I am in need of a new reel for halibut. Anybody have one they want to recommend? I'm not looking to spend a lot here, but want something with some muscle... i dont want to be thumbing the drag so it will pick up line! My current reel's drag is weak and I cant pump the fish up off bottom without thumb pressure. i was looking at okumas....

Daiwa 50h
Penn 113
Penn 340, 345 gti

If you should happen to purchase a Penn 113 or 114, be sure to take the sideplate off and thoroughly lube all moving parts, especially the gear lever. For some unknown reason, penn thinks it acceptable to ship and sell these reels 100% dry. I believe that the 113 is technicly defined as a "freshwater reel" though it's in all the marine and saltwater sections of the fishing catalogues. We've used them on charter boats in AK the last couple years, and in my opinion the 113 takes an exorbitant amount of cleaning and greasing to keep it working smoothly, and the aluminum spools have an incredible problem with corrosion from saltwater.
So far, I've found the older penn 114 with a stainless spool to be the most dependable reel for saltwater, if greased regularly.

david

I've landed anything from halibut to sturgeon on my Penn 330 GTi.

Look at the Okuma Titus series. Beautiful reel. Great handle. Don't remember all the specs, but almost bought one. Both the T15L and the T20L are very reasonably priced. GI Joes had a T20L for about $125. I have had Penn 320 reels for years, but the newer stuff coming out is of cheaper quality. The Okuma reels look to be better made and have never heard one single bad word about them.

I use the Shimano TLD 25 reels but I have to agree that the Okuma looks like the value choice if you don't want to spend $200 each.

Or check out EBay

I picked up the 330 GTi....which seems like a good compromise between not to big (the 340 and above) and not too small (the 320).

Penn senator 113 / 114.Then put the large winch crank on.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

penn's quality has really slumped in recent years...the only affordable saltwater reel they still make with a stainless spool is a 309. i haven't used one, but if it's a big version of my trusty early 80's 209, it should do the job well