New Penn 515 Mag3 and Penn 525 Mag3 Reels!!!!!!!

Red Fish

Senior Member
#2
Yeah, the mag 3 525 is a reel I might be interested in getting. I noticed dude did get a major-league (big-league as the commander-in-chief likes to say) overrun (backlash).

The two keeper sturgeon I zapped recently were both on my 525 GS (general series) that I have had over (10) years.


The reel I have banged 130 yard casts (only to be matched when I use a 145 Squidder).
The kick is HT-100 drag at I think 12# drag vs 7# Squidder. Also 6:1 vs 3:1 retrieve after s longcast makes the 525 a “reel winner!”

I relplaced the ant-reverse bearing once (which costs $20) in over 10 years and it was well worth it. Out-of-the-box new the drag was very sticky (as was my 555) but Alantani worked them over (before most people even knew who he was).

I’ve not been disappointed with even the GS.
I glued rare earth magnets in the thing years ago but took the out. Worked well with braid but I have gained some better thumb control.
When I hit a buck/thirty, I used 15# BigGame and a 4 ounce lead sinker. Mono is oh so more forgiving on a cast.

I have hooked sturgeon to a 5 foot angel shark on the 525, and with 300 yards of 50# braid, the reel had worked wonders.

It is rated for school tuna which I noted years ago. I did get a small crack in a side graphite plate, but it did not split all the way through.
It is like $9 but they didn’t have it at the time I ordered and on/off switch that fell off into the water one year (so I should order one before it goes into obsolescence).

Graphite is always a better pier choice as it is much more forgiving if it falls to the concrete (as far as appearance).

At about $150. It definitely gets my blessing in a 15 size reel and two thumbs up for sure for boat, pier, surf.

Some articles were calling the 15 squall or fathom “the new 525” or the replacement for the old one but I will call a new 525 a replacement (next generation) for the old one.
And the price is actually lower than the original.

*End Review*