Penn 309 question

[The Great Maudu]

What size fish would the 309 be able to handle with an upgrade to the drag?

[foakes]

I think mostly, it would depend on the strain put on the LW mechanisms -- particularly the nylon idler gear.

However, there was a thread of a fisherman on here who caught a large shark with a 209 -- I believe it was prepared by Pompano Joe -- a true craftsman and gentleman in our area of expertise.

Best,

Fred

[Keta]

I have seen halibut in the 100-150 range caught with 309 reels, I would not recomend them for this but they worked.

I would not trust the 309 LW on a fast fish like tuna, even our "tiny" albacore.

[The Great Maudu]

So would the 209 be a better option?

[Keta]

So would the 209 be a better option?

The 209 has the same weak LW and smaller drag washers.  The 210 has larger drag washers in the same size reel.

[alantani]

the 309 has jigmaster gears and drags, so figure 30 pound test and 9 pounds of drag at the most.  the problem specific to the 309 (and not the jigmaster) is the weakness of the levelwind assembly.  it's not very sturdy. 

[The Great Maudu]

Ok thank you. What I'm looking for is a good reel for Julia to use when fishing for 30 - 80 pound sharks in the surf. I want the LW because sometimes her hands and wrist hurt because she has celiac disease.

[RowdyW]

You might want to look into a 330GT2 or 340GT2 that are larger levelwinds. As with all levelwinds you can't use them for a winch but they will work with a pump & wind style.                            Rudy

[alantani]

i've got an old 340 gti if you want it. 

[oc1]

Wrecking the levelwind is not the worst thing in the world and they are easy enough to replace.  The 309 has a plastic idler gear on the levelwind.  It's like a safety shear pin.  You could blow out the idler gear or blow out the LW pawl and still land the fish.  
-steve

[The Great Maudu]

i've got an old 340 gti if you want it. 

Alan, I'm sending you an email

[Keta]

They are not Penn but Shimano Takota's are a tough LW reel.  I have a friend that has several that get well used on Pacific halibut that I keep maintained.  These reels are all over 10 years old and are starting to have issues like bad AR bearings,  LW pauls and one frame but with proper maintenance they will be still fishing in 10 years, well if Shimano still has the parts.

[foakes]

The Penn 310, 320, 330, 340 in the GT series -- are tough & durable reels with a decent LW system.

Good frame, eady to maintain and keep ready.

And parts are readily available.

Best,

Fred

[Keta]

The Penn 310, 320, 330, 340 in the GT series -- are tough & durable reels with a decent LW system.

Good frame, eady to maintain and keep ready

For some reason I get a lot of these reels with fused drag stacks, something geased CF washers cures.

[mo65]

   The thing that seems to cause problems with the levelwind are fast, long running fish. I've seen probably hundreds of medium to large fish landed on stock 209s and 309s and never witnessed a levelwind destroyed. I'm not sure how a shark runs...but what's it gonna hurt to try? Maybe bust a $30 reel? As a user of these reels my whole life, I can tell you the levelwind is not as bad a weak link as the frame. There aren't enough frame posts to handle twisting well. On the 309, the drags can be upgraded to the point of frame failure. For a realistic look at modding the 309 look here:

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