your planning on flicking lures of all types.

It is your decision at the end, but personally i like to fish lighter up here. Braid is tough stuff and i would load your spinner with 30lb. You'll have a better chance of casting lighter gear further distances from shore. My heaviest estuary and beach gear is 30lb braid with double onto 60lb mono leader (i have lost more fish through other problems rather than the weight of line, like straightened hooks, foul hook ups etc.).

Mostly the places you have mentioned land based fishing are beachy places and you can allow the big fish to run without the worry of snags.

I have a 50lb braid set up for macks on the reefs and i also use 30lb braided spinners out there too (although i have been busted on reefs many times). Some charters have gear for you to use.

I hope we haven't confused you.

Cheers
Stacky

[getin]

thanks for the help fellas,i think,some good points to ponder,i like the fact that mono stretches but i've only got small reels so i like the fact that braid has a smaller diameter so as to get more line on the reel and the fact that its tougher for hopefully a better chance of landing a decent fish,i'm taking a 650 alvey with 60-80lb mono as a backup as well so if i happen to get spooled on the penn i've still got something to fish with with a fighting chance of landing something largish,but also in saying that it's how you play the fish as well and even the two small shimanos i'm taking have 12-15lb mono on and a wire trace make it possible to land anything that might come along and in the end i'm on holidays after all and i'd rather be catching and/or losing a fish than being at work so thanks for the info it really does help and i cant wait to get up there and get amongst it cheers kev

[plucker]

Me personally, take fewer reels and more back up braid/leader.

My fishing is only up the creeks so 30lb braid is sufficient with 60lb leader. I dont lose too many lures with this setup, but do use a boat for lure retrival.
Mate uses 100lb leader and gets just as many strikes.

Bluewater would be a different kettle of fish and from the bank can make it harder, which is why I would probably beef it up.

Must say on one trip we were chasing Pikey Bream and I had a ball on 2KG line. Lost heaps of no. 2 hooks and 00 sinkers and got a few better bream.