# Penn Squall 12 field test....



## BPReeds (Jan 11, 2013)

Well, here it goes, I have never cast a conventional reel, so my trip to the field yesterday with the 12 teamed up with a 13 foot TA rod was a first time event.....I started off with a tennis ball and full mag....ok, not much there, half mag, about 15 yards,so I figured what the hell...Mags off, switched over to a golf ball with a 3oz weight inserted, ground casts...getting out to about 80-100 yards, a little fluf, but no blowups.....longest was about 110 yards, in a cross wind....I did expect a learning curve and a lot of blow ups, but that wasn't the case....a very light weight setup....its like carrying a tooth pick to the field....I was using 20lb mono with a 50lb shock leader, when I take it fishing I'll switch over to 15/40....with the 12, you may not have enough line on the spool after a good cast....If your using 20 or over, and your thinking about the squall, may be a good Idea to go with the 15.....I (think)
the distance factor is related to my casting form and the rod, better form and a stiffer rod and more weight, and a guy with some power I would expect greater distance...anyway, thats just an opinion.....


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## pvtchristopher (Apr 16, 2013)

How did you get to field test that love to field test for Penn


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## Silver Bullet (Sep 11, 2012)

My 15 is a great little caster, but it's a little small for my needs. I might be selling it sooner than later.
I wish they would mag some of their bigger reels...


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## BPReeds (Jan 11, 2013)

I was casting free spool yesterday...no problem with the golf ball...about 100 yards,,,then I put a 4oz sinker on...let it rip...out over a hundred and a nice big birdnest....as expected....as they say, you need a trained thumb....you also need to be able to see the sinker as it hits the ground, thats the hard part....will have to play around with the mag control....


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## Suavea (Oct 9, 2002)

That's interesting. (BPReeds) I purchased the Penn Squall 15 I've got it spooled with 25lb braid. But I have not cast it yet. Here is a pointer for you When you put the golf ball on point your rod out and adjust the gold round knob on the left that has the Penn logo on it. You want to adjust it so the ball does not fall straight to the floor. You want it to almost hang in the air. Even better is if you can adjust it so that it just barely slides down to the floor. This should help out with your problem with it becoming a birds nest, and less thumb action. You should not even have to use your thumb. Also you must remember to adjust each new rig you put on in order not to have it blow up on you with another huge birds nest. I will have to play around with the Magnet part later and I will post my finds later. Tight lines to all.


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## Suavea (Oct 9, 2002)

Silver Bullet have you considered the Penn Fathom?


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## BPReeds (Jan 11, 2013)

thanks Suavea, but of course if you add mag you won't get a 100 yards out...in fact, you may get less then your spinning combo....I know, its a trade off, It seems ( if) you can see splashdown, you can minimize the birdnest....I'm thinking yellow or green mono may help in tracking the rig to splashdown...what do you think??


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## Silver Bullet (Sep 11, 2012)

Suavea said:


> Silver Bullet have you considered the Penn Fathom?


I did, but I'm cheap. I ended up going with a sealine x 50. It will be tough to throw, but it doesn't have to go far.


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## notso (Jul 18, 2005)

hi vis line will help some, but after some practice, you'll get a feel for how long the payload will be in the air. I can usually feel when my bait hits the water. pretty much everyone who fishes successfully at night with a conventional has to develop that feeling. You shouldn't need to thumb it at all in flight, and after some practice, you'll normally only get a small overrun on touchdown.


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## catchneat (May 13, 2013)

Silver Bullet said:


> My 15 is a great little caster, but it's a little small for my needs. I might be selling it sooner than later.
> I wish they would mag some of their bigger reels...


Also have a 15, great reel for pompano, I just static magged my 545 no blow ups casting bait chunk for sharks about 60 yards or so


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## BPReeds (Jan 11, 2013)

yeah, I experienced that yesterday, I couldn't track the rig in the glare but was able to time the splashdown, most of the time.....this reel is plenty fast enough for surf casting....


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