What are your opinions, the pros and cons of bailess surf spinning reels in general, the Penn Spinfisher SSV6500BL in particular?
Thanks for your insight.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark,
I would think that it would be a pretty slick deal. Never have any bail to get in the way of things.

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Stops the Problem of the Bail Slamming shut while casting ,Losing a Couple 35.00 plugs is not good. Very easy to get used to
I made a old "Greenie" Penn 704 into a PENN-Stahl also Bailless



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2017 08:59PM by Barry Thomas Sr.

A lot of surf fishermen like them. Do not have to worry about the bail breaking, or the bail flipping back during a cast and snapping off your lure. The nice thing about Penn reels is they do not change their models every year, so you can readily get parts if you need them. They may not be the smoothest reels around but they are relatively bullet proof. You saw in the video that the caster had taped his finger. Casting heavy weights with braid can be pretty tough on your finger. That the reason for the tape and also the reason some surf fishermen like the Breakaway cannon casting aid.
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Norm

I love my bailess reels. I use them on my kayak, boat and surf casting. Never used the 6500 you are asking about but my van staals work great. The Penn staals Barry mentioned are pretty cool.

Two out of the three spinning reels that were used by my stepdad when I was a kid, were bailless. The Mitchell 300 had a bail, the smaller DAM Quick and another I can't remember the name of did not. Stan Fagerstrom converted his reels to a bailless configuration and tauted their virtues over the years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2017 11:19PM by Spencer Phipps.

I would ditch the bail if plug casting. I'd rather have a bail for live bait or on a boat.

A manual bail is another one to consider. The reel I mentioned is so equipped.

BTW, since you keep mentioning drag ratings.....none of these reels will fish the claimed max drag ratings for long in a real fight. You will destroy gears, bend shafts, wrap rotors.....etc.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

As usual, you guys have come through yet again. Thanks for taking the time. You are all in agreement of preferring the bailess reels with the addition of Russell opting for a bail when live bait or boat fishing.
Russell, very good to learn about max drag ratings and actual use. It makes very logical sense considering the spool of a spinning reel is only supported at one end unlike both ends of a conventional reel. Point very well taken. I’ll remember to only pull hard and quick to yank that surfer off his board!!!!!
The single issue I have considered against a bailess reel is the possibility of the “pick-up” losing the line if the line goes slack, due to such as current or wave action (mind-wandering?) or when landing the fish while it is flopping around. Is this an issue to consider or am I guilty of over-thinking again?
I do not own a spinning rod or reel for ocean fishing but suppose a reel for surf could also be used off shore as well for medium sized YT or WSB here off the SoCal coast. With its manual bail, I’ll have to take another look at the Daiwa Emblem Pro as Russel suggested. The reel could serve dual purposes and, being the cheap bas*^#d I am, the sale price at Tackle Direct is very enticing. The only problem is the need of acquiring a salt water spinning rod. Anybody know a good rod builder?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Russell,
Through my research, there a two models of Daiwa Emblem Pro, an “A” or “EX”. The “A” has the manual bail trip and the “EX” does not. Neither model mentions being water tight, so I can only assume they are not. What is your understanding?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Russell, I don't agree with your comment on drag ratings and destroying the gears. Plenty of large striped bass and even tuna have been landed on van staal reels. I haven't heard of any reels blowing out the gears. Correct me if I'm wrong but... if you locked down a staal drag you would break off before you damage it.

Michael and Russell,
With all due respect to both of you, I would expect, at least hope, the much more expensive VanStall would be stronger and built from better materials than the reels referred to by Russell to fit my cheap budget like the Penn SSV or Daiwa Emblem Pro.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thanks to all for the invaluable suggestions. Even though the Daiwa Emblem Pro EMP 5000-A (manual bail trip) is not sealed as the Penn SSV 6500 BLS (bailess), I purchased the Daiwa for a tick under $100.00. With the conventional bail it will (hopefully) serve double duty as a surf and live-bait/boat reel. Your input saved me a lot of research.
Barry, got any spare 4oz diamond jigs?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Take a look at Alan Hawks' review of the Fin-Nor "Lethal 100" spinning reel. He ranks it with reels costing over $700, which is about 700% more than the Lethal 100 costs.