Penn Torque 25 Star Drag Sale

[MarkT]

Chris, it's an esw709h? I don't see an 8'er.  I have 2 psw809h and a psw869h... and a psw808mh and a psw809xhj. The rod in my avatar is a psw809h.

[cwillis85]

That's correct, I was hoping for an 8' rod but couldn't find one I liked. Mine is a 7 footer, got the reel on it and it feels great, very light. Also the rating on line is lower than the 30-80 painted on the rod.

[basto]

I bought a Fathom 25lw for its gear ratio (4.3:1) and its drag, 30lb max. I just removed the levelwind.
Basto

[Rivverrat]

 Just a side note on this reel & the Torques Ive recently purchased. The drag can in some cases need a good breaking in by setting the drag high & repeatedly running several yards off getting the drag warm to the touch.

Or just let the fish do it. The drag on this last one I purchased from Cabela's had me worried but eneded up being just as smooth as any of my other Torque star drags.

Again some thoughts on rods for this reel  Just my thoughts for what ever it may be worth .

 Dont feel  every rod I have has to be married to a specific reel that I own or vice versa. For instance my Torque 25's will be used on a  8' Tilefish & at other times when fishing for smaller sharks & bigger Red Drum from my yak it will be fished on a CP70HP, United Composites 7" Challenger Platinum a fantastic 50 - 60, exrtremly fast, great live - chunk bait rod, with soft tip. Not exactly the lightest rod for this. But there are few in this class that are as durable. It is light for its recoil & the power it pocesses. Not the best combo for drum. However I like having only one rod when in the Yak. Design of this rod is like the Calsar Grafighter only better.


Thoughts are a faster action rod is good when used with any single geared reel when dealing with bigger fish. Makes it much easier for me to gather line. When using the pull & reel down thingy.

One does have to pay attention & be aware when using such a rod from a yak.


I am a big fan of UC rods. 3 reasons why.

1)  I believe some of their specific models are very unique & the best made, unmatched by any other maker. Wont go into why here but send me a PM if interested.

2)  They are made in the US. Any time Im spending top dollar for something I enjoy, I like to buy American made when ever posible.

3)  Randy Penny, owner of United Composites is accesible & he listens. I could go on at length how much this man has helped me while also being very tolerant of me bugging him. This is very refreshing. He has earned my business.  When.....  

in todays world with everything seemingly being part of a bigger conglomerate & to talk with some one you must choose from a menu & you "MIGHT" get lucky & talk with some one who knows exactly what they or you are talking about....

I'll just call Randy... Jeff

[Rivverrat]

 Having had a few days to spend with this reel & another Torque 25 I've had but seldom used I think I've a much better Idea of what use this reel is best suited for.

Guess it goes with out saying the Torque 25, like the rest of the star drags in this series, is a true casting reel. I dont see the 25 as much a cast & retrieve reel using fake baits as say the 25N. What I think the 25 excels at is tossing live & chunk bait for distance & bottom fishing.

While I didnt measure any of my casts I was able to get noticably better distance with a variety of different types of casts with the 25 than any other star drags of this approximate size that I have including the 25N. To be clear I'm not talking any thing like 50 yards difference. But as stated it was clearly enough to be noticable. Enough to warrant using this reel for the gain recieved when needed.

a side note: I noticed while doing a preservice that the bearings were not greased like they were on my older black 25. Left the sheilds off oiled bearings & went fishing. So Penn may have lightened up on the grease a bit on these more recent models.

Also, this is a Big Deal, with the 4.8:1 gears in place this rascal collects 26" retreived of line retreived with each turn of the handle this is just FANTASTIC . With reel loaded with 50 lb. Big Game to the second capacity line on the spool just below the max capacity line, measuring this I found it to be a bit more than the stated 26" in the specs printed on the back of the Versa Gear box.

Any how with this gear set in place I am able to turn the handle with out to much difficulty with reel set at 20 lbs. of drag.     Would I want to fish all day like this ? With the reel set up like that ?   For fish that can take yards of line at that setting. Absolutely not. It's just reassurring to know this reel can if the need arises.

Fished with handle fully extended, even with 30 lb. line this reel could benefit a good deal from a larger handle knob. This will be the only upgrade thats needed on these reels.

  This all may be as obvious to some as a hammer to the head is painful... But any way there it is for whatever it may be worth... Jeff

[cwillis85]

Good notes, I am keeping an eye out for that 4.8 headset, hoping to get lucky and stumble onto a nos set. I have noticed the football handles are a bit small for my paws but that will be a later project. Will be out casting it this weekend for sure

[Rivverrat]

Good notes, I am keeping an eye out for that 4.8 headset, hoping to get lucky and stumble onto a nos set. I have noticed the football handles are a bit small for my paws but that will be a later project. Will be out casting it this weekend for sure

        Chris here ya go. Remember all Torque star drags use the same gear set. The pinion for this 4.8:1 main gear is at the bottom left of this page. Be sure to order both the pinion & main gear as a set. They didnt list this
  gear ratio in the 25 parts. But it's here... Jeff

                                                                  www.mysticparts.com/5-TRQ40-Gear-Main-Gear-481-Ratio-P28204.aspx

[cwillis85]

Perfect, missed this all together and the cost is right about the same as the kits.

Thanks again

[Rivverrat]

Spooled on 300 yards of 80 lb. Suffix on my 25.

I was wanting to get some JB Braid from Lee but a friend gave me this saying it was heavier than he needed.

Figured I might as well give it a try... Jeff

[cwillis85]

I have heard that the suffix braid is very high quality. I havent used it myself but if I had to buy line this was my next planned purchase, see if it lives up to the hype

[handi2]

Jeff are you saying that the Torque 40 4.8 gear set fits the Torque 25 reels? That's good to know.

I do have 2 of the 4.8 kits in my shop.

Keith

[Swami805]

I use a lot of power pro and tried some 20lb suffix. It wasn't as stiff as PP and after awhile it seemed like the fibers seemed to separate for lack of a better word.It's very limp and casts fine but I had to strip off the end 20-30 yards after every outing. Seemed strong and knotted easily. I was casting and retrieving a carolina rig at the beach so likely the sand played a role but didn't have that issue with PP. That was the only thing I used it for,might be ok for other applications

[Rivverrat]

Jeff are you saying that the Torque 40 4.8 gear set fits the Torque 25 reels? That's good to know.

I do have 2 of the 4.8 kits in my shop.

Keith

Keith, now that you ask & coming from one such as your self... well, now you have me wondering. To be honest I'm not positively sure the gear set I placed in this 25 was from Mystic   .  However I did just receive 2 sets of the 4.8:1 gears listed in the Torque 40 parts from Mystic just a few days ago. I'll check this & get right back. I will be surprised if I was wrong on this. But it wouldnt be the first... Jeff

[Rivverrat]

Keith,  the same gear set is used for all Torque Star Drag Reels. The reel in the pic is my 25.

Dang, you really had me second guessing myself.

[Rivverrat]

CORRECTION: Sorry guys,the Torque 25 does in fact retrieve 25" of line or very close, with each turn of the handle with 4.8:1 gear set... Jeff