# Penn 12 & 15 field testing



## Texas Tornado

Just got off the phone with Willie Long Caster and her are his best results with the penn 12 & 15:

Penn 12 17lbs
175grams 659 feet
150grams 674 feet

Penn 15 Sakuma .35
175grams 687 feet
150grams 678 feet

Now these reels have been modified by Willie.....some of the modifications that were done: Spool was balanced,mag issues were fixed and the dial knob was replaced by a regular knob. Other modifications will leave alone.....he will be sending me the reels to test myself and see what kind of results I can get out of them. Will post my results once I get the reels in my hands. Not bad for a fishing reel......


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## fish bucket

i'm going to get a squall 12 so i'd like to know what the mag issues were?


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## Texas Tornado

Well the Penn12 out of the box will spin for 8 seconds mags off and 2 seconds full on. With the modifications that Willie did to the Penn 12,it will now spin for 1 minute 20 seconds mags off and 8 seconds with mags full on. The threads on the knob were reveresed as well....in talking to Willie the Penn 15 will cast alot smoother that the Penn 12. Can't really tell you what was done......


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## Orest

*Which one is closer to the physical size*

of the 525mag?


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## Hooked Up

be nice to see the numbers prior to the said modifications


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## SpeedRacer

Orest said:


> of the 525mag?


I believe the 15.


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## SpeedRacer

Texas Tornado said:


> Well the Penn12 out of the box will spin for 8 seconds mags off and 2 seconds full on. With the modifications that Willie did to the Penn 12,it will now spin for 1 minute 20 seconds mags off and 8 seconds with mags full on. The threads on the knob were reveresed as well....in talking to Willie the Penn 15 will cast alot smoother that the Penn 12. Can't really tell you what was done......


How much did it cost you to get the mods done if you don't mind me asking? Thanks.


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## Orest

*Thanks*



SpeedRacer said:


> I believe the 15.


SpeedRacer.

am thinking of picking one up. I wonder if the 15 will fit better in my OM cape point; love the rod, dislike the reel seat.


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## SpeedRacer

Orest said:


> SpeedRacer.
> 
> am thinking of picking one up. I wonder if the 15 will fit better in my OM cape point; love the rod, dislike the reel seat.


What is the height and rating on the Cape Point? I think the SQL is a decent reel for the price. The mag is a bit too strong in my opinion but it's a good reel for fishing. Maybe not competition.

I also picked up a 525mag for 99bucks. Haven't had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison. I've been happy with my SQL15 so far. My buddy and others swear by their 525mag. Right now both are stock so I want to do a comparison stock and one with a slight mod. I saw this thread and wanted to see what type of mods are available for the SQL15.


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## Orest

*Speed - I have the 12' heavy 6 - 12 oz casting*

Cape and 2 of the original OM heavy 6-12 oz and OM lite 3-8 both casting and 12'.

Great rods when picked up on sale.


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## Orest

SpeedRacer said:


> What is the height and rating on the Cape Point? I think the SQL is a decent reel for the price. *The mag is a bit too strong in my opinion *but it's a good reel for fishing. Maybe not competition.
> 
> I also picked up a 525mag for 99bucks. Haven't had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison. I've been happy with my SQL15 so far. My buddy and others swear by their 525mag. Right now both are stock so I want to do a comparison stock and one with a slight mod. I saw this thread and wanted to see what type of mods are available for the SQL15.


You can re-stack the drag to lighten it up some. I know the 525 has 3 different arrangements for the HT100 drag.


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## Texas Tornado

We are still testing the reels! The mags are too strong and the spools are not balanced. Bearings are not of casting quality but okay for fishing. Out of the box they would probably only cast around 450' to 550' depending on the individual. When I sent my reel to Willie he notice right off the start that the spool was dragging and notice a hump. Reels need some work to get them up to descent shape.


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## fish bucket

could you have just gotten a bad reel?
haven't heard of any bad reviews till this one.


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## SpeedRacer

Texas_Tornado, 

Thanks for the info. Are you planning on using the reel for casting comp or fishing or both? If for fishing, what type of bearing did you switch too? Can I get Willie's info once you guys are done testing? I'm interested in getting mine tuned too. Thanks.


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## Tomsatx

Does Penn have QA issues on these reels? there is not alot if info out there yet since they are new, so this is bad news. Maybe this is just a dud. I would assume that if Penn knew about the spool having a hump, that they would replace the spool. 

By the way, thank you Texas Tornado for the review and testing. Its good to see field testing for these reels.


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## Hooked Up

so by the numbers he probably gained 100< huge gap>to 200 feet with the mods?


