Old Penn Spinfishers Z are back and available now.(these will last a life time)

[ausea 4]

[newtontoney 57]

These are my kinda reel !!

[plankton 725]

Can't believe they brought those back, heaps of crusty old surf fisherman in the US have been whinging for years on the forums about how these reels were discontinued, same guys that are in love with the crappy old Squidder overheads. IMO the Z's are not a great design, which is why Penn moved on to the Spinfisher and Slammer models. But some people just can't handle progress or change, just because it's old or it's what Grandad used doesn't mean it's better. I've got plenty of newer reels that will last me a lifetime because they're designed and built well and I know how to take care of my gear. At $200 USD (so most likely $300 AUD if they're sold here) there are better reels out there, IMO.

[ausea 4]

The reason they wanted them back was for the surf fisho's ,so when wading out in the surf and getting a dunk didn't effect them when packed with grease.Saved them money from having to buy a $700 water proof reel.

[plankton 725]

The reason they wanted them back was for the surf fisho's ' date='so when wading out in the surf and getting a dunk didn't effect them when packed with grease.Saved them money from having to buy a $700 water proof reel.[/quote']Are those the only two options, a Z packed with grease or a $700 reel? I have a Slammer that is packed with grease and it seems to work quite well, even after a dunking. Also, in my experience, the design of the Z's makes them overly susceptible to the ill effects of surf fishing or being dunked. That cupped spool enclosure works like a funnel, trapping sand and salt and sending them down into all the inner workings. Have you had different, more positive experiences with those reels ausea?

[ausea 4]

I had Van Staal which cost me $1150 five years ago.Was going to buy one of these 50 year old Penns but they are only making in left hand wind.I'm currently greased packed a Quantum Boca 80.Here's some more Z Penns

[plankton 725]

Those Z's in all those pics have been customised, some more heavily than others, mostly I believe to alleviate the problem with the spool cup design I referred to, but also I suspect to make them lighter. I don't know about anyone else, but if a reel needs expensive customisation at the machine shop to sort out design flaws I'll pass. Each to their own though.Cool vid from Montauk though, the guy in the first part of the clip is using a Van Staal, which was designed for that sort of thing (along with the newer Zee Baas). As you can see they wade out to get in range of the rip where the fish are holding. You don't necessarily need a full-on water proof reel though, you can see that some guys are standing on rocks and they would have waded out holding their rod and reel up over their heads. The lures they are using are called darters and were developed out at Montauk for fishing the big rips they get. The fish the first guy gets is a bluefish, the same species that is called tailor here in Australia, the rest of the fish look like stripers. I grew up fishing a bit further north along the coast in New England, and thankfully we didn't need to get out so far to get into fish.

[ausea 4]

But no one told you that you had to own one.

[Cal 480]

I wonder whether or not they will bring them out with the handle on the other side,I love the look of those old classics.

[plankton 725]

But no one told you that you had to own one.

No worries mate, just trying to offer a different point of view based on my experience.