# Penn 525 discontinued?



## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

I heard rumors that Penn is discontinuing the original 525 Mag.

Anybody know if there's truth in this?


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

The GS has been discontinued.
THe525MAG is still listed on their website but so is the z series.


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

i hope thats just a rumour!525mag is the best reel penn makes.


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## eklutna (Mar 12, 2006)

They stopped making the Squidder. How dumb is that. I would think that they will keep the 525 mag. I have heard that Penn's out sourcing is causing them lots of problems. I tried to buy a slammer from Bass Pro shops and they stopped carrying them. Said that they could not get them. I hope that Penn doesn't go down the tubes. Only fishing reel company that still sells parts for reels they made 40 years ago. Most of my reels are Penn.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Alas, I did see on a web site (wish that I could remember which one) that the 525 was being discontinued. It was a commercial site that sold reels and can't for the life of me figure out which one it was. I hope it's not true! As we all know, if they come out with a new and/or improved version, that means it will be improved as far as Penn is concerned - Read: Cheaper and therefore more profitable. I'll post on another forum and see if Neil (Black Beard) has any insight. Just saw the site today and was in denial. Let's hope it ain't so.


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

*525 still in production at Philly*



kingfisherman23 said:


> I heard rumors that Penn is discontinuing the original 525 Mag.
> Anybody know if there's truth in this?


Yes, I do and no, there is no truth in it.

The 525Mag is currently in stock with production in Philadelphia and derivatives being made in the UK.

Keep an eye on the USA press over the next 3 months for some completely revolutionary designs of new reels, ALL made in Philly, USA.

BB


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

eklutna said:


> I have heard that Penn's out sourcing is causing them lots of problems. I tried to buy a slammer from Bass Pro shops and they stopped carrying them. Said that they could not get them. I hope that Penn doesn't go down the tubes. Only fishing reel company that still sells parts for reels they made 40 years ago. Most of my reels are Penn.


My inside line tells me there are no problems with outsourcing of those materials not actually manufactured in Philly. Slammers are being re-worked at present and should be back in the shops in USA within a couple of months. BB


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Glad to hear that, I've got and still fish some of those 30-40 yr. old reels.  

Also got a couple 1 yr. old Slammers and those are some typically great Penns as well.


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## Deep_Sea_Gull (Dec 14, 2005)

I know that this is a surf board...

That said, look at what Penn has done to redesign their International model 16S. They now make two models that are the cat's meow for their intended purposes. 

I do not see Penn deserting their loyal customer base. I see Penn upgrading the 525mag to be more of what you and I want in a reel.

I see a new and improved tourney mag 525 plus on the horizon. Not the slidey. Knobby!!!!

I have noted that Cabelas and BSP do not sell the 525s right now...

Go Penn, go Penn....


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## longcast (Jan 9, 2005)

Today on a UK tackle shop site I read that the 545 knobby will be disscontinued by Penn. I left BB a question on his site. We will see.
longcast


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

Okay, I have no idea where these rumours are coming from, but that is all they are, rumours!

*************************************

“Look at what Penn has done to redesign their International model 16S. They now make two models that are the cat's meow for their intended purposes.”

Thank you for your comments re the International 16S. 

*************************************

“I see a new and improved tourney mag 525 plus on the horizon. Not the slidey. A Knobby!!!!”

As the originator and developer of the 525 Tournamag who won the 2000 US casting Nationals with one I am unaware of any development of a Knobby SuperMag. But if there is a demand for one I am sure one can be worked up very quickly.

**************************************
“I have noted that Cabelas and BSP do not sell the 525s right now...”

The fact that Cabela currently have no stock of 525Mags does not mean they are discontinued, more likely it means Cabela has not ordered them yet.

Bass Pro currently show 525Mags in stock at $149.99

**************************************

“Today on a UK tackle shop site I read that the 545 knobby will be discontinued by Penn. I left BB a question on his site. We will see – longcast”

ALL knobbies are made in the UK where we invested a LOT of money in a mould to make the knobby endplates and tooling to produce the other parts. The knobby reels are good sellers so why would we discontinue them?

*************************************** 

So guys, before posting unsubstantiated rumours about one of the oldest and largest tackle manufacturer in the USA who have been working enormously hard to bring the company into the 21st century – and succeeding - please check it out with a reliable source first.

Thank you – Neil Mackellow aka BB


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

BB thank You for the correct info.


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## Deep_Sea_Gull (Dec 14, 2005)

Now we know...


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## Orest (Jul 28, 2003)

*Rumor's*

Leave them to Fleetwood Mac.


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

*Spooky*

Orest, that is seriously Spooky, was listening to Mick Fleetwood when I logged on and saw your post! BB


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## Orest (Jul 28, 2003)

*BB - At least is*

not 06-06-2006.


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## david123 (Jun 24, 2004)

As long as the subject is discontinued items.....

Black Beard..
Why did Penn Discontinue the Squidder? Seems to have a great following. I own a 1956 Vintage Model that still performs like it was new. It's a great reel for it's intended purpose.


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

What would be pretty nice is if the whole GS line was available magged... I love the GS reels and I really like the 525Mag, but sometimes, I do wish for the increased capacity of a 535...


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## Orest (Jul 28, 2003)

*They are available in the UK*

Here is a link.

https://www.veals.co.uk/acatalog/Penn.html


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

david123 said:


> As long as the subject is discontinued items.....
> Black Beard..
> Why did Penn Discontinue the Squidder? Seems to have a great following. I own a 1956 Vintage Model that still performs like it was new. It's a great reel for it's intended purpose.


