Penn Fathom Star Drag Reels

Bought it.for bottom fishing and it served that purpose well. Obviously it has no level wind so you will have to pay attention to the line lay will retrieving but otherwise no issues.

I bought these reel for surf fishing on beaches for shark very lively spool but casts really well once you adjust the centrifugal brakes a bit. overall easy to clean loud clicker.

This is a all around great reel from fluke to tog can do it all I now own 4

I got to use it snapper fishing in the gulf and hooked a very large shark 220# ...no problems It replaced an ageing sealine h600 and i will be replacing the other five sealines also..

I've been using Penn for a long time and they hit a home run with this reel! The Penn Fathom FTH12 has a nice compact feel but loaded with enough power to tackle large saltwater species! Don't let the 6-1 gear ratio fool you, this reel packs a lot of torque. I recently winched in a 4 foot dog fish ( sand shark), 18 pound tog and a 23 pound cod. It handled the fish effortlessly. It's freespool is amazing, makes a great casting reel as well.

Use this reel for both Blackfish and Bassing on a Lamiglass rod - the reel is like butter, drag is great and completely capable of handling big Togs or 30+ lb bass.

Smooth drag with plenty of power.

Great reel for inshore fishing. Has a stronger drag system then the Squalls for fighting larger fish. Reel is smooth and handle is position nice for cracking down while fighting the fish.

Was pleased with weight, size and solid drag system. Bought for Blackfishing but broke in on sea bass and summer codfish. A lot of guts for a small non metal real. Looks like good value at this $$.

Good for bottom and live bait

this is my go to trolling reel for big dolphin and tuna in south florida

I got the Penn Fathom 15 star drag, and I am real pleased with it! Had to buy it online, so never had the reel in hand before I ordered it. The local stores don't carry ANY salt water products here.... Anyway, the reel feels really solid, a touch heavy, but that's to be expected with the solid metal frame. I think it will outlast the light weight graphite reel (Squall). (!) When I got the reel, I played with it for a bit. Engaging the free spool, and than back in gear. And, when I put the reel back in gear.... there is a "grinding" sound feeling almost before it finally clicks into gear. It almost takes for you to reverse the handle to have it "click" back into gear. So, naturally, I was concerned and called the seller right away, and they were really good and refunded me, and I re-ordered the same reel. (!) On some of the fishing forums, I brought this issue up. Someone asked me if I had line on the reel when this occurred. I didn't. He said it's normal for that to happen if there is no line or weight/resistance applied. The little bit of weight from the line will make the reel click right back into gear. Something I din't know and thought of before hearing about it on this forum. Disadvantage of online shopping I guess. So, it's normal. The new re-ordered reel does the same thing,

this reel is great for just over $200. The drag is very high for the size of and allows this reel to be versatile for many types of fishing.

highly recommended for the budget conscious surfcasting angler, does a good job and cast pretty far too!

This reel is great for casting Irons. Great for West Coast fishing. I am a fan of Penn's Fathom Reels and do enjoy fishing my 25N. My only beef with it is that every so often the spool gets jammed. Have to thumb it back a little to free it up again. You do get used to it but I still don't like having to get used to this.

Heard good things about this reel so I decided to buy one to compare with my Avet SX and Shimano Torium 14. Absolutely LOVE this reel. Caught a 10 lb lingcod on my first trip out with it and it performed flawlessly. My younger brother basically stole my Avet SX and now this has become my go to reel for all my 1/2 day to 1.5 day trips out of Los Angeles paired with a Seeker inshore rod. Liked it so much I now have a Fathom 25N and 30 in my arsenal.

This reel is an absolute beast. I bought the FTH12 and use it with 30 pound JB. Absolutely awesome combo. I had to use it the first week I got it so, my friend and I went out to a reef and hammered the Grouper, Grunts, Snapper, and Mackerel. We even caught a 40" Cobia on this combo. My friend initially made fun of it saying that it was too small but, by the end of the day, he wanted one too. The reel made easy work of the grunts but also had no trouble pulling a grouper up. It was exactly what I was looking for: a small but tough reel.

It is a very good reel, except for the drag lever does not work right all the time. you must return the spool before you can engage the drag lever. Spoke to Peen customer support and they said that it is know problem. I do not appreciate that it is a known problem and no solution yet.

The Penn Fathom FTH15 non level wind is lightweight, well designed and is a all around versatile reel. I used it for live linning, casting and I also trolled with it. The star drag system was easy to adjust even while fighting a nice size striper. One of the stripers I caught charged directly towards me but I was able to keep the line taught with the 6.0 1 ratio.