Penn Sargus baitcaster

Question
QUESTION: acquired 2 penn sargus baitcast reels, almost brand new. beautiful reels, smoothest baitcaster i've ever held. checked out the penn site, these are not cheap reels! are these primarily a salt water reel? would like to use them for bass, northerns and walleye, but at 9.5 ozs. unspooled, they seem a bit heavy for todays lighter graphite rods. was I wrong in thinking these are salt water reels or can I use them for the freshwater species mentioned above? i'm driving myself crazy trying to match them up to the appropriate rods. been looking at st. croix and kistlers. i'm determined to use and become comfortable with them. what 2 rods would you recommend for the species i want to target in terms of length, power and action. and do you think my outfits would be balanced given the weight of the reel compared to the weight of the rod. thinking about mounting one on the new st. croix eyecon walleye baitcaster. it's a 7 ft. medium heavy, moderate action rod. would this be a good fit? thanks, paul

ANSWER: Hi, Paul!! How are you? Good I hope, sorry I couldn't get right back to you, been under the weather with a bad cold:{. Well let's see= yes, you are right, the sargus is marketed as a saltwater reel, it's components are resistant to corrosion from saltwater use. But the homework I've done looks like you can use them just fine for freshwater use. Now if weight is something your worried about (the reels) you might want to go with a reel that is made for your target fish, My personal opinion would be you use heavier gear anyway for northern pike/muskellunge I would reserve the penns for my pike fishing, and go with something lighter for bass, especially walleye, because eye's don't fight as hard or jump like pike or bass, so you wouldn't want a combo that's overkill. I know St. Croix makes a great pike musky stick that would pair up greatly with the penn reels now as far as pairing up one of the penn reels with a kistler rod or anything designed for sensitivity I would go with a lighter reel, a couple ounces of weight off your reel does make a difference in your bass fishing. As far as the St. Croix eyecon walleye rod, It sounds like it's used for trolling, which you could mount the penn on it, but if it's built for trolling I would go with a line counter reel. Remember as a rule of thumb, try to keep the reels line weight balanced with the rod's line weight specs, and your combo's will always be balanced. I hope this helps, if you need anymore help, just drop me a line, GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHING!!

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QUESTION: Hi Tim, thanks for answering and hope you feel better soon. I might try to sell the reels but doubt I'll have any luck as they are geared for saltwater and I live in a city on one of the great lakes. Wish I knew somebody who sold on ebay. These reels really are almost brand new and I'm bound and determined to use them in the applications I mentioned. Now, I checked their site, and the St. Croix Eyecon baitcast rod for walleye is definitely a casting rod and not a trolling. It says it's designed for bottom bouncing and is ideal for throwing medium to large crankbaits. I'd have preferred a faster action but it only comes in moderate action and is a med-heavy rod. If overkill is the only thing I have to worry about with these reels, then so be it. How much sensitivity do you think I'd be losing here. Granted a 3 to 4 oz difference in reel weight could be a factor, but I can't imagine not being able to feel a strike. Especially with the newer rods, it's not like I'm throwing a heavy glass rod. For the second, I'm still thinking of another med-heavy, but with a fast action. So, I guess what I'm looking for from you is your opinions on a percentage loss in sensitivity with the combo being a bit out of balance. As I mentioned above, the newer graphite rods are designed for sensitivity and I imagine I'll be losing some, but would it actually be that much that I couldn't feel a bass or walleye hitting my lure? thanks again, Paul

Answer
HI, Paul, How are you? Well your set up would be a little heavier, but you would be able to feel a strike, If you have your heart set on using these baitcasters for freshwater, like I said before you can use them, The reason I thought the eyecon rod was trolling because of the action. Yes, the sensitivity might be dulled a bit, but you should be able to get by just fine for what you want to use them for, once again, they would be great for pike/muskie, and will do good for medium to heavy bass duty. Hey if you need anymore help drop me a line!! GOOD FISHING!!