Penn reels

We have 2 Penn LC reels, not sure what model they are due to being in winter storage and can't look at them.

They have been relatively trouble free and seem to be reliable enough and suit our fishing style.
We did have one quit counting the second trip out, but took it back to the Fish USA store and they swapped it out for a new one on the spot!

We have several other Penn reels, levelwinds, not LC's and they perform flawlessly.

Would we buy more Penn reels...YES.

I love the older, made in the USA, Penn levelwinds. As soon as they started making them overseas they became junk, and I'm not exaggerating. Now, they may have since gotten their act together, and may be producing quality products overseas, but I haven't given them the chance to find out.

Got a 320GTI LC late last season and didn't get a chance to use it. If/when i get invited back up to fish the big water this spring, i'll post a report about it. It's a lot heavier than my 27LC's. Supposed to pickup a lot of line per revolution from what i read.

ORIGINAL: Rough House

I never knew the started making them overseas. I was kinda looking at them because there were made in the USA. Hum... Thanks for the info. Are there anymore reel companies in the US anymore?

Yeah, 2005 was the last year they made them in the States. I don't believe any levelwind trolling reels are made in the USA anymore. I used to watch eBay for pre 05 Penn bargains, but most people know that an American made Penn is worth a premium and it's a lot harder to score them anymore. Besides, I mainly used them for leadcore rods because they were not linecounters, and I've gotten used to using linecounters for leadcore too.

I don't troll for musky, but I have to agree with SUNF about the Okuma having a very good bang for the buck.  I own 10 Convectors (20s,30s, and 45s), and 2 Catalinas.  I have not had one single problem with any of them, and I think it's been five years since they've been my main trolling reels.  I will say that even though I really like the Catalinas, I wouldn't buy them again, because at double the price of the Convectors...they're not THAT good.  I've never used the cheaper Okumas (Magdas), but I know some Charter Captains that have said they've been pretty reliable and can't be beat for the price. 

You won't hate the Penns, trust me. As far as the Magda Pros...I have 4 of them and they aren't too bad for the money, but DO NOT compare to the convectors. The Diawas are pretty good...I know guys that use them and most are satisfied...I just do not like the smaller cranking handles on them and a few minor other things that are just not to my liking and a personal preference issue.

A few months ago I bought a newer vintage Penn 321 GT2 for my left handed grandson who has more trouble than you can imagine reeling in a big brown trout with a RH reel.   It is very similar in appearance to the 320 GTI's that I own.   It's my understanding that the 320 GTI model was discontinued before they moved production overseas.   That's a shame because the 320GTI is the largest selling single model reel in history.   I can tell you that this reel (321GT2) seems to function as well as any of the RH Penn 320's I own.   Only visible difference is that on the logo side of the reel where the ratchet switch is located, down near the bottom are the words "MADE BY PENN REELS"  where the USA models used to say "MADE BY PENN REELS IN U.S.A."  

I will also say that another RH 320GT2 that I own says "MADE BY PENN REELS IN U.S.A." so i know the 320GT2's actually started in the USA and were sent overseas later, and the 320GTI's apparently were discontinued before they went overseas.
 
Among the Penn 320's that I own is a Penn 320 LD....no GTI or GT2 designation.  LD stands for Lever Drag, and that's exactly what it has, a lever that you can adjust to increase your drag to suit you, or release it all the way to let the line run out freely.  Dimensionally it's the same size as all the other Penn 320's it just doesn't have a Star Drag.

As far as line counting, I think this is a very good rule of thumb (for the Penn 320's and 321's) .......if you spool your line so that it is very full, say within a 1/16" of the bevel on either side, with each pass of the line guide you will be letting out 10 feet of line, that's either left to right or right to left.    If you make a round trip, it's 20 feet.    So if you want to let out 100 feet of line, just let the line guide make 5 round trips.   You can go out and buy expensive line counter reels but if you know your reel's payout rate it's really not necessary.   

Yes, you can spend $100 for one of these reels, but I've gotten most of mine on eBay or Craigslist in the $40-$55 range.   The LH models will no doubt run more on eBay....I see them selling as high as $75.