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## Jersey Dave

Seems to me that there is very little incentive for current 525Mag owners to buy the 15...if you have already upgrded your 525 both on the mag and the bearings there is no incentive other than going from the slider to a dial...I guess you could say how much quality right out of the box do you want for $120.00... for a reel you want to use as a casting machine.


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## Mark G

Tomsatx said:


> Does Penn have QA issues on these reels? there is not alot if info out there yet since they are new, so this is bad news. Maybe this is just a dud. I would assume that if Penn knew about the spool having a hump, that they would replace the spool.
> 
> By the way, thank you Texas Tornado for the review and testing. Its good to see field testing for these reels.


I was contacted by Penn after a discussion with Willie on the balancing issue.

I have a squall 12 and Penn wanted it back to take a look at the spool. I haven't heard anything back yet, but I just shipped it off to Penn last week.


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## fish bucket

i'm buying a squall 12 saturday.....is there anything special i should look for and check before buying?
i will be using it for distance fishing not field work.


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## Orest

*I guess I will*

hold off on a new squall. Might just pick up another 525.


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## fish bucket

was thinking that too but i really like the size of the 12

also a few people whose opinions i value highly love the squalls.
even better than their 525's.
that is what swayed me.

they never mentioned any issues with the spools


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## Texas Tornado

Where should I start? Just got off the phone with Willie and the CEO from Penn has been talking to him. They know that they have issues but don't know how to get them fixed. They are willing to send you the spools to replace the one's that are bad but you would have the same issue. There is more to balancing a spool that just replacing it with a new one. Like I said earlier in the post once I get the reel in my hands an actually cast it,then I will determine if I would use it on the field. Reel has an awesome drag that I like alot better than the 525 mag. I will be heading to Danville in two weeks and test them myself. I know Bill K,myself and Mark had issues with the reels. Will keep you guys posted on my results.


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## RocknReds

Maybe they're using cheap (reconstituted salvage yard aluminum) bar stock. It's very erratic in density. Pure virgin aluminum (high grade) makes for a more consitent piece, especially for balancing purposes. Making the final cuts too deep or too fast could hurt also. PS - I have worked as a machinist in a precision industry and have encountered these problems with reclaimed bar stocks.


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## Jersey Dave

I would doubt that it has anything to do with the bar stock...but more to the machining process or the quality control to make / inspect / measure the spool. My bet is that the Hump is an out of round condition....it would be interesting to know how they test if at all for the balance and symetry of the spool....assuming they are even making it...it could be made by someone else and the spec / drawing is not refined enough...what I mean is the spool meets the specification but the specification is not tight or detailed enough.

The shame of it is that for general fishing, one may never notice... but everone who is buying this for casting may be buying a reel that really is underperforming on casts....has a reel ever been recalled?


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## fish bucket

i think you guys are being way too hard on this reel.
the great majority will be used for fishing.
from what i hear they are great for that purpose.
for tournament usage i'm sure they will have to be tweaked as most reels from any company have to be.
as penn gets real world feedback they will fix what needs to be fixed.

looking at specs my only gripe is the rate of line retrival....wish it were up around 36"


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## fish bucket

after reading this thread again i see where it's not the fishing aspect of the reel that is suspect but the tournament usage.
i'm going to fish mine but am still interested in any fix that will increases distance.


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## RocknReds

Salvage (reconstituted) bar stock will have areas of different density which will cause a balance problem. Turn down on a lathe your own spools of different quality aluminum and see for yoursef.


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## huckfinn38

My 2 reels are great fishing reels. Would I use them for tourney purpose no, not without serious modification. For $149 it is a good fishing reel out of the box


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## fish bucket

mine was slow till i took out the bearings,cleaned them and put in a drop of yellow rocket fuel.
now it spins real good.
plus it's sharp looking!


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## Texas Tornado

Just got my reel back from Willie today. Reel spins really smooth,will take it out to the field on the first nice day. I intend to use this reel as a work horse "training" but will see how it performs with the 175 and 150 gram sinkers. These reels are great for fishing but talking to Rolland over the weekend. He has seen these reels at the point were the rivets have pulled away from the cage. Don't know if anyone else have had these issues. Mine will not see saltwater but green pasture.....lol And your right fish bucket,reel is sharp looking.....


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## fish bucket

keep us posted.....


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## Tracker16

Orest said:


> hold off on a new squall. Might just pick up another 525.


Agreed. I am gonna let Penn work the kinks out first. I'm not into being a beta tester when it comes to fishing reels. Until then my 525, Saltist and Abu's will work just fine


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## Mark G

I think it's worth keeping in mind that field casters are notoriously fussy about balancing and performance when it comes to a reel for competition.

