Penn Fishing Reviews

My order showed up later than expected, which was already frustrating. I reached out to support hoping they’d at least be helpful, but they didn’t seem to do much or give me a clear answer. The whole experience just left a bad impression, and I’m not sure I’d order again.

I kind of assumed Penn meant I’d be getting a smooth-casting setup, so maybe I shortcut that decision a bit. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t worked out that way. The line keeps hanging up, and I’m not getting much distance even with a decent amount of weight on it. I tried switching to a different line thinking that might be the easy fix, but it acted the same. For what it cost, I’m frustrated.

I bought a Penn reel and the drag felt off from the start. It kept sticking and then suddenly slipping whenever there was pressure on it. Ended up losing a decent fish because of it, which was super frustrating. Really not happy with this one.

It took me a little while to get it set up, mostly because I was trying to figure it out after dinner and probably should’ve taken a break, but I eventually got it working fine. No real complaints now that it’s up and running.

I bought a reel from pennfishing.com and so far I’m happy with it. It feels sturdy, works well, and for the money, I think it was a fair deal, you know? It’s definitely not the cheapest reel out there, but it also doesn’t feel like I paid too much for what I got. Shipping was fine, nothing amazing, but no real complaints either. If I came across a good deal again, I’d probably buy from them another time.

The build is okay—not amazing, but it feels decent enough for everyday use. A friend recommended it to me, and while I can see why, I’d say it’s more of a solid option than something that really stands out

Most of my order was okay, but one item was wrong. From the way everything else was packed, I’m guessing it was probably just a simple mix-up rather than anything careless. Still a little annoying, but the rest was fine

I’ve found the cleaning and maintenance to be a lot more annoying than it really should be. Every time I take it apart, some of the pieces feel fiddly and awkward to handle, which makes the whole process take longer than I’d like. It works fine, but dealing with the cleanup has definitely been a bit frustrating for me

I bought this Penn reel thinking it would be really smooth, but right away the handle had a gritty feel when I turned it. It wasn’t awful at first, so I figured I’d give it a try, but after one fishing trip it got noticeably worse and just doesn’t feel right. For what I paid, I expected a lot better. I even dug up my receipt and sent an email to support, but the response was slow, so I eventually gave up. Disappointing overall

I’ve got the receipt and order email still saved, and overall I did like this Penn reel at first. It felt solid right out of the box and was really smooth to use for a while. After one season of regular fishing, though, the handle started feeling a little loose and the finish has already started wearing off. It still works and I’m not ready to toss it, but for the price, I expected it to be a bit more durable.

I kept getting passed from one support person to another, and it got frustrating. Had to explain the same issue over and over, and in the end it’s still not fixed. Really not a great experince.

The grip started hurting my hand after about an hour of use, which was disappointing. I reached out about it and had to chase them a couple of times before getting any kind of response, so the whole experience was more frustrating than it should’ve been.

I was excited to try this rod since I’ve usually had good luck with Penn gear, but it just didn’t feel right in my hands. The rod feels heavy and kind of poorly balanced, and after casting for a little while my wrist was already getting tired. Maybe I’m just used to lighter setups now — I’ve been trying to pack less when I fish too, which never actually works because I still bring way too much random stuff. Anyway, this wasn’t really what I expected from Penn, and I ended up disappointed.

I checked out pennfishing my first thought was that the prices seemed high for what they were offering. I quickly assumed I could probably find the same gear cheaper somewhere else, and after a little looking around, I did. So I ended up not ordering. Maybe there’s a reason for the pricing, but from what I saw, it just didn’t feel like a great deal

I was interested in it, but the specs wasn’t really clear enough for me. I had to guess a bit about what I was getting, and that made the whole thing more confusing than it needed to be. It would be better if they explains the details more clearly upfront.

Took it on one trip and it broke almost immediately. Doesn’t feel strong at all...

The payment page lagged a bit, which was a fun little reminder that patience is still a virtue in the digital age. It went through eventually, but checkout definitely took a moment to gather its thoughts.

I’ve used Penn reels for a few years, and to be fair, a couple of them felt really solid when they were new. Maybe I’m a little hard on my gear, and I do fish saltwater often, so that probably doesn’t help. But even with normal rinsing and upkeep, the drags started getting rough and some parts began feeling loose sooner than I expected. Customer service was okay, I guess, but it wasn’t exactly quick, and tracking down parts turned into more of a hassle than I wanted. For the price, I just expected them to hold up better. They’re not terrible reels, but i ended up a little disappointed.

I did get it in the end, so that’s good, but the wait was annoying. It felt slower than I expected, and that kind of took away from the overall experience for me.

I’ll say this first: it felt like a solid piece of gear when I got it, and I was excited to use it. But after only two trips in saltwater, even though I rinsed it off afterward, corrosion started showing up all over. That was really disappointing and not what I expected from Penn. It worked fine while I had it out there, but after this experience, I don’t think I’ll be buying from Penn again.