Looking for penn rod/reel advice

[erebus]

Ok, maybe I'm opening a can of worms here (pun?) but I need some help figuring out about rods and reels.

I live on Cape Cod, I own a seacraft, and other than what I've gleaned from striper fishing a few times last year with a friend from work, I don't know $hit.
Pathetic, I know.

Whats been recommended to me is to get a nice Penn senator 113 reel with wire line and a roller tip rod.
Seems simple enough.

In doing research, I've found that some people (THT) say to stay away from the newer "Made in China" Penn reels and go vintage.
So I looked on Ebay. Tons of stuff all different prices, model numbers, years, gear ratios, blah blah blah.
I looked locally on craigslist for some used stuff, I looked at Cabelas and Dicks sporting goods for the newer stuff (About 159.99 for a basic combo from dicks).
And just now I figured out that some Penn reels come with aluminum spools and some with chromed brass/bronze!

I'm lost.

Anybody out there on the interwebs sell reconditioned Penn reels for not a fortune?
I would of course like to spend as little as possible, considering I just blew my budget on a new windshield and some other boat bits for the 18SF.
Can I get away with ~$150 for a setup?
Any of you guys have some old stuff out in the garage you want to be rid of?

Thanks for any advice.

[FishStretcher]

Go to bucko's in Fall River. It is in the not so nice section of town. Explain what you are trying to do. They repair reels for pros and have dirt cheap prices and awesome advice. They are perhaps the best tackleshop in NE. A tiny, crowded place with little advertising. They don't need it.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by erebus

Ok, maybe I'm opening a can of worms here (pun?) but I need some help figuring out about rods and reels.

Whats been recommended to me is to get a nice Penn senator 113 reel with wire line and a roller tip rod.
Seems simple enough.

Thanks for any advice.

I bought a new set of galivnized trailer rims and tires from a guy in town and he had two 113 senators on custom matching rods for $50ea or $100 for the pair.

I like the older penn reels myself. I use some of the 9500 large spinfishers for durm fishing for the 50 LB + fish. They did send most reels to be made in china back in the mid 2000s.

For what you are doing I might consider a set of TLD 25s with high leverage handles for your type of fishing. You can buy them new for $150-$200 on rods and that will give you lever drags

[castalot]

I have a wireline setup I don't use anymore it's a penn 309 level wind that I removed the level wind but the reel works fine without has wire on it and Dacron backing on a tidewater 660 rod rated for 40-80# line
If you want it come get it I'm in RI
all I ask if someone on here needs something you have just pass it along as a member did for me
Matt

[castalot]

Rod

[deepsushi]

The "standard" wire line setup for the Cape is the 113h with the chromed spool. I have a mix of 113's but most of my 113's are probably 20+ years old (the darker maroon ones) that are pretty much bullet proof. You can find these on ebay for 40 bucks or so. The newer models have some improvements (improved frame bracing and a better handle).

Another choice on ebay would be to look for a daiwa 400h with a chromed spool. IMO these are a little nicer / smoother than the penns and very well built as well.

For budget rods look at the Tsunami trophy rods -- you can find them at Shark river mail order for 89.99 ( TSUNAMI TROPHY WIRE LINE ROD TSTBC-661HW).

I spool my reels up with 300' of wire that I split into two 150' sections with a short 6 foot section of dacron. I find it helps with 2 things -- when I have inexperienced anglers I can better know / tell them how much wire to stream out based on how deep we are and it is cheaper to replace 150' foot shots of wire when they get screwed up (and they do!). With 300 ' of wire I can reach bass in depths of 15- 45 feet without any difficulty.

[FishStretcher]

Apparently, I don't know jack either. I use braid with a mono leader. Is the wire to sink the line, or keep blues from taking your gear? The stripers I catch don't chew thru a mono leader. What am I missing?

[deepsushi]

Wire line rigs are primarily used for wire line jigging parachute jigs, umbrella rigs, or bunker spoons. Wire line is used as it sinks and gets the lures down in the water column near the bottom where bass are typically located.