Penn 330 GTI Conventional Reel

[phoenixshard]

Anyone have any opinions on this reel. I could get a deal on one for around $75 brand new in the box and wanted to see if anyone had any experience with them and what they thought. Also could it be magged out for fewer nests. I'd be using it mostly for going for drum.

[Tacpayne]

Its a pretty big reel for casting. I have one that I have never tried to cast, I used mine as my king ree back in the mid 90's, while pier fishing. I have never had any issues with mine and as stated its been around a while

[kingfisherman23]

I'm with Tacpayne on this one. That 330 GTI is a big reel to throw. I'd look for something like the Abu 7000 for a large-sized drum reel. The 330 is a great boat or heavy pier reel though, I almost got a 330 combo with a Slammer rod for cobia and big rays/medium sharks.

Evan

[HDW2]

I have 6 of the 330GTI reels. They are a work horse for my friends when I take them out to deep water. Cant hurt em, but not much good for anything else. Never tried to remove the level wind to see if it will help on the casting aspects. I imagine it would help, but that is like getting another 2 yds out of a 10 yrd cast. Not much use in that. As for the price, not much of a deal either. I occasionaly see them in some of the shops here for the same price, some lower. At best it is a $85-$90 reel. For a boat, great reel! Never had a problem with the quality and never had one break down on he water. (YET!)

[galaxy51]

Phoenixhard, I have 2 of the 330 GTI Penns. One has the levelwind removed and the other is stock. They cast well enough considering their size. Using the reel without the levelwind, 80# Power Pro and either a 10' or 12' extra heavy Ugly Stick it can be coaked into 100 yd. plus casts with 6-8 oz. lead. The reel with the levelwind intact is spooled with 50# mono and actually casts pretty close to the same distance, much closer than I would have thought. They have wide spools so the levelwind doesn't have to start and stop as much as they would have to on a narrower spooled reel.
Here in Idaho they are probably the most common reel of choice for fishing sturgeon in the Snake River. Most common are 6' fish with a few up to 8' and maybe some larger than that. They stand up well to abuse and are not difficult to cast.
You will quickly learn to use your thumb on the side of the spool rather than on the line. Either that or you will need a gloved thumb. The drag on them seems tough and strong enough if you can keep your rod tip up. I am going to order new drag washers for mine, maybe smoothies.
The Penn 330 GTI offers a lot of bang for the buck. :fishing:

[phoenixshard]

Thanks for the opinions guys. :)

[virginia boy 1]

Don't, don't get me wrong its a great reel but it is not made for rays,sharks, or cobia I lost a bigt cobia because the reel did not have enough drag. Get a senator 4/0 or 6/0 or a Shimano TLD star, I think the star is the best reel in that class by far.

WHAT????

YOU ARE AN IDIOT. JUST GO AWAY AGAIN.

There is nothing in the inshore mid-atlantic that it can't handle.

[greeneon98]

I do a lot of wreck fishing and I brought the Penn 330 GTI about 2 years ago for that purpose. It was the price that attracted me to the rod/reel combo. It didn't last through the 2nd season of use. The drag became stiff and the bearings when cranking were making a lot of noise. I returned it to Boater World and traded up to a Shimano Torium 20 combo. this was suggested to me from an earlier recommendation. It cost a little more but it's still going strong. Go luck to you if your purchase the Penn 330 GTI.

[kingfisherman23]

Good call VB.

A) The 330 is almost half the price of a Senator.
B) It is an excellently designed and built reel.
C) I've seen it land everything from 2# skates to 65+# sharks without a hitch.
D) I do not believe that you can throw a TLD star with 1oz, much less throw it 90ft.
E) Where can you get a Senator 6/0 for $105? ($75 + $30 = $105 for those who missed it)

@ Greeneon - Did you open up the reel and grease the washers before you used it? That would improve the life and smoothness of the drag.
Evan

[virginia boy 1]

I've caught 50# cobes, 6ft sharks, huge blacks, huge rays, huge rockfish...on a 320gti...smaller than the 330. I have a 320 that I bought in 1998 that I still use frequently.
Never had a problem with it. Fresh water and WD40 after every trip.

[kingfisherman23]

...

[New Kent Newbie]

Grow up kid. you sure seem to have alot of experience with big fish when you can't even drive and are 2 hours from the coast. O and by the way there are very few rods or reels that you can keep an 80lb cobia from going under a pier with and more likely than not you wont be using them on a pier in the first place go check the drag specs on a 6/0.

[Sea2aeS]

IMO a good conventional reel for 105 clams = daiwa 50sha.

[kingfisherman23]

I am sorry if I said 90 yards that was a typo, and I do not recall saying you can get a 6/0 for $105 but they sell them at bass pro for $130. And for 30 bucks more I think it is worth it, I really like the reel but I don't think it will handle stingrays and yeah a 65 pound shark yeah but what happens when you hook a 200 pounder. I like the senators better why are you flaming me for it? I think the senators are tuffer. Though a gti is better for drum,striper,etc.

Not 90 yds, 90 ft = 30 yds.

No flame intended, I was just rebutting your post :redface:

The Senator line is undoutedly tougher but at half the price ($75 vs $130) the GTI will handle most larger fish. I wouldn't want to hook up with a 200# shark on one certainly, I have better combos for that. But cobia rays and small/medium biters it will handle. And NKN is right, there isn't much outside of an International LD or similar reel that will turn a gree 80# cobia out from around a pylon.

Evan

[HDW2]

:beer: :popcorn: :beer:

[greeneon98]

Good call VB.

A) The 330 is almost half the price of a Senator.
B) It is an excellently designed and built reel.
C) I've seen it land everything from 2# skates to 65+# sharks without a hitch.
D) I do not believe that you can throw a TLD star with 1oz, much less throw it 90ft.
E) Where can you get a Senator 6/0 for $105? ($75 + $30 = $105 for those who missed it)

@ Greeneon - Did you open up the reel and grease the washers before you used it? That would improve the life and smoothness of the drag.
Evan

I agree with you. Maybe a little maintenance on my part may have prolonged the life of the reel. :)