To be honest it was way before I started with Penn. But the Squidder ran for many years and you cannot stand still, gotta move on. I have one of the last Squidders and yes I have cast with it.

However, while the Squidder was a great reel the 525Mag and 535GSMag T make life on the beach a lot easier. BB


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## Bayou Bob (Apr 25, 2006)

Hey BB. You've probably been asked this before. How come so much of the good surf casting stuff is only marketed on your side of the pond? Are we colonials considered too ham-fisted to be trusted with quality rods and reels?


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## Black Beard (Jan 25, 2001)

Bob, the basic 525Mag reel is made in the USA at Philly. I was the instigator and tasked with persuading the then President Herbert Henze to make a reel suitable for the UK and European market. The year was 1998 the month was June and the first reel saw the light of day in October the same year.

Subsequently I developed the Mag T version in the UK as I needed a Penn reel for tournament casting. The rest was natural progression and we have a number of reels modified in the UK for better performance under given conditions.

As you know, Penn came under new ownership recently and have been working flat out to produce new and better reels to increase sales and profitability. And they have succeeded, but of necessity the main thrust has been at the boat market where we all know the money is in the US.

Fishing regularly and with many friends in the US I am only too familiar with the fact that UK rods and reels have become particularly suitable for a number of applications in the US. I first came to the US in 1985 to give a casting demonstration in Delaware and was amazed at the interest in my ‘English Poles’

Surf casting has historically been the underdog to the boat market, just look at any copy of Saltwater Sportsman. However, I take every opportunity - to the exasperation of my UK boss – to push the US to make more surf reels. And I have been working hard on several new reels for a while now and the good news is that I understand they will go into general US production next year.

BB


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## eklutna (Mar 12, 2006)

Black Beard said:


> To be honest it was way before I started with Penn. But the Squidder ran for many years and you cannot stand still, gotta move on. I have one of the last Squidders and yes I have cast with it.
> 
> However, while the Squidder was a great reel the 525Mag and 535GSMag T make life on the beach a lot easier. BB



I thought the Squidder was discontinued last year. It was advertised in the boaters world catalog last year. I bought a new old stock recently.



Black Beard said:


> And I have been working hard on several new reels for a while now and the good news is that I understand they will go into general US production next year.
> 
> BB


I hope that the Penn 535-555 mags and the Penn 70 Surfmaster will enter the US market. Thought, I would like to see a mechanism to hold the mag settings on the Penn 535-555 mags so that you don’t have to reset the mag for every cast. Other wise, I think the Penn 545 mag that I recently bought from UK is great. I was casting 8 and bait recently and was able to get past the second set of breakers which is over one hundred yards. I would say that is pretty good.


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

eklutna said:


> I thought the Squidder was discontinued last year. I was advertised in the boaters world catalog last year. I bought a new old stock recently.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## eklutna (Mar 12, 2006)

I work aircraft and the radios use a special kind of knob that would work for the mag knob on the 545. The radio knob has a saw tooth on its bottom with a corresponding saw tooth on the radio face plate. The knob is spring loaded so you lift the knob and turn to make a setting change. When you release the knob the saw teeth will reengage locking the knob in its current setting. Some thing like this could be the solution to the mag setting issue that I raised about the 545 mag. I relies that it is easy to be critical and hard to be creative, so I offer a solution.


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## longcast (Jan 9, 2005)

I gotta jump in here, on the knobby style reels used for fishing, you set the mag & leave it alone. On the casting court, mags are sometimes adjusted in mid flight. This is just my 02c. If you think playing with the knob magnet on the side of your 545 get you extra distance, I am not going to tell you, BS. Pointing the rod in the direction of where your cast is going is more important.

So you can keep track of your fiddling around with the mag, get a light color Sharpie or fingernail polish, and mark the knob and put some lines on the side plate. I dought seriously that after you let your cast fly, that you could pull & rotate a knob before your bait & weight hit the water.
longcast


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## eklutna (Mar 12, 2006)

In regards to the magnet on the 535,545,555, I want to set it and forget it. These are not tournament reels and will never reach tournament distances on the beach. I want to be able to set it once on the beach for wind, sinker weight, line size and my mood and forget it for the rest of the day.

I would also like to praise Penn for there use of stainless steel and marine grade aluminum in the GS reels. I am always worried about my squidders and long beach corroding. The stand on my long beach needs replacement because it is so hard to clean and as a result has become corroded. This is not an issue with my 525's mags or 545mag. 

I would like to see the Squidder brought in to the modern era. Could you imagine a Squidder made out of stainless steel and graphite with a aluminum spool. It could have a knobby adjustable magnet on the left plate similar to the one I described in a post above. Put improved ceramic ball bearings in the reel while retaining the quick change spool feature. Keep the cost under 150. I would buy a few. 

Or export the quick change spool feature from the discontinued squidder and adapt the technology and incorporate it into the GS reels. However I would think the Up graded squidder might be cheaper to manufacture due to the fact manufacturing steps would be eliminated (0 chroming), hence reduced manufacturing costs.

Just my 2 cents.


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## sinker man (Jun 16, 2006)

And you don't like the Accurate version...must be the quick change spool feature that you shouldn't need anymore. Seriously the GS series made the squidder (as good of a workhorse as it was) obsolete. and now BB is telling us that Penn is bringing out some improved versions. If they are even more user friendly or you can cast a few yards farther with improved drag and gearing I don't see myself adding any more squidders to my line up. The ones I have will last far longer than I will. Which is another point. I think Black Beard said it best "You can't stand still...You've got to move on". One thing that I do ponder over is why the 145 and 146 squidders weren't more popular.


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