I went to great lengths to explain this "difference" to a Penn rep on the phone, and have posted that I thought it was a fine "fishing" reel out of the box for the most part.

Even the 525's were quirky, some balanced just fine, but a number of them did not, but were still generally suitable for fishing. One 525 I had was so bad, you could literally feel the vibration by just holding on to the very end (butt cap) of the rod during the cast, and yeah, it obviously screamed a tad too, during the cast.

The thing is, when Penn introduced the smaller size 12 squall, it was an obvious attempt to market a reel in the size/line class of the abu's that field casters generally use. It's only natural to draw comparisons.

I've had abus that exhibited extreme vibration issues also, so obviously any spool CAN have issues.


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## Texas Tornado

Well took the Penn 12 out today for a few cast,here are my results from todays casting. Only threw two cast with each weight:

Penn 12
175 grams 656 feet
150 grams 682 feet

Seems like the 150 grams came off the reel smoother that the 175 gram. So after throwing the heavy weights I went to a new reel that Willie built for me. And its one of those baby reels. First cast 774 feet,all the way down to the balance. Had Rolland right next to me when we measured it with the range finder. It was nice to finally get out and throw a few and work the bugs out. Nice way to start the practice season,just need to remember what I did.....lol


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## Jeremy Schrader

Sounds like you are getting some form , have you tried moving the reel down the butt yet ?

Regards


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## Tommy

Nice casting Angel. 

The sinkers were flying well down in NC today too..... 

Tommy


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## Hooked Up

the penn 12 numbers you posted... can ask what type of cast you were using to obtain them.......otg ...pend....fishing cast?


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## Texas Tornado

Jeremy I tried lowering my body a little and rotating up and around with some more power into the pulling motion of the cast. Reel is still in the high position,just can't seem to change that style. Will try and head out today again to try the Penn 15. Hooked Up I was using my Texas Tornado when casting the Penn 12. 
Tommy,the winds were up and down yesterday at the field. Today different story,47 degree's...chilly! Hopefull I will see you guys in march for the first tournament.


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## fish bucket

what is a "baby reel"?
is that slang for a squall 12?


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## Texas Tornado

It's a small abu with a lenax mag side plate converted by Willie Longcaster....One of his new mag conversions.


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## Mark G

Got my Squall 12 back from Penn yesterday.

They took some careful measurements and determined the original spool was just slightly out of balance, their final determination was that is as close to ideal as they could get with their current machinery. The spool was within reasonable tolerances, but their conclusion was that may not be good enough for tournament casting. 

They determined they could dynamically balance a spool and get the balance better- they even sent me a test spool they dynamically balanced to see if I got better results from it -- but the bottom line is they recognized that it would be extremely cost prohibitive to dynamically balance every spool that comes through the production process.

This all makes a bit of sense to me-- no one should expect an out of the box squall (for the price) to perform on par with a tournament reel that has been tweaked endlessly. As with everything in life, the luck of the draw means you may get one that is closer to ideal, just as you may get one that is farther away.

I tried explaining the "mysticism" of line balancing to them, but they seemed skeptical. What can I say , engineers... 

Any whoo -- I'll play around with the new spool when I get the chance, and let ya all know what I think.


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## Hooked Up

mark now that its been decided its a fishing reel ..would be nice to see some numbers with a fishing "type" cast with a fishing type line...


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## Mark G

Hooked Up said:


> mark now that its been decided its a fishing reel ..would be nice to see some numbers with a fishing "type" cast with a fishing type line...


MY initial test casts were fishing at hatteras. 14 lb test line and general off the ground fishing cast. Of course I couldn't measure, but it was a decent enough caster for a fishing application--- if I had to reach "way out there" for fish, I would probably still grab my abu 6500 mag elite, if for no other reason I'm more comfortable knowing how close to the edge I can run without risking blow ups on the water.

No doubt a bit more play time and I probably would be just as confident in the Penn Squall.


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## Hooked Up

thanks mark


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## jmdesignz2

Hey Guys - just got my new Penn Squall 15 and have some questions - 

It's got what might be slightly rough feeling bearings outa the box?

Turning the handle the bearings feel slightly rough / slight metallic rubbing noise

Not as smooth or silent as my abu 6600 c4.

The sql15's handle clunks when i pull and push on axis to the spool. About 1-2mm of play

Is this normal?


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## dsurf

fish bucket said:


> could you have just gotten a bad reel?
> haven't heard of any bad reviews till this one.


Don't think so....both my 12 and 15 had mag and spool issues.....Spoke with Penn Management multiple times......they indicated they would replace the spools but never followed through.


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