Penn Sargus, Shim Saragosa, Cabo

[Sea Draggin]

First, I know there are a lot of posts in this forum that I need to read through, but I am spent after the shows and don't have the mental capability to do right now, but I will.

However.....I need some feedback on entry level spinners. I just went straight with the Satigas, so I never messed with the less expensive ones, with the exception of Joeys Cabo that died after two trips.

Q1........What entry level spinner would you recommend and why.

Q2........Has anyone used the Sargus?

[Jesse Lockowitz]

iuno about the cabo/sargus, but i have a saragossa 18k, iuno how many big aj's i caught on it, but its more then a handful , it has performed flawlessly, never skipped a beat. more drag then i want to hold, smooth too.

for $300 , hard to beat.




Jesse

[Sea Draggin]

Thanks Jesse. Looks like folks are going to have to spend at least $300 to get something decent. I wish Daiwa had something in that price range.

[Capt_John]

iuno about the cabo/sargus, but i have a saragossa 18k, iuno how many big aj's i caught on it, but its more then a handful , it has performed flawlessly, never skipped a beat. more drag then i want to hold, smooth too.

for $300 , hard to beat.




Jesse

I have the same reel and I love it. However, I know of some people who use the Shimano Spheros FB 18000 that puts out the same drag and is only $180 and Penn 750 and 850 reels w/ different drag washers and they love them. They swear that both of these are just as good as the more expensive ones.

[Tenacious]

I have the same reel and I love it. However, I know of some people who use the Shimano Spheros FB 18000 that puts out the same drag and is only $180 and Penn 750 and 850 reels w/ different drag washers and they love them. They swear that both of these are just as good as the more expensive ones.

I've caught them on Penn 650's works great but 750 and 850 will give you a better drag to man handle them. I still don't understand why people think they need the top of the line spinners to get the job done.

[mythosbeer]

This past weekend, I used the penn 750ssm and the Cabo 80 and both worked flawlessly. The Cabo has caught many more than the penn and has better drag capabilities, however, the penn 750ssm worked great catching AJ's up to 60lbs. I haven't had any problems with the Cabo 80 and have heard that Quantum is GREAT about fixing stuff on them if something happens.

My dad has used the Quantum Boca 80 on 2 trips and hasn't had any issues. He doesn't fish the drag that I do though so he hasn't put it through the test that I would have. I think he said it set the drag to 11lbs. He caught AJ's up to 60lbs on the last trip and up to 75lbs on the trip I couldn't make because of the surgery.

I will be getting a new Spheros 12000FA today that I will test whenever I get a chance. Either the penn 750ssm or the SPheros 12000FA will make the transition over to a 9ft surf rod to use at the outer banks...depending on which one I like for jigging more.

As far as the sargus...I have two of those reels in the 5000 size, but haven't used them for jigging yet. I put one on a jigging rod for jigs up to about 150g to use for Black Sea Bass or other fish in that size range. It is SMOOTH and seams like that would be a very good entry level reel to use for under $100. Like I said though...I haven't used it for jigging yet though. It also comes with the oval handle which is much more comfortable to me than the handle that comes on the penn 750ssm.

Actually, I have a NIB penn 750ssm that I want to sell for $90 shipped if you want to try one Well, I put line on it and mounted it onto the same surf rod I mentioned above but haven't used it yet.

In my opinion, I think you can get away with reels less than $200 for jigging. I obviously haven't done it much compared to many on this site...and take very good care of my gear...but I haven't had any problems with any of my gear so far. This isn't to say that the more expensive reels won't be better because I love my accurate 270...but you can definately catch big fish with less expensive reels also!

Mitch

[Taz575]

I have a Spheros 8K and like it so far! I have been pulling 24# of drag with it lately. Not as smooth as my Avet or other reels with the Carbontex in it, but the Carbontex discs are on order Haven't fished it yet, but have done drag pulls with it lately.

[Sea Draggin]

As far as the sargus...I have two of those reels in the 5000 size, but haven't used them for jigging yet. I put one on a jigging rod for jigs up to about 150g to use for Black Sea Bass or other fish in that size range.

That just it. There are a whole lot more people targeting smaller inshore fish, than there are those going after the deep water big daddies like I do.

[mythosbeer]

That just it. There are a whole lot more people targeting smaller inshore fish, than there are those going after the deep water big daddies like I do.

I think the Penn sargus would be a very good choice for someone getting into jigging for targets like those. Jim, if you want...I can send you one of them and let you see what you think. Not sure if its worth while or not...but the offer is out there.

The sargus would probably do just fine for some medium sized AJ's as well.

Mitch

[Sea Draggin]

We will go in Feb. I can see it then.