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I want to buy a new surf reel to catch mainly big sharks over 5' (like Bull sharks), tarpon, bull reds, bull black drums. Especially the big fish on East pass.
I am planning to buy a Penn Battle II 8000.
Any recommendations?
Also, should get braid or mono?

Just a tad over your budget at $220 on-line, but the Shimano Spheros SW8000 would be a great reel for your targets. It has the X-Ship technology for durability and is sealed for extreme fishing. Holds 310 yards of 40-pound Power Pro.

You might talk to Linn at Kevin's to see what they could do on the price.

And definitely braid over mono. More line capacity, more sensitivity and less stretch.

Just checked eBay and you can get an 8000SW for $195 from NY or less than $165 from Japan. I've never ordered anything from Japan but have from other countries and only had one problem and the money was quickly refunded. Just a thought, but again, check with Kevin's first to see.

SpinfisherV, or battle 2. Spinfisherv is sealed so it gets dunked/sprayed & no big deal.

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SpinfisherV, or battle 2. Spinfisherv is sealed so it gets dunked/sprayed & no big deal.

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$145.00 amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009MQMA0 ... ref=plSrch

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I was looking at the Spinfisher today at BPS.
What about the Shimano Saragosa?

Saragosa is a nice reel. I've owned a couple. Very beefy, but also more money than the Spheros.

Similar features, though. Saragosa: 27 pounds of max drag, 5 + 1 bearings and 22 oz weight.

Spheros: 27 pounds of max drag, 4+1 and 24.7 ounces.

A Baitrunner from Shimano would be a great option. The baitrunner feature would be handy to have for a surf rig. At $179 for an 8000 or $189 for a 12000 it sounds like it is in your price range.

i use a 6500 ssv live liner for surf. they make an 8500 ssv LL too, but I have 440 yards of 40 lb braid on mine and never had a problem. It's light enough to keep in my hand and has enough drag for most sea monsters. If you're trying to go huge, I've heard decent review on the Fin Nor lethal 100, but build quality is a bit inconsistent. In any case, ssv over battle.

I own nothing but shimano baitcasters and only Penn spinners. For the $ it doesn't get more reliable long term than the spinfisher.

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I have a Cabo 80 spoiled with 65lb PP. Heck of a reel

Or, you could go old school with a Penn 706z, nothing fancy but they are about impossible to kill. Super easy to clean. New priced at $199 but probably some deals can be found.

http://www.amazon.com/Penn-Conquer-Spin ... 1248957011


http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Cabo-Spin ... op?ie=UTF8

silverking wrote:Just a tad over your budget at $220 on-line, but the Shimano Spheros SW8000 would be a great reel for your targets. It has the X-Ship technology for durability and is sealed for extreme fishing. Holds 310 yards of 40-pound Power Pro.

You might talk to Linn at Kevin's to see what they could do on the price.

And definitely braid over mono. More line capacity, more sensitivity and less stretch.

Seconding the Spheros as your best bet, it's the only fully sealed reel mentioned and can be had for $180-200 online. The 6K size might be too small for what your looking for, mine only holds about 260-280 yds of 40lb braid, it's fine for tarpon from the boat but if your not going to be chasing fish it could be a problem. The jump from the 6K to the 8K size is quite big though in size and